LONDON, July 28, 2008 (AFP) - A pint of beer may be an official 'Icon of England', but sales have sunk to the lowest level in Britain since the Great Depression of the 1930s, according to figures released on Monday.

HALFAYA, July 27, 2008 (AFP) - Zakia is a Muslim woman living under Sharia law, stigmatised as a criminal for brewing and selling illicit alcohol to feed the family that her father abandoned outside Sudan's booming capital.

PARIS, July 24, 2008 (AFP) - French drinks giant Pernod Ricard said Thursday its full-year sales rose 2.3 percent to 6.59 billion euros (10.35 billion dollars), allowing it to increase its forecast for operating profit.

Sales in the three months to June, the company's fourth quarter, were down 3.0 percent to 1.50 billion euros, hit by the strength of the euro.

NEURAS, July 20, 2008 (AFP) - It's not a mirage on the edge of one of the world's oldest deserts, though it may seem so at first: a lush vineyard producing wine that is worth the hot and dusty trip.

Somehow, Allan Walkden-Davis has created this oasis in the Namib desert region in the southwestern corner of Africa, one of the driest places on Earth.

BRUSSELS, July 17, 2008 (AFP) - The European Commission cleared on Thursday Pernod Ricard's takeover of Sweden's Absolut vodka after the French drinks giant promised to sell some brands in order to ensure competition.

MELBOURNE, July 16, 2008 (AFP) - Australia's largest brewer has launched a super premium lager with a price tag you'd expect to find on a bottle of wine, saying it wants to take the nation's love of a cold beer to a new level.

WASHINGTON, July 8, 2008 (AFP) - US brewing giant Anheuser-Busch filed suit to block a hostile takeover by InBev, claiming the Belgian-based rival used 'illegal' and 'deceptive' conduct, court documents showed Tuesday.

WASHINGTON, July 8, 2008 (AFP) - Anheuser-Busch dug in its heels Monday in the face of a move by Belgian-Brazilian brewing giant InBev to oust the board of the leading US beermaker as part of a hostile takeover bid.

RIO DE JANEIRO, July 7, 2008 (AFP) - Brazilian motorists are having to say goodbye to tropical cocktails and bottles of beer under a new drink driving law that prohibits any alcohol consumption at all.

NEW YORK, July 7, 2008 (AFP) - US beer giant Anheuser-Busch said Monday a move by Belgian-Brazilian rival InBev to oust the board of the American group was a 'self-serving' effort that failed to alter an inadequate takeover bid.