'Tom Jones to play gig in a pub'

It's not unusual for Tom Jones to enjoy a pint of Guinness - so much so he's going straight to the source by playing a gig in a Dublin pub. The Pontypridd singing legend announced the low-key September 24 show, so hush-hush that the location of it won't be revealed until minutes before it's to due to start, to mark the 250th anniversary of the world-famous Irish stout. "Well, you know, I'm Welsh and it's a Dublin pub - it's a perfect fit," said Jones, speaking from his Las Vegas hotel suite - Western Mail ​

Dozens of pubs and clubs in the west of Scotland are being forced to shut today, the first day of the country's new liquor laws, despite pledges of a "softly softly" approach in the first weeks of the legislation. North Lanarkshire Council, which has failed to issue any licences by today's deadline, has told at least 25 venues that they will not be allowed to sell alcohol until further notice after claiming licensees did not submit the required paperwork on time - Herald ​

'Booze Asbos' aimed at cracking down on drunken thugs and criminals were dismissed as a gimmick last night. Under powers available to courts from today, offenders responsible for alcohol-fuelled crime or anti-social behaviour can be subjected to a Drinking Banning Order - Daily Mail ​

One in three young people have blacked out during boozing sessions, amid fears that binge drinking is getting worse. Researchers found a third of drinkers aged 18-24 admit getting so tanked up they cannot remember large sections of the night before at least once a year - Mirror ​

Sales of 'premium' tequila have increased, latest figures show, as Mexico's national drink becomes the sophisticated drink favoured by Britons. Usually associated with lethal hangovers, lemon, salt and cheap binge drinking, sales of the more upmarket ranges of the spirit have risen by 30 per cent over the past year and almost two thirds since 2007. Experts say this is due to Britons developing a more sophisticated taste for Mexican food and drink - Telegraph ​

Majestic Wine, the wine warehouse chain, on Tuesday announced a significant shift in its business model by cutting its minimum purchase requirement from 12 to six bottles. Yet it said the move was not a response to the tough economic climate, which has affected sales to corporate customers much more than sales to the general public - FT ​

Laid-off pub worker Richard Cooper is finally back behind the bar in the latest success for The Sun's Sunemployment campaign. Richard, 22, had been looking for work for three months after the boozer he worked for shut in the recession - The Sun ​

The family and friends of a woman who died after collapsing in a pub have called for action to be taken against a paramedic who they say refused to help her. Melissa Procter-Blain, 32, suffered a heart attack at The Crown in Spondon, Derbyshire. The pub's manager has told how the lone woman paramedic who first responded to the 999 call initially parked outside the wrong premises and then refused to enter the bar - Daily Mail ​