Algeria has known many empires and dynasties starting with the ancient Numidians (3rd century B.C.), Phoenicians, Carthaginians, Romans, Vandals, Byzantines, over a dozen different Arab and Berber dynasties, Spaniards, and Ottoman Turks. It was under the latter that the Barbary pirates operated from North Africa and preyed on shipping beginning in roughly 1500, peaking in the early to mid-17th century, until finally subdued by the French capture of Algiers in 1830. The French southward conquest of the entirety of Algeria proceeded throughout the 19th century and was marked by many atrocities. The country was heavily colonized by the French in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. A bloody eight-year struggle culminated in Algerian independence in 1962.
Algeria's primary political party, the National Liberation Front (FLN), was established in 1954 as part of the struggle for independence and has since largely dominated politics. The Government of Algeria in 1988 instituted a multi-party system in response to public unrest, but the surprising first round success of the Islamic Salvation Front (FIS) in the December 1991 legislative elections led the Algerian army to intervene and postpone the second round of elections to prevent what the secular elite feared would be an extremist-led government from assuming power. The army began a crackdown on the FIS that spurred FIS supporters to begin attacking government targets. Fighting escalated into an insurgency, which saw intense violence from 1992-98, resulting in over 100,000 deaths - many attributed to indiscriminate massacres of villagers by extremists. The government gained the upper hand by the late-1990s, and FIS's armed wing, the Islamic Salvation Army, disbanded in January 2000.
Abdelaziz BOUTEFLIKA, with the backing of the military, won the presidency in 1999 in an election that was boycotted by several candidates protesting alleged fraud, and won subsequent elections in 2004, 2009, and 2014. The government in 2011 introduced some political reforms in response to the Arab Spring, including lifting the 19-year-old state of emergency restrictions and increasing women's quotas for elected assemblies, while also increasing subsidies to the populace. Since 2014, Algeria’s reliance on hydrocarbon revenues to fund the government and finance the large subsidies for the population has fallen under stress because of declining oil prices. Protests broke out across the country in late February 2019 against President BOUTEFLIKA’s decision to seek a fifth term. BOUTEFLIKA resigned on 2 April 2019, and the speaker of the upper house of parliament, Abdelkader BENSALAH, became interim head of state on 9 April. BENSALAH remained in office beyond the 90-day constitutional limit until Algerians elected former Prime Minister Abdelmadjid TEBBOUNE as the country's new president in December 2019.
" + "text": "Algeria has known many empires and dynasties starting with the ancient Numidians (3rd century B.C.), Phoenicians, Carthaginians, Romans, Vandals, Byzantines, over a dozen different Arab and Berber dynasties, Spaniards, and Ottoman Turks. It was under the latter that the Barbary pirates operated from North Africa and preyed on shipping beginning in roughly 1500, peaking in the early to mid-17th century, until finally subdued by the French capture of Algiers in 1830. The French southward conquest of the entirety of Algeria proceeded throughout the 19th century and was marked by many atrocities. The country was heavily colonized by the French in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. A bloody eight-year struggle culminated in Algerian independence in 1962.
Algeria's primary political party, the National Liberation Front (FLN), was established in 1954 as part of the struggle for independence and has since largely dominated politics, though is falling out of favor with the youth. The Government of Algeria in 1988 instituted a multi-party system in response to public unrest, but the surprising first round success of the Islamic Salvation Front (FIS) in the December 1991 legislative elections led the Algerian army to intervene and postpone the second round of elections to prevent what the secular elite feared would be an extremist-led government from assuming power. The army began a crackdown on the FIS that spurred FIS supporters to begin attacking government targets. Fighting escalated into an insurgency, which saw intense violence from 1992-98, resulting in over 100,000 deaths – many attributed to indiscriminate massacres of villagers by extremists. The government gained the upper hand by the late-1990s, and FIS’s armed wing, the Islamic Salvation Army, disbanded in January 2000. FIS membership is illegal.
Former president Abdelaziz BOUTEFLIKA, with the backing of the military, won the presidency in 1999 in an election that was boycotted by several candidates protesting alleged fraud, and won subsequent elections in 2004, 2009, and 2014. Protests broke out across the country in late February 2019 against President BOUTEFLIKA’s decision to seek a fifth term. BOUTEFLIKA resigned in April 2019, and in December 2019, Algerians elected former Prime Minister Abdelmadjid TEBBOUNE as the country's new president. A longtime FLN member, TEBBOUNE ran for president as an independent. In 2020, Algeria held a constitutional referendum, which President TEBBOUNE enacted in January 2021. Subsequent reforms to the national electoral law introduced open list voting to curb corruption. The new law also eliminated gender quotas in Parliament, and the June 2021 legislative elections saw female representation plummet. Local elections took place in November 2021. The referendum, parliamentary elections, and local elections saw record low voter turnout. Since 2014, Algeria’s reliance on hydrocarbon revenues to fund the government and finance the large subsidies for the population has fallen under stress because of declining oil prices.
" } }, "Geography": { @@ -134,7 +134,7 @@ } }, "Religions": { - "text": "Muslim (official; predominantly Sunni) 99%, other (includes Christian, Jewish, Ahmadi Muslims, Shia Muslims, Ibadi Muslims) <1% (2012 est.)" + "text": "Muslim (official; predominantly Sunni) 99%, other (includes Christian, Jewish, Ahmadi Muslims, Shia Muslims, Ibadi Muslims) <1% (2012 est.)" }, "Demographic profile": { "text": "For the first two thirds of the 20th century, Algeria's high fertility rate caused its population to grow rapidly. However, about a decade after independence from France in 1962, the total fertility rate fell dramatically from 7 children per woman in the 1970s to about 2.4 in 2000, slowing Algeria's population growth rate by the late 1980s. The lower fertility rate was mainly the result of women's rising age at first marriage (virtually all Algerian children being born in wedlock) and to a lesser extent the wider use of contraceptives. Later marriages and a preference for smaller families are attributed to increases in women's education and participation in the labor market; higher unemployment; and a shortage of housing forcing multiple generations to live together. The average woman's age at first marriage increased from about 19 in the mid-1950s to 24 in the mid-1970s to 30.5 in the late 1990s.
Algeria's fertility rate experienced an unexpected upturn in the early 2000s, as the average woman's age at first marriage dropped slightly. The reversal in fertility could represent a temporary fluctuation in marriage age or, less likely, a decrease in the steady rate of contraceptive use.
Thousands of Algerian peasants - mainly Berber men from the Kabylia region - faced with land dispossession and economic hardship under French rule migrated temporarily to France to work in manufacturing and mining during the first half of the 20th century. This movement accelerated during World War I, when Algerians filled in for French factory workers or served as soldiers. In the years following independence, low-skilled Algerian workers and Algerians who had supported the French (known as Harkis) emigrated en masse to France. Tighter French immigration rules and Algiers' decision to cease managing labor migration to France in the 1970s limited legal emigration largely to family reunification.
Not until Algeria's civil war in the 1990s did the country again experience substantial outmigration. Many Algerians legally entered Tunisia without visas claiming to be tourists and then stayed as workers. Other Algerians headed to Europe seeking asylum, although France imposed restrictions. Sub-Saharan African migrants came to Algeria after its civil war to work in agriculture and mining. In the 2000s, a wave of educated Algerians went abroad seeking skilled jobs in a wider range of destinations, increasing their presence in North America and Spain. At the same time, legal foreign workers principally from China and Egypt came to work in Algeria's construction and oil sectors. Illegal migrants from Sub-Saharan Africa, particularly Malians, Nigeriens, and Gambians, continue to come to Algeria in search of work or to use it as a stepping stone to Libya and Europe.
Since 1975, Algeria also has been the main recipient of Sahrawi refugees from the ongoing conflict in Western Sahara (today part of Morocco). More than 1000,000 Sahrawis are estimated to be living in five refugee camps in southwestern Algeria near Tindouf.
" @@ -550,18 +550,18 @@ "text": "president directly elected by absolute majority popular vote in two rounds if needed for a 5-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held on 12 December 2019 (next to be held in 2024); prime minister nominated by the president after consultation with the majority party in Parliament" }, "election results": { - "text": "2019: Abdelmadjid TEBBOUNE (FLN) 58.1%, Abdelkader BENGRINA (Movement of National Construction) 17.4%, Ali BENFLIS (Vanguard of Liberties) 10.6%, Azzedine MIHOUBI (RND) 7.3%, Abdelaziz BELAID (Future Front) 6.7%Angola-Democratic Republic of Congo(DROC): DROC accuses Angola of shifting monuments
Angola-Namibia: None identified
Angola-Republic of Congo: (Kabinda Exclave) None identified
Angola-Zambia: because the straight-line segments along the left bank (Zambian side) of the Cuando/Kwando River do not conform with the physical alignment of the unstable shoreline, Zambian residents in some areas have settled illegally on sections of shoreline that fall on the Angolan side of the boundary
Angola-Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC): DRC accuses Angola of shifting monuments
Angola-Namibia: None identified
Angola-Republic of Congo: (Kabinda Exclave) None identified
Angola-Zambia: because the straight-line segments along the left bank (Zambian side) of the Cuando/Kwando River do not conform with the physical alignment of the unstable shoreline, Zambian residents in some areas have settled illegally on sections of shoreline that fall on the Angolan side of the boundary
talks continue between Benin and Togo on funding the Adjrala hydroelectric dam on the Mona River; Benin retains a border dispute with Burkina Faso near the town of Koualau/Kourou; location of Benin-Niger-Nigeria tripoint is unresolved
" + "text": "Benin-Burkina Faso: Benin retains a border dispute with Burkina Faso near the town of Koualau/Kourou.
Benin-Togo: Talks continue between Benin and Togo on funding the Adjarala hydroelectric dam on the Mona River.
Benin-Niger: The location of Benin-Niger-Nigeria tripoint is unresolved.
a significant transit and departure country for cocaine shipments in Africa destined for Europe
" diff --git a/africa/cd.json b/africa/cd.json index 84580a30..84022c4a 100644 --- a/africa/cd.json +++ b/africa/cd.json @@ -1034,10 +1034,10 @@ }, "Internet users": { "total": { - "text": "2.86 million (2021 est.)" + "text": "3.26 million (2022 est.)" }, "percent of population": { - "text": "10.4% (2020 est.)" + "text": "19% (2022 est.)" } }, "Broadband - fixed subscriptions": { diff --git a/africa/cf.json b/africa/cf.json index d0e4e4b9..c95687db 100644 --- a/africa/cf.json +++ b/africa/cf.json @@ -1034,10 +1034,10 @@ }, "Internet users": { "total": { - "text": "790,000 (2021 est.)" + "text": "1.45 million (2022 est.)" }, "percent of population": { - "text": "8.65% (2019 est.)" + "text": "25.4% (2022 est.)" } }, "Broadband - fixed subscriptions": { @@ -1183,7 +1183,7 @@ }, "Transnational Issues": { "Disputes - international": { - "text": "Republic of the Congo-Democratic Republic of Congo(DROC): the location of the boundary in the broad Congo River is indefinite except in the Pool Malebo/Stanley Pool area
Republic of the Congo-Angola: (Kabinda Exclave) None identified
Republic of the Congo-Democratic Republic of Congo(DRC): the location of the boundary in the broad Congo River is indefinite except in the Pool Malebo/Stanley Pool area
Republic of the Congo-Angola: (Kabinda Exclave) None identified
heads of the Great Lakes states and UN pledged in 2004 to abate tribal, rebel, and militia fighting in the region, including northeast Congo, where the UN Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC), organized in 1999, maintains over 16,500 uniformed peacekeepers
Democratic Republic of Congo(DROC)-Republic of the Congo: the location of the boundary in the broad Congo River is indefinite except in the Pool Malebo/Stanley Pool area
Democratic Republic of Congo(DROC)-Uganda: Uganda rejects the DROC claim to Margherita Peak in the Rwenzori mountains and considers it a boundary divide; there is tension and violence on Lake Albert over prospective oil reserves at the mouth of the Semliki River
Democratic Republic of Congo(DROC)-Zambia: boundary commission continues discussions over Congolese-administered triangle of land on the right bank of the Lunkinda River claimed by Zambia near the DROC village of Pweto
Democratic Republic of Congo(DROC)-Angola: DROC accuses Angola of shifting monuments
heads of the Great Lakes states and UN pledged in 2004 to abate tribal, rebel, and militia fighting in the region, including northeast Congo, where the UN Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC), organized in 1999, maintains over 16,500 uniformed peacekeepers
Democratic Republic of Congo(DRC)-Republic of the Congo: the location of the boundary in the broad Congo River is indefinite except in the Pool Malebo/Stanley Pool area
Democratic Republic of Congo(DRC)-Uganda: Uganda rejects the DRC claim to Margherita Peak in the Rwenzori mountains and considers it a boundary divide; there is tension and violence on Lake Albert over prospective oil reserves at the mouth of the Semliki River
Democratic Republic of Congo(DRC)-Zambia: boundary commission continues discussions over Congolese-administered triangle of land on the right bank of the Lunkinda River claimed by Zambia near the DRC village of Pweto
Democratic Republic of Congo(DRC)-Angola: DRC accuses Angola of shifting monuments
Central African Republic-South Sudan : periodic violent skirmishes persist among related pastoral populations along the border with the Central African Republic over water and grazing rights
Central African Republic-Sudan : periodic violent skirmishes persist among related pastoral populations along the border with the Central African Republic over water and grazing rights
" + "text": "Central African Republic-South Sudan: periodic violent skirmishes persist among related pastoral populations along the border with the Central African Republic over water and grazing rights
Central African Republic-Sudan: periodic violent skirmishes persist among related pastoral populations along the border with the Central African Republic over water and grazing rights
" }, "Refugees and internally displaced persons": { "refugees (country of origin)": { diff --git a/africa/cv.json b/africa/cv.json index 4337d4d3..1e5834bb 100644 --- a/africa/cv.json +++ b/africa/cv.json @@ -976,10 +976,10 @@ }, "Internet users": { "total": { - "text": "346,000 (2021 est.)" + "text": "349,800 (2022 est.)" }, "percent of population": { - "text": "61.94% (2019 est.)" + "text": "61.9% (2022 est.)" } }, "Broadband - fixed subscriptions": { diff --git a/africa/dj.json b/africa/dj.json index 7ba6ed37..6bc405fd 100644 --- a/africa/dj.json +++ b/africa/dj.json @@ -989,10 +989,10 @@ }, "Internet users": { "total": { - "text": "554,300 (2021 est.)" + "text": "595,400 (2022 est.)" }, "percent of population": { - "text": "55.68% (2019 est.)" + "text": "59% (2022 est.)" } }, "Broadband - fixed subscriptions": { diff --git a/africa/eg.json b/africa/eg.json index 86cea6b1..35412876 100644 --- a/africa/eg.json +++ b/africa/eg.json @@ -1,7 +1,7 @@ { "Introduction": { "Background": { - "text": "The regularity and richness of the annual Nile River flood, coupled with semi-isolation provided by deserts to the east and west, allowed for the development of one of the world's great civilizations. A unified kingdom arose circa 3200 B.C., and a series of dynasties ruled in Egypt for the next three millennia. The last native dynasty fell to the Persians in 341 B.C., who in turn were replaced by the Greeks, Romans, and Byzantines. It was the Arabs who introduced Islam and the Arabic language in the 7th century and who ruled for the next six centuries. A local military caste, the Mamluks took control about 1250 and continued to govern after the conquest of Egypt by the Ottoman Turks in 1517. Completion of the Suez Canal in 1869 elevated Egypt as an important world transportation hub. Ostensibly to protect its investments, Britain seized control of Egypt's government in 1882, but nominal allegiance to the Ottoman Empire continued until 1914. Partially independent from the UK in 1922, Egypt acquired full sovereignty from Britain in 1952. The completion of the Aswan High Dam in 1971 and the resultant Lake Nasser have reaffirmed the time-honored place of the Nile River in the agriculture and ecology of Egypt. A rapidly growing population (the largest in the Arab world), limited arable land, and dependence on the Nile all continue to overtax resources and stress society. The government has struggled to meet the demands of Egypt's fast-growing population as it implements large-scale infrastructure projects, energy cooperation, and foreign direct investment appeals.
Inspired by the 2010 Tunisian revolution, Egyptian opposition groups led demonstrations and labor strikes countrywide, culminating in President Hosni MUBARAK's ouster in 2011. Egypt's military assumed national leadership until a new legislature was in place in early 2012; later that same year, Muhammad MURSI won the presidential election. Following protests throughout the spring of 2013 against MURSI's government and the Muslim Brotherhood, the Egyptian Armed Forces intervened and removed MURSI from power in July 2013 and replaced him with interim president Adly MANSOUR. Simultaneously, the government began enacting laws to limit freedoms of assembly and expression. In January 2014, voters approved a new constitution by referendum and in May 2014 elected former defense minister Abdelfattah ELSISI president. Egypt elected a new legislature in December 2015, its first House of Representatives since 2012. ELSISI was reelected to a second four-year term in March 2018. In April 2019, Egypt approved via national referendum a set of constitutional amendments extending ELSISI’s term in office through 2024 and possibly through 2030 if reelected for a third term. The amendments would also allow future presidents up to two consecutive six-year terms in office, reestablish an upper legislative house, allow for one or more vice presidents, establish a 25% quota for female legislators, reaffirm the military’s role as guardian of Egypt, and expand presidential authority to appoint the heads of judicial councils.
" + "text": "
The regularity and richness of the annual Nile River flood, coupled with semi-isolation provided by deserts to the east and west, allowed for the development of one of the world's great civilizations. A unified kingdom arose circa 3200 B.C., and a series of dynasties ruled in Egypt for the next three millennia. The last native dynasty fell to the Persians in 341 B.C., who in turn were replaced by the Greeks, Romans, and Byzantines. It was the Arabs who introduced Islam and the Arabic language in the 7th century and who ruled for the next six centuries. A local military caste, the Mamluks took control about 1250 and continued to govern after the conquest of Egypt by the Ottoman Turks in 1517. Completion of the Suez Canal in 1869 elevated Egypt as an important world transportation hub. Ostensibly to protect its investments, Britain seized control of Egypt's government in 1882, but nominal allegiance to the Ottoman Empire continued until 1914. Partially independent from the UK in 1922, Egypt acquired full sovereignty from Britain in 1952. The completion of the Aswan High Dam in 1971 and the resultant Lake Nasser have reaffirmed the time-honored place of the Nile River in the agriculture and ecology of Egypt. A rapidly growing population (the largest in the Arab world), limited arable land, and dependence on the Nile all continue to overtax resources and stress society. The government has struggled to meet the demands of Egypt's fast-growing population as it implements large-scale infrastructure projects, energy cooperation, and foreign direct investment appeals.
Inspired by the 2010 Tunisian revolution, Egyptian opposition groups led demonstrations and labor strikes countrywide, culminating in President Hosni MUBARAK's ouster in 2011. Egypt's military assumed national leadership until a new legislature was in place in early 2012; later that same year, Muhammad MURSI won the presidential election. Following protests throughout the spring of 2013 against MURSI's government and the Muslim Brotherhood, the Egyptian Armed Forces intervened and removed MURSI from power in July 2013 and replaced him with interim president Adly MANSOUR. Simultaneously, the government began enacting laws to limit freedoms of assembly and expression. In January 2014, voters approved a new constitution by referendum and in May 2014 elected former defense minister Abdelfattah ELSISI president. Egypt elected a new legislature in December 2015, its first House of Representatives since 2012. ELSISI was reelected to a second four-year term in March 2018. In April 2019, Egypt approved via national referendum a set of constitutional amendments extending ELSISI’s term in office through 2024 and possibly through 2030 if reelected for a third term. The amendments would also allow future presidents up to two consecutive six-year terms in office, reestablish an upper legislative house, allow for one or more vice presidents, establish a 25% quota for female legislators, reaffirm the military’s role as guardian of Egypt, and expand presidential authority to appoint the heads of judicial councils. Successful legislative elections were held in October-November 2020, having been delayed for six months.
" } }, "Geography": { @@ -601,10 +601,10 @@ "text": "bicameral Parliament consists of:
Eritrea and Ethiopia agreed to abide by the 2002 Eritrea-Ethiopia Boundary Commission's (EEBC) delimitation decision, but neither party responded to the revised line detailed in the November 2006 EEBC Demarcation Statement; the undemarcated former British administrative line has little meaning as a political separation to rival clans within Ethiopia's Ogaden and southern Somalia's Oromo region; Ethiopian forces invaded southern Somalia and routed Islamist courts from Mogadishu in January 2007; \"Somaliland\" secessionists provide port facilities in Berbera and trade ties to landlocked Ethiopia; civil unrest in eastern Sudan has hampered efforts to demarcate the porous boundary with Ethiopia; Ethiopia's construction of a large dam (the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam) on the Blue Nile since 2011 has become a focal point of relations with Egypt and Sudan; as of 2020, four years of three-way talks between the three capitals over operating the dam and filling its reservoir had made little progress; Ethiopia began filling the dam in July 2020
" + "text": "Ethiopia-Eritrea: Eritrea and Ethiopia agreed to abide by the 2002 Eritrea-Ethiopia Boundary Commission's (EEBC) delimitation decision, but neither party responded to the revised line detailed in the November 2006 EEBC Demarcation Statement
Ethiopia-Somalia: While border clashes continue in the al-Fashqa (Fashaga) area, the US views the 1902 boundary treaty between Ethiopia and Sudan as being in force; the undemarcated former British administrative line has little meaning as a political separation to rival clans within Ethiopia's Ogaden and southern Somalia's Oromo region; Ethiopian forces invaded southern Somalia and routed Islamist courts from Mogadishu in January 2007; \"Somaliland\" secessionists provide port facilities in Berbera and trade ties to landlocked Ethiopia;
Ethiopia-Sudan: Ethiopia's construction of a large dam (the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam) on the Blue Nile since 2011 has become a focal point of relations with Egypt and Sudan; as of 2020, four years of three-way talks between the three capitals over operating the dam and filling its reservoir had made little progress; Ethiopia began filling the dam in July 2020; civil unrest in eastern Sudan has hampered efforts to demarcate the porous boundary with Ethiopia
Berbers have inhabited central north Africa since ancient times, but the region has been settled and ruled by Phoenicians, Greeks, Carthaginians, Persians, Egyptians, Greeks, Romans, and Vandals. In the the 7th century, Islam spread through the region; in the mid-16th century, Ottoman rule began. The Italians supplanted the Ottoman Turks in the area around Tripoli in 1911 and did not relinquish their hold until 1943 when they were defeated in World War II. Libya then passed to UN administration and achieved independence in 1951. Following a 1969 military coup, Col. Muammar al-QADHAFI assumed leadership and began to espouse his political system at home, which was a combination of socialism and Islam. During the 1970s, QADHAFI used oil revenues to promote his ideology outside Libya, supporting subversive and terrorist activities that included the downing of two airliners - one over Scotland, another in Northern Africa - and a discotheque bombing in Berlin. UN sanctions in 1992 isolated QADHAFI politically and economically following the attacks; sanctions were lifted in 2003 following Libyan acceptance of responsibility for the bombings and agreement to claimant compensation. QADHAFI also agreed to end Libya's program to develop weapons of mass destruction, and he made significant strides in normalizing relations with Western nations.
