Celebrations have been held in pubs and clubs in the capital Wellington, our correspondent adds.
It noted that smaller pubs and clubs were finding the application process complicated and expensive.
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These force pubs and clubs to contribute towards the costs of policing drink-related crime.
Nottinghamshire Police Authority has supported a move to introduce a late-night policing levy on pubs and clubs in the city.
Some 5, 200 extensions have been approved in London - but just 14 pubs or clubs can open for 24 hours.
BBC: NEWS | UK | UK Politics | 'A third of pubs' to open longer
Under plans announced by Business Minister Michael Fallon, shops, offices, pubs and clubs will no longer face health and safety inspections.
Tennent Caledonian has announced a freeze in the wholesale price of its major brands to Scottish hotels, pubs and clubs this year.
The profile, if accepted, will be used by Scottish Borders licensing board as evidence when considering applications by pubs, clubs and shops.
Under the ban all pubs, clubs, cafes and workplaces - any public space with a roof over it - will become no-smoking areas.
Pubs, clubs, cafes and historic buildings around or near the city centre were involved - and 70% of the acts were from Worcestershire.
In 2006, MPs voted by a huge margin to ban smoking from most enclosed public spaces in England, including pubs, clubs and offices.
More than 150 pubs or clubs in the south and west of England gained 24-hour licences, with just eight in the West Midlands.
BBC: NEWS | UK | UK Politics | 'A third of pubs' to open longer
Jersey's taxi marshal scheme was set up three years ago to help deter trouble after pubs and clubs close on Friday and Saturday nights.
The prime minister has said while he supports the smoking ban in pubs and clubs, he is "more nervous" about legislating what happens in cars.
"There are ways of making sure that pubs and clubs with poor record on violent incidents will not be able to use glass, " said Mr Lucas.
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Paul Waterson, chief executive of the Scottish Licensed Trade Association - which represents pubs and clubs - said it was time for ministers to take strong action.
MPs had no patience for such nuances: in a free vote on February 14th, they outlawed smoking from the summer of 2007 in all restaurants, pubs and clubs in England.
If the government doesn't want children exposed to even a whiff of smoke they will have to amend the smoking ban to allow designated smoking rooms in pubs and clubs.
Socialising took place in popular restaurants, pubs and clubs.
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Summary justice through on-the-spot fines, seizure of drug dealers' assets, closure of pubs, clubs and houses that are the centre of drug use or disorder, naming and shaming of persistent ASB offenders, interim ASBO's, will be rolled out.
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Mr Dew also claimed the event had brought much-needed custom to both his and other nearby pubs and clubs on a night which was usually quiet, adding there had been no trouble reported inside or outside the 1, 600-capacity venue.
He said the "modest relaxation" of the licensing hours would allow alcohol to be sold in pubs and clubs and also permit live and recorded music, dancing, plays and films to continue until 0100 BST on 29 and 30 April.
Most people start at the bottom, playing gigs in pubs and clubs, writing songs and sending demos to record labels in the hope that someone, somewhere will spot the hidden talent and sign them up as the next big thing.
It is a tawdry, depressing and often confronting scene during the day, but at night the stretch has a raffish and oddly alluring charm, underpinned by neon lights, pumping music and crowds of suburban revellers who gawk and giggle their way between a huge number of bars, pubs and clubs, many of which are open 24 hours.
Clubs and pubs in Northampton could be banned from selling alcohol between midnight and 06:00.
Alongside the official events, half of Manchester's pubs, bars and clubs turn themselves over to live music in its many forms.
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But the real effects of the ban will surely be felt in the pubs, cafes and clubs and these are the areas that will attract the most publicity over the coming weeks and months.
Whitbread, with over 10, 000 pubs, restaurants and health clubs, will become Britain's leading leisure company.
Patients were being regularly admitted who had been glassed, and one early success was putting pressure on clubs and city centre pubs to adopt plastic glasses.
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