Banias is a predominantly Sunni town on the Mediterranean, although the broader coastal area is an Alawite heartland.

NPR: Syrian Troops Advance In Central City Of Homs

In recent years the governments in Baghdad and Damascus have talked of a new pipeline to Banias, on the Syrian coast.

ECONOMIST: Iraqi oil: Lots of black stuff | The

This week, Intel said that Banias will now be known as Centrino.

FORBES: Magazine Article

For months now we've been hearing about an initiative codenamed Banias, which is aimed at producing chips for mobile PCs that consume less power, run cooler and prolong battery life.

FORBES: Magazine Article

The caste origins of India's billionaires are on predictable lines: 28 of the 46 billionaires come from traditional merchant classes ( Banias, Parsis and Sindhis, for example), and a number of them belong to upper caste communities like Brahmins and Khatris.

BBC: India's billionaires and the wealth of the nation