Unrest that began in several Middle Eastern and North African countries in late 2010 erupted in Libyan cities in early 2011. QADHAFI's brutal crackdown on protesters spawned an eight-month civil war that saw UN authorization of air and naval intervention by the international community, the toppling of the QADHAFI regime, and the setting up of a National Transitional Council (NTC). In 2012, the NTC handed power to an elected parliament, the General National Congress (GNC). Voters chose a new parliament to replace the GNC in June 2014 - the House of Representatives (HoR), which relocated to the eastern city of Tobruk after fighting broke out in Tripoli and Benghazi in July 2014.
In December 2015, the UN brokered an agreement among a broad array of Libyan political parties and social groups - known as the Libyan Political Agreement (LPA) - establishing an interim executive body, the Government of National Accord (GNA). However, the HoR and defunct-GNC-affiliated political hardliners continued to oppose the GNA and hamper the LPA’s implementation, leaving Libya with eastern and western-based rival governments. In September 2017, UN Special Representative Ghassan SALAME announced a new roadmap for national political reconciliation. In November 2018, the international partners supported SALAME’s recalibrated Action Plan for Libya that aimed to break the political deadlock by holding a National Conference in early 2019. These plans, however, were derailed when the eastern-based Libyan National Army (LNA) launched an offensive to seize Tripoli in April 2019. International forces exacerbated the fight for the capital by sending armed personnel and advanced military equipment into Libya. The LNA's offensive collapsed in June 2020, and a subsequent UN-sponsored ceasefire in October 2020 helped formalize the pause in fighting between rival factions, although foreign forces that aided eastern and western factions during the fighting remain in Libya.
In early 2021, the UN-led Libyan Political Dialogue Forum selected a new president and prime minister for an interim government, the Government of National Unity (GNU), charged with preparing for presidential and parliamentary elections in December 2021. The HoR approved the GNU and its cabinet in March 2021, providing Libya with its first unified government since 2014. On 22 December 2021, Libya's parliament postponed the first round of the presidential election to an as yet undetermined date in the future.
Berbers have inhabited central north Africa since ancient times, but the region has been settled and ruled by Phoenicians, Greeks, Carthaginians, Persians, Egyptians, Greeks, Romans, and Vandals. In the the 7th century, Islam spread through the region; in the mid-16th century, Ottoman rule began. The Italians supplanted the Ottoman Turks in the area around Tripoli in 1911 and did not relinquish their hold until 1943 when they were defeated in World War II. Libya then passed to UN administration and achieved independence in 1951. Following a 1969 military coup, Col. Muammar al-QADHAFI assumed leadership and began to espouse his political system at home, which was a combination of socialism and Islam. During the 1970s, QADHAFI used oil revenues to promote his ideology outside Libya, supporting subversive and terrorist activities that included the downing of two airliners - one over Scotland, another in Northern Africa - and a discotheque bombing in Berlin. UN sanctions in 1992 isolated QADHAFI politically and economically following the attacks; sanctions were lifted in 2003 following Libyan acceptance of responsibility for the bombings and agreement to claimant compensation. QADHAFI also agreed to end Libya's program to develop weapons of mass destruction, and he made significant strides in normalizing relations with Western nations.
Unrest that began in several Middle Eastern and North African countries in late 2010 erupted in Libyan cities in early 2011. QADHAFI's brutal crackdown on protesters spawned an eight-month civil war that saw the emergence of a National Transitional Council (NTC), UN authorization of air and naval intervention by the international community, and the toppling of the QADHAFI regime. In 2012, the NTC handed power to an elected parliament, the General National Congress (GNC). Voters chose a new parliament to replace the GNC in June 2014 - the House of Representatives (HoR) - which relocated to the eastern city of Tobruk after fighting broke out in Tripoli and Benghazi in July 2014.
In December 2015, the UN brokered an agreement among a broad array of Libyan political parties and social groups - known as the Libyan Political Agreement (LPA) - establishing an interim executive body, the Government of National Accord (GNA). However, the HoR and defunct-GNC-affiliated political hardliners continued to oppose the GNA and hamper the LPA’s implementation, leaving Libya with eastern and western-based rival governments. In September 2017, UN Special Representative Ghassan SALAME announced a new roadmap for national political reconciliation. In November 2018, the international community supported SALAME’s recalibrated Action Plan for Libya that aimed to break the political deadlock by holding a National Conference in early 2019. These plans, however, were derailed when the eastern-based self-described Libyan National Army (LNA) launched an offensive to seize Tripoli in April 2019. Several countries sent armed personnel and advanced military equipment into Libya. The LNA's offensive collapsed in June 2020, and a subsequent UN-sponsored ceasefire in October 2020 helped formalize the pause in fighting between rival factions, although foreign forces, fighters, and mercenaries that aided eastern and western factions during the fighting remain in Libya.
In early 2021, the UN-facilitated Libyan Political Dialogue Forum selected a new prime minister for an interim government, the Government of National Unity (GNU), and a new presidential council charged with preparing for presidential and parliamentary elections in December 2021 and uniting the country’s state institutions. The HoR approved the GNU and its cabinet in March 2021, providing Libya with its first unified government since 2014. On 22 December 2021, Libya's parliament postponed the first round of the presidential election to an undetermined date in the future.
Libya’s first direct presidential election was scheduled for 24 December 2021
" - }, - "election results": { - "text": "on 5 February 2021, a UN-led forum elected - in a runoff - Mohammed Al MENFI chairman, Presidential Council and Abdul Hamid DUBAYBAH, prime minister" + "text": "Libya’s first direct presidential election, scheduled for 24 December 2021, was not held
" } }, "Legislative branch": { "description": { - "text": "unicameral House of Representatives (Majlis Al Nuwab) or HoR (200 seats including 32 reserved for women; 188 seats filled as of December 2021; members directly elected by majority vote; member term NA); notes - the HoR elected on 25 June 2014 was dissolved on 4 August 2014 and since then has served as a temporary body until a permanent legislature is elected; the High State Council serves as an advisory group for the HoR" + "text": "unicameral House of Representatives (Majlis Al Nuwab) or HoR (200 seats including 32 reserved for women; members directly elected by majority vote; member term NA); note - the High State Council serves as an advisory group for the HoR" }, "elections": { - "text": "last held on 25 June 2014 (next to be held on 20 February 2022)" + "text": "last held on 25 June 2014" }, "election results": { - "text": "for election held on 25 June 2014 - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NA; composition - men 158, women 30, percent of women 16%; note - only 188 of the 200 seats were filled in the June 2014 election because of boycotts and lack of security at some polling stations; some elected members of the HoR also boycotted the election" + "text": "25 June 2014 - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NA; composition; note - only 188 of the 200 seats were filled in the June 2014 election because of boycotts and lack of security at some polling stations; some elected members of the HoR also boycotted the election" } }, "Judicial branch": { @@ -581,7 +575,7 @@ "text": "Ambassador Richard B. NORLAND (since 22 August 2019)" }, "embassy": { - "text": "Sidi Slim Area/Walie Al-Ahed Road, Tripoli (temporarily closed)" + "text": "operations suspended" }, "mailing address": { "text": "8850 Tripoli Place, Washington, DC 20521-8850" diff --git a/africa/mz.json b/africa/mz.json index f4a0a09a..d4e03af9 100644 --- a/africa/mz.json +++ b/africa/mz.json @@ -1210,7 +1210,7 @@ "text": "registration for military service is mandatory for all males and females at 18 years of age; 18-35 years of age for selective compulsory military service; 18 years of age for voluntary service; 2-year service obligation; women may serve as officers or enlisted (2021)" }, "Military - note": { - "text": "the Government of Mozambique is facing an insurgency driven by militants with ties to the Islamic State terrorist group (ISIS-Mozambique, which was declared a Foreign Terrorist Organization by the US State Department in March 2021) in the northern province of Cabo Delgado, an area known for rich liquid natural gas deposits; insurgent attacks in the province began in 2017 and as of 2022, the fighting had left an estimated 3,000 dead and approximately 900,000 displaced; the FADM is widely assessed as lacking the training, equipment, and overall capabilities to address the insurgency; as of late 2021, several countries from the Southern Africa Development Community and the European Union, as well as Rwanda and the US are providing various forms of military assistance; African countries have provided approximately 3,000 troops" + "text": "the Government of Mozambique is facing an insurgency driven by militants with ties to the Islamic State terrorist group (ISIS-Mozambique, which was declared a Foreign Terrorist Organization by the US State Department in March 2021) in the northern province of Cabo Delgado, an area known for rich liquid natural gas deposits; insurgent attacks in the province began in 2017 and as of 2022, the fighting had left an estimated 3,000 dead and over 700,000 displaced; the FADM is widely assessed as lacking the training, equipment, and overall capabilities to address the insurgency; as of late 2021, several countries from the Southern Africa Development Community and the European Union, as well as Rwanda and the US are providing various forms of military assistance; African countries have provided approximately 3,000 troops" } }, "Terrorism": { diff --git a/africa/ni.json b/africa/ni.json index 49ea86a0..ee969e4c 100644 --- a/africa/ni.json +++ b/africa/ni.json @@ -346,7 +346,7 @@ "aerosolized dust or soil contact diseases": { "text": "Lassa fever" }, - "note": "note: on 7 October 2019, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a Travel Health Notice for a Yellow Fever outbreak in Nigeria; a large, ongoing outbreak of yellow fever in Nigeria began in September 2017; the outbreak is now spread throughout the country with the Nigerian Ministry of Health reporting cases of the disease in all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory; the CDC recommends travelers going to Nigeria should receive vaccination against yellow fever at least 10 days before travel and should take steps to prevent mosquito bites while there; those never vaccinated against yellow fever should avoid travel to Nigeria during the outbreakSouth Sudan-Sudan boundary represents 1 January 1956 alignment, final alignment pending negotiations and demarcation; final sovereignty status of Abyei Area pending negotiations between South Sudan and Sudan; periodic violent skirmishes with South Sudanese residents over water and grazing rights persist among related pastoral populations along the border with the Central African Republic; the boundary that separates Kenya and South Sudan's sovereignty is unclear in the \"Ilemi Triangle,\" which Kenya has administered since colonial times
" + "text": "South Sudan- Central African Republic: periodic violent skirmishes persist among related pastoral populations along the border with the Central African Republic over water and grazing rights
South Sudan-Kenya: the boundary that separates Kenya and South Sudan's sovereignty is unclear in the \"Ilemi Triangle,\" which Kenya has administered since colonial times
South Sudan-Sudan: present boundary represents 1 January 1956 alignment, which clearly placed the Kafia Kingi area (adjacent to Central African Republic) within South Sudan as shown on US maps although it is mostly occupied by Sudan; final alignment pending negotiations and demarcation; the final sovereignty status of Abyei Area pending negotiations between South Sudan and Sudan; Sudan accuses South Sudan of supporting Sudanese rebel groups
" }, "Refugees and internally displaced persons": { "refugees (country of origin)": { diff --git a/africa/rw.json b/africa/rw.json index a25b5ad0..12e8a1df 100644 --- a/africa/rw.json +++ b/africa/rw.json @@ -1149,7 +1149,7 @@ }, "Transnational Issues": { "Disputes - international": { - "text": "Rwanda-Burundi: Burundi's Ngozi province and Rwanda's Butare province dispute the two-kilometer-square hilly farmed area of Sabanerwa in the Rukurazi Valley where the Akanyaru/Kanyaru River shifted its course southward after heavy rains in 1965 around Kibinga Hill in Rwanda's Butare Province
Rwanda-Democratic Republic of Congo (DROC): the 2005 DROC and Rwanda border verification mechanism to stem rebel actions on both sides of the border remains in place
Rwanda-Uganda: a joint technical committee established in 2007 to demarcate sections of the border
Rwanda-Burundi: Burundi's Ngozi province and Rwanda's Butare province dispute the two-kilometer-square hilly farmed area of Sabanerwa in the Rukurazi Valley where the Akanyaru/Kanyaru River shifted its course southward after heavy rains in 1965 around Kibinga Hill in Rwanda's Butare Province
Rwanda-Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC): the 2005 DRC and Rwanda border verification mechanism to stem rebel actions on both sides of the border remains in place
Rwanda-Uganda: a joint technical committee established in 2007 to demarcate sections of the border
Senegal has a large and growing youth population but has not been successful in developing its potential human capital. Senegal’s high total fertility rate of almost 4.5 children per woman continues to bolster the country’s large youth cohort – more than 60% of the population is under the age of 25. Fertility remains high because of the continued desire for large families, the low use of family planning, and early childbearing. Because of the country’s high illiteracy rate (more than 40%), high unemployment (even among university graduates), and widespread poverty, Senegalese youths face dim prospects; women are especially disadvantaged.
Senegal historically was a destination country for economic migrants, but in recent years West African migrants more often use Senegal as a transit point to North Africa – and sometimes illegally onward to Europe. The country also has been host to several thousand black Mauritanian refugees since they were expelled from their homeland during its 1989 border conflict with Senegal. The country’s economic crisis in the 1970s stimulated emigration; departures accelerated in the 1990s. Destinations shifted from neighboring countries, which were experiencing economic decline, civil wars, and increasing xenophobia, to Libya and Mauritania because of their booming oil industries and to developed countries (most notably former colonial ruler France, as well as Italy and Spain). The latter became attractive in the 1990s because of job opportunities and their periodic regularization programs (legalizing the status of illegal migrants).
Additionally, about 16,000 Senegalese refugees still remain in The Gambia and Guinea-Bissau as a result of more than 30 years of fighting between government forces and rebel separatists in southern Senegal’s Casamance region.
" diff --git a/africa/ug.json b/africa/ug.json index 8179e5f7..c3635a4e 100644 --- a/africa/ug.json +++ b/africa/ug.json @@ -1195,7 +1195,7 @@ }, "Refugees and internally displaced persons": { "refugees (country of origin)": { - "text": "962,360 (South Sudan) (refugees and asylum seekers), 459,073 (Democratic Republic of the Congo), 48,871 (Burundi), 55,579 (Somalia) (refugees and asylum seekers), 25,999 (Rwanda), 22,096 (Eritrea) (2022)" + "text": "962,360 (South Sudan) (refugees and asylum seekers), 459,073 (Democratic Republic of the Congo), 48,555 (Burundi), 55,579 (Somalia) (refugees and asylum seekers), 25,999 (Rwanda), 22,096 (Eritrea) (2022)" } }, "Trafficking in persons": { diff --git a/africa/za.json b/africa/za.json index 7cb65b1c..7cb9e379 100644 --- a/africa/za.json +++ b/africa/za.json @@ -1196,7 +1196,7 @@ }, "Transnational Issues": { "Disputes - international": { - "text": "Zambia-Angola: because the straight-line segments along the left bank (Zambian side) of the Cuando/Kwando River do not conform with the physical alignment of the unstable shoreline, Zambian residents in some areas have settled illegally on sections of shoreline that fall on the Angolan side of the boundary
Zambia-Democratic Republic of Congo(DROC): boundary commission continues discussions over Congolese-administered triangle of land on the right bank of the Lunkinda River claimed by Zambia near the DROC village of Pweto
Zambia-Zimbabwe: in 2004, Zimbabwe dropped objections to plans between Botswana and Zambia to build a bridge over the Zambezi River, thereby de facto recognizing a short, but not clearly delimited, Botswana-Zambia boundary in the river
Zambia-Angola: because the straight-line segments along the left bank (Zambian side) of the Cuando/Kwando River do not conform with the physical alignment of the unstable shoreline, Zambian residents in some areas have settled illegally on sections of shoreline that fall on the Angolan side of the boundary
Zambia-Democratic Republic of Congo(DRC): boundary commission continues discussions over Congolese-administered triangle of land on the right bank of the Lunkinda River claimed by Zambia near the DRC village of Pweto
Zambia-Zimbabwe: in 2004, Zimbabwe dropped objections to plans between Botswana and Zambia to build a bridge over the Zambezi River, thereby de facto recognizing a short, but not clearly delimited, Botswana-Zambia boundary in the river
Namibia has supported, and in 2004 Zimbabwe dropped objections to, plans between Botswana and Zambia to build a bridge over the Zambezi River, thereby de facto recognizing a short, but not clearly delimited, Botswana-Zambia boundary in the river; South Africa has placed military units to assist police operations along the border of Lesotho, Zimbabwe, and Mozambique to control smuggling, poaching, and illegal migration
" + "text": "Zimbabwe-South Africa: South Africa has placed military units to assist police operations along the border of Lesotho, Zimbabwe, and Mozambique to control smuggling, poaching, and illegal migration
Zimbabwe-Zambia: in 2004, Zimbabwe dropped objections to plans between Botswana and Zambia to build a bridge over the Zambezi River, thereby de facto recognizing a short, but not clearly delimited, Botswana-Zambia boundary in the river
Aboriginal Australians arrived on the continent at least 60,000 years ago and developed complex hunter-gatherer societies and oral histories. Dutch navigators led by Abel TASMAN were the first Europeans to land in Australia in 1606, and they mapped the western and northern coasts. They named the continent New Holland but made no attempts to permanently settle it. In 1770, English captain James COOK sailed to the east coast of Australia, named it New South Wales, and claimed it for Great Britain. In 1788 and 1825, Great Britain established New South Wales and then Tasmania as penal colonies respectively. Great Britain and Ireland sent more than 150,000 convicts to Australia before ending the practice in 1868. As Europeans began settling areas away from the coasts, they came into more direct contact with Aboriginal Australians. Europeans also cleared land for agriculture, impacting Aboriginal Australians’ ways of life. These issues, along with disease and a policy in the 1900s that forcefully removed Aboriginal children from their parents, reduced the Aboriginal Australian population from more than 700,000 pre-European contact to a low of 74,000 in 1933.
Four additional colonies were established in Australia in the mid-1800s: Western Australia (1829), South Australia (1836), Victoria (1851), and Queensland (1859). Gold rushes beginning in the 1850s brought thousands of new immigrants to New South Wales and Victoria, helping to reorient Australia away from its penal colony roots. In the second half of the 1800s, the colonies were all gradually granted self-government, and in 1901, they federated and became the Commonwealth of Australia. Australia contributed more than 400,000 troops to allied efforts during World War I, and Australian troops played a large role in the defeat of Japanese troops in the Pacific in World War II. Australia severed most constitutional links with the UK in 1942, and in 1951 signed the Australia, New Zealand, and US (ANZUS) Treaty, cementing its military alliance with the US. Australia’s post-war economy boomed and by the 1970s, racial policies that prevented most non-whites from immigrating to Australia were removed, greatly increasing Asian immigration to the country. In recent decades, Australia has become an internationally competitive, advanced market economy due in large part to economic reforms adopted in the 1980s and its proximity to East and Southeast Asia.
In the early 2000s, Australian politics became unstable with frequent attempts to oust party leaders, including five changes of prime minister between 2010 and 2018. As a result, both major parties instituted rules to make it harder to remove a party leader.
Aboriginal Australians arrived on the continent at least 60,000 years ago and developed complex hunter-gatherer societies and oral histories. Dutch navigators led by Abel TASMAN were the first Europeans to land in Australia in 1606, and they mapped the western and northern coasts. They named the continent New Holland but made no attempts to permanently settle it. In 1770, English captain James COOK sailed to the east coast of Australia, named it New South Wales, and claimed it for Great Britain. In 1788 and 1825, Great Britain established New South Wales and then Tasmania as penal colonies respectively. Great Britain and Ireland sent more than 150,000 convicts to Australia before ending the practice in 1868. As Europeans began settling areas away from the coasts, they came into more direct contact with Aboriginal Australians. Europeans also cleared land for agriculture, impacting Aboriginal Australians’ ways of life. These issues, along with disease and a policy in the 1900s that forcefully removed Aboriginal children from their parents, reduced the Aboriginal Australian population from more than 700,000 pre-European contact to a low of 74,000 in 1933.
Four additional colonies were established in Australia in the mid-1800s: Western Australia (1829), South Australia (1836), Victoria (1851), and Queensland (1859). Gold rushes beginning in the 1850s brought thousands of new immigrants to New South Wales and Victoria, helping to reorient Australia away from its penal colony roots. In the second half of the 1800s, the colonies were all gradually granted self-government, and in 1901, they federated and became the Commonwealth of Australia. Australia contributed more than 400,000 troops to allied efforts during World War I, and Australian troops played a large role in the defeat of Japanese troops in the Pacific in World War II. Australia severed most constitutional links with the UK in 1942, and in 1951 signed the Australia, New Zealand, and US (ANZUS) Treaty, cementing its military alliance with the United States. In 2021, Australia, the UK, and the United States announced the AUKUS enhanced trilateral security partnership to maintain and expand the three countries’ edge in military capabilities and critical technologies. Australia’s post-war economy boomed and by the 1970s, racial policies that prevented most non-whites from immigrating to Australia were removed, greatly increasing Asian immigration to the country. In recent decades, Australia has become an internationally competitive, advanced market economy due in large part to economic reforms adopted in the 1980s and its proximity to East and Southeast Asia.
In the early 2000s, Australian politics became unstable with frequent attempts to oust party leaders, including five changes of prime minister between 2010 and 2018. As a result, both major parties instituted rules to make it harder to remove a party leader.
