auto-update week 43

north-america/bd.json

@@ -95,9 +95,6 @@
     },
     "Geography - note": {
       "text": "consists of about 138 coral islands and islets with ample rainfall, but no rivers or freshwater lakes; some land was leased by the US Government from 1941 to 1995"
-    },
-    "Map description": {
-      "text": "<p>Bermuda map showing the many islands that make up the country in the North Atlantic Ocean.</p>"
     }
   },
   "People and Society": {
@@ -491,7 +488,7 @@
       }
     },
     "Judicial branch": {
-      "highest courts": {
+      "highest court(s)": {
         "text": "Court of Appeal (consists of the court president and at least 2 justices); Supreme Court (consists of the chief justice, 4 puisne judges, and 1 associate justice); note - the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (in London) is the court of final appeal"
       },
       "judge selection and term of office": {
@@ -936,7 +933,7 @@
     },
     "Telecommunication systems": {
       "general assessment": {
-        "text": "the telecom sector has seen a decline in subscriber numbers (particularly for prepaid mobile services the mainstay of short term visitors) and revenue; fixed and mobile broadband services are two areas that have benefited from the crisis as employees and students have resorted to working from home; one major casualty may be the region&rsquo;s second largest telco operator, Digicel; the company filed for bankruptcy in the US in April 2020; it continues to operate in all of its Caribbean markets as it seeks to refinance billions of dollars of debt; the other major telco, regional incumbent Cable &amp; Wireless Communications (CWC), is experiencing similar drops in subscriber numbers and revenue; CWC is expanding and enhancing its fixed and mobile networks in many of the countries it serves around the Caribbean, despite many locations being small islands with very small populations; one area of the telecom market that is not prepared for growth is 5G mobile; governments, regulators, and even the mobile network operators have shown that they have not been investing in 5G opportunities at the present time; network expansion and enhancements remain concentrated around improving LTE coverage. (2021)"
+        "text": "the telecom sector has seen a decline in subscriber numbers (particularly for prepaid mobile services the mainstay of short term visitors) and revenue; fixed and mobile broadband services are two areas that have benefited from the crisis as employees and students have resorted to working from home; one area of the telecom market that is not prepared for growth is 5G mobile; governments, regulators, and even the mobile network operators have shown that they have not been investing in 5G opportunities at the present time; network expansion and enhancements remain concentrated around improving LTE coverage. (2021)"
       },
       "domestic": {
         "text": "the system has a high fixed-line teledensity nearing 35 per 100, coupled with a mobile-cellular teledensity of roughly 103 per 100 persons (2019)"

