Lebanon

Lebanon · Location: Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Israel and Syria · Natural Resources: limestone, iron ore, salt, water-surplus state in a water-deficit region, arable land · Current environmental issues: deforestation; soil erosion; desertification; air pollution in Beirut from vehicular traffic and the burning of industrial wastes; pollution of coastal waters from raw sewage and oil spills · Environment international agreements: party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification, Marine Life Conservation · Population: 3,971,941 (July 2008 est.) · Ethnic groups: Arab 95%, Armenian 4%, other 1% note: many Christian Lebanese do not identify themselves as Arab but rather as descendents of the ancient Canaanites and prefer to be called Phoenicians · Religions: Muslim 59.7% (Shi'a, Sunni, Druze, Isma'ilite, Alawite or Nusayri), Christian 39% (Maronite Catholic, Greek Orthodox, Melkite Catholic, Armenian Orthodox, Syrian Catholic, Armenian Catholic, Syrian Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Chaldean, Assyrian, Copt, Protestant), other 1.3% note: 17 religious sects recognized · Government: Republic · Administrative divisions: 8 governorates (mohafazat, singular - mohafazah); Aakar, Baalbek-Hermel, Beqaa, Beyrouth, Liban-Nord, Liban-Sud, Mont-Liban, Nabatiye · Legal system: mixture of Ottoman law, canon law, Napoleonic code, and civil law; no judicial review of legislative acts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction · chief of state: President Michel SULAYMAN (as of 25 May 2008) head of government: Prime Minister Fuad SINIORA (since 30 June 2005); Deputy Prime Minister Elias MURR (since April 2005) · Agriculture products: citrus, grapes, tomatoes, apples, vegetables, potatoes, olives, tobacco; sheep, goats · Industries: banking, tourism, food processing, wine, jewelry, cement, textiles, mineral and chemical products, wood and furniture products, oil refining, metal fabricating · International disputes: lacking a treaty or other documentation describing the boundary, portions of the Lebanon-Syria boundary are unclear with several sections in dispute; since 2000, Lebanon has claimed Shab'a Farms area in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights; the roughly 2,000-strong UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) has been in place since 1978 · The assassination of a pro-Syrian politician has heightened tension in Lebanon, less than a week before talks begin aimed at reconciling deep divisions between the country's factions. Saleh Aridi, a senior member of the Lebanese Democratic Party, which is allied to the militant Shia group Hizbollah, was killed on Wednesday night by a bomb as he started his car at his house in the mountains east of Beirut, the capital. It was the first political assassination in Lebanon in almost a year. But unlike previous attacks that targeted those opposed to Syria's influence in Lebanon, including former Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri, this hit a Hizbollah ally. · Lebanese and Israeli media are reporting at least two Syrian commando (special operations) battalions have crossed the Syrian-Lebanese border into north Lebanon and taken up positions in seven Alawite-controlled villages. According to Naharnet and DEBKAfile, “the battalions were accompanied by reconnaissance and engineering units.” The new information reaffirms what we already knew to be true, that is the Iranian-Syrian-Hezbollah axis is manipulating Western media in Lebanon for their own ends. · Comments by a leading Lebanese politician (Walid Jumblatt) published Thursday have stirred speculation that he is considering a break with the country's U.S.-backed political alliance, which is locked in a power struggle with the camp led by the pro-Iranian movement Hezbollah. · Head of the Loyalty to the Resistance bloc MP Mohammad Raad said that the Resistance is heading to the national dialogue with the intention of strengthening national unity and protecting the country. “The Resistance, in its strategy, has proved that it is able to protect Lebanon and achieve successes,” he said during an Iftar dinner at Nabatiyeh on Saturday. Raad added that whoever wanted to discuss the national defense strategy must first clarify who is Lebanon’s enemy. “Do we want a defense strategy that protects Lebanon from its enemies or one that protects it from its brothers?” he asked.