" } }, "Geography": { @@ -134,8 +134,8 @@ } }, "Ethnic groups": { - "text": "English 25.9%, Australian 25.4%, Irish 7.5%, Scottish 6.4%, Italian 3.3%, German 3.2%, Chinese 3.1%, Indian 1.4%, Greek 1.4%, Dutch 1.2%, other 15.8% (includes Australian Aboriginal .5%), unspecified 5.4% (2011 est.)", - "note": "note: data represent self-identified ancestry, over a third of respondents reported two ancestries" + "text": "English 36.1%, Australian 33.5%, Irish 11.0%, Scottish 9.3%, Chinese 5.6%, Italian 4.6%, German 4.5%, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander 2.8%, Indian 2.8%, Greek 1.8%, Dutch 1.6%
(2016 est.)", + "note": "note: data represent self-identified ancestry, with the option of reporting two ancestries" }, "Languages": { "text": "English 72.7%, Mandarin 2.5%, Arabic 1.4%, Cantonese 1.2%, Vietnamese 1.2%, Italian 1.2%, Greek 1%, other 14.8%, unspecified 6.5% (2016 est.)", @@ -494,7 +494,7 @@ "text": "35 16 S, 149 08 E" }, "time difference": { - "text": "UTC+10 (15 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)" + "text": "UTC+10 (14 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)" }, "daylight saving time": { "text": "+1hr, begins first Sunday in October; ends first Sunday in April" @@ -586,7 +586,7 @@ } }, "Political parties and leaders": { - "text": "Australian Greens Party [Adam BANDT]Australia has been part of the Australia, New Zealand, and US Security (ANZUS) Treaty since 1951; Australia and the US signed an agreement in 2014 that allowed for closer bi-lateral defense and security cooperation, including annual rotations of US Marines and enhanced rotations of US Air Force aircraft to Australia; Australia has Major Non-NATO Ally (MNNA) status with the US, a designation under US law that provides foreign partners with certain benefits in the areas of defense trade and security cooperation; Australian military forces often train with US forces; Australian and US forces first fought together in France in 1918 at the Battle of Hamel, and have fought together in every major US conflict since
Australia has long-standing defense and security ties to the UK, including a Defense and Security Cooperation Treaty signed in 2013; in 2020, Australia and the UK signed a memorandum of understanding to cooperate on the building of a next generation of frigates for their respective navies; the Australia-UK Ministerial Consultations (AUKMIN) is their premier bilateral forum on foreign policy, defense, and security issues
in 2021, Australia, the UK, and the US announced an enhanced trilateral security partnership called “AUKUS” which would build on existing bilateral ties, including deeper integration of defense and security-related science, technology, industrial bases, and supply chains, as well as deeper cooperation on a range of defense and security capabilities; the first initiative under AUKUS was a commitment to support Australia in acquiring conventionally armed nuclear-powered submarines for the Royal Australian Navy
since the 1990s, Australia has deployed more than 30,000 personnel on nearly 100 UN and coalition military operations, including in Cambodia, Rwanda, Somalia, and East Timor
" + "text": "Australia has been part of the Australia, New Zealand, and US Security (ANZUS) Treaty since 1951; Australia and the US signed an agreement in 2014 that allowed for closer bi-lateral defense and security cooperation, including annual rotations of US Marines and enhanced rotations of US Air Force aircraft to Australia; Australia has Major Non-NATO Ally (MNNA) status with the US, a designation under US law that provides foreign partners with certain benefits in the areas of defense trade and security cooperation; Australian military forces often train with US forces; Australian and US forces first fought together in France in 1918 at the Battle of Hamel, and have fought together in every major US conflict since
Australia has long-standing defense and security ties to the UK, including a Defense and Security Cooperation Treaty signed in 2013; in 2020, Australia and the UK signed a memorandum of understanding to cooperate on the building of a next generation of frigates for their respective navies; the Australia-UK Ministerial Consultations (AUKMIN) is their premier bilateral forum on foreign policy, defense, and security issues
in 2021, Australia, the UK, and the US announced an enhanced trilateral security partnership called “AUKUS” which would build on existing bilateral ties, including deeper integration of defense and security-related science, technology, industrial bases, and supply chains, as well as deeper cooperation on a range of defense and security capabilities; the first initiative under AUKUS was a commitment to support Australia in acquiring conventionally armed nuclear-powered submarines for the Royal Australian Navy
since the 1990s, Australia has deployed more than 30,000 personnel on nearly 100 UN peacekeeping and coalition military operations, including in Cambodia, Rwanda, the Solomon Islands, Somalia, and East Timor
(2022)" } }, "Terrorism": { diff --git a/australia-oceania/ck.json b/australia-oceania/ck.json index db37cfe0..288c68fb 100644 --- a/australia-oceania/ck.json +++ b/australia-oceania/ck.json @@ -315,13 +315,13 @@ }, "Legislative branch": { "description": { - "text": "unicameral Cocos (Keeling) Islands Shire Council (7 seats; members directly elected by simple majority vote to serve 4-year terms with half the membership renewed every 2 years)" + "text": "unicameral Cocos (Keeling) Islands Shire Council (7 seats; members directly elected by simple majority vote to serve 4-year terms with 4 members renewed every 2 years)" }, "elections": { - "text": "last held in October 2017 (next to be held on 31 October 2019)" + "text": "last held on 16 October 2021 (next to be held in October 2023)" }, "election results": { - "text": "percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NA; composition - men 5, women 2, percent of women 28.6%" + "text": "percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NA; composition - men 4, women 3, percent of women 42.9%" } }, "Judicial branch": { @@ -449,6 +449,14 @@ }, "Internet country code": { "text": ".cc" + }, + "Internet users": { + "total": { + "text": "414 (2022 est.)" + }, + "percent of population": { + "text": "76.1% (2022 est.)" + } } }, "Transportation": { diff --git a/australia-oceania/cw.json b/australia-oceania/cw.json index c1a9c320..fe3464f8 100644 --- a/australia-oceania/cw.json +++ b/australia-oceania/cw.json @@ -777,10 +777,10 @@ }, "Internet users": { "total": { - "text": "9,487 (2021 est.)" + "text": "9,487 (2022 est.)" }, "percent of population": { - "text": "54% (2019 est.)" + "text": "54% (2022 est.)" } }, "Broadband - fixed subscriptions": { diff --git a/australia-oceania/kt.json b/australia-oceania/kt.json index 52e3b3e1..a2d906cc 100644 --- a/australia-oceania/kt.json +++ b/australia-oceania/kt.json @@ -308,13 +308,13 @@ }, "Legislative branch": { "description": { - "text": "unicameral Christmas Island Shire Council (9 seats; members directly elected by simple majority vote to serve 4-year terms with a portion of the membership renewed every 2 years)" + "text": "unicameral Christmas Island Shire Council (9 seats; members directly elected by simple majority vote to serve 4-year terms)" }, "elections": { - "text": "held every 2 years with half the members standing for election; last held on 21 October 2017 (next to be held in October 2019)" + "text": "held every 2 years with half the members standing for election; last held in October 2021 (next to be held in October 2023)" }, "election results": { - "text": "percent of vote - NA; seats by party - independent 9; composition as of 17 October 2015 - men 7, women 2, percent of women 22.2%" + "text": "percent of vote - NA; seats by party - independent 9; composition as of 17 October 2021 - men 8, women 1, percent of women 11.1%" } }, "Judicial branch": { @@ -433,10 +433,10 @@ }, "Internet users": { "total": { - "text": "1,449 (2021 est.)" + "text": "1,449 (2022 est.)" }, "percent of population": { - "text": "35.8% (July 2016 est.)" + "text": "78.6% (2022 est.)" } } }, diff --git a/australia-oceania/nz.json b/australia-oceania/nz.json index 70d9a0fa..b1005bde 100644 --- a/australia-oceania/nz.json +++ b/australia-oceania/nz.json @@ -1112,6 +1112,9 @@ "text": "New Zealand Defense Force (NZDF): New Zealand Army, Royal New Zealand Navy, Royal New Zealand Air Force (2021)" }, "Military expenditures": { + "Military Expenditures 2021": { + "text": "1.3% of GDP (2021 est.)" + }, "Military Expenditures 2020": { "text": "1.5% of GDP (2020)" }, @@ -1123,9 +1126,6 @@ }, "Military Expenditures 2017": { "text": "1.1% of GDP (2017)" - }, - "Military Expenditures 2016": { - "text": "1.2% of GDP (2016)" } }, "Military and security service personnel strengths": { diff --git a/australia-oceania/wf.json b/australia-oceania/wf.json index ac4ff4db..a73e2e88 100644 --- a/australia-oceania/wf.json +++ b/australia-oceania/wf.json @@ -416,7 +416,7 @@ "text": "President Emmanuel MACRON (since 14 May 2017); represented by Administrator Superior Herve JONATHAN (since 11 January 2021)" }, "head of government": { - "text": "President of the Territorial Assembly David VERGE (since 4 April 2017)" + "text": "President of the Territorial Assembly Munipoese MULI'AKA'AKA (since 20 March 2022)" }, "cabinet": { "text": "Council of the Territory appointed by the administrator superior on the advice of the Territorial Assembly" @@ -431,10 +431,10 @@ "text": "unicameral Territorial Assembly or Assemblee Territoriale (20 seats - Wallis 13, Futuna 7; members directly elected in multi-seat constituencies by party-list proportional representation vote to serve 5-year terms)Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago abide by the April 2006 Permanent Court of Arbitration decision delimiting a maritime boundary and limiting catches of flying fish in Trinidad and Tobago's exclusive economic zone; joins other Caribbean states to counter Venezuela's claim that Aves Island sustains human habitation, a criterion under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, which permits Venezuela to extend its Economic Exclusion Zone/continental shelf over a large portion of the eastern Caribbean Sea
" + "text": "Barbados-Venezuela (Maritime Boundary): Barbados joins other Caribbean states and the United Kingdom to counter Venezuela's claim that Aves Island, a large sandbar with some vegetation, sustains human habitation or economic life, the criteria under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), Article 121, which would permit Venezuela to extend its EEZ/continental shelf over a large portion of the eastern Caribbean Sea. The dispute hampers hydrocarbon prospecting and creation of exploration blocks.
Barbados-Trinidad and Tobago (Maritime Boundary): Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago abide by the April 2006 Permanent Court of Arbitration decision delimiting a maritime boundary and limiting catches of flying fish in Trinidad and Tobago's exclusive economic zone.
disagrees with the US on the alignment of the northern axis of a potential maritime boundary
" + "text": "The Bahamas-US (Maritime Boundary): In declaring its archipelagic waters and 200 nm EEZ in 1993 legislation, The Bahamas did not delimit the outer limits of the EEZ; but in areas where EEZs overlap with neighbors, The Bahamas agreed to equidistance as a line of separation. However, The Bahamas has yet to define maritime boundaries with any of its neighbors, including the United States, whose Florida coast lays about 70 nm from Grand Bahama Island.
" }, "Illicit drugs": { "text": "a transit point for illegal drugs bound for the United States; illicit production of marijuana continues
" diff --git a/central-america-n-caribbean/bh.json b/central-america-n-caribbean/bh.json index a1714e7e..cb7c2584 100644 --- a/central-america-n-caribbean/bh.json +++ b/central-america-n-caribbean/bh.json @@ -1102,7 +1102,7 @@ }, "Transnational Issues": { "Disputes - international": { - "text": "Guatemala persists in its territorial claim to approximately half of Belize, but agrees to the Line of Adjacency to keep Guatemalan squatters out of Belize's forested interior; both countries agreed in April 2012 to hold simultaneous referenda, scheduled for 6 October 2013, to decide whether to refer the dispute to the ICJ for binding resolution, but this vote was suspended indefinitely; Belize and Mexico are working to solve minor border demarcation discrepancies arising from inaccuracies in the 1898 border treaty
" + "text": "Belize-Guatemala: Demarcated but insecure boundary due to Guatemala’s claims to more than half of Belizean territory. Line of Adjacency operates in lieu of an international boundary to control influx of Guatemalan squatters onto Belizean territory. Smuggling, narcotics trafficking, and human trafficking for sexual exploitation and debt bondage are all problems. Belize lacks resources to detect and extradite impoverished Guatemalan peasants squatting in Belizean rain forests in the remote border areas.
Belize-Mexico: Belize and Mexico are working to solve minor border demarcation discrepancies arising from inaccuracies in the 1898 border treaty. Transshipment of illegal narcotics, smuggling, human trafficking, illegal immigration, and the growing of marijuana in very low population areas are all issues in the region today.
" }, "Trafficking in persons": { "current situation": { diff --git a/central-america-n-caribbean/cj.json b/central-america-n-caribbean/cj.json index b5f537b4..cb74422f 100644 --- a/central-america-n-caribbean/cj.json +++ b/central-america-n-caribbean/cj.json @@ -439,7 +439,7 @@ "text": "last held on 14 April 2021 (next to be held on 2025)" }, "election results": { - "text": "percent of vote by party - independent 79.1%, PPM 19.6%; seats by party - independent 12, PPM 7" + "text": "percent of vote by party - independent 79.1%, PPM 19.6%; seats by party - independent 12, PPM 7; composition of elected members - men 15, women 4, percent of women 21.1%; ex-officio members - men 2" } }, "Judicial branch": { @@ -805,10 +805,10 @@ }, "Internet users": { "total": { - "text": "53,600 (2021 est.)" + "text": "54,200 (2022 est.)" }, "percent of population": { - "text": "81.07% (2019 est.)" + "text": "81.1% (2022 est.)" } }, "Broadband - fixed subscriptions": { diff --git a/central-america-n-caribbean/cs.json b/central-america-n-caribbean/cs.json index 28490076..f0dc1686 100644 --- a/central-america-n-caribbean/cs.json +++ b/central-america-n-caribbean/cs.json @@ -128,7 +128,7 @@ } }, "Religions": { - "text": "Roman Catholic 71.8%, Evangelical and Pentecostal 12.3%, other Protestant 2.6%, Jehovah's Witness 0.5%, other 2.4%, none 10.4% (2016 est.)" + "text": "Roman Catholic 47.5%, Evangelical and Pentecostal 19.8%, Jehovah's Witness 1.4%, other Protestant 1.2%, other 3.1%, none 27% (2021 est.)" }, "Demographic profile": { "text": "Costa Rica's political stability, high standard of living, and well-developed social benefits system set it apart from its Central American neighbors. Through the government's sustained social spending - almost 20% of GDP annually - Costa Rica has made tremendous progress toward achieving its goal of providing universal access to education, healthcare, clean water, sanitation, and electricity. Since the 1970s, expansion of these services has led to a rapid decline in infant mortality, an increase in life expectancy at birth, and a sharp decrease in the birth rate. The average number of children born per women has fallen from about 7 in the 1960s to 3.5 in the early 1980s to below replacement level today. Costa Rica's poverty rate is lower than in most Latin American countries, but it has stalled at around 20% for almost two decades.
Costa Rica is a popular regional immigration destination because of its job opportunities and social programs. Almost 9% of the population is foreign-born, with Nicaraguans comprising nearly three-quarters of the foreign population. Many Nicaraguans who perform unskilled seasonal labor enter Costa Rica illegally or overstay their visas, which continues to be a source of tension. Less than 3% of Costa Rica's population lives abroad. The overwhelming majority of expatriates have settled in the United States after completing a university degree or in order to work in a highly skilled field.
" @@ -1024,10 +1024,10 @@ }, "Internet users": { "total": { - "text": "4.15 million (2021 est.)" + "text": "4.21 million (2022 est.)" }, "percent of population": { - "text": "80.53% (2020 est.)" + "text": "81.6% (2022 est.)" } }, "Broadband - fixed subscriptions": { diff --git a/central-america-n-caribbean/cu.json b/central-america-n-caribbean/cu.json index 55cf405b..f0a551d1 100644 --- a/central-america-n-caribbean/cu.json +++ b/central-america-n-caribbean/cu.json @@ -987,12 +987,12 @@ }, "Internet users": { "total": { - "text": "7.7 million (2021 est.)" + "text": "7.69 million (2022 est.)" }, "percent of population": { - "text": "67.97% (2019 est.)" + "text": "68% (2022 est.)" }, - "note": "note: private citizens are prohibited from buying computers or accessing the Internet without special authorization; foreigners may access the Internet in large hotels but are subject to firewalls; some Cubans buy illegal passwords on the black market or take advantage of public outlets to access limited email and the government-controlled \"intranet\"" + "note": "note: private citizens are prohibited from buying computers or accessing the Internet without special authorization; foreigners may access the Internet in large hotels but are subject to firewalls; some Cubans buy illegal passwords on the black market or take advantage of public outlets to access limited email and the government-controlled \"intranet\"; issues relating to COVID-19 impact research into internet adoption, so actual internet user figures may be different than published numbers suggest" }, "Broadband - fixed subscriptions": { "total": { diff --git a/central-america-n-caribbean/do.json b/central-america-n-caribbean/do.json index 9dd71059..10dd04a5 100644 --- a/central-america-n-caribbean/do.json +++ b/central-america-n-caribbean/do.json @@ -852,10 +852,10 @@ }, "Internet users": { "total": { - "text": "50,200 (2021 est.)" + "text": "50,300 (2022 est.)" }, "percent of population": { - "text": "69.62% (2019 est.)" + "text": "69.6% (2022 est.)" } }, "Broadband - fixed subscriptions": { diff --git a/central-america-n-caribbean/dr.json b/central-america-n-caribbean/dr.json index 29c0dc69..da51d57d 100644 --- a/central-america-n-caribbean/dr.json +++ b/central-america-n-caribbean/dr.json @@ -1043,10 +1043,10 @@ }, "Internet users": { "total": { - "text": "8.16 million (2021 est.)" + "text": "8.78 million (2022 est.)" }, "percent of population": { - "text": "67.57% (2019 est.)" + "text": "79.8% (2022 est.)" } }, "Broadband - fixed subscriptions": { diff --git a/central-america-n-caribbean/gt.json b/central-america-n-caribbean/gt.json index 7034667c..77b122ce 100644 --- a/central-america-n-caribbean/gt.json +++ b/central-america-n-caribbean/gt.json @@ -1205,7 +1205,7 @@ } }, "Illicit drugs": { - "text": "a major transit country for illegal drugs destined for the United States; farmers cultivate opium poppy and cannabis" + "text": "a major transit country for illegal drugs destined for the United States with increasing cultivation originating from Guatemala; farmers cultivate opium poppy and cannabis" } } } \ No newline at end of file diff --git a/central-america-n-caribbean/ha.json b/central-america-n-caribbean/ha.json index 860a14fb..2a6d0582 100644 --- a/central-america-n-caribbean/ha.json +++ b/central-america-n-caribbean/ha.json @@ -1,7 +1,7 @@ { "Introduction": { "Background": { - "text": "The native Taino - who inhabited the island of Hispaniola when Christopher COLUMBUS first landed on it in 1492 - were virtually wiped out by Spanish settlers within 25 years. In the early 17th century, the French established a presence on Hispaniola. In 1697, Spain ceded to the French the western third of the island, which later became Haiti. The French colony, based on forestry and sugar-related industries, became one of the wealthiest in the Caribbean but relied heavily on the forced labor of enslaved Africans and environmentally degrading practices. In the late 18th century, Toussaint L'OUVERTURE led a revolution of Haiti's nearly half a million slaves that ended France's rule on the island. After a prolonged struggle, and under the leadership of Jean-Jacques DESSALINES, Haiti became the first country in the world led by former slaves after declaring its independence in 1804, but it was forced to pay an indemnity to France for more than a century and was shunned by other countries for nearly 40 years. After the US occupied Haiti from 1915-1934, Francois \"Papa Doc\" DUVALIER and then his son Jean-Claude “Baby Doc” DUVALIER led repressive and corrupt regimes that ruled Haiti from 1957-1971 and 1971-1986, respectively. Haiti has long been plagued by natural disasters. In January 2010, a massive magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck Haiti with an epicenter about 25 km (15 mi) west of the capital, Port-au-Prince. Estimates are that over 300,000 people were killed and some 1.5 million left homeless. The earthquake was assessed as the worst in this region over the last 200 years. More recently, a 7.2 magnitude earthquake hit in August 2021, causing well over 2,000 deaths and about 500,000 needed emergency humanitarian aid. The most recent natural disaster came just two months after the president was assassinated in his own home, leading the country into extra-constitutional territory and contributing to the country’s state of instability. Haiti is currently the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, as well as one of the most unequal in wealth distribution.
" + "text": "The native Taino - who inhabited the island of Hispaniola when Christopher COLUMBUS first landed on it in 1492 - were virtually wiped out by Spanish settlers within 25 years. In the early 17th century, the French established a presence on Hispaniola. In 1697, Spain ceded to the French the western third of the island, which later became Haiti. The French colony, based on forestry and sugar-related industries, became one of the wealthiest in the Caribbean but relied heavily on the forced labor of enslaved Africans and environmentally degrading practices. In the late 18th century, Toussaint L'OUVERTURE led a revolution of Haiti's nearly half a million slaves that ended France's rule on the island. After a prolonged struggle, and under the leadership of Jean-Jacques DESSALINES, Haiti became the first country in the world led by former slaves after declaring its independence in 1804, but it was forced to pay an indemnity of 100 million francs (equivalent to $21 billion USD in March 2022) to France for more than a century and was shunned by other countries for nearly 40 years. On 12 July 1862, the US officially recognized Haiti, but foreign economic influence and internal political instability induced the US to occupy Haiti from 1915-1934. Subsequently, Francois \"Papa Doc\" DUVALIER and then his son Jean-Claude \"Baby Doc\" DUVALIER led repressive and corrupt regimes that ruled Haiti in 1957-1971 and 1971-1986, respectively. President Jovenel MOISE was assassinated on 7 July 2021, leading the country further into an extra-constitutional governance structure and contributing to the country’s growing fragility. President MOISE's five-year term would have ended on 7 February 2022; his assassination plunged Haiti deeper into a political crisis that was not anticipated in its constitution. Thus, on 20 July 2021, the Government of Haiti installed Ariel HENRY - whom President MOISE had nominated - as prime minister. As of March 2022, Haiti had no president, no parliamentary quorum, and a dysfunctional high court due to a lack of judges. Haiti has long been plagued by natural disasters. In January 2010, a massive magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck Haiti with an epicenter about 25 km (15 mi) west of the capital, Port-au-Prince. Estimates are that over 300,000 people were killed and some 1.5 million left homeless. The earthquake was assessed as the worst in this region over the last 200 years. A 7.2 magnitude earthquake hit Haiti’s southern peninsula in August 2021, causing well over 2,000 deaths; an estimated 500,000 required emergency humanitarian aid. Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, as well as one of the most unequal in wealth distribution.
" } }, "Geography": { @@ -1042,13 +1042,13 @@ }, "Roadways": { "total": { - "text": "4,266 km (2009)" + "text": "4,266 km Note – total paved plus unpaved is less than total roadways because some roads are under construction or only partially paved (2009)" }, "paved": { - "text": "768 km (2009)" + "text": "600 km (2009)" }, "unpaved": { - "text": "3,498 km (2009)" + "text": "3,502 km (2009)" } }, "Merchant marine": { diff --git a/central-america-n-caribbean/rn.json b/central-america-n-caribbean/rn.json index 9e873d68..6cae8e82 100644 --- a/central-america-n-caribbean/rn.json +++ b/central-america-n-caribbean/rn.json @@ -325,7 +325,7 @@ }, "Executive branch": { "chief of state": { - "text": "President Emmanuel MACRON (since 14 May 2017); represented by Prefect Serge GOUTEYRON (since 16 December 2020)" + "text": "President Emmanuel MACRON (since 14 May 2017); represented by Prefect Vincent BERTON (since 28 March 2022)" }, "head of government": { "text": "President of Territorial Council Daniel GIBBS (since 2 April 2017); First Vice President Valerie DAMASEAU (since 2 April 2017)" @@ -345,15 +345,15 @@ "text": "unicameral Territorial Council (23 seats; members directly elected by absolute majority vote in 2 rounds if needed to serve 5-year terms); Saint Martin elects 1 member to the French Senate and 1member (shared with Saint Barthelemy) to the French National Assembly" }, "elections": { - "text": "Territorial Council - last held on 18 and 25 March 2017 (next to be held in March 2022)" + "text": "Territorial Council - first round held on 20 March 2022 (next to be held in March 2027) and second round held on 27 March 2022" }, "election results": { - "text": "Territorial Council - percent of vote by party (first round) - TDG 49.1%, MJP 13.7%, MVP 12.3%, HOPE 8.7%, Continuons pour Saint-Martin 6.5%, other 9.7%; seats by party - NA; percent of vote by party (second round) - TDG 64.3%, MJP 24.2%, MVP 11.5.5%; seats by party - TDG 18, MJP 4, MVP 1; composition - men 13, women 10, percent of women 43.5%" + "text": "Territorial Council - percent of vote by party (first round) - RSM 25.4%, UD 24.7%, HOPE 17.5%, Saint Martin with You 13.8%, Alternative 11.2%, Future Saint Martin 7.5%; percent of vote by party (second rate) - RSM and Alternative 49.1%, UD 33.3%, HOPE, Saint Martin with You, and Future Saint Martin 17.6%; seats by party - RSM and Alternative 15, UD 5, HOPE, Saint Martin with You, and Future Saint Martin 3; composition - men 13, women 10, percent of women 43.5%" }, "note": "French Senate - held on 28 September 2014 (next to be held not later than September 2020) French National Assembly - last held on 11 and 18 June 2017 (next to be held by June 2022) French Senate - 1 seat: UMP 1 French National Assembly - 1 seat: UMP 1" }, "Political parties and leaders": { - "text": "Continuons pour St. Martin [Aline HANSON]Ethnic Kazakhs derive from a mix of Turkic nomadic tribes that migrated to the region in the 15th century. The Kazakh steppe was conquered by the Russian Empire in the 18th and 19th centuries, and Kazakhstan became a Soviet Republic in 1925. Repression and starvation caused by forced agricultural collectivization led to more than a million deaths in the early 1930s. During the 1950s and 1960s, the agricultural \"Virgin Lands\" program led to an influx of settlers (mostly ethnic Russians, but also other nationalities) and at the time of Kazakhstan’s independence in 1991, ethnic Kazakhs were a minority. Non-Muslim ethnic minorities departed Kazakhstan in large numbers from the mid-1990s through the mid-2000s and a national program has repatriated about a million ethnic Kazakhs (from Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Mongolia, and the Xinjiang region of China) back to Kazakhstan. As a result of this shift, the ethnic Kazakh share of the population now exceeds two-thirds.