north-america/ca.json

@@ -120,9 +120,6 @@
     },
     "Geography - note": {
       "text": "<p><strong>note 1:</strong> second-largest country in world (after Russia) and largest in the Americas; strategic location between Russia and US via north polar route; approximately 90% of the population is concentrated within 160 km (100 mi) of the US border</p> <p><strong>note 2:</strong> Canada has more fresh water than any other country and almost 9% of Canadian territory is water; Canada has at least 2 million and possibly over 3 million lakes - that is more than all other countries combined</p>"
-    },
-    "Map description": {
-      "text": "<p>Canada map showing the country positioned in northern North America between the North Pacific, Arctic, and North Atlantic Oceans.</p>"
     }
   },
   "People and Society": {
@@ -612,7 +609,7 @@
       }
     },
     "Judicial branch": {
-      "highest courts": {
+      "highest court(s)": {
         "text": "Supreme Court of Canada (consists of the chief justice and 8 judges); note - in 1949, Canada abolished all appeals beyond its Supreme Court, which prior to that time, were heard by the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (in London)"
       },
       "judge selection and term of office": {
@@ -1117,7 +1114,7 @@
     },
     "Telecommunication systems": {
       "general assessment": {
-        "text": "the Canadian telecom market continues to show steady development as operators invest in network upgrades; much of the investment among telcos has been channelled into LTE infrastructure to capitalize on consumer demand for mobile data services, while there has also been further investment in 5G; investment programs have also been supported by regulatory efforts to ensure that operators have spectrum available to develop 5G services; spectrum in the 600MGz and 3.5GHz ranges has already been auctioned, while other auctions are planned through to 2024; in the 3.5GHz range the regulator set aside 50MHz for new entrants to encourage competition in the wireless segment; an investment in fixed-line infrastructure, focused on FttP and, among cable broadband providers, upgrades to the DOCSIS3.1 standard; the DSL segment is losing market share as customers are migrated to fiber; Telus expected to have completely decommissioned its copper network by the end of 2022; government policy has encouraged the extension of broadband to rural and regional areas, with the result that services are almost universally available and the emphasis now is on improving service speeds to enable the entire population to benefit from the digital economy and society; cable broadband is the principal access platform, followed by DSL; the main cablecos are upgrading their networks to the DOCSIS3.1 standard, which can deliver data at 1Gb/s and above; fiber deployments are also gaining momentum, with a growing number of Gigabit towns now connected; the mobile rate remains comparatively low by international standards, and so the market offers further room for growth; Canadians have provided for LTE and LTE-A infrastructure; despite topographical challenges and the remoteness of many areas, the major players effectively offer 99% population coverage with LTE. In the 5G segment, Telus and Bell Wireless were early triallists, followed by Shaw Communications in May 2018; operators now provide up to 70% population coverage with 5G. (2022)"
+        "text": "the Canadian telecom market continues to show steady development as operators invest in network upgrades; much of the investment among telcos has been channelled into LTE infrastructure to capitalize on consumer demand for mobile data services, while there has also been further investment in 5G; investment programs have also been supported by regulatory efforts to ensure that operators have spectrum available to develop 5G services; spectrum in the 600MGz and 3.5GHz ranges has already been auctioned, while other auctions are planned through to 2024; in the 3.5GHz range the regulator set aside 50MHz for new entrants to encourage competition in the wireless segment; an investment in fixed-line infrastructure, focused on FttP and, among cable broadband providers, upgrades to the DOCSIS3.1 standard; the DSL segment is losing market share as customers are migrated to fiber; government policy has encouraged the extension of broadband to rural and regional areas, with the result that services are almost universally available and the emphasis now is on improving service speeds to enable the entire population to benefit from the digital economy and society; cable broadband is the principal access platform, followed by DSL; the main cablecos are upgrading their networks to the DOCSIS3.1 standard, which can deliver data at 1Gb/s and above; fiber deployments are also gaining momentum, with a growing number of Gigabit towns now connected; the mobile rate remains comparatively low by international standards, and so the market offers further room for growth; Canadians have provided for LTE and LTE-A infrastructure; despite topographical challenges and the remoteness of many areas, the major players effectively offer 99% population coverage with LTE; operators now provide up to 70% population coverage with 5G (2022)"
       },
       "domestic": {
         "text": "Nearly 37 per 100 fixed-line and 96 per 100 mobile-cellular teledensity; domestic satellite system with about 300 earth stations (2020)"

north-america/gl.json

@@ -95,9 +95,6 @@
     },
     "Geography - note": {
       "text": "dominates North Atlantic Ocean between North America and Europe; sparse population confined to small settlements along coast; close to one-quarter of the population lives in the capital, Nuuk; world's second largest ice sheet after that of Antarctica covering an area of 1.71 million sq km (660,000 sq mi) or about 79% of the island, and containing 2.85 million cu km (684 thousand cu mi) of ice (this is almost 7% of all of the world's fresh water); if all this ice were converted to liquid water, one estimate is that it would be sufficient to raise the height of the world's oceans by 7.2 m (24 ft)"
-    },
-    "Map description": {
-      "text": "<p>Greenland map showing the massive island that makes up this part of Denmark in the North Atlantic Ocean.</p>"
     }
   },
   "People and Society": {
@@ -473,7 +470,7 @@
       }
     },
     "Judicial branch": {
-      "highest courts": {
+      "highest court(s)": {
         "text": "High Court of Greenland (consists of the presiding professional judge and 2 lay assessors); note - appeals beyond the High Court of Greenland can be heard by the Supreme Court (in Copenhagen)"
       },
       "judge selection and term of office": {

north-america/ip.json

@@ -77,9 +77,6 @@
     },
     "Geography - note": {
       "text": "the atoll reef is approximately 12 km (7.5 mi) in circumference; an attempt to colonize the atoll in the early 20th century ended in disaster and was abandoned in 1917"
-    },
-    "Map description": {
-      "text": "<p>Clipperton Island map showing the French possession in the North Pacific Ocean.</p>"
     }
   },
   "People and Society": {

