What the papers say - July 27, 2007

A former champion boxer shot in the head after asking three men to stop smoking is now brain dead and will have his life support machine switched off on Friday, his solicitor said. James Oyebola, 47, was shot at close range in a London nightclub in the early hours of Monday morning - Daily Mail​

A rugby club treasurer and his son died yesterday as they battled to save beer from their flooded clubhouse. Bram Lane, 64, and his son Christopher, 27, were found lying in a foot of water by a horrified official at Tewkesbury rugby club in Gloucestershire. They are thought to have been electrocuted while trying to dry out the cellar - Daily Mirror​

Concerns over the placing of debt on major deals intensified on Friday when Cadbury Schweppes, the world's largest confectionery company, said it was extending the timetable for the $7bn sale of its US drinks business to private equity due to "extreme volatility" in debt markets - Financial Times​

Pernod Ricard, the French wine and spirits company, yesterday reported a 6.2 per cent rise in full-year sales to €6.44 billion (£4.3 billion) after strong volume growth from brands including Stolichnaya vodka and Martell cognac. The company reported double-digit sales growth in both Asia and the Americas on a comparable basis, while Europe was up by 6.6 per cent. It said that business had been favourable in most of Europe and the UK and Italy had stabilised. (Rhiannon Williams) - The Times​

Paul Walsh, the boss of Diageo, which is Scotland's biggest whiskey company with more than 30 per cent of the markets, said further consolidation in the spirits industry was likely and his group would remain a player - The Scotsman​