Kazakhstan's economy is the largest in the Central Asian states, mainly due to the country's vast natural resources. Current issues include: diversifying the economy, obtaining membership in global and regional international economic institutions, enhancing Kazakhstan's economic competitiveness, and strengthening relations with neighboring states and foreign powers.
Ethnic Kazakhs derive from a mix of Turkic nomadic tribes that migrated to the region in the 15th century. The Kazakh steppe was conquered by the Russian Empire in the 18th and 19th centuries, and Kazakhstan became a Soviet Republic in 1925. Repression and starvation caused by forced agricultural collectivization led to more than a million deaths in the early 1930s. During the 1950s and 1960s, the agricultural \"Virgin Lands\" program led to an influx of settlers (mostly ethnic Russians, but also other nationalities) and at the time of Kazakhstan’s independence in 1991, ethnic Kazakhs were a minority. Non-Muslim ethnic minorities departed Kazakhstan in large numbers from the mid-1990s through the mid-2000s and a national program has repatriated about a million ethnic Kazakhs (from Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Mongolia, and the Xinjiang region of China) back to Kazakhstan. As a result of this shift, the ethnic Kazakh share of the population now exceeds two-thirds.
Kazakhstan's economy is the largest in Central Asia, mainly due to the country's vast natural resources. Current issues include: diversifying the economy, attracting foreign direct investment, enhancing Kazakhstan's economic competitiveness, and strengthening economic relations with neighboring states and foreign powers.
" } }, "Geography": { diff --git a/central-asia/rs.json b/central-asia/rs.json index 8de008f8..efed1167 100644 --- a/central-asia/rs.json +++ b/central-asia/rs.json @@ -1254,7 +1254,7 @@ }, "Military deployments": { "text": "information varies; est. 3,000-5,000 Armenia; est. 1,500 Belarus; est. 7,000-10,000 Georgia; est. 100 Central African Republic; est. 500 Kyrgyzstan; est. 1,500-2,000 Moldova (Transnistria); est. 3,000-5,000 Syria; est. 5,000-7,000 Tajikistan (2021)", - "note": "note(s) - in 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine with nearly 200,000 troops; prior to the invasion, it maintained an estimated 30,000 troops in areas of Ukraine occupied since 2014
Burma, colonized by Britain in the 19th century and granted independence post-World War II, contains scores of ethnic Burman and ethnic minority groups that have resisted external efforts to consolidate control of the country throughout its history, extending to the several minority groups today that possess independent fighting forces and control pockets of territory. Burman and armed ethnic minorities fought off-and-on until military Gen. NE WIN seized power in 1962. He ruled Burma until 1988 when a military junta took control. In 1990, the junta permitted an election but then rejected the results when the main opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) and its leader AUNG SAN SUU KYI won in a landslide. The junta placed AUNG SAN SUU KYI under house arrest for much of the next 20 years, until November 2010. In 2007, rising fuel prices in Burma led prodemocracy activists and Buddhist monks to launch a \"Saffron Revolution\" consisting of large protests against the ruling junta, which violently suppressed the movement by killing an unknown number of participants and arresting thousands. The regime prevented new elections until it had drafted a constitution designed to preserve its control; it passed the new constitution in its 2008 referendum, days after Cyclone Nargis killed at least 138,000. The junta conducted an election in 2010, but the NLD boycotted the vote, and the military’s Union Solidarity and Development Party easily won; international observers denounced the election as flawed.
With former or current military officers installed in its most senior positions, Burma began a halting process of political and economic reforms. Officials freed prisoners, brokered minority group cease fires, amended courts, expanded liberties, brought AUNG SAN SUU KYI into government in 2012, and permitted the NLD in 2015 to sweep into power. However, Burma’s first credibly elected civilian government, with AUNG SAN SUU KYI as the de facto head of state, faced strong headwinds after five decades of military dictatorship. The NLD government drew international criticism for blocking investigations of Burma’s military for operations, which the US Department of State determined constituted ethnic cleansing, on its Rohingya population that killed thousands and forced more than 740,000 Rohingya to flee into neighboring Bangladesh. The military did not support an NLD pledge in 2019 to examine reforming the military’s 2008 constitution. When the 2020 elections resulted in further NLD gains, the military denounced them as fraudulent. This challenge led Commander-in-Chief Sr. General MIN AUNG HLAING to launch a coup in February 2021 that has left Burma reeling with the return to authoritarian rule, the detention of AUNG SAN SUU KYI, and a renewal of the brutal repression of protestors, widespread violence, and economic decline.
Burma, colonized by Britain in the 19th century and granted independence post-World War II, contains ethnic Burman and scores of other ethnic and religious minority groups that have all resisted external efforts to consolidate control of the country throughout its history, extending to the several minority groups today that possess independent fighting forces and control pockets of territory. Burman and armed ethnic minorities fought off-and-on until military Gen. NE WIN seized power in 1962. He ruled Burma until 1988 when a military junta took control. In 1990, the junta permitted an election but then rejected the results when the main opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) and its leader AUNG SAN SUU KYI (ASSK) won in a landslide. The junta placed ASSK under house arrest for much of the next 20 years, until November 2010. In 2007, rising fuel prices in Burma led pro-democracy activists and Buddhist monks to launch a \"Saffron Revolution\" consisting of large protests against the ruling junta, which violently suppressed the movement by killing an unknown number of participants and arresting thousands. The regime prevented new elections until it had drafted a constitution designed to preserve its control; it passed the new constitution in its 2008 referendum, days after Cyclone Nargis killed at least 138,000. The junta conducted an election in 2010, but the NLD boycotted the vote, and the military’s Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) easily won; international observers denounced the election as flawed.
With former or current military officers installed in its most senior positions, Burma began a halting process of political and economic reforms. Officials freed prisoners, brokered ceasefires with ethnic armed organizations (EAOs), amended courts, expanded civil liberties, brought ASSK into government in 2012, and permitted the NLD in 2015 to take power after a sweeping electoral win. However, Burma’s first credibly elected civilian government, with ASSK as the de facto head of state, faced strong headwinds after five decades of military dictatorship. The NLD government drew international criticism for blocking investigations of Burma’s military for operations, which the U.S. Department of State determined constituted genocide, on its Rohingya population that killed thousands and forced more than 740,000 Rohingya to flee into neighboring Bangladesh. The military did not support an NLD pledge in 2019 to examine reforming the military’s 2008 constitution. When the 2020 elections resulted in further NLD gains, the military denounced them as fraudulent. This challenge led Commander-in-Chief Sr. General MIN AUNG HLAING (MAH) to launch a coup in February 2021 that has left Burma reeling with the return to authoritarian rule, the detention of ASSK and thousands of pro-democracy actors, and renewed brutal repression against protestors, widespread violence, and economic decline.
7 regions (taing-myar, singular - taing), 7 states (pyi ne-myar, singular - pyi ne), 1 union territory
regions: Ayeyarwady (Irrawaddy), Bago, Magway, Mandalay, Sagaing, Tanintharyi, Yangon (Rangoon)
states: Chin, Kachin, Kayah, Kayin, Mon, Rakhine, Shan
union territory: Nay Pyi Taw
" + "text": "7 regions (taing-myar, singular - taing), 7 states (pyi ne-myar, singular - pyi ne), 1 union territory
regions: Ayeyarwady (Irrawaddy), Bago, Magway, Mandalay, Sagaing, Tanintharyi, Yangon (Rangoon)
states: Chin, Kachin, Kayah, Karen, Mon, Rakhine, Shan
union territory: Nay Pyi Taw
" }, "Independence": { "text": "4 January 1948 (from the UK)" @@ -550,7 +550,7 @@ "text": "previous 1947, 1974 (suspended until 2008); latest drafted 9 April 2008, approved by referendum 29 May 2008" }, "amendments": { - "text": "proposals require at least 20% approval by the Assembly of the Union membership; passage of amendments to sections of the constitution on basic principles, government structure, branches of government, state emergencies, and amendment procedures requires 75% approval by the Assembly and approval in a referendum by absolute majority of registered voters; passage of amendments to other sections requires only 75% Assembly approval; amended 2015" + "text": "proposals require at least 20% approval by the Assembly of the Union membership; passage of amendments to sections of the constitution on basic principles, government structure, branches of government, state emergencies, and amendment procedures requires 75% approval by the Assembly and approval in a referendum by absolute majority of registered voters; passage of amendments to other sections requires only 75% Assembly approval; military granted 25% of parliamentary seats by default; amended 2015" } }, "Legal system": { @@ -579,19 +579,19 @@ }, "Executive branch": { "chief of state": { - "text": "Prime Minister, SAC Chair, Sr. Gen. MIN AUNG HLAING (since 1 August 2021); note - MIN AUNG HLAING self-appointed himself to the role of prime minister of a “caretaker” provisional government that subsumed the State Administration Council (SAC) on 1 August 2021; the SAC, chaired by MIN AUNG HLAING, served as the executive governing body since 2 February 2021, following the 1 February 2021 military takeover of the government and the declaration of a state of emergency and still exists under the provisional government according to state media; MIN AUNG HLAING pledged to hold elections in 2023" + "text": "Prime Minister, State Administration Council (SAC) Chair, Sr. Gen. MIN AUNG HLAING (since 1 August 2021); note - MIN AUNG HLAING self-appointed himself to the role of prime minister of a “caretaker” provisional government that subsumed the SAC on 1 August 2021; the SAC, chaired by MIN AUNG HLAING, served as the executive governing body since 2 February 2021, following the 1 February 2021 military takeover of the government and the declaration of a state of emergency and still exists under the provisional government according to state media" }, "head of government": { - "text": "Prime Minister, SAC Chair, Sr. Gen. MIN AUNG HLAING (since 1 August 2021); note - MIN AUNG HLAING self-appointed himself to the role of prime minister of a “caretaker” provisional government that subsumed the State Administration Council (SAC) on 1 August 2021; the SAC, chaired by MIN AUNG HLAING, served as the executive governing body since 2 February 2021, following the 1 February 2021 military takeover of the government and the declaration of a state of emergency and still exists under the provisional government according to state media; MIN AUNG HLAING pledged to hold elections in 2023" + "text": "Prime Minister, State Administration Council (SAC) Chair, Sr. Gen. MIN AUNG HLAING (since 1 August 2021); note - MIN AUNG HLAING self-appointed himself to the role of prime minister of a “caretaker” provisional government that subsumed the SAC on 1 August 2021; the SAC, chaired by MIN AUNG HLAING, served as the executive governing body since 2 February 2021, following the 1 February 2021 military takeover of the government and the declaration of a state of emergency and still exists under the provisional government according to state media" }, "cabinet": { - "text": "Cabinet appointments shared by the president and the commander-in-chief; note - after 1 February, the military replaced the cabinet" + "text": "Cabinet appointments shared by the president and the commander-in-chief; note - after 1 February, the military junta replaced the cabinet" }, "elections/appointments": { - "text": "president indirectly elected by simple majority vote by the full Assembly of the Union from among 3 vice-presidential candidates nominated by the Presidential Electoral College (consists of members of the lower and upper houses and military members); the other 2 candidates become vice-presidents (president elected for a 5-year term); election last held on 28 March 2018; MIN AUNG HLAING pledged to hold elections in 2023" + "text": "prior to the military takeover, president was indirectly elected by simple majority vote by the full Assembly of the Union from among 3 vice-presidential candidates nominated by the Presidential Electoral College (consists of members of the lower and upper houses and military members); the other 2 candidates become vice-presidents (president elected for a 5-year term); election last held on 28 March 2018; the military junta pledged to hold new elections in 2023" }, "election results": { - "text": "WIN MYINT elected president; Assembly of the Union vote - WIN MYINT (NLD) 403, MYINT SWE (USDP) 211, HENRY VAN THIO (NLD) 18, 4 votes canceled (636 votes cast); note - WIN MYINT was placed under arrest following the military takeover on 1 February 2021" + "text": "WIN MYINT elected president; Assembly of the Union vote - WIN MYINT (NLD) 403, MYINT SWE (USDP) 211, HENRY VAN THIO (NLD) 18, 4 votes canceled (636 votes cast); note - WIN MYINT and other key leaders of the ruling NLD party were placed under arrest following the military takeover on 1 February 2021" }, "state counsellor": { "text": "State Counselor AUNG SAN SUU KYI (since 6 April 2016); note - under arrest since 1 February 2021; formerly served as minister of foreign affairs and minister for the office of the president" @@ -600,10 +600,10 @@ }, "Legislative branch": { "description": { - "text": "bicameral Assembly of the Union or Pyidaungsu consists of:as of 2021, there were approximately 20 ethnic-based armed groups operating in Burma with strengths of a few hundred up to more than 20,000 estimated fighters; they reportedly controlled about one-third of the country’s territory, primarily in the border regions; key groups included the United Wa State Army, Karen National Union, Kachin Independence Army, Arakan Army, Ta’ang National Liberation Army, and the Myanmar Nationalities Democratic Alliance Army
in 2015, the Burmese Government signed a Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA) with eight mostly small armed groups, including the All Burma Students’ Democratic Front, Arakan Liberation Party, Chin National Front, Democratic Karen Benevolent Army, Karen National Liberation Army-Peace Council, Karen National Union, Pa-O National Liberation Organization, and the Shan State Army-South; seven other groups did not sign the NCA, but have since signed bi-lateral ceasefires with the Burmese Government, including the National Democratic Alliance Army, Shan State Army, New Mon State Army, Karenni Army, National Socialist Council of Nagaland–Khaplang, and the United Wa State Army, which in 2021 was assessed to be the largest and most capable group, with more than 20,000 fighters; others, including the Arakan Army (Chin, Kachin, Rakhine, Shan states), Kachin Independence Army (Kachin state), Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (Shan state), Shanni Nationalities Army (Kachin state), and Taang National Liberation Army (Shan state) continued to engage in active insurgent operations against the Burmese Government in 2021; in March 2021, the Karen National Union resumed fighting with the Burmese military
as of 2021, Burma also had a large number (estimates run into the thousands) of armed militias which took many different forms and varied in allegiances and size; most were pro-government and associated with the Tatmadaw; some were integrated within the Tatmadaw’s command structure as Border Guard Forces (BGF); the BGF were organized as 325-man battalions, which included a mix of militia forces, ethnic armed groups, and government soldiers; they were armed, supplied, and paid by the Tatmadaw; other pro-government militias were not integrated within the Tatmadaw command structure, but received direction from the military and were recognized as government militias; the amount of support they received from the Tatmadaw varied depending on local security conditions; the third type of pro-government militias were small community-based units that were armed, coordinated, and trained by local Tatmadaw forces and activated as needed; anti-government militias were typically associated with ethnic-based armed organizations
" + "text": "since the country's founding, the armed forces have been heavily involved in domestic politics, running the country for five decades following a military coup in 1962; prior to the 2021 coup, the military already controlled three key security ministries (Defense, Border, and Home Affairs), one of two vice presidential appointments, 25% of the parliamentary seats, and had a proxy political party, the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP)as of 2022, there were approximately 20 ethnic-based armed groups operating in Burma with strengths of a few hundred up to more than 20,000 estimated fighters; they reportedly controlled about one-third of the country’s territory, primarily in the border regions; key groups included the United Wa State Army, Karen National Union, Kachin Independence Army, Arakan Army, Ta’ang National Liberation Army, and the Myanmar Nationalities Democratic Alliance Army
in 2015, the Burmese Government signed a Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA) with eight mostly small armed groups, including the All Burma Students’ Democratic Front, Arakan Liberation Party, Chin National Front, Democratic Karen Benevolent Army, Karen National Liberation Army-Peace Council, Karen National Union, Pa-O National Liberation Organization, and the Shan State Army-South; seven other groups did not sign the NCA, but have since signed bi-lateral ceasefires with the Burmese Government, including the National Democratic Alliance Army, Shan State Army, New Mon State Army, Karenni Army, National Socialist Council of Nagaland–Khaplang, and the United Wa State Army, which in 2021 was assessed to be the largest and most capable group, with more than 20,000 fighters; others, including the Arakan Army (Chin, Kachin, Rakhine, Shan states), Kachin Independence Army (Kachin state), Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (Shan state), Shanni Nationalities Army (Kachin state), and Taang National Liberation Army (Shan state) continued to engage in active insurgent operations against the Burmese Government in 2021; in 2021, the Karen National Union and Chin National Front resumed fighting with the Burmese military
as of 2021, Burma also had a large number (estimates run into the thousands) of armed militias which took many different forms and varied in allegiances and size; most were pro-military government and associated with the Tatmadaw; some were integrated within the Tatmadaw’s command structure as Border Guard Forces (BGF); the BGF were organized as 325-man battalions, which included a mix of militia forces, ethnic armed groups, and government soldiers; they were armed, supplied, and paid by the Tatmadaw; other pro-military government militias were not integrated within the Tatmadaw command structure, but received direction from the military and were recognized as government militias; the amount of support they received from the Tatmadaw varied depending on local security conditions; the third type of pro-military government militias were small community-based units that were armed, coordinated, and trained by local Tatmadaw forces and activated as needed; as of 2022, the military government was reportedly raising new militia units to help combat the popular uprising
as of 2022, the armed wing of Burma's pro-democracy movement contained hundreds of local groups of fighters known collectively as the People's Defense Force
a major source of illicit methamphetamine and opiates; illicit import of precursor chemicals from China increased production and trafficking of synthetic drugs; second-largest opium poppy cultivator in Asia, with an estimated 20,200 hectares grown in 2019; “Yaba,” a tablet containing methamphetamine, caffeine, and other stimulants, is produced in Burma and trafficked regionally; ethnic armed groups (EAGs), military-affiliated militias, and transnational criminal organizations oversee billion dollar a drug production and trafficking industry; drugs produced in Burma are trafficked beyond Southeast Asia to Australia, New Zealand, and Japan; not a major source or transit country for drugs entering the United States
" + "text": "
a major source of illicit methamphetamine and opiates; illicit import of precursor chemicals from China increased production and trafficking of synthetic drugs; second-largest opium poppy cultivator in Asia, with an estimated 20,200 hectares grown in 2019; “Yaba,” a tablet containing methamphetamine, caffeine, and other stimulants, is produced in Burma and trafficked regionally; ethnic armed organizations, military-affiliated militias, and transnational criminal organizations oversee billion dollar a drug production and trafficking industry; drugs produced in Burma are trafficked beyond Southeast Asia to Australia, New Zealand, and Japan; not a major source or transit country for drugs entering the United States
" } } } \ No newline at end of file diff --git a/east-n-southeast-asia/bx.json b/east-n-southeast-asia/bx.json index 7c121211..c4d583ff 100644 --- a/east-n-southeast-asia/bx.json +++ b/east-n-southeast-asia/bx.json @@ -1040,6 +1040,9 @@ "text": "Royal Brunei Armed Forces: Royal Brunei Land Force, Royal Brunei Navy, Royal Brunei Air Force (2021)" }, "Military expenditures": { + "Military Expenditures 2021": { + "text": "2.9% of GDP (2021 est.)" + }, "Military Expenditures 2020": { "text": "3.7% of GDP (2020 est.)" }, @@ -1051,9 +1054,6 @@ }, "Military Expenditures 2017": { "text": "2.8% of GDP (2017)" - }, - "Military Expenditures 2016": { - "text": "3.6% of GDP (2016)" } }, "Military and security service personnel strengths": { diff --git a/east-n-southeast-asia/cb.json b/east-n-southeast-asia/cb.json index 720e585c..882bbe33 100644 --- a/east-n-southeast-asia/cb.json +++ b/east-n-southeast-asia/cb.json @@ -1,7 +1,7 @@ { "Introduction": { "Background": { - "text": "
Most Cambodians consider themselves to be Khmers, descendants of the Angkor Empire that extended over much of Southeast Asia and reached its zenith between the 10th and 13th centuries. Attacks by the Thai and Cham (from present-day Vietnam) weakened the empire, ushering in a long period of decline. The king placed the country under French protection in 1863, and it became part of French Indochina in 1887. Following Japanese occupation in World War II, Cambodia gained full independence from France in 1953. In April 1975, after a seven-year struggle, communist Khmer Rouge forces captured Phnom Penh and evacuated all cities and towns. At least 1.5 million Cambodians died from execution, forced hardships, or starvation during the Khmer Rouge regime under POL POT. A December 1978 Vietnamese invasion drove the Khmer Rouge into the countryside, began a 10-year Vietnamese occupation, and touched off 20 years of civil war.
The 1991 Paris Peace Accords mandated democratic elections and a cease-fire, which was not fully respected by the Khmer Rouge. UN-sponsored elections in 1993 helped restore some semblance of normalcy under a coalition government. Factional fighting in 1997 ended the first coalition government, but a second round of national elections in 1998 led to the formation of another coalition government and renewed political stability. The remaining elements of the Khmer Rouge surrendered in early 1999. Some of the surviving Khmer Rouge leaders were tried for crimes against humanity by a hybrid UN-Cambodian tribunal supported by international assistance. In 2018, the tribunal heard its final cases, but it remains in operation to hear appeals. Elections in July 2003 were relatively peaceful, but it took one year of negotiations between contending political parties before a coalition government was formed. In October 2004, King Norodom SIHANOUK abdicated the throne and his son, Prince Norodom SIHAMONI, was selected to succeed him. Local (Commune Council) elections were held in Cambodia in 2012, with little of the violence that preceded prior elections. National elections in July 2013 were disputed, with the opposition - the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) - boycotting the National Assembly. The political impasse was ended nearly a year later, with the CNRP agreeing to enter parliament in exchange for commitments by the ruling Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) to undertake electoral and legislative reforms. The CNRP made further gains in local commune elections in June 2017, accelerating sitting Prime Minister HUN SEN’s efforts to marginalize the CNRP before national elections in 2018. HUN SEN arrested CNRP President KEM SOKHA in September 2017. The Supreme Court dissolved the CNRP in November 2017 and banned its leaders from participating in politics for at least five years. The CNRP’s seats in the National Assembly were redistributed to smaller, less influential opposition parties, while all of the CNRP’s 5,007 seats in the commune councils throughout the country were reallocated to the CPP. With the CNRP banned, the CPP swept the 2018 national elections, winning all 125 National Assembly seats and effectively turning the country into a one-party state.Most Cambodians consider themselves to be Khmers, descendants of the Angkor Empire that extended over much of Southeast Asia and reached its zenith between the 10th and 13th centuries. Attacks by the Thai and Cham (from present-day Vietnam) weakened the empire, ushering in a long period of decline. The king placed the country under French protection in 1863, and it became part of French Indochina in 1887. Following Japanese occupation in World War II, Cambodia gained full independence from France in 1953. In April 1975, after a seven-year struggle, communist Khmer Rouge forces captured Phnom Penh and evacuated all cities and towns. At least 1.5 million Cambodians died from execution, forced hardships, or starvation during the Khmer Rouge regime under POL POT. A December 1978 Vietnamese invasion drove the Khmer Rouge into the countryside, began a 10-year Vietnamese occupation, and touched off 20 years of civil war.
