No more Coke

Now this is serious. The BBC is reporting that Addis Ababa is out of Coke:

The BBC's Elizabeth Blunt in the city says she has known African countries to run out of petrol, soap, sugar, batteries or tyres - but never Coke.

The East Africa Bottling Share Company, which produces the soft drink in the region, last week temporarily shut its bottling operation in Ethiopia.

...

Our correspondent says it sounds almost as if the Coca-Cola shortage is being treated as a national emergency.

When she visited a local bar she found it had run out of Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Sprite and Fanta. Mirinda was the only soft drink on offer.

Wow. More than a few times, I've heard people say how they wish governments or aid agencies could be as effective at distributing their services as Coca-Cola, whose product is seemingly always available, anywhere, no matter how remote. Maybe that needs to be revised. At least they have plenty of coffee in Addis.