rael
continues construction of a "seam line" separation barrier along
parts of the Green Line and within the West Bank; Israel withdrew
its settlers and military from the Gaza Strip and from four
settlements in the West Bank in August 2005; Golan Heights is
Israeli-occupied (Lebanon claims the Shab'a Farms area of Golan
Heights); since 1948, about 350 peacekeepers from the UN Truce
Supervision Organization (UNTSO) headquartered in Jerusalem monitor
ceasefires, supervise armistice agreements, prevent isolated
incidents from escalating, and assist other UN personnel in the
region

Refugees and internally displaced persons:

IDPs: 150,000-420,000 (Arab villagers displaced from homes in
northern Israel) (2007)

Illicit drugs:

increasingly concerned about ecstasy, cocaine, and heroin abuse;
drugs arrive in country from Lebanon and, increasingly, from Jordan;
money-laundering center

This page was last updated on 18 December, 2008

======================================================================

@Italy

Introduction
Italy

Background:

Italy became a nation-state in 1861 when the regional states of the
peninsula, along with Sardinia and Sicily, were united under King
Victor EMMANUEL II. An era of parliamentary government came to a
close in the early 1920s when Benito MUSSOLINI established a Fascist
dictatorship. His alliance with Nazi Germany led to Italy's defeat
in World War II. A democratic republic replaced the monarchy in 1946
and economic revival followed. Italy was a charter member of NATO
and the European Economic Community (EEC). It has been at the
forefront of European economic and political unification, joining
the Economic and Monetary Union in 1999. Persistent problems include
illegal immigration, organized crime, corruption, high unemployment,
sluggish economic growth, and the low incomes and technical
standards of southern Italy compared with the prosperous north.

Geography
Italy

Location:

Southern Europe, a peninsula extending into the central
Mediterranean Sea, northeast of Tunisia

Geographic coordinates:

42 50 N, 12 50 E

Map references:

Europe

Area:

total: 301,230 sq km
land: 294,020 sq km
water: 7,210 sq km
note: includes Sardinia and Sicily

Area - comparative:

slightly larger than Arizona

Land boundaries:

total: 1,899.2 km
border countries: Austria 430 km, France 488 km, Holy See (Vatican
City) 3.2 km,