The 1991 Paris Peace Accords mandated democratic elections and a cease-fire, which was not fully respected by the Khmer Rouge. UN-sponsored elections in 1993 helped restore some semblance of normalcy under a coalition government. Factional fighting in 1997 ended the first coalition government, but a second round of national elections in 1998 led to the formation of another coalition government and renewed political stability. The remaining elements of the Khmer Rouge surrendered in early 1999. Some of the surviving Khmer Rouge leaders were tried for crimes against humanity by a hybrid UN-Cambodian tribunal supported by international assistance. In 2018, the tribunal heard its final cases, but it remains in operation to hear appeals. Elections in July 2003 were relatively peaceful, but it took one year of negotiations between contending political parties before a coalition government was formed. In October 2004, King Norodom SIHANOUK abdicated the throne and his son, Prince Norodom SIHAMONI, was selected to succeed him. Local (Commune Council) elections were held in Cambodia in 2012, with little of the violence that preceded prior elections. National elections in July 2013 were disputed, with the opposition - the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) - boycotting the National Assembly. The political impasse was ended nearly a year later, with the CNRP agreeing to enter parliament in exchange for commitments by the ruling Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) to undertake electoral and legislative reforms. The CNRP made further gains in local commune elections in June 2017, accelerating sitting Prime Minister HUN SEN’s efforts to marginalize the CNRP before national elections in 2018. HUN SEN arrested CNRP President KEM SOKHA in September 2017. The Supreme Court dissolved the CNRP in November 2017 and banned its leaders from participating in politics for at least five years. The CNRP’s seats in the National Assembly were redistributed to smaller, less influential opposition parties, while all of the CNRP’s 5,007 seats in the commune councils throughout the country were reallocated to the CPP. With the CNRP banned, the CPP swept the 2018 national elections, winning all 125 National Assembly seats and effectively turning the country into a one-party state.Philippines: assessed to occupy 9 features (Commodore Reef, Second Thomas Shoal, Flat Island, Loaita Cay, Loaita Island, Nanshan Island, Northeast Cay, Thitu Island, and West York Island); Thitu Island has the only Philippine airstrip in the Spratlys
Taiwan: maintains an outpost with an airstrip on Itu Aba Island
Vietnam: assessed to occupy about 50 outposts spread across 27 features, including facilities on 21 rocks and reefs in the Spratlys, plus 14 platforms known as “economic, scientific, and technological service stations,” or Dịch vụ-Khoa (DK1), on six underwater banks to the southeast that Vietnam does not consider part of the disputed island chain, although China and Taiwan disagree; Spratly Islands outposts are on Alison Reef, Amboyna Cay, Barque Canada Reef, Central Reef, Collins Reef, Cornwallis South Reef, Discovery Great Reef, East Reef, Grierson Reef, Ladd Reef, Landsdowne Reef, Namyit Island, Pearson Reef, Petley Reef, Sand Cay, Sin Cowe Island, South Reef, Southwest Cay, Spratly Island, Tennent Reef, West Reef; Spratly Island includes an airstrip with aircraft hangers; the six underwater banks with outposts include Vanguard, Rifleman, Prince of Wales, Prince Consort, Grainger, and Alexandra; over the past few years, Vietnam has continued to make modest improvements to its outposts, including defensive positions and infrastructure
Philippines: assessed to occupy 9 features (Commodore Reef, Second Thomas Shoal, Flat Island, Loaita Cay, Loaita Island, Nanshan Island, Northeast Cay, Thitu Island, and West York Island); Thitu Island has the only Philippine airstrip in the Spratlys
Taiwan: maintains a coast guard outpost with an airstrip on Itu Aba Island
Vietnam: assessed to occupy about 50 outposts spread across 27 features, including facilities on 21 rocks and reefs in the Spratlys, plus 14 platforms known as “economic, scientific, and technological service stations,” or Dịch vụ-Khoa (DK1), on six underwater banks to the southeast that Vietnam does not consider part of the disputed island chain, although China and Taiwan disagree; Spratly Islands outposts are on Alison Reef, Amboyna Cay, Barque Canada Reef, Central Reef, Collins Reef, Cornwallis South Reef, Discovery Great Reef, East Reef, Grierson Reef, Ladd Reef, Landsdowne Reef, Namyit Island, Pearson Reef, Petley Reef, Sand Cay, Sin Cowe Island, South Reef, Southwest Cay, Spratly Island, Tennent Reef, West Reef; Spratly Island includes an airstrip with aircraft hangers; the six underwater banks with outposts include Vanguard, Rifleman, Prince of Wales, Prince Consort, Grainger, and Alexandra; over the past few years, Vietnam has continued to make modest improvements to its outposts, including defensive positions and infrastructure
Austria-Czechia: None
Austria-Germany: None
Austria-Hungary: None
Austria-Italy: None
Austria-Liechtenstein: None
Austria-Slovenia: None
Austria-Slovakia: None
Austria-Switzerland: None
None
" }, "Refugees and internally displaced persons": { "refugees (country of origin)": { diff --git a/europe/bk.json b/europe/bk.json index 9b030f60..66060575 100644 --- a/europe/bk.json +++ b/europe/bk.json @@ -1152,7 +1152,7 @@ }, "Transnational Issues": { "Disputes - international": { - "text": "Serbia delimited about half of the boundary with Bosnia and Herzegovina, but sections along the Drina River remain in dispute
" + "text": "Bosnia and Herzegovina-Serbia: Serbia delimited about half of the boundary with Bosnia and Herzegovina, but sections along the Drina River remain in dispute.
" }, "Refugees and internally displaced persons": { "refugees (country of origin)": { @@ -1164,7 +1164,7 @@ "stateless persons": { "text": "149 (mid-year 2021)" }, - "note": "note: 87,139 estimated refugee and migrant arrivals (January 2015-March 2022)" + "note": "note: 87,380 estimated refugee and migrant arrivals (January 2015-March 2022)" }, "Trafficking in persons": { "current situation": { diff --git a/europe/bo.json b/europe/bo.json index 9613e81f..a2a0cb39 100644 --- a/europe/bo.json +++ b/europe/bo.json @@ -1163,9 +1163,12 @@ }, "Transnational Issues": { "Disputes - international": { - "text": "boundary demarcated with Latvia and Lithuania; as a member state that forms part of the EU's external border, Poland has implemented strict Schengen border rules to restrict illegal immigration and trade along its border with Belarus
" + "text": "Belarus-Latvia: Boundary demarcated with Latvia.
Belarus-Lithuania: Boundary demarcated with Lithuania.
Belarus-Poland: As a member state that forms part of the EU's external border, Poland has implemented strict Schengen border rules to restrict illegal immigration and trade along its border with Belarus.
since 2017, Latvia has hosted a Canadian-led multi-national NATO ground force battlegroup as part of the Alliance’s Enhanced Forward Presence initiative
NATO also has provided air protection for Latvia since 2004 through its Air Policing mission; NATO member countries that possess air combat capabilities voluntarily contribute to the mission on 4-month rotations
" + "text": "Latvia officially became a member of NATO in 2004since 2017, Latvia has hosted a Canadian-led multi-national NATO ground force battlegroup as part of the Alliance’s Enhanced Forward Presence initiative; in addition, Latvia hosts a NATO-led divisional headquarters (Multinational Division North; activated 2020), which coordinates training and preparation activities of its respective subordinate NATO battlegroups in Estonia and Latvia
NATO also has provided air protection for Latvia since 2004 through its Air Policing mission; NATO member countries that possess air combat capabilities voluntarily contribute to the mission on 4-month rotations
" } }, "Transnational Issues": { diff --git a/europe/lo.json b/europe/lo.json index d3ee6ff8..19456ba6 100644 --- a/europe/lo.json +++ b/europe/lo.json @@ -1139,7 +1139,7 @@ }, "Refugees and internally displaced persons": { "refugees (country of origin)": { - "text": "256,838 (Ukraine) (2022)" + "text": "281,172 (Ukraine) (as of 29 March 2022)" }, "stateless persons": { "text": "1,532 (mid-year 2021)" diff --git a/europe/md.json b/europe/md.json index 72940d91..0fe17add 100644 --- a/europe/md.json +++ b/europe/md.json @@ -1150,7 +1150,7 @@ }, "Refugees and internally displaced persons": { "refugees (country of origin)": { - "text": "371,104 (Ukraine) (2022)" + "text": "387,151 (Ukraine) (as of 29 March 2022)" }, "stateless persons": { "text": "3,372 (mid-year 2021)" diff --git a/europe/mj.json b/europe/mj.json index 0ceec182..53c5c370 100644 --- a/europe/mj.json +++ b/europe/mj.json @@ -1176,7 +1176,7 @@ "stateless persons": { "text": "458 (mid-year 2021)" }, - "note": "note: 20,880 estimated refugee and migrant arrivals (January 2015-March 2022)" + "note": "note: 20,947 estimated refugee and migrant arrivals (January 2015-March 2022)" }, "Illicit drugs": { "text": "drug trafficking groups are major players in the procurement and transportation of large quantities of cocaine destined for European markets
" diff --git a/europe/mt.json b/europe/mt.json index afa9584c..36cbb884 100644 --- a/europe/mt.json +++ b/europe/mt.json @@ -541,10 +541,10 @@ "text": "unicameral House of Representatives or Il-Kamra Tad-Deputati, a component of the Parliament of Malta (normally 65 seats but can include at-large members; members directly elected in 5 multi-seat constituencies by proportional representation vote; members serve 5-year terms); note - an additional two seats were added in 2016 by the Constitutional Court to correct for mistakes made in the 2013 vote-counting process" }, "elections": { - "text": "last held on 3 June 2017 (next to be held on 31 July 2022); note - Prime Minister MUSCAT called for early elections amid corruption allegations" + "text": "last held on 26 March 2022 (next to be held in 2027)" }, "election results": { - "text": "percent of vote by party - PL 55%, PN 43.7%, other 1.3%; seats by party - PL 37 PN 30; note - PN was awarded two additional seats for a total of 30 in accordance with the proportionality provisions specified in the constitution; PD candidates ran under the PN list; composition - men 57, women 10, percent of women 14.9%" + "text": "percent of vote by party - PL 55.1%, PN 41.7%, other 3.2%; seats by party - PL 38 PN 29; composition - men NA, women NA, percent of women NA%" } }, "Judicial branch": { diff --git a/europe/pl.json b/europe/pl.json index 4de5026f..e2a8d149 100644 --- a/europe/pl.json +++ b/europe/pl.json @@ -1215,7 +1215,7 @@ "note": "note: Poland contributes about 2,500 troops to the Lithuania, Poland, and Ukraine joint military brigade (LITPOLUKRBRIG), which was established in 2014; the brigade is headquartered in Poland and is comprised of an international staff, three battalions, and specialized units" }, "Military - note": { - "text": "Poland joined NATO in 1999; Czechia, Hungary, and Poland were invited to begin accession talks at NATO's Madrid Summit in 1997, and in March 1999 they became the first former members of the Warsaw Pact to join the Alliancesince 2017, Poland has hosted a US-led multi-national NATO ground force battlegroup as part of the Alliance’s Enhanced Forward Presence initiative
" + "text": "Poland joined NATO in 1999; Czechia, Hungary, and Poland were invited to begin accession talks at NATO's Madrid Summit in 1997, and in March 1999 they became the first former members of the Warsaw Pact to join the Alliancesince 2017, Poland has hosted a US-led multi-national NATO ground force battlegroup as part of the Alliance’s Enhanced Forward Presence initiative; Poland also
Poland hosts a NATO-led divisional headquarters (Multinational Division Northeast; operational in 2018), which coordinates training and preparation activities of its respective subordinate battlegroups in Poland and Lithuania; Poland also hosts a corps-level headquarters (Multinational Corps Northeast)
(2022)" } }, "Terrorism": { @@ -1230,7 +1230,7 @@ }, "Refugees and internally displaced persons": { "refugees (country of origin)": { - "text": "9,870 (Russia) (2019); 2,144,244 (2022)" + "text": "9,870 (Russia) (2019); 2,336,799 (as of 29 March 2022)" }, "stateless persons": { "text": "1,389 (mid-year 2021)" diff --git a/europe/po.json b/europe/po.json index abf877c5..b347ad2f 100644 --- a/europe/po.json +++ b/europe/po.json @@ -549,13 +549,13 @@ }, "Legislative branch": { "description": { - "text": "unicameral Assembly of the Republic or Assembleia da Republica (230 seats; 226 members directly elected in multi-seat constituencies by closed-list proportional representation vote and 4 members - 2 each in 2 constituencies representing Portuguese living abroad - directly elected by proportional representation vote; members serve 4-year terms) (e.g. 2019)" + "text": "unicameral Assembly of the Republic or Assembleia da Republica (230 seats; 226 members directly elected in multi-seat constituencies by closed-list proportional representation vote and 4 members - 2 each in 2 constituencies representing Portuguese living abroad - directly elected by proportional representation vote; members serve 4-year terms)" }, "elections": { - "text": "last held on 30 January 2022 (next to be held in January 2026); note - early elections were called after parliament was dissolved on 3 November 2021 because of the 27 October 2021 rejection of the government's budget (e.g. 2019)" + "text": "last held on 30 January 2022 (next to be held in January 2026); note - early elections were called after parliament was dissolved on 3 November 2021 because of the 27 October 2021 rejection of the government's budget" }, "election results": { - "text": "percent of vote by party - PS 41.7%, PSD 27.8%, IL 5%, BE 4.5%, CDU 4.4%, PAN 1.5%, L 1.3%, Madeira First 0.9%, Democratic Alliance (in the Azores) 0.5%, other 12.4%; seats by party - PS 117, PSD 71, BE 19, IL 12, CDU 12, Madeira First 3, Democratic Alliance 2, PAN 1, L 1; composition (as of October 2021) - men 138, women 92, percent of women 40% (e.g. 2019)" + "text": "percent of vote by party - PS 41.7%, PSD 27.8%, IL 5%, BE 4.5%, CDU 4.4%, PAN 1.5%, L 1.3%, Madeira First 0.9%, Democratic Alliance (in the Azores) 0.5%, other 12.4%; seats by party - PS 117, PSD 71, BE 19, IL 12, CDU 12, Madeira First 3, Democratic Alliance 2, PAN 1, L 1; composition (as of October 2021) - men 138, women 92, percent of women 40%" } }, "Judicial branch": { diff --git a/europe/ri.json b/europe/ri.json index 41b27a92..f533ecc7 100644 --- a/europe/ri.json +++ b/europe/ri.json @@ -1191,7 +1191,7 @@ "stateless persons": { "text": "2,113 (includes stateless persons in Kosovo) (mid-year 2021)" }, - "note": "note: 820,811 estimated refugee and migrant arrivals (January 2015-March 2022); Serbia is predominantly a transit country and hosts an estimated 4,650 migrants and asylum seekers as of February 2022" + "note": "note: 821,559 estimated refugee and migrant arrivals (January 2015-March 2022); Serbia is predominantly a transit country and hosts an estimated 4,650 migrants and asylum seekers as of February 2022" }, "Illicit drugs": { "text": "drug trafficking groups are major players in the procurement and transportation of of large quantities of cocaine destined for European markets
" diff --git a/europe/ro.json b/europe/ro.json index 6a254ad3..4349263d 100644 --- a/europe/ro.json +++ b/europe/ro.json @@ -1179,7 +1179,7 @@ "text": "up to 120 Poland (NATO) (2021)" }, "Military - note": { - "text": "Romania officially became a member of NATO in 2004" + "text": "Romania officially became a member of NATO in 2004Romania hosts a NATO multinational divisional (Multinational Division Southeast; became operational in 2017) and a brigade-sized headquarters as part of NATO's tailored forward presence in the southeastern part of the Alliance
" } }, "Terrorism": { @@ -1194,7 +1194,7 @@ }, "Refugees and internally displaced persons": { "refugees (country of origin)": { - "text": "555,021 (Ukraine) (2022)" + "text": "608,936 (Ukraine) (as of 29 March 2022)" }, "stateless persons": { "text": "314 (mid-year 2021)" diff --git a/europe/sp.json b/europe/sp.json index 196449eb..905a410a 100644 --- a/europe/sp.json +++ b/europe/sp.json @@ -1220,7 +1220,7 @@ "stateless persons": { "text": "6,.92 (mid-year 2021)" }, - "note": "note: 199,152 estimated refugee and migrant arrivals (January 2015-March 2022)" + "note": "note: 256,033 estimated refugee and migrant arrivals, including Canary Islands (January 2015-March 2022)" }, "Illicit drugs": { "text": "primary transit point in Europe for cocaine from South America and for hashish from Morocco; cocaine is shipped in raw or liquid form with mixed cargo to avoid detection; traffickers ship methamphetamine via express mail; increasing number of indoor cannabis grow operations; illegal labs cutting, mixing, and reconstituting cocaine, and heroin and methamphetamine labs; synthetic drugs, including ketamine and MDMA (ecstasy) transit from Spain to the United States" diff --git a/europe/up.json b/europe/up.json index 1d129cfd..0fe8fe81 100644 --- a/europe/up.json +++ b/europe/up.json @@ -1,7 +1,7 @@ { "Introduction": { "Background": { - "text": "Ukraine was the center of the first eastern Slavic state, Kyivan Rus, which during the 10th and 11th centuries was the largest and most powerful state in Europe. Weakened by internecine quarrels and Mongol invasions, Kyivan Rus was incorporated into the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and eventually into the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. The cultural and religious legacy of Kyivan Rus laid the foundation for Ukrainian nationalism through subsequent centuries. A new Ukrainian state, the Cossack Hetmanate, was established during the mid-17th century after an uprising against the Poles. Despite continuous Muscovite pressure, the Hetmanate managed to remain autonomous for well over 100 years. During the latter part of the 18th century, most Ukrainian ethnographic territory was absorbed by the Russian Empire. Following the collapse of czarist Russia in 1917, Ukraine achieved a short-lived period of independence (1917-20), but was reconquered and endured a brutal Soviet rule that engineered two forced famines (1921-22 and 1932-33) in which over 8 million died. In World War II, German and Soviet armies were responsible for 7 to 8 million more deaths. Although Ukraine achieved independence in 1991 with the dissolution of the USSR, democracy and prosperity remained elusive as the legacy of state control and endemic corruption stalled efforts at economic reform, privatization, and civil liberties.
A peaceful mass protest referred to as the \"Orange Revolution\" in the closing months of 2004 forced the authorities to overturn a rigged presidential election and to allow a new internationally monitored vote that swept into power a reformist slate under Viktor YUSHCHENKO. Subsequent internal squabbles in the YUSHCHENKO camp allowed his rival Viktor YANUKOVYCH to stage a comeback in parliamentary (Rada) elections, become prime minister in August 2006, and be elected president in February 2010. In October 2012, Ukraine held Rada elections, widely criticized by Western observers as flawed due to use of government resources to favor ruling party candidates, interference with media access, and harassment of opposition candidates. President YANUKOVYCH's backtracking on a trade and cooperation agreement with the EU in November 2013 - in favor of closer economic ties with Russia - and subsequent use of force against students, civil society activists, and other civilians in favor of the agreement led to a three-month protest occupation of Kyiv's central square. The government's use of violence to break up the protest camp in February 2014 led to all out pitched battles, scores of deaths, international condemnation, a failed political deal, and the president's abrupt departure for Russia. New elections in the spring allowed pro-West president Petro POROSHENKO to assume office in June 2014; he was succeeded by Volodymyr ZELENSKY in May 2019.
Shortly after YANUKOVYCH's departure in late February 2014, Russian President PUTIN ordered the invasion of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula falsely claiming the action was to protect ethnic Russians living there. Two weeks later, a \"referendum\" was held regarding the integration of Crimea into the Russian Federation. The \"referendum\" was condemned as illegitimate by the Ukrainian Government, the EU, the US, and the UN General Assembly (UNGA). In response to Russia's illegal annexation of Crimea, 100 members of the UN passed UNGA resolution 68/262, rejecting the \"referendum\" as baseless and invalid and confirming the sovereignty, political independence, unity, and territorial integrity of Ukraine. In mid-2014, Russia began supplying proxies in two of Ukraine's eastern provinces with manpower, funding, and materiel driving an armed conflict with the Ukrainian Government that continues to this day. Representatives from Ukraine, Russia, and the unrecognized Russian proxy republics signed the Minsk Protocol and Memorandum in September 2014 to end the conflict. However, this agreement failed to stop the fighting or find a political solution. In a renewed attempt to alleviate ongoing clashes, leaders of Ukraine, Russia, France, and Germany negotiated a follow-on Package of Measures in February 2015 to implement the Minsk agreements. Representatives from Ukraine, Russia, the unrecognized Russian proxy republics, and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe also meet regularly to facilitate implementation of the peace deal. By early 2022, more than 14,000 civilians were killed or wounded as a result of the Russian intervention in eastern Ukraine.
On 24 February 2022, Russia escalated its conflict with Ukraine by invading the country on several fronts in what has become the largest conventional military attack on a sovereign state in Europe since World War II. The invasion has received near universal international condemnation and many countries have imposed sanctions on Russia and also supplied humanitarian and military aid to Ukraine. The invasion has also created Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. As of 22 March, more than 3.63 million people had fled Ukraine, and approximately 6.48 million people were internally displaced as of 16 March. More than 2,400 civilian casualties had been reported, as of 20 March.
" + "text": "
Ukraine was the center of the first eastern Slavic state, Kyivan Rus, which during the 10th and 11th centuries was the largest and most powerful state in Europe. Weakened by internecine quarrels and Mongol invasions, Kyivan Rus was incorporated into the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and eventually into the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. The cultural and religious legacy of Kyivan Rus laid the foundation for Ukrainian nationalism through subsequent centuries. A new Ukrainian state, the Cossack Hetmanate, was established during the mid-17th century after an uprising against the Poles. Despite continuous Muscovite pressure, the Hetmanate managed to remain autonomous for well over 100 years. During the latter part of the 18th century, most Ukrainian ethnographic territory was absorbed by the Russian Empire. Following the collapse of czarist Russia in 1917, Ukraine achieved a short-lived period of independence (1917-20), but was reconquered and endured a brutal Soviet rule that engineered two forced famines (1921-22 and 1932-33) in which over 8 million died. In World War II, German and Soviet armies were responsible for 7 to 8 million more deaths. Although Ukraine achieved independence in 1991 with the dissolution of the USSR, democracy and prosperity remained elusive as the legacy of state control and endemic corruption stalled efforts at economic reform, privatization, and civil liberties.
