What the Sunday papers say

The Independent on Sunday

• Scientists have discovered the world's oldest wine - a vintage produced by Stone Age people 8,000 years ago. The find pushes back the history of wine by several hundred years.

Britons eat more junk food than ever before. We are getting fatter by the day and are the laziest nation in Europe.

Italy has become the sole producer of Grappa. Back in August the grappa lobby won a famous battle; after a four-year tussle they forced South Africa, which also produces grappa in small quantities, to agree to phase the grappa name out by 2005.

A campaign has been launched in France by animal rights activists to abolish "foie gras" - the delicacy made by force-feeding geese and ducks until their livers swell to 10 times their normal size.

The Sunday Times​

• A car import agreement has given Tom Scott - "Mr Jersey" - an even tighter grip on the Channel Islands. Mr Scott, who is head of conglomerate CI Traders and has interests in pubs, hotels, shop retailing and bottling, now has exclusive rights to sell luxury cars such as Audis, Jaguars and Porsches.

The American beef business is reeling after the discovery of a cow infected with BSE, the disease that has been linked to CJD in humans. The typical American consumes three hamburgers a week and the discovery threatens to destroy the US fast-food business.

Britain has become a key European production centre for illegal synthetic drugs such as ecstasy, a police intelligence report has warned.

Shoppers are expected to rack up at least £9.8 billion of credit card debt on a record December spending spree, according to new figures from the banking industry.

The national waistline is expanding. Nearly seven out of 10 British men and more than half of the female population are either overweight or obese, according to new government figures.

The Mail on Sunday​

• Nightclub empire Ministry of Sound has failed to file accounts for key subsidiaries and faces fines from the Department of Trade and Industry.

The Observer​

• The curtain has come down on the worst bear market since the Great Depression of the 1930s. The FTSE 100 index of leading shares closed on Christmas Eve up 12.8 per cent at 4444.7, marking the first time that it has been in positive territory during a whole calendar year since the dotcom bubble burst in 2000.

It has taken four years but the hangover from the Millennium celebrations are wearing off, as the country prepares to welcome in the new year with a bang. Key UK cities such as Cardiff, Edinburgh and London are all stepping up celebrations.

Soaring stress levels among airline pilots are leading to an alarming rise in drinking problems, according to an Observer investigation.

Characters in popular television shows such as Eastenders and Coronation Street will take up healthy pursuits such as walking and gardening as part of a Government drive to encourage people to do more exercise.

The Sunday Express​

• The Tories have demanded an urgent investigation into the safety of importing American beef after the US confirmed its first case of mad cow disease.

The Sunday Telegraph​

• RU-21, a "hangover pill" that is alleged to banish the morning feeling after the alcoholic excesses of the night before, is on its way to Britain.

Tessa Jowell, the Media Secretary, has called for a clampdown on advertising of unhealthy food and has asked regulator Ofcom to examine the code for television commercials.

Three men have appeared in court charged with murder after a man was found stabbed outside the Cotton nightclub in Aberdeen.

In another incident, a man died in hospital after being shot in the Plaza Café, a nightclub in the Lozells district of Birmingham.