north-america/mx.json

@@ -121,9 +121,6 @@
     },
     "Geography - note": {
       "text": "<p><strong>note 1:</strong> strategic location on southern border of the US; Mexico is one of the countries along the Ring of Fire, a belt of active volcanoes and earthquake epicenters bordering the Pacific Ocean; up to 90% of the world's earthquakes and some 75% of the world's volcanoes occur within the Ring of Fire</p> <p><strong>note 2:</strong> some of the world's most important food crops were first domesticated in Mexico; the \"Three Sisters\" companion plants - winter squash, maize (corn), and climbing beans - served as the main agricultural crops for various North American Indian groups; all three apparently originated in Mexico but then were widely disseminated through much of North America; avocado, amaranth, and chili peppers also emanate from Mexico, as does vanilla, the world's most popular aroma and flavor spice; although cherry tomatoes originated in Ecuador, their domestication in Mexico transformed them into the larger modern tomato<br><br><strong>note 3: </strong>the Sac Actun cave system at 348 km (216 mi) is the longest underwater cave in the world and the second longest cave worldwide, after Mammoth Cave in the United States (see \"Geography - note\" under United States)<br><br><strong>note 4:</strong> the prominent Yucatan Peninsula that divides the Gulf of Mexico from the Caribbean Sea is shared by Mexico, Guatemala, and Belize; just on the northern coast of Yucatan, near the town of Chicxulub (pronounce cheek-sha-loob), lie the remnants of a massive crater (some 150 km in diameter and extending well out into the Gulf of Mexico); formed by an asteroid or comet when it struck the earth 66 million years ago, the impact is now widely accepted as initiating a worldwide climate disruption that caused a mass extinction of 75% of all the earth's plant and animal species - including the non-avian dinosaurs</p>"
-    },
-    "Map description": {
-      "text": "<p>Mexico map showing major cities as well as parts of surrounding countries and bodies of water.</p>"
     }
   },
   "People and Society": {
@@ -664,7 +661,7 @@
       "note": "<strong>note: </strong>as of the 2018 election, senators will be eligible for a second term and deputies up to 4 consecutive terms"
     },
     "Judicial branch": {
-      "highest courts": {
+      "highest court(s)": {
         "text": "Supreme Court of Justice or Suprema Corte de Justicia de la Nacion (consists of the chief justice and 11 justices and organized into civil, criminal, administrative, and labor panels) and the Electoral Tribunal of the Federal Judiciary (organized into the superior court, with 7 judges including the court president, and 5 regional courts, each with 3 judges)"
       },
       "judge selection and term of office": {
@@ -1171,7 +1168,7 @@
       "international": {
         "text": "country code - 52; Columbus-2 fiber-optic submarine cable with access to the US, Virgin Islands, Canary Islands, Spain, and Italy; the ARCOS-1 and the MAYA-1 submarine cable system together provide access to Central America, parts of South America and the Caribbean, and the U.S.; Pan-American Crossing (PAC) submarine cable system provides access to Panama, California, U.S., and Costa Rica; Lazaro Cardenas-Manzanillo Santiago submarines cable system (LCMSSCS) provides access to Michoacan, Guerrero, and Colima, Mexico; AMX-1 submarine cable system with access to Colombia, Brazil, Puerto Rico, Gulf of California Cable submarine cable systems that connects La Paz, Baja California Sur and Topolobambo, Sinaloa; and Aurora submarine cable system provides access to Guatemala, Panama, Ecuador, Colombia, Mexico, and the U.S. satellite earth stations - 124 (36 Intelsat, 1 Solidaridad (giving Mexico improved access to South America, Central America, and much of the US as well as enhancing domestic communications), 9 Panamsat, numerous Inmarsat mobile earth stations); linked to Central American Microwave System of trunk connections (2022)"
       },
-      "note": "<strong>note:</strong> the COVID-19 pandemic continues to have a significant impact on production and supply chains globally; since 2020, some aspects of the telecom sector have experienced a downturn, particularly in mobile device production; progress towards 5G implementation has resumed, as well as upgrades to infrastructure; consumer spending on telecom services has increased due to the surge in demand for capacity and bandwidth; the crucial nature of telecom services as a tool for work and school from home is still evident, and the spike in this area has seen growth opportunities for development of new tools and increased services"
+      "note": "<strong>note:</strong> the COVID-19 pandemic continues to have a significant impact on production and supply chains globally; since 2020, some aspects of the telecom sector have experienced a downturn, particularly in mobile device production; progress toward 5G implementation has resumed, as well as upgrades to infrastructure; consumer spending on telecom services has increased due to the surge in demand for capacity and bandwidth; the crucial nature of telecom services as a tool for work and school from home is still evident, and the spike in this area has seen growth opportunities for development of new tools and increased services"
     },
     "Broadcast media": {
       "text": "telecom reform in 2013 enabled the creation of new broadcast television channels after decades of a quasi-monopoly; Mexico has 885 TV stations and 1,841 radio stations and most are privately owned; the Televisa group once had a virtual monopoly in TV broadcasting, but new broadcasting groups and foreign satellite and cable operators are now available; in 2016, Mexico became the first country in Latin America to complete the transition from analog to digital transmissions, allowing for better image and audio quality and a wider selection of programming from networks (2022)"