A peaceful mass protest referred to as the \"Orange Revolution\" in the closing months of 2004 forced the authorities to overturn a rigged presidential election and to allow a new internationally monitored vote that swept into power a reformist slate under Viktor YUSHCHENKO. Subsequent internal squabbles in the YUSHCHENKO camp allowed his rival Viktor YANUKOVYCH to stage a comeback in parliamentary (Rada) elections, become prime minister in August 2006, and be elected president in February 2010. In October 2012, Ukraine held Rada elections, widely criticized by Western observers as flawed due to use of government resources to favor ruling party candidates, interference with media access, and harassment of opposition candidates. President YANUKOVYCH's backtracking on a trade and cooperation agreement with the EU in November 2013 - in favor of closer economic ties with Russia - and subsequent use of force against students, civil society activists, and other civilians in favor of the agreement led to a three-month protest occupation of Kyiv's central square. The government's use of violence to break up the protest camp in February 2014 led to all out pitched battles, scores of deaths, international condemnation, a failed political deal, and the president's abrupt departure for Russia. New elections in the spring allowed pro-West president Petro POROSHENKO to assume office in June 2014; he was succeeded by Volodymyr ZELENSKY in May 2019.
Shortly after YANUKOVYCH's departure in late February 2014, Russian President PUTIN ordered the invasion of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula falsely claiming the action was to protect ethnic Russians living there. Two weeks later, a \"referendum\" was held regarding the integration of Crimea into the Russian Federation. The \"referendum\" was condemned as illegitimate by the Ukrainian Government, the EU, the US, and the UN General Assembly (UNGA). In response to Russia's illegal annexation of Crimea, 100 members of the UN passed UNGA resolution 68/262, rejecting the \"referendum\" as baseless and invalid and confirming the sovereignty, political independence, unity, and territorial integrity of Ukraine. In mid-2014, Russia began supplying proxies in two of Ukraine's eastern provinces with manpower, funding, and materiel driving an armed conflict with the Ukrainian Government that continues to this day. Representatives from Ukraine, Russia, and the unrecognized Russian proxy republics signed the Minsk Protocol and Memorandum in September 2014 to end the conflict. However, this agreement failed to stop the fighting or find a political solution. In a renewed attempt to alleviate ongoing clashes, leaders of Ukraine, Russia, France, and Germany negotiated a follow-on Package of Measures in February 2015 to implement the Minsk agreements. Representatives from Ukraine, Russia, the unrecognized Russian proxy republics, and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe also meet regularly to facilitate implementation of the peace deal. By early 2022, more than 14,000 civilians were killed or wounded as a result of the Russian intervention in eastern Ukraine.
On 24 February 2022, Russia escalated its conflict with Ukraine by invading the country on several fronts in what has become the largest conventional military attack on a sovereign state in Europe since World War II. The invasion has received near universal international condemnation and many countries have imposed sanctions on Russia and also supplied humanitarian and military aid to Ukraine. The invasion has also created Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. As of 29 March, more than 4.02 million people had fled Ukraine, and approximately 6.48 million people were internally displaced as of 16 March. More than 2,685 civilian casualties had been reported, as of 25 March.
" } }, "Geography": { @@ -1184,7 +1184,7 @@ }, "Military service age and obligation": { "text": "conscription abolished in 2012, but reintroduced in 2014; 20-27 years of age for compulsory military service; conscript service obligation is 12 months (2021)", - "note": "note(s) - in early 2022, the Ukrainian Government announced plans to phase out obligatory military service over a period of 3 years; the Ukrainian military has a mix of conscripts (14,000 conscripted in 2021) and professional soldiers on contracts; by law, conscripts cannot serve on the frontlines, but have the opportunity to sign short or long-term contracts upon the expiration of their terms of service; women can volunteer and have served in the Ukrainian armed forces since 1993; as of 2021, women comprised approximately 15-20% of the military; in late 2021, the Ukrainian Government began requiring women between 18 and 60 who are fit for military service and work in a broad range of professions to register with Ukraine's armed forces
Formerly part of the Ottoman Empire, Iraq was occupied by the United Kingdom during World War I and was declared a League of Nations mandate under UK administration in 1920. Iraq attained its independence as a kingdom in 1932. It was proclaimed a \"republic\" in 1958 after a coup overthrew the monarchy, but in actuality, a series of strongmen ruled the country until 2003. The last was SADDAM Husayn from 1979 to 2003. Territorial disputes with Iran led to an inconclusive and costly eight-year war (1980-88). In August 1990, Iraq seized Kuwait but was expelled by US-led UN coalition forces during the Gulf War of January-February 1991. After Iraq's expulsion, the UN Security Council (UNSC) required Iraq to scrap all weapons of mass destruction and long-range missiles and to allow UN verification inspections. Continued Iraqi noncompliance with UNSC resolutions led to the Second Gulf War in March 2003 and the ouster of the SADDAM Husayn regime by US-led forces.
In October 2005, Iraqis approved a constitution in a national referendum and, pursuant to this document, elected a 275-member Council of Representatives (COR) in December 2005. The COR approved most cabinet ministers in May 2006, marking the transition to Iraq's first constitutional government in nearly a half century. Iraq held elections for provincial councils in all governorates - except for Iraq's Kurdistan region and Kirkuk - in January 2009 and in April and June 2013, and has repeatedly postponed the next provincial elections, originally planned for April 2017. Iraq has held four national legislative elections since 2006, most recently in October 2021 when 329 legislators were elected to the COR. The acting Iraqi National Intelligence Service Director General Mustafa al-KADHIMI became prime minister in May 2020 after the previous prime minister resigned in late 2019 because of widespread protests demanding more employment opportunities and an end to corruption. His mandate as prime minister was to guide Iraq toward an early national legislative election, which was held in October 2021.
Between 2014 and 2017, Iraq was engaged in a military campaign against the Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham (ISIS) to recapture territory lost in the western and northern portion of the country. Iraqi and allied forces recaptured Mosul, the country's second-largest city, in 2017 and drove ISIS out of its other urban strongholds. In December 2017, then-Prime Minister Haydar al-ABADI publicly declared victory against ISIS while continuing operations against the group's residual presence in rural areas. Also in late 2017, ABADI responded to an independence referendum held by the Kurdistan Regional Government by ordering Iraqi forces to take control of disputed territories across central and northern Iraq that were previously occupied and governed by Kurdish forces.
" + "text": "Formerly part of the Ottoman Empire, Iraq was occupied by the United Kingdom during World War I and was declared a League of Nations mandate under UK administration in 1920. Iraq attained its independence as a kingdom in 1932. It was proclaimed a \"republic\" in 1958 after a coup overthrew the monarchy, but in actuality, a series of strongmen ruled the country until 2003. The last was SADDAM Husayn from 1979 to 2003. Territorial disputes with Iran led to an inconclusive and costly eight-year war (1980-88). In August 1990, Iraq seized Kuwait but was expelled by US-led UN coalition forces during the Gulf War of January-February 1991. After Iraq's expulsion, the UN Security Council (UNSC) required Iraq to scrap all weapons of mass destruction and long-range missiles and to allow UN verification inspections. Continued Iraqi noncompliance with UNSC resolutions led to the Second Gulf War in March 2003 and the ouster of the SADDAM Husayn regime by US-led forces.
In October 2005, Iraqis approved a constitution in a national referendum and, pursuant to this document, elected a 275-member Council of Representatives (COR) in December 2005. The COR approved most cabinet ministers in May 2006, marking the transition to Iraq's first constitutional government in nearly a half century. Iraq held elections for provincial councils in all governorates - except for Iraq's Kurdistan Region and Kirkuk - in January 2009 and in April and June 2013, and has repeatedly postponed the next provincial elections, originally planned for April 2017. Iraq has held four national legislative elections since 2006, most recently in October 2021 when 329 legislators were elected to the COR. The acting Iraqi National Intelligence Service Director General Mustafa al-KADHIMI became prime minister in May 2020 after the previous prime minister resigned in late 2019 because of widespread protests demanding more employment opportunities and an end to corruption. His mandate as prime minister was to guide Iraq toward an early national legislative election, which was held in October 2021.
Between 2014 and 2017, Iraq was engaged in a military campaign against the Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham (ISIS) to recapture territory lost in the western and northern portion of the country. Iraqi and allied forces recaptured Mosul, the country's second-largest city, in 2017 and drove ISIS out of its other urban strongholds. In December 2017, then-Prime Minister Haydar al-ABADI publicly declared victory against ISIS while continuing operations against the group's residual presence in rural areas. Also in late 2017, ABADI responded to an independence referendum held by the Kurdistan Regional Government by ordering Iraqi forces to take control of disputed territories across central and northern Iraq that were previously occupied and governed by Kurdish forces.
" } }, "Geography": { @@ -139,8 +139,8 @@ } }, "Religions": { - "text": "Muslim (official) 95-98% (Shia 64-69%, Sunni 29-34%), Christian 1% (includes Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant, Assyrian Church of the East), other 1-4% (2015 est.)", - "note": "note: while there has been voluntary relocation of many Christian families to northern Iraq, the overall Christian population has decreased at least 50% and perhaps as high as 90% since the fall of the SADDAM Husayn regime in 2003, according to US Embassy estimates, with many fleeing to Syria, Jordan, and Lebanon" + "text": "Muslim (official) 95-98% (Shia 61-64%, Sunni 29-34%), Christian 1% (includes Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant, Assyrian Church of the East), other 1-4% (2015 est.)", + "note": "note: the last census in Iraq was in 1997; while there has been voluntary relocation of many Christian families to northern Iraq, the overall Christian population has decreased at least 50% and perhaps as high as 90% since the fall of the SADDAM Husayn regime in 2003, according to US Embassy estimates, with many fleeing to Syria, Jordan, and Lebanon" }, "Age structure": { "0-14 years": { @@ -576,13 +576,13 @@ }, "Legislative branch": { "description": { - "text": "unicameral Council of Representatives or Majlis an-Nuwwab al-Iraqiyy (329 seats; 320 members directly elected in 83 multi-seat constituencies by simple majority vote and 9 seats reserved for minorities - 5 for Christians, 1 each for Sabaean-Mandaeans, Yazidis, Shabaks, Fayli Kurds; 25% of seats allocated to women; members serve 4-year terms); note - in early November 2020, the president ratified a new electoral law - approved by the Council of Representatives in late October - that eliminates the proportional representation electoral system" + "text": "unicameral Council of Representatives of Iraq (COR) or Majlis an-Nuwwab al-Iraqiyy (329 seats; 320 members directly elected in 83 multi-seat constituencies by single nontransferable vote, 9 seats reserved for minorities - 5 for Christians, 1 each for Sabaean-Mandaeans, Yazidis, Shabaks, Fayli Kurds, and 25% of seats allocated to women; members serve 4-year terms); note - in late 2020, the COR approved an electoral law, replacing the proportional representation voting system with the single non-transferable system" }, "elections": { "text": "last held on 10 October 2021 (next to be held in October 2025)" }, "election results": { - "text": "percent of vote by party/coalition - NA; seats by party/coalition - NA" + "text": "percent of vote by party/coalition - NA; seats by party/coalition - Sadrist Bloc 73, National Progress Alliance 37, State of Law Coalition 33, Kurdish Democratic Party 31, Al Fatah Alliance 17, Kurdistan Alliance 17, Al Iraq Alliance 14, New Generation Movement 14, Ishraqet Konoon 6, Tasmin Alliance 5, Babylon Movement 4, National Contract Alliance 4, National State Forces Alliance 4, other 22, independent 43; composition - men 234, women 95, percent of women 28.9%" } }, "Judicial branch": { @@ -597,7 +597,7 @@ } }, "Political parties and leaders": { - "text": "Al Fatah Alliance [Hadi al-AMIRI]Following World War I and the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire, the League of Nations awarded Britain the mandate to govern much of the Middle East. Britain demarcated a semi-autonomous region of Transjordan from Palestine in 1921 and appointed ABDALLAH I from the Hashemite family as the country's first leader. The Hashemites also controlled Hijaz, or the western coastal area of modern day Saudi Arabia, until 1925 when they were pushed out by Ibn Saud and Wahhabi tribes. The country gained its independence in 1946 and thereafter became The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.
The country has had four kings. Jordan's long-time ruler, King HUSSEIN (1953-99), successfully navigated competing pressures from the major powers (US, USSR, and UK), various Arab states, Israel, and Palestinian militants, which led to a brief civil war in 1970 referred to as \"Black September\" and ended in King HUSSEIN's ouster of the militants from Jordan. Jordan's borders also have changed. In 1948, Jordan took control of the West Bank and East Jerusalem, eventually annexing those territories in 1950 and granting its new Palestinian residents Jordanian citizenship. In 1967, Jordan lost the West Bank and East Jerusalem to Israel in the Six-Day War but retained administrative claims until 1988 when King HUSSEIN permanently relinquished Jordanian claims to the West Bank. King HUSSEIN signed a peace treaty with Israel in 1994 after Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization signed the Oslo Accords in 1993.Following World War I and the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire, the League of Nations awarded Britain the mandate to govern much of the Middle East. Britain demarcated a semi-autonomous region of Transjordan from Palestine in 1921 and recognized ABDALLAH I from the Hashemite family as the country's first leader. The Hashemites also controlled Hijaz, or the western coastal area of modern day Saudi Arabia until 1925, when they were pushed out by Ibn Saud and Wahhabi tribes. The country gained its independence in 1946 and thereafter became The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.
The country has had four kings. Jordan's long-time ruler, King HUSSEIN (1953-99), successfully navigated competing pressures from the major powers (US, USSR, and UK), various Arab states, Israel, and Palestinian militants, which led to a brief civil war in 1970 referred to as \"Black September\" and ended in King HUSSEIN's ouster of the militants from Jordan. Jordan's borders also have changed. In 1948, Jordan took control of the West Bank and East Jerusalem, eventually annexing those territories in 1950 and granting its new Palestinian residents Jordanian citizenship. In 1967, Jordan lost the West Bank and East Jerusalem to Israel in the Six-Day War but retained administrative claims until 1988 when King HUSSEIN permanently relinquished Jordanian claims to the West Bank in favor of the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO). King HUSSEIN signed a peace treaty with Israel in 1994 after Israel and the PLO signed the Oslo Accords in 1993." } }, "Geography": { @@ -591,10 +591,10 @@ } }, "Political parties and leaders": { - "text": "Jordan has 49 registered political parties, four of which currently have seats in the elected Chamber of Deputies including the Islamic Action Front, the Islamic Centrist Party, the United Jordanian Front Party, and the National Loyalty Party" + "text": "Jordan has 54 registered political parties, four of which currently have seats in the elected Chamber of Deputies including the Islamic Action Front, the Islamic Centrist Party, the United Jordanian Front Party, and the National Loyalty Party" }, "International organization participation": { - "text": "ABEDA, AFESD, AMF, CAEU, CD, CICA, EBRD, FAO, G-11, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), LAS, MIGA, MINUSTAH, MINUSMA, MONUSCO, NAM, OIC, OPCW, OSCE (partner), PCA, UN, UNAMID, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNISFA, UNMIL, UNMISS, UNOCI, UNRWA, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO" + "text": "ABEDA, AFESD, AMF, CAEU, CD, CICA, EBRD, FAO, G-11, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), LAS, MIGA, MINUSTAH, MINUSMA, MONUSCO, NAM, NATO (partner), OIC, OPCW, OSCE (partner), PCA, UN, UNAMID, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNISFA, UNMIL, UNMISS, UNOCI, UNRWA, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO" }, "Diplomatic representation in the US": { "chief of mission": { diff --git a/middle-east/ku.json b/middle-east/ku.json index 1e854f10..a7550037 100644 --- a/middle-east/ku.json +++ b/middle-east/ku.json @@ -1,7 +1,7 @@ { "Introduction": { "Background": { - "text": "
Kuwait has been ruled by the AL-SABAH dynasty since the 18th century. The threat of Ottoman invasion in 1899 prompted Amir Mubarak AL-SABAH to seek protection from Britain, ceding foreign and defense responsibility to Britain until 1961, when the country attained its independence. Kuwait was attacked and overrun by Iraq in August 1990. Following several weeks of aerial bombardment, a US-led UN coalition began a ground assault in February 1991 that liberated Kuwait in four days. In 1992, the Amir reconstituted the parliament that he had dissolved in 1986. Amid the 2010-11 uprisings and protests across the Arab world, stateless Arabs, known as Bidoon, staged small protests in early 2011 demanding citizenship, jobs, and other benefits available to Kuwaiti nationals. Other demographic groups, notably Islamists and Kuwaitis from tribal backgrounds, soon joined the growing protest movements, which culminated in late 2011 with the resignation of the prime minister amidst allegations of corruption. Demonstrations renewed in late 2012 in response to an amiri decree amending the electoral law that lessened the voting power of the tribal blocs.
An opposition coalition of Sunni Islamists, tribal populists, and some liberals, largely boycotted legislative elections in 2012 and 2013, which ushered in a legislature more amenable to the government's agenda. Faced with the prospect of painful subsidy cuts, oppositionists and independents actively participated in the November 2016 election, winning nearly half of the seats but a cohesive opposition alliance largely ceased to exist with the 2016 election and the opposition became increasingly factionalized. Since coming to power in 2006, the Amir has dissolved the National Assembly on seven occasions (the Constitutional Court annulled the Assembly elections in June 2012 and again in June 2013) and shuffled the cabinet over a dozen times, usually citing political stagnation and gridlock between the legislature and the government.
Kuwait has been ruled by the AL-SABAH dynasty since the 18th century. The threat of Ottoman invasion in 1899 prompted Amir Mubarak AL-SABAH to seek protection from Britain, ceding foreign and defense responsibility to Britain until 1961, when the country attained its independence. Kuwait was attacked and overrun by Iraq in August 1990. Following several weeks of aerial bombardment, a US-led UN coalition began a ground assault in February 1991 that liberated Kuwait in four days. In 1992, the Amir reconstituted the parliament that he had dissolved in 1986. Amid the 2010-11 uprisings and protests across the Arab world, stateless Arabs, known as Bidoon, staged small protests in early 2011 demanding citizenship, jobs, and other benefits available to Kuwaiti nationals. Other demographic groups, notably Islamists and Kuwaitis from tribal backgrounds, soon joined the growing protest movements, which culminated in late 2011 with the resignation of the prime minister amidst allegations of corruption. Demonstrations renewed in late 2012 in response to an amiri decree amending the electoral law that lessened the voting power of the tribal blocs.
An opposition coalition of Sunni Islamists, tribal populists, and some liberals, largely boycotted legislative elections in 2012 and 2013, which ushered in a legislature more amenable to the government's agenda. Faced with the prospect of painful subsidy cuts, oppositionists and independents actively participated in the November 2016 election, winning nearly half of the seats but a cohesive opposition alliance largely ceased to exist with the 2016 election and the opposition became increasingly factionalized. Since coming to power in 2006, the Amir has dissolved the National Assembly on seven occasions (the Constitutional Court annulled the Assembly elections in June 2012 and again in June 2013) and shuffled the cabinet over a dozen times, usually citing political stagnation and gridlock between the legislature and the government.
The current Amir, who assumed his role in 2020, launched a \"National Dialogue\" in September 2021 meant to resolve political gridlock. As part of the \"National Dialogue,\" the Amir pardoned several opposition figures who had been living in exile, and they returned to Kuwait. Legislative challenges remain, and the cabinet was reshuffled in March 2022.
in 2015, a Saudi-led coalition of Arab states intervened militarily in Yemen in support of the Republic of Yemen Government against the separatist Huthis; as of 2021, the coalition (consisting largely of Saudi forces) and the Huthis continued to engage in fighting, mostly with air and missile forces, although heavy ground fighting was also reportedly taking place over the key province of Marib; the Saudis have conducted numerous air strikes in northern Yemen, while the Huthis have launched attacks into Saudi territory with ballistic missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles armed with explosives; the Saudi-led coalition controlled the country’s airspace and the port of Hodeida; Saudi Arabia also has raised and equipped paramilitary/militia security forces in Yemen--based largely on tribal or regional affiliation--to deploy along the Saudi-Yemen border, especially the areas bordering the governorates of Saada and Al-Jawf
" + "text": "in 2015, a Saudi-led coalition of Arab states intervened militarily in Yemen in support of the Republic of Yemen Government against the separatist Huthis; as of 2022, the coalition (consisting largely of Saudi forces) and the Huthis continued to engage in fighting, mostly with air and missile forces, although heavy ground fighting was also reportedly taking place over the key province of Marib; the Saudis have conducted numerous air strikes in northern Yemen, while the Huthis have launched attacks into Saudi territory with ballistic missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles armed with explosives; the Saudi-led coalition controlled the country’s airspace and the port of Hodeida; Saudi Arabia also has raised and equipped paramilitary/militia security forces in Yemen--based largely on tribal or regional affiliation--to deploy along the Saudi-Yemen border, especially the areas bordering the governorates of Saada and Al-Jawf
" } }, "Terrorism": { diff --git a/middle-east/tu.json b/middle-east/tu.json index 4ba6466c..62ec0168 100644 --- a/middle-east/tu.json +++ b/middle-east/tu.json @@ -1214,7 +1214,7 @@ }, "Refugees and internally displaced persons": { "refugees (country of origin)": { - "text": "3,750,462 (Syria) (2022)" + "text": "3,751,889 (Syria) (2022)" }, "IDPs": { "text": "1.099 million (displaced from 1984-2005 because of fighting between the Kurdish PKK and Turkish military; most IDPs are Kurds from eastern and southeastern provinces; no information available on persons displaced by development projects) (2020)" diff --git a/middle-east/ym.json b/middle-east/ym.json index 85b2ce88..11da0352 100644 --- a/middle-east/ym.json +++ b/middle-east/ym.json @@ -1144,7 +1144,7 @@ "text": "18 is the legal minimum age for voluntary military service; conscription abolished in 2001; 2-year service obligation (note - limited information since the start of the civil war) (2021)" }, "Military - note": { - "text": "in 2015, a Saudi-led coalition of Arab states intervened militarily in Yemen in support of the Republic of Yemen Government (ROYG) against the separatist Huthis; as of late 2021, the conflict had become largely stalemated, but the coalition (consisting largely of Saudi forces), ROYG forces, and the Huthis continued to engage in fighting, mostly with air and missile forces, although heavy ground fighting was also taking place over the key oil-rich province of Marib; the Saudis have conducted numerous air strikes in northern Yemen, while the Huthis have launched attacks into Saudi territory with ballistic missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles armed with explosives; Saudi Arabia also has raised and equipped paramilitary/militia security forces in Yemen based largely on tribal or regional affiliation to deploy along the Saudi-Yemen border, especially the areas bordering the governorates of Saada and Al-Jawf; as of late 2021, the Saudi-led coalition continued to control Yemen’s airspace and the port of Hodeida
the United Arab Emirates (UAE) intervened in Yemen in 2015 as part of the Saudi-led coalition with about 3,500 troops, as well as supporting air and naval forces; UAE withdrew its main military force from Yemen in 2019, but has retained a small military presence while working with proxies in southern Yemen, most notably the Southern Transitional Council (STC); as of 2021, UAE had recruited, trained, and equipped an estimated 150-200,000 Yemeni fighters and formed them into dozens of militia and paramilitary units
" + "text": "in 2015, a Saudi-led coalition of Arab states intervened militarily in Yemen in support of the Republic of Yemen Government (ROYG) against the separatist Huthis; as of late 2022, the conflict had become largely stalemated, but the coalition (consisting largely of Saudi forces), ROYG forces, and the Huthis continued to engage in fighting, mostly with air and missile forces, although heavy ground fighting was also taking place over the key oil-rich province of Marib; the Saudis have conducted numerous air strikes in northern Yemen, while the Huthis have launched attacks into Saudi territory with ballistic missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles armed with explosives; Saudi Arabia also has raised and equipped paramilitary/militia security forces in Yemen based largely on tribal or regional affiliation to deploy along the Saudi-Yemen border, especially the areas bordering the governorates of Saada and Al-Jawf; as of early 2022, the Saudi-led coalition controlled Yemen’s airspace and the port of Hodeida
the United Arab Emirates (UAE) intervened in Yemen in 2015 as part of the Saudi-led coalition with about 3,500 troops, as well as supporting air and naval forces; UAE withdrew its main military force from Yemen in 2019, but has retained a small military presence while working with proxies in southern Yemen, most notably the Southern Transitional Council (STC); as of 2021, UAE had recruited, trained, and equipped an estimated 150-200,000 Yemeni fighters and formed them into dozens of militia and paramilitary units
" }, "Maritime threats": { "text": "the Maritime Administration of the US Department of Transportation has issued Maritime Advisory 2020-017 (Red Sea, Gulf of Aden, Arabian Sea, and Indian Ocean-Violence Due to Regional Conflict and Piracy) effective 14 December 2020, which states in part the \"Conflict in Yemen continues to pose potential risk to US flagged commercial vessels transiting the southern Red Sea, Bab al Mandeb Strait, and Gulf of Aden. Threats may come from a variety of different sources including, but not limited to, missiles, rockets, projectiles, mines, small arms, unmanned aerial vehicles, unmanned surface vessels, or waterborne improvised explosive devices. These threat vectors continue to pose a direct or collateral risk to US flagged commercial vessels operating in the region. Additionally, piracy poses a threat in the Gulf of Aden, Western Arabian Sea, and Western Indian Ocean.\"
" diff --git a/north-america/ca.json b/north-america/ca.json index c54a3c78..f5c576f4 100644 --- a/north-america/ca.json +++ b/north-america/ca.json @@ -1,7 +1,7 @@ { "Introduction": { "Background": { - "text": "A land of vast distances and rich natural resources, Canada became a self-governing dominion in 1867, while retaining ties to the British crown. Canada gained legislative independence from Britain in 1931 and formalized its constitutional independence from the UK in 1982 when it passed the Canada Act in 1982. Economically and technologically, the nation has developed in parallel with the US, its neighbor to the south across the world's longest international border. Canada faces the political challenges of meeting public demands for quality improvements in health care, education, social services, and economic competitiveness, as well as responding to the particular concerns of predominantly francophone Quebec. Canada also aims to develop its diverse energy resources while maintaining its commitment to the environment.
