11.   Today, all that remains of this era of intrigue is the scrupulous passport checks on both sides.

12.   When Solih went through a passport check, his name flashed red on a police computer and he was led away in handcuffs.

13.   People in Moscow who appear to be ethnic Chechens or from elsewhere in the Caucasus region worried that increased passport checks would thicken the suspicion that hangs around them.

14.   But the real surprise, for someone coming back a decade later, is to be waved into the Czech Republic with only a perfunctory passport check.

15.   France had already opted in June to delay application of the Schengen agreement for six months, maintaining passport checks in an effort to stem illegal immigration.

16.   In trains, passport checks will not be made at borders, but passengers may still be subject to identity controls inside Schengen states.

17.   Many European countries already have phased out their traditional passport checks at the border.

18.   The region, considered a haven for arms traffickers, smugglers and counterfeiters, is a porous area where passport checks are rare.

19.   The Schengen system is limited to EU members and does not allow people from Iceland to travel into the EU without a passport check.

20.   The temporary border controls, which begin Friday, will include passport checks.