north-america/sb.json

@@ -93,9 +93,6 @@
     },
     "Geography - note": {
       "text": "vegetation scanty; the islands are actually part of the northern Appalachians along with Newfoundland"
-    },
-    "Map description": {
-      "text": "<p>Saint Pierre and Miquelon map showing the two islands that make up this French territorial overseas collectivity in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.</p>"
     }
   },
   "People and Society": {
@@ -448,7 +445,7 @@
       }
     },
     "Judicial branch": {
-      "highest courts": {
+      "highest court(s)": {
         "text": "Superior Tribunal of Appeals or Tribunal Superieur d'Appel (composition NA)"
       },
       "judge selection and term of office": {
@@ -783,7 +780,7 @@
       "international": {
         "text": "country code - 508; landing point for the St Pierre and Miquelon Cable connecting Saint Pierre&nbsp;&amp; Miquelon and Canada; radiotelephone communication with most countries in the world; satellite earth station - 1 in French domestic satellite system (2019)"
       },
-      "note": "<strong>note:</strong> the COVID-19 pandemic continues to have a significant impact on production and supply chains globally; since 2020, some aspects of the telecom sector have experienced a downturn, particularly in mobile device production; progress towards 5G implementation has resumed, as well as upgrades to infrastructure; consumer spending on telecom services has increased due to the surge in demand for capacity and bandwidth; the crucial nature of telecom services as a tool for work and school from home is still evident, and the spike in this area has seen growth opportunities for development of new tools and increased services"
+      "note": "<strong>note:</strong> the COVID-19 pandemic continues to have a significant impact on production and supply chains globally; since 2020, some aspects of the telecom sector have experienced a downturn, particularly in mobile device production; progress toward 5G implementation has resumed, as well as upgrades to infrastructure; consumer spending on telecom services has increased due to the surge in demand for capacity and bandwidth; the crucial nature of telecom services as a tool for work and school from home is still evident, and the spike in this area has seen growth opportunities for development of new tools and increased services"
     },
     "Broadcast media": {
       "text": "8 TV stations, all part of the French Overseas Network, and local cable provided by SPM Telecom; 3 of 4 radio stations on St. Pierre and on Miquelon are part of the French Overseas Network (2021)"

north-america/us.json

@@ -126,9 +126,6 @@
     },
     "Geography - note": {
       "text": "<p><strong>note 1:</strong> world's third-largest country by size (after Russia and Canada) and by population (after China and India); Denali (Mt. McKinley) is the highest point (6,190 m) in North America and Death Valley the lowest point (-86 m) on the continent</p> <p><strong>note 2:</strong> the western coast of the United States and southern coast of Alaska lie along the Ring of Fire, a belt of active volcanoes and earthquake epicenters bordering the Pacific Ocean; up to 90% of the world's earthquakes and some 75% of the world's volcanoes occur within the Ring of Fire</p> <p><strong>note 3:</strong> the Aleutian Islands are a chain of volcanic islands that divide the Bering Sea (north) from the main Pacific Ocean (south); they extend about 1,800 km westward from the Alaskan Peninsula; the archipelago consists of 14 larger islands, 55 smaller islands, and hundreds of islets; there are 41 active volcanoes on the islands, which together form a large northern section of the Ring of Fire<br><br><strong>note 4: </strong>Mammoth Cave, in west-central Kentucky, is the world's longest known cave system with more than 650 km (405 miles) of surveyed passageways, which is nearly twice as long as the second-longest cave system, the Sac Actun underwater cave in Mexico - the world's longest underwater cave system (see \"Geography - note\" under Mexico); <br><br><strong>note 5:</strong> Kazumura Cave on the island of Hawaii is the world's longest and deepest lava tube cave; it has been surveyed at 66 km (41 mi) long and 1,102 m (3,614 ft) deep <br><br><strong>note 6: </strong>Bracken Cave outside of San Antonio, Texas is the world's largest bat cave; it is the summer home to the largest colony of bats in the world; an estimated 20 million Mexican free-tailed bats roost in the cave from March to October making it the world's largest known concentration of mammals<br><br><strong>note 7:</strong> the US is reliant on foreign imports for 100% of its needs for the following strategic resources - Arsenic, Cesium, Fluorspar, Gallium, Graphite, Indium, Manganese, Niobium, Rare Earths, Rubidium, Scandium, Tantalum, Yttrium; see Appendix H: Strategic Materials for further details<br><br><strong>note 8:</strong> three food crops are generally acknowledged to be native to areas of what is now the United States: cranberries, pecans, and sunflowers</p>"
-    },
-    "Map description": {
-      "text": "<p>United States map showing the United States – including Alaska and Hawaii – within northern North America. Most major US cities are indicated.</p>"
     }
   },
   "People and Society": {
@@ -629,7 +626,7 @@
       "note": "<strong>note:</strong> in addition to the regular members of the House of Representatives there are 6 non-voting delegates elected from the District of Columbia and the US territories of American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the Virgin Islands; these are single seat constituencies directly elected by simple majority vote to serve a 2-year term (except for the resident commissioner of Puerto Rico who serves a 4-year term); the delegate can vote when serving on a committee and when the House meets as the Committee of the Whole House, but not when legislation is submitted for a “full floor” House vote; election of delegates last held on 3 November 2020 (next to be held on 8 November 2022)"
     },
     "Judicial branch": {
-      "highest courts": {
+      "highest court(s)": {
         "text": "US Supreme Court (consists of 9 justices - the chief justice and 8 associate justices)"
       },
       "judge selection and term of office": {
@@ -1097,7 +1094,7 @@
       "international": {
         "text": "country code - 1; landing points for the Quintillion Subsea Cable Network, TERRA SW, AU-Aleutian, KKFL, AKORN, Alaska United -West, &amp; -East &amp; -Southeast, North Star, Lynn Canal Fiber, KetchCar 1, PC-1, SCCN, Tat TGN-Pacific &amp; -Atlantic, Jupiter, Hawaiki, NCP, FASTER, HKA, JUS, AAG, BtoBE, Currie, Southern Cross NEXT, SxS, PLCN, Utility EAC-Pacific, SEA-US, Paniolo Cable Network, HICS, HIFN, ASH, Telstra Endeavor, Honotua, AURORA, ARCOS, AMX-1, Americas -I &amp;&nbsp;-II, Columbus IIb &amp; -III, Maya-1, MAC, GTMO-1, BICS, CFX-1, GlobeNet, Monet, SAm-1, Bahamas 2, PCCS, BRUSA, Dunant, MAREA, SAE x1,&nbsp;TAT 14,&nbsp;Apollo, Gemini Bermuda, Havfrue/AEC-2, Seabras-1,&nbsp;WALL-LI, NYNJ-1, FLAG Atalantic-1, Yellow, Atlantic Crossing-1,&nbsp;AE Connect -1, sea2shore, Challenger Bermuda-1, and&nbsp;GTT Atlantic&nbsp;submarine cable systems providing international connectivity to Europe, Africa,&nbsp;the Middle East, Asia, Southeast Asia, Australia,&nbsp;New Zealand, Pacific, &amp;&nbsp;Atlantic, and Indian Ocean&nbsp;Islands, Central and South America, Caribbean, Canada&nbsp;and US; satellite earth stations - 61 Intelsat (45 Atlantic Ocean and 16 Pacific Ocean), 5 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region), and 4 Inmarsat (Pacific and Atlantic Ocean regions) (2020)"
       },
-      "note": "<strong>note:</strong> the COVID-19 pandemic continues to have a significant impact on production and supply chains globally; since 2020, some aspects of the telecom sector have experienced a downturn, particularly in mobile device production; progress towards 5G implementation has resumed, as well as upgrades to infrastructure; consumer spending on telecom services has increased due to the surge in demand for capacity and bandwidth; the crucial nature of telecom services as a tool for work and school from home is still evident, and the spike in this area has seen growth opportunities for development of new tools and increased services"
+      "note": "<strong>note:</strong> the COVID-19 pandemic continues to have a significant impact on production and supply chains globally; since 2020, some aspects of the telecom sector have experienced a downturn, particularly in mobile device production; progress toward 5G implementation has resumed, as well as upgrades to infrastructure; consumer spending on telecom services has increased due to the surge in demand for capacity and bandwidth; the crucial nature of telecom services as a tool for work and school from home is still evident, and the spike in this area has seen growth opportunities for development of new tools and increased services"
     },
     "Broadcast media": {
       "text": "4 major terrestrial TV networks with affiliate stations throughout the country, plus cable and satellite networks, independent stations, and a limited public broadcasting sector that is largely supported by private grants; overall, thousands of TV stations broadcasting; multiple national radio networks with many affiliate stations; while most stations are commercial, National Public Radio (NPR) has a network of some 900 member stations; satellite radio available; in total, over 15,000 radio stations operating (2018)"