" + "text": "A land of vast distances and rich natural resources, Canada became a self-governing dominion in 1867, while retaining ties to the British crown. Canada gained legislative independence from Britain in 1931 and formalized its constitutional independence from the UK when it passed the Canada Act in 1982. Economically and technologically, the nation has developed in parallel with the US, its neighbor to the south across the world's longest international border. Canada faces the political challenges of meeting public demands for quality improvements in health care, education, social services, and economic competitiveness, as well as responding to the particular concerns of predominantly francophone Quebec. Canada also aims to develop its diverse energy resources while maintaining its commitment to the environment.
" } }, "Geography": { @@ -135,7 +135,7 @@ } }, "Ethnic groups": { - "text": "Canadian 32.3%, English 18.3%, Scottish 13.9%, French 13.6%, Irish 13.4%, German 9.6%, Chinese 5.1%, Italian 4.6%, North American Indian 4.4%, East Indian 4%, other 51.6% (2016 est.)", + "text": "Canadian 32.3%, English 18.3%, Scottish 13.9%, French 13.6%, Irish 13.4%, German 9.6%, Chinese 5.1%, Italian 4.6%, North American Indian 4.4%, East Indian 4%, Ukrainian 3.9%, other 47.7% (2016 est.)", "note": "note: percentages add up to more than 100% because respondents were able to identify more than one ethnic origin" }, "Languages": { @@ -563,10 +563,10 @@ "text": "bicameral Parliament or Parlement consists of:Bolivia, named after independence fighter Simon BOLIVAR, broke away from Spanish rule in 1825; much of its subsequent history has consisted of a series of coups and countercoups, with the last coup occurring in 1978. Democratic civilian rule was established in 1982, but leaders have faced difficult problems of deep-seated poverty, social unrest, and illegal drug production.
In December 2005, Bolivians elected Movement Toward Socialism leader Evo MORALES president - by the widest margin of any leader since the restoration of civilian rule in 1982 - after he ran on a promise to change the country's traditional political class and empower the nation's poor, indigenous majority. In December 2009 and October 2014, President MORALES easily won reelection. His party maintained control of the legislative branch of the government, which has allowed him to continue his process of change. In February 2016, MORALES narrowly lost a referendum to approve a constitutional amendment that would have allowed him to compete in the 2019 presidential election. However, a 2017 Supreme Court ruling stating that term limits violate human rights provided the justification for MORALES to be chosen by his party to run again in 2019. MORALES attempted to claim victory in the 20 October 2019 election, but widespread allegations of electoral fraud, rising violence, and pressure from the military ultimately forced him to flee the country. An interim government, led by President Jeanine ANEZ Chavez, prepared new elections that took place on 18 October 2020.
" + "text": "Bolivia, named after independence fighter Simon BOLIVAR, broke away from Spanish rule in 1825. Much of its subsequent history has consisted of a series of coups and countercoups, with the last coup occurring in 1978. Democratic civilian rule was established in 1982, but leaders have faced problems of deep-seated poverty, social unrest, and illegal drug production.
In December 2005, Bolivians elected Movement Toward Socialism leader Evo MORALES president - by the widest margin of any leader since the restoration of civilian rule in 1982 - after he ran on a promise to change the country's traditional political class and empower the nation's poor and indigenous majority. In December 2009 and October 2014, President MORALES easily won reelection. His party maintained control of the legislative branch of the government, which has allowed him to continue his \"process of change.\" In February 2016, MORALES narrowly lost a referendum to approve a constitutional amendment that would have allowed him to compete in the 2019 presidential election. However, a 2017 Supreme Court ruling stating that term limits violate human rights provided the justification for MORALES to be chosen by his party to run again in 2019. MORALES attempted to claim victory in the October 2019 election, but widespread allegations of electoral fraud, rising violence, and pressure from the military ultimately forced him to flee the country. An interim government, led by President Jeanine ANEZ Chavez, prepared new elections that took place in October 2020; President Luis Alberto ARCE Catacora took office the following month.
" } }, "Geography": { @@ -1203,7 +1203,7 @@ }, "Transnational Issues": { "Disputes - international": { - "text": "Chile and Peru rebuff Bolivia's reactivated claim to restore the Atacama corridor, ceded to Chile in 1884, but Chile offers instead unrestricted but not sovereign maritime access through Chile for Bolivian products; contraband smuggling, human trafficking, and illegal narcotic trafficking are problems in the porous areas of its border regions with all of its neighbors (Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, and Peru)
" + "text": "Contraband smuggling, human trafficking, and illegal narcotic trafficking are problems in the porous areas of its border regions with all of its neighbors (Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, and Peru).
Bolivia-Chile: Despite tariff-free access to ports in southern Peru and northern Chile, Bolivia persists with its long-standing claims to regain sovereign access to the Pacific Ocean.
Bolivia-Peru: Despite tariff-free access to ports in southern Peru and northern Chile, Bolivia persists with its long-standing claims to regain sovereign access to the Pacific Ocean. Smuggling of archaeological artifacts from Peru to Bolivia, illegal timber and narcotics smuggling, human trafficking, and falsified documents are current issues.
uncontested boundary dispute between Brazil and Uruguay over Braziliera/Brasiliera Island in the Quarai/Cuareim River leaves the tripoint with Argentina in question; smuggling of firearms and narcotics continues to be an issue along the Uruguay-Brazil border; Colombian-organized illegal narcotics and paramilitary activities penetrate Brazil's border region with Venezuela
" + "text": "Brazil-Colombia: Contraband smuggling (narcotics and arms), illegal migration, trafficking in animals, plants, lumber, illegal exploitation of mineral resources, Colombian (FARC) insurgent incursions in the area remain problematic issues.
Brazil-Uruguay: The uncontested boundary dispute between Brazil and Uruguay over over Arroyo de la Invernada triangle and sovereignty over Isla Brsillera leaves the tripoint with Argentina in question. Smuggling of firearms and narcotics continues to be an issue along the Uruguay-Brazil border.
Brazil-Venezuela: Colombian-organized illegal narcotics and paramilitary activities penetrate Brazil's border region with Venezuela.
Colombia was one of the three countries that emerged after the dissolution of Gran Colombia in 1830 (the others are Ecuador and Venezuela). A decades-long conflict between government forces, paramilitaries, and antigovernment insurgent groups heavily funded by the drug trade, principally the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), escalated during the 1990s. More than 31,000 former United Self Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC) paramilitaries demobilized by the end of 2006, and the AUC as a formal organization ceased to operate. In the wake of the paramilitary demobilization, illegal armed groups arose, whose members include some former paramilitaries. After four years of formal peace negotiations, the Colombian Government signed a final peace accord with the FARC in November 2016, which was subsequently ratified by the Colombian Congress. The accord calls for members of the FARC to demobilize, disarm, and reincorporate into society and politics. The accord also committed the Colombian Government to create three new institutions to form a 'comprehensive system for truth, justice, reparation, and non-repetition,' to include a truth commission, a special unit to coordinate the search for those who disappeared during the conflict, and a 'Special Jurisdiction for Peace' to administer justice for conflict-related crimes. The Colombian Government has stepped up efforts to expand its presence into every one of its administrative departments. Despite decades of internal conflict and drug-related security challenges, Colombia maintains relatively strong democratic institutions characterized by peaceful, transparent elections and the protection of civil liberties.
" + "text": "Colombia was one of the three countries that emerged after the dissolution of Gran Colombia in 1830 (the others are Ecuador and Venezuela). A decades-long conflict between government forces, paramilitaries, and antigovernment insurgent groups heavily funded by the drug trade, principally the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), escalated during the 1990s. More than 31,000 former United Self Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC) paramilitaries demobilized by the end of 2006, and the AUC as a formal organization ceased to operate. In the wake of the paramilitary demobilization, illegal armed groups arose, whose members include some former paramilitaries. After four years of formal peace negotiations, the Colombian Government signed a final peace accord with the FARC in November 2016, which was subsequently ratified by the Colombian Congress. The accord calls for members of the FARC to demobilize, disarm, and reincorporate into society and politics. The accord also committed the Colombian Government to create three new institutions to form a 'comprehensive system for truth, justice, reparation, and non-repetition,' to include a truth commission, a special unit to coordinate the search for those who disappeared during the conflict, and a 'Special Jurisdiction for Peace' to administer justice for conflict-related crimes. Despite decades of internal conflict and drug-related security challenges, Colombia maintains relatively strong and independent democratic institutions characterized by peaceful, transparent elections and the protection of civil liberties.
" } }, "Geography": { @@ -130,7 +130,7 @@ }, "Languages": { "Languages": { - "text": "Spanish (official)" + "text": "Spanish (official) and 65 Amerindian languages" }, "major-language sample(s)": { "text": "Montevideo, founded by the Spanish in 1726 as a military stronghold, soon took advantage of its natural harbor to become an important commercial center. Claimed by Argentina but annexed by Brazil in 1821, Uruguay declared its independence four years later and secured its freedom in 1828 after a three-year struggle. The administrations of President Jose BATLLE in the early 20th century launched widespread political, social, and economic reforms that established a statist tradition. A violent Marxist urban guerrilla movement named the Tupamaros, launched in the late 1960s, led Uruguay's president to cede control of the government to the military in 1973. By yearend, the rebels had been crushed, but the military continued to expand its hold over the government. Civilian rule was restored in 1985. In 2004, the left-of-center Frente Amplio Coalition won national elections that effectively ended 170 years of political control previously held by the Colorado and National (Blanco) parties. The left-of-center retained the presidency and control of both chambers of congress until 2019. Uruguay's political and labor conditions are among the freest on the continent.
" + "text": "Montevideo, founded by the Spanish in 1726 as a military stronghold, soon became an important commercial center due to its natural harbor. Claimed by Argentina but annexed by Brazil in 1821, Uruguay declared its independence in 1825 and secured its freedom in 1828 after a three-year struggle. The administrations of President Jose BATLLE in the early 20th century launched widespread political, social, and economic reforms that established a statist tradition. A violent Marxist urban guerrilla movement named the Tupamaros (or Movimiento de Liberación Nacional-Tupamaros (MLN-T)), launched in the late 1960s, led Uruguay's president to cede control of the government to the military in 1973. By year-end, the rebels had been crushed, but the military continued to expand its hold over the government. Civilian rule was restored in 1985. In 2004, the left-of-center Frente Amplio Coalition won national elections that effectively ended 170 years of political control previously held by the Colorado and National (Blanco) parties. The left-of-center retained the presidency and control of both chambers of congress until 2019. Uruguay's political and labor conditions are among the freest on the continent.
" } }, "Geography": { @@ -1187,7 +1187,7 @@ } }, "Illicit drugs": { - "text": "small-scale transit country for drugs mainly bound for Europe, often through sea-borne containers; law enforcement corruption; money laundering because of strict banking secrecy laws; weak border control along Brazilian frontier; increasing consumption of cocaine base and synthetic drugs" + "text": "transit country for drugs mainly bound for Europe, often through sea-borne containers; limited law enforcement corruption; money laundering; weak border control along Brazilian frontier; increasing consumption of cocaine base and synthetic drugs" } } } \ No newline at end of file diff --git a/south-america/ve.json b/south-america/ve.json index 190d42b7..8ae57fdb 100644 --- a/south-america/ve.json +++ b/south-america/ve.json @@ -1,7 +1,7 @@ { "Introduction": { "Background": { - "text": "Venezuela was one of three countries that emerged from the collapse of Gran Colombia in 1830 (the others being Ecuador and New Granada, which became Colombia). For most of the first half of the 20th century, Venezuela was ruled by generally benevolent military strongmen who promoted the oil industry and allowed for some social reforms. Democratically elected governments have held sway since 1959, although the 2018 re-election of current disputed President Nicolas MADURO in an election boycotted by most opposition parties was widely viewed as fraudulent. Under Hugo CHAVEZ, president from 1999 to 2013, and his hand-picked successor, MADURO, the executive branch has exercised increasingly authoritarian control over other branches of government. The last opposition-controlled institution is the National Assembly that was elected in 2015, whose president Juan GUAIDO is currently recognized by several countries - including the United States - as the interim president of Venezuela. MADURO held legislative elections for a new National Assembly in 2020, but the opposition boycotted these elections and the resulting assembly is viewed by the opposition and its international allies as illegitimate. The MADURO regime places strong restrictions on freedoms of expression and the press. Since CHAVEZ, the ruling party's economic policies expanded the state's role in the economy through expropriations of major enterprises, strict currency exchange and price controls that discourage private sector investment and production, and overdependence on the petroleum industry for revenues, among others. Years of economic mismanagement left Venezuela ill-prepared to weather the global drop in oil prices in 2014, sparking an ongoing economic decline that has resulted in reduced government social spending, shortages of basic goods, and high inflation. Worsened living conditions have prompted over 6 million Venezuelans to migrate, mainly settling in nearby countries. The US has imposed financial and sectoral sanctions on the MADURO regime since 2017. Caracas has since relaxed some economic controls to mitigate the impact of its economic crisis, such as allowing increased currency and import flexibility for private citizens and companies. Other concerns include human rights abuses, rampant violent crime, and corruption." + "text": "Venezuela was one of three countries that emerged from the collapse of Gran Colombia in 1830 (the others being Ecuador and New Granada, which became Colombia). For most of the first half of the 20th century, Venezuela was ruled by military strongmen who promoted the oil industry and allowed for some social reforms. Although democratically elected governments largely held sway since 1959, the executive branch under Hugo CHAVEZ, president from 1999 to 2013, exercised increasingly authoritarian control over other branches of government. This undemocratic trend continued in 2018 when Nicolas MADURO claimed the presidency for his second term in an election boycotted by most opposition parties and widely viewed as fraudulent.
The last democratically-elected institution is the 2015 National Assembly. The President of the 2015 National Assembly, Juan GUAIDO is currently recognized by several countries - including the United States - as the interim president of Venezuela, while MADURO is recognized by most countries. In 2020, legislative elections were held for a new National Assembly, which the opposition boycotted and which were widely condemned as fraudulent. The resulting assembly is viewed by GUAIDO, most opposition parties, and many international actors as illegitimate. In November 2021, most opposition parties broke a three-year election boycott to participate in mayoral and gubernatorial elections, despite flawed conditions. As a result, the opposition more than doubled its representation at the mayoral level and retained four of 23 governorships. The 2021 regional elections marked the first time since 2006 that the EU was allowed to send an electoral observation mission to Venezuela.
The MADURO regime places strong restrictions on freedoms of expression and the press. Since CHAVEZ, the ruling party's economic policies expanded the state's role in the economy through expropriations of major enterprises, strict currency exchange and price controls that discourage private sector investment and production, and overdependence on the petroleum industry for revenues, among others. Years of economic mismanagement left Venezuela ill-prepared to weather the global drop in oil prices in 2014, sparking an economic decline that has resulted in reduced government social spending, shortages of basic goods, and high inflation. Worsened living conditions have prompted over 6 million Venezuelans to migrate, mainly settling in nearby countries. Since 2017, the US has imposed financial and sectoral sanctions on the MADURO regime. Since mid-2020, and despite MADURO regime mismanagement and faltering infrastructure, oil production has begun to rise primarily due to strengthened MADURO regime trade relations with China, Russia, Iran, and the illicit oil trade. Caracas has more recently relaxed some economic controls to mitigate the impact of its sustained economic crisis, such as allowing increased currency and liberalizing import flexibility for private citizens and companies. Other concerns include human rights abuses, rampant violent crime, political manipulation of the judicial and electoral systems, and corruption.
Ahmad Shah DURRANI unified the Pashtun tribes and founded Afghanistan in 1747. The country served as a buffer between the British and Russian Empires until it won independence from notional British control in 1919. A brief experiment in increased democracy ended in a 1973 coup and a 1978 communist countercoup. The Soviet Union invaded in 1979 to support the tottering Afghan communist regime, touching off a long and destructive war. The USSR withdrew in 1989 under relentless pressure by internationally supported anti-communist mujahidin rebels. A series of subsequent civil wars saw Kabul finally fall in 1996 to the Taliban, a hardline Pakistani-sponsored movement that emerged in 1994 to end the country's civil war and anarchy. Following the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks, a US, Allied, and anti-Taliban Northern Alliance military action toppled the Taliban for sheltering Usama BIN LADIN.
A UN-sponsored Bonn Conference in 2001 established a process for political reconstruction that included the adoption of a new constitution, a presidential election in 2004, and National Assembly elections in 2005. In December 2004, Hamid KARZAI became the first democratically elected president of Afghanistan and was reelected in August 2009. The Taliban concluded a two-decade insurgency against the Afghan Government and international forces from the US and other countries. In February 2020, the US and the Taliban signed an agreement that led to the withdrawal of international forces in exchange for commitments on counterterrorism and other assurances, and the Taliban took control of the country in mid-August 2021.
" + "text": "Ahmad Shah DURRANI unified the Pashtun tribes and founded Afghanistan in 1747. The country served as a buffer between the British and Russian Empires until it won independence from notional British control in 1919. A brief experiment in increased democracy ended in a 1973 coup and a 1978 communist countercoup. The Soviet Union invaded in 1979 to support the tottering Afghan communist regime, touching off a long and destructive war. The USSR withdrew in 1989 under relentless pressure by internationally supported anti-communist mujahidin rebels. A series of subsequent civil wars saw Kabul finally fall in 1996 to the Taliban, a hardline Pakistani-sponsored movement that emerged in 1994 to end the country's civil war and anarchy. Following the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks, a US, Allied, and anti-Taliban Northern Alliance military action toppled the Taliban for sheltering Usama BIN LADIN.
A UN-sponsored Bonn Conference in 2001 established a process for political reconstruction that included the adoption of a new constitution, a presidential election in 2004, and National Assembly elections in 2005. In December 2004, Hamid KARZAI became the first democratically elected president of Afghanistan and was reelected in August 2009. In February 2020, the United States and the Taliban signed the “US-Taliban Agreement,” which contained commitments by the United States related to the withdrawal from Afghanistan of military forces of the United States, its allies, and Coalition partners, as well as commitments by the Taliban related to counterterrorism, among other topics. Following a US drawdown of virtually all its troops, a summer 2021 Taliban offensive quickly overran the country and the Taliban took over Kabul in August of 2021.
" } }, "Geography": { @@ -327,7 +327,8 @@ }, "vectorborne diseases": { "text": "Crimea-Congo hemorrhagic fever, malaria" - } + }, + "note": "note: Afghanistan is one of two countries with endemic wild polio virus and considered high risk for international spread of the disease; before any international travel, anyone unvaccinated, incompletely vaccinated, or with an unknown polio vaccination status should complete the routine polio vaccine series; before travel to any high-risk destination, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that adults who previously completed the full, routine polio vaccine series receive a single, lifetime booster dose of polio vaccine" }, "Obesity - adult prevalence rate": { "text": "5.5% (2016)" @@ -448,7 +449,8 @@ }, "vectorborne diseases": { "text": "Crimea-Congo hemorrhagic fever, malaria" - } + }, + "note": "note: Afghanistan is one of two countries with endemic wild polio virus and considered high risk for international spread of the disease; before any international travel, anyone unvaccinated, incompletely vaccinated, or with an unknown polio vaccination status should complete the routine polio vaccine series; before travel to any high-risk destination, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that adults who previously completed the full, routine polio vaccine series receive a single, lifetime booster dose of polio vaccine" }, "Food insecurity": { "severe localized food insecurity": { @@ -538,14 +540,14 @@ }, "Constitution": { "history": { - "text": "prior to the Taliban's takeover in August 2021, Afghanistan's last constitution was ratified in 2004" + "text": "last ratified in 2004" }, "amendments": { "text": "formerly proposed by a commission formed by presidential decree followed by the convention of a Grand Council (Loya Jirga) decreed by the president; passage requires at least two-thirds majority vote of the Loya Jirga membership and endorsement by the president" } }, "Legal system": { - "text": "the Taliban is implementing its own interpretation of Islamic law, partially based on the Hanafi school of Islamic jurisprudence; before the Taliban's takeover in August 2021, Afghanistan had a mixed legal system of civil, customary, and Islamic (sharia) law (2021)" + "text": "
before the Taliban's takeover of Kabul in August 2021, Afghanistan had a mixed legal system of civil, customary, and Islamic (sharia) law; after August 2021, the Taliban’s so-called “interim government” has claimed to be implementing its own interpretation of Islamic law, partially based on the Hanafi school of Islamic jurisprudence.
