'Scottish parties gather for alcohol summit today'

An all-party meeting aimed at tackling Scotland's alcohol problem is to be held at Holyrood today. The meeting was proposed by opposition parties in a bid to explore alternatives to the government's minimum alcohol pricing policy. It will be attended by members of the government, as well as Labour, the Tories, Lib Dems and Greens - BBC ​

Britain used to be a nation of beer drinkers and in the 1970s, the joke goes, a wine list ran to "white" or "red". It is different today: wine is the UK's favourite tipple, with annual sales of nearly £10bn. "In the 70s wine was not always of the best quality and people had less exposure to Europe, as they were less likely to go on holiday there," says Jonny Forsyth, senior drinks analyst at Mintel. According to Mintel, wine sales were £3.2bn in 1990 but tripled to £9.4bn by the end of 2009 - The Guardian ​

Britons will be hit by a price hike on their weekly shopping bill after the cost of wheat had its highest monthly increase in 37 years, experts said yesterday. Global prices for the crop have soared by more than 50 per cent since the end of June. Neil Saunders, consulting director at retail analysts Verdict, said: "With wheat prices so elevated, suppliers and retailers will have to pass across costs to the consumer, and it's not just in bread. Many other grain-based products, such as beer will also rise." - Daily Express ​

A pub in Southampton has laid claim to housing the biggest wasps' nest in Britain. The stinging insects had built a home 5ft 3in wide, with the cone height from top to bottom of 4ft 1in. "It really was a monster," said pest controller Sean Whelan, the unlucky man who was called in to deal with a construction that housed about half a million wasps - Sky News ​

David Beckham and telly chef Gordon Ramsay are to open their own pub in Los Angeles. And Becks might even call it The Queen Vic, after his wife of 11 years Victoria - Daily Star ​