Customs officers stopped fifteen containers of Intel processor products from entering Lebanon at the end of last week. The reason? Lebanon is still technically at war with Israel, and Intel has fabrication facilities in Israel.

Under a law passed during the height of the Lebanese troubles, anyone collaborating with Israel is liable to the death sentence. However, even though Lebanon has had Intel on its blacklist for over 30 years, according to the Dow Jones Newswire, customs officers have only just noticed the fact.

Other countries which have a similar ban include Egypt. And because most of the PCs already in Lebanon use Intel processors, this has led some to speculate (OK, only us), that the customs officers in question would rather use AMD Athlon processors in their machines. An Intel representative commented: "We are aware of the reports but at this stage are investigating the situation. We have however been shipping products, as have other computer manufacturers, into the Lebanon for several years."

FactOid 555 Russia was still technically at war with Berwick-on-Tweed, a town on the border of Scotland and England until about a year ago. Sources close to Berwick-on-Tweed said The Register that the townsfolk smuggled in their supplies of vodka at dead of night, usually on days close to Scottish New Year bash Hogmanay. The reason for the very long war was because Berwick used to regularly swap hands between the two nations... ®