(2021)" }, "International law organization participation": { "text": "has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; formerly accepted ICCt jurisdiction" @@ -569,27 +571,27 @@ }, "Executive branch": { "chief of state": { - "text": "president (vacant); note - President Ashraf GHANI departed the country on 15 August 2021; on 7 September 2021, the Taliban announced Mullah Mohammad HASSAN Akhund as the acting Prime Minister of an interim Taliban government; the US does not recognize the Taliban government; as of November 2021, the group had announced three acting Deputy Prime Ministers: Mullah Abdul Ghani BERADER, Mullah Abdul Salam HANAFI, and Maulawi Abdul KABIR; previously the president was both chief of state and head of government" + "text": "
president (vacant); note – before 15 August, 2021, the president was both chief of state and head of government; President Ashraf GHANI departed the country on 15 August 2021; on 7 September 2021, the Taliban announced Mullah Mohammad HASSAN Akhund as the so-called “acting Prime Minister” of a so-called “interim government”; as of November 2021, the group had announced three acting so-called “Deputy Prime Ministers”: Mullah Abdul Ghani BERADER, Mullah Abdul Salam HANAFI, and Maulawi Abdul KABIR
" }, "head of government": { "text": "president (vacant); note - President Ashraf GHANI departed the country on 15 August 2021; on 7 September 2021, the Taliban announced Mullah Mohammad HASSAN Akhund as the acting Prime Minister of an interim Taliban government; the US does not recognize the Taliban government; as of November 2021, the group had announced three acting Deputy Prime Ministers: Mullah Abdul Ghani BERADER, Mullah Abdul Salam HANAFI, and Maulawi Abdul KABIR" }, "cabinet": { - "text": "the cabinet formerly consisted of 25 ministers appointed by the president, approved by the National Assembly" + "text": "before 15 August 2021, the cabinet formerly consisted of 25 ministers appointed by the president, approved by the National Assembly; the Taliban have announced a so-called “cabinet” which includes 33 ministries
" }, "elections/appointments": { - "text": "the previous Afghan constitution directed that the president should be elected by majority popular vote for a 5-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held on 28 September 2019" + "text": "the 2004 Afghan constitution directed that the president should be elected by majority popular vote for a 5-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held on 28 September 2019" }, "election results": { - "text": "no elections have been held since 2019; in that election, Ashraf GHANI was declared winner by the Independent Election Commission on 18 February 2020; Ashraf GHANI received 50.6% of the vote, Abdullah ABDULLAH, Dr. 39.5%, and other 0.9%" + "text": "no elections have been held since 2019; in that election, Ashraf GHANI was declared winner by the Independent Election Commission on 18 February 2020; the IEC declared Ashraf GHANI the winner with 50.6% of the vote, Abdullah ABDULLAH, Dr. 39.5%, other 0.9%" } }, "Legislative branch": { "description": { - "text": "the Taliban government has not announced the formation of a legislative branch; before the Taliban takeover in August 2021, Afghanistan had a bicameral National Assembly that consisted of a House of Elders and a House of People" + "text": "before 15 August, 2021, Afghanistan had a bicameral National Assembly that consisted of a House of Elders and a House of People; since August 15, the Taliban’s so-called “interim government” has not purported to announce the formation of a legislative branch
" }, "elections": { - "text": "former House of Elders - district councils - held within 5 days of installation; provincial councils - within 15 days of installation; and presidential appointees - within 2 weeks after the presidential inauguration; note - in early 2016, former President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani extended their mandate until parliamentary and district elections could be held; former House of People - last held on 20 October 2018" + "text": "before 15 August, 2021: House of Elders - district councils - held within 5 days of installation; provincial councils - within 15 days of installation; and presidential appointees - within 2 weeks after the presidential inauguration; note - in early 2016, former President Ashraf Ghani extended their mandate until parliamentary and district elections could be held; former House of People - last held on 20 October 2018
" }, "election results": { "text": "former House of Elders - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NA; composition - men 85, women 17, percent of women 16.7%
Bangladesh referred its maritime boundary claims with Burma and India to the International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea; Indian Prime Minister Singh's September 2011 visit to Bangladesh resulted in the signing of a Protocol to the 1974 Land Boundary Agreement between India and Bangladesh, which had called for the settlement of longstanding boundary disputes over undemarcated areas and the exchange of territorial enclaves, but which had never been implemented; Bangladesh struggles to accommodate 912,000 Rohingya, Burmese Muslim minority from Rakhine State, living as refugees in Cox's Bazar; Burmese border authorities are constructing a 200 km (124 mi) wire fence designed to deter illegal cross-border transit and tensions from the military build-up along border
" + "text": "Bangladesh-Burma: Burmese border authorities are constructing a 200 km (124 mi) wire fence designed to deter illegal cross-border transit and tensions from the military build-up along border.
Bangladesh-India: Bangladesh referred its maritime boundary claims with Burma and India to the International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea; Indian Prime Minister Singh's September 2011 visit to Bangladesh resulted in the signing of a Protocol to the 1974 Land Boundary Agreement between India and Bangladesh, which had called for the settlement of longstanding boundary disputes over un-demarcated areas and the exchange of territorial enclaves, but which had never been implemented.
lacking any treaty describing the boundary, Bhutan and China continue negotiations to establish a common boundary alignment to resolve territorial disputes arising from substantial cartographic discrepancies, the most contentious of which lie in Bhutan's west along China’s Chumbi salient
" + "text": "Bhutan-China: Lacking any treaty describing the boundary, Bhutan and China continue negotiations to establish a common boundary alignment to resolve territorial disputes arising from substantial cartographic discrepancies, the most contentious of which lie in Bhutan's west along China’s Chumbi salient.
" }, "Trafficking in persons": { "current situation": { diff --git a/south-asia/ce.json b/south-asia/ce.json index 791ccca5..59950c59 100644 --- a/south-asia/ce.json +++ b/south-asia/ce.json @@ -1,7 +1,7 @@ { "Introduction": { "Background": { - "text": "The first Sinhalese arrived in Sri Lanka late in the 6th century B.C., probably from northern India. Buddhism was introduced circa 250 B.C., and the first kingdoms developed at the cities of Anuradhapura (from circa 200 B.C. to circa A.D. 1000) and Polonnaruwa (from about 1070 to 1200). In the 14th century, a south Indian dynasty established a Tamil kingdom in northern Sri Lanka. The Portuguese controlled the coastal areas of the island in the 16th century followed by the Dutch in the 17th century. The island was ceded to the British in 1796, became a crown colony in 1802, and was formally united under British rule by 1815. As Ceylon, it became independent in 1948; its name was changed to Sri Lanka in 1972. Prevailing tensions between the Sinhalese majority and Tamil separatists erupted into war in July 1983. Fighting between the government and Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) continued for over a quarter century. Although Norway brokered peace negotiations that led to a ceasefire in 2002, the fighting slowly resumed and was again in full force by 2006. The government defeated the LTTE in May 2009.
During the post-conflict years under President Mahinda RAJAPAKSA, the government initiated infrastructure development projects, many of which were financed by loans from China. His regime faced significant allegations of human rights violations and a shrinking democratic space for civil society. In 2015, a new coalition government headed by President Maithripala SIRISENA of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party and Prime Minister Ranil WICKREMESINGHE of the United National Party came to power with pledges to advance economic, governance, anti-corruption, reconciliation, justice, and accountability reforms. However, implementation of these reforms has been uneven. In October 2018, President SIRISENA attempted to oust Prime Minister WICKREMESINGHE, swearing in former President RAJAPAKSA as the new prime minister and issuing an order to dissolve the parliament and hold elections. This sparked a seven-week constitutional crisis that ended when the Supreme Court ruled SIRISENA’s actions unconstitutional, RAJAPAKSA resigned, and WICKREMESINGHE was reinstated. In November 2019, Gotabaya RAJAPAKSA won the presidential election and appointed his brother, Mahinda, prime minister.
" + "text": "The first Sinhalese arrived in Sri Lanka late in the 6th century B.C., probably from northern India. Buddhism was introduced circa 250 B.C., and the first kingdoms developed at the cities of Anuradhapura (from circa 200 B.C. to circa A.D. 1000) and Polonnaruwa (from about 1070 to 1200). In the 14th century, a south Indian dynasty established a Tamil kingdom in northern Sri Lanka. The Portuguese controlled the coastal areas of the island in the 16th century followed by the Dutch in the 17th century. The island was ceded to the British in 1796, became a crown colony in 1802, and was formally united under British rule by 1815. As Ceylon, it became independent in 1948; its name was changed to Sri Lanka in 1972. Prevailing tensions between the Sinhalese majority and Tamil separatists erupted into war in July 1983. Fighting between the government and Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) continued for over a quarter century. Although Norway brokered peace negotiations that led to a ceasefire in 2002, the fighting slowly resumed and was again in full force by 2006. The government defeated the LTTE in May 2009.
During the post-conflict years under President Mahinda RAJAPAKSA, the government initiated infrastructure development projects, many of which were financed by loans from China. His regime faced significant allegations of human rights violations and a shrinking democratic space for civil society. In 2015, a new coalition government headed by President Maithripala SIRISENA of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party and Prime Minister Ranil WICKREMESINGHE of the United National Party came to power with pledges to advance economic, governance, anti-corruption, reconciliation, justice, and accountability reforms. However, implementation of these reforms has been uneven. In October 2018, President SIRISENA attempted to oust Prime Minister WICKREMESINGHE, swearing in former President RAJAPAKSA as the new prime minister and issuing an order to dissolve the parliament and hold elections. This sparked a seven-week constitutional crisis that ended when the Supreme Court ruled SIRISENA’s actions unconstitutional, RAJAPAKSA resigned, and WICKREMESINGHE was reinstated. In November 2019, Gotabaya RAJAPAKSA won the presidential election and appointed his brother, Mahinda, prime minister. Since Gotabaya RAJAPAKSA’s election, there have been concerns about his administration’s commitment to pursuing justice, human rights, and accountability reforms, as well as the risks to foreign creditors that Sri Lanka faces given its ongoing economic crisis.
" } }, "Geography": { @@ -570,7 +570,7 @@ }, "Legislative branch": { "description": { - "text": "unicameral Parliament (225 seats; 196 members directly elected in multi-seat district constituencies by proportional representation vote using a preferential method in which voters select 3 candidates in order of preference; remaining 29 seats, referred to as the \"national list\" are allocated by each party secretary according the the island wide proportional vote the party obtains; members serve 5-year terms)" + "text": "unicameral Parliament (225 seats; 196 members directly elected in multi-seat district constituencies by proportional representation vote using a preferential method in which voters select 3 candidates in order of preference; remaining 29 seats, referred to as the \"national list\" are allocated by each party secretary according to the island wide proportional vote the party obtains; members serve 5-year terms)" }, "elections": { "text": "last held on 17 August 2015 (next originally scheduled for 25 April 2020 but postponed to due to the COVID-19 pandemic)" @@ -598,7 +598,7 @@ }, "Diplomatic representation in the US": { "chief of mission": { - "text": "Ambassador Ravinatha ARYASINHA (since 23 December 2020)" + "text": "Ambassador Mahinda SAMARASINGHE (since 1 December 2021)" }, "chancery": { "text": "3025 Whitehaven Street NW, Washington, DC 20008" @@ -618,7 +618,7 @@ }, "Diplomatic representation from the US": { "chief of mission": { - "text": "Ambassador Alaina B. TEPLITZ (since 1 November 2018); note - also accredited to Maldives" + "text": "Ambassador Julie CHUNG (since 17 February 2022)" }, "embassy": { "text": "210 Galle Road, Colombo 03" diff --git a/south-asia/in.json b/south-asia/in.json index c32b0aa6..4f5a8b4e 100644 --- a/south-asia/in.json +++ b/south-asia/in.json @@ -1,7 +1,7 @@ { "Introduction": { "Background": { - "text": "The Indus Valley civilization, one of the world's oldest, flourished during the 3rd and 2nd millennia B.C. and extended into northwestern India. Aryan tribes from the northwest infiltrated the Indian subcontinent about 1500 B.C.; their merger with the earlier Dravidian inhabitants created the classical Indian culture. The Maurya Empire of the 4th and 3rd centuries B.C. - which reached its zenith under ASHOKA - united much of South Asia. The Golden Age ushered in by the Gupta dynasty (4th to 6th centuries A.D.) saw a flowering of Indian science, art, and culture. Islam spread across the subcontinent over a period of 700 years. In the 10th and 11th centuries, Turks and Afghans invaded India and established the Delhi Sultanate. In the early 16th century, the Emperor BABUR established the Mughal Dynasty, which ruled India for more than three centuries. European explorers began establishing footholds in India during the 16th century.
By the 19th century, Great Britain had become the dominant political power on the subcontinent and India was seen as the \"Jewel in the Crown\" of the British Empire. The British Indian Army played a vital role in both World Wars. Years of nonviolent resistance to British rule, led by Mohandas GANDHI and Jawaharlal NEHRU, eventually resulted in Indian independence in 1947. Large-scale communal violence took place before and after the subcontinent partition into two separate states - India and Pakistan. The neighboring countries have fought three wars since independence, the last of which was in 1971 and resulted in East Pakistan becoming the separate nation of Bangladesh. India's nuclear weapons tests in 1998 emboldened Pakistan to conduct its own tests that same year. In November 2008, terrorists originating from Pakistan conducted a series of coordinated attacks in Mumbai, India's financial capital. India's economic growth following the launch of economic reforms in 1991, a massive youthful population, and a strategic geographic location have contributed to India's emergence as a regional and global power. However, India still faces pressing problems such as environmental degradation, extensive poverty, and widespread corruption, and its restrictive business climate is dampening economic growth expectations.
" + "text": "The Indus Valley civilization, one of the world's oldest, flourished during the 3rd and 2nd millennia B.C. and extended into northwestern India. Aryan tribes from the northwest infiltrated the Indian subcontinent about 1500 B.C.; their merger with the earlier Dravidian inhabitants created the classical Indian culture. The Maurya Empire of the 4th and 3rd centuries B.C. - which reached its zenith under ASHOKA - united much of South Asia. The Golden Age ushered in by the Gupta dynasty (4th to 6th centuries A.D.) saw a flowering of Indian science, art, and culture. Islam spread across the subcontinent over a period of 700 years. In the 10th and 11th centuries, Turks and Afghans invaded India and established the Delhi Sultanate. In the early 16th century, the Emperor BABUR established the Mughal Dynasty, which ruled India for more than three centuries. European explorers began establishing footholds in India during the 16th century.
By the 19th century, Great Britain had become the dominant political power on the subcontinent and India was seen as the \"Jewel in the Crown\" of the British Empire. The British Indian Army played a vital role in both World Wars. Years of nonviolent resistance to British rule, led by Mohandas GANDHI and Jawaharlal NEHRU, eventually resulted in Indian independence in 1947. Large-scale communal violence took place before and after the subcontinent partition into two separate states - India and Pakistan. The neighboring countries have fought three wars since independence, the last of which was in 1971 and resulted in East Pakistan becoming the separate nation of Bangladesh. India's nuclear weapons tests in 1998 emboldened Pakistan to conduct its own tests that same year. In November 2008, terrorists originating from Pakistan conducted a series of coordinated attacks in Mumbai, India's financial capital. India's economic growth following the launch of economic reforms in 1991, a massive youthful population, and a strategic geographic location have contributed to India's emergence as a regional and global power. However, India still faces pressing problems such as environmental degradation, extensive poverty, and widespread corruption, and its restrictive business climate challenges economic growth expectations.
" } }, "Geography": { @@ -570,7 +570,7 @@ } }, "Legal system": { - "text": "common law system based on the English model; separate personal law codes apply to Muslims, Christians, and Hindus; judicial review of legislative acts; note - in late 2019 the Government of India began discussions to overhaul its penal code, which dates to the British colonial period" + "text": "common law system based on the English model; separate personal law codes apply to Muslims, Christians, and Hindus; judicial review of legislative acts" }, "International law organization participation": { "text": "accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; non-party state to the ICCt" diff --git a/south-asia/io.json b/south-asia/io.json index f3d1b6f2..4259bc3c 100644 --- a/south-asia/io.json +++ b/south-asia/io.json @@ -314,7 +314,7 @@ }, "Transnational Issues": { "Disputes - international": { - "text": "Mauritius and Seychelles claim the Chagos Islands; negotiations between 1971 and 1982 resulted in the establishment of a trust fund by the British Government as compensation for the displaced islanders, known as Chagossians, who were evicted between 1967-73; in 2001, the former inhabitants of the archipelago were granted UK citizenship and the right of return; in 2006 and 2007, British court rulings invalidated the immigration policies contained in the 2004 BIOT Constitution Order that had excluded the islanders from the archipelago; in 2008 a House of Lords' decision overturned lower court rulings, once again denying the right of return to Chagossians; in addition, the UK created the world's largest marine protection area around the Chagos islands prohibiting the extraction of any natural resources therein
" + "text": "Mauritius and Seychelles claim the Chagos Islands; negotiations between 1971 and 1982 resulted in the establishment of a trust fund by the British Government as compensation for the displaced islanders, known as Chagossians, who were evicted between 1967-73; in 2001, the former inhabitants of the archipelago were granted UK citizenship and the right of return; in 2006 and 2007, British court rulings invalidated the immigration policies contained in the 2004 BIOT Constitution Order that had excluded the islanders from the archipelago; in 2008, a House of Lords' decision overturned lower court rulings, once again denying the right of return to Chagossians; in addition, the UK created the world's largest marine protection area around the Chagos islands prohibiting the extraction of any natural resources therein
" } } } \ No newline at end of file diff --git a/south-asia/mv.json b/south-asia/mv.json index d2df790f..1726cdbe 100644 --- a/south-asia/mv.json +++ b/south-asia/mv.json @@ -541,7 +541,7 @@ }, "Judicial branch": { "highest courts": { - "text": "Supreme Court (consists of the chief justice and 4-6 justices; note - 3 justices as of late 2019)" + "text": "Supreme Court (consists of the chief justice and 6 justices" }, "judge selection and term of office": { "text": "Supreme Court judges appointed by the president in consultation with the Judicial Service Commission - a 10-member body of selected high government officials and the public - and upon confirmation by voting members of the People's Majlis; judges serve until mandatory retirement at age 70" @@ -558,7 +558,7 @@ }, "Diplomatic representation in the US": { "chief of mission": { - "text": "Maldives has no embassy in the US, but its Permanent Representative to the UN in New York, THILMEEZA Hussain (since 8 July 2019), is accredited to the US
(2020)" + "text": "Maldives has no embassy in the US, but its Permanent Representative to the UN in New York, THILMEEZA Hussain (since 8 July 2019), is accredited to the US and serves as ambassador
(2020)" }, "chancery": { "text": "801 Second Avenue, Suite 202E, New York, NY 10017" @@ -575,7 +575,7 @@ }, "Diplomatic representation from the US": { "embassy": { - "text": "the US does not have an embassy in Maldives; US Ambassador to Sri Lanka and Maldives, Alaina TEPLITZ (since 1 November 2018), is accredited to both countries" + "text": "the US does not have an embassy in Maldives; the US is in the process of opening an embassy in Maldives; as of March 2022, there is no US Ambassador to Maldives; until late 2021, the US Ambassador to Sri Lanka was also accredited to the Maldives" } }, "Flag description": { diff --git a/south-asia/pk.json b/south-asia/pk.json index edcd1a35..dccf258d 100644 --- a/south-asia/pk.json +++ b/south-asia/pk.json @@ -1,7 +1,7 @@ { "Introduction": { "Background": { - "text": "The Indus Valley civilization, one of the oldest in the world and dating back at least 5,000 years, spread over much of what is presently Pakistan. During the second millennium B.C., remnants of this culture fused with the migrating Indo-Aryan peoples. The area underwent successive invasions in subsequent centuries from the Persians, Greeks, Scythians, Arabs (who brought Islam), Afghans, and Turks. The Mughal Empire flourished in the 16th and 17th centuries; the British came to dominate the region in the 18th century. The separation in 1947 of British India into the Muslim state of Pakistan (with West and East sections) and largely Hindu India was never satisfactorily resolved, and India and Pakistan fought two wars and a limited conflict - in 1947-48, 1965, and 1999 respectively - over the disputed Kashmir territory. A third war between these countries in 1971 - in which India assisted an indigenous movement reacting to the marginalization of Bengalis in Pakistani politics - resulted in East Pakistan becoming the separate nation of Bangladesh.
In response to Indian nuclear weapons testing, Pakistan conducted its own tests in mid-1998. India-Pakistan relations improved in the mid-2000s but have been rocky since the November 2008 Mumbai attacks and have been further strained by attacks in India by militants believed to be based in Pakistan. Imran KHAN took office as prime minister in 2018 after the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) party won a plurality of seats in the July 2018 general elections. Pakistan has been engaged in a decades-long armed conflict with militant groups that target government institutions and civilians, including the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and other militant networks.
" + "text": "The Indus Valley civilization, one of the oldest in the world and dating back at least 5,000 years, spread over much of what is presently Pakistan. During the second millennium B.C., remnants of this culture fused with the migrating Indo-Aryan peoples. The area underwent successive invasions in subsequent centuries from the Persians, Greeks, Scythians, Arabs (who brought Islam), Afghans, and Turks. The Mughal Empire flourished in the 16th and 17th centuries; the British came to dominate the region in the 18th century. The separation in 1947 of British India into the Muslim state of Pakistan (with West and East sections) and largely Hindu India was never satisfactorily resolved, and India and Pakistan fought two wars and a limited conflict - in 1947-48, 1965, and 1999 respectively - over the disputed Kashmir territory. A third war between these countries in 1971 - in which India assisted an indigenous movement reacting to the marginalization of Bengalis in Pakistani politics - resulted in East Pakistan becoming the separate nation of Bangladesh.
In response to Indian nuclear weapons testing, Pakistan conducted its own tests in mid-1998. India-Pakistan relations improved in the mid-2000s but have been rocky since the November 2008 Mumbai attacks and have been further strained by Indian reports of cross-border militancy. Imran KHAN took office as prime minister in 2018 after the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) party won a plurality of seats in the July 2018 general elections. Pakistan has been engaged in a decades-long armed conflict with militant groups that target government institutions and civilians, including the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and other militant networks.
" } }, "Geography": { @@ -339,7 +339,7 @@ "animal contact diseases": { "text": "rabies" }, - "note": "note: widespread ongoing transmission of a respiratory illness caused by the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) is occurring throughout Pakistan; as of 6 October 2021, Pakistan has reported a total of 1,252,656 cases of COVID-19 or 567.09 cumulative cases of COVID-19 per 100,000 population with 12.65 cumulative deaths per 100,000 population; as of 5 October 2021, 27.57% of the population has received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine" + "note": "note 1: widespread ongoing transmission of a respiratory illness caused by the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) is occurring throughout Pakistan; as of 6 October 2021, Pakistan has reported a total of 1,252,656 cases of COVID-19 or 567.09 cumulative cases of COVID-19 per 100,000 population with 12.65 cumulative deaths per 100,000 population; as of 5 October 2021, 27.57% of the population has received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine