ALCOHOL FINDS KUWAIT'S BACK DOOR

The brewers of Harp lager used to run a memorable ad showing an Irish exile
sweating under a desert sun somewhere in the Arabian gulf, dreaming of a
certain Sally O'Brien and a cool pint.

Great ad, but nothing to do with reality, of course. Just in case anybody
believes you can't get a drink in Muslim countries, where alcohol is banned,
the latest reports from Kuwait are enlightening. Some $40 million was spent
there on banned alcohol between 1992 and 1997.

The Al-Rai al-Aam newspaper estimated that around two million litres of
alcohol was consumed in the 1980s. The import and sale of alcohol is banned
in tiny Kuwait, where a litre of whisky is worth more than $100 on the black
market.

And just to be sure to be sure, non-alcoholic beer is also banned in Kuwait.

Checked-by: Rolf Ernst