auto-update week 17

europe/be.json

@@ -558,10 +558,10 @@
         "text": "bicameral Parliament consists of:<br>Senate or Senaat (in Dutch), Senat (in French) (60 seats; 50 members indirectly elected by the community and regional parliaments based on their election results, and 10 elected by the 50 other senators; members serve 5-year terms)<br>Chamber of Representatives or Kamer van Volksvertegenwoordigers (in Dutch), Chambre des Representants (in French) (150 seats; members directly elected in multi-seat constituencies by proportional representation vote; members serve 5-year terms)"
       },
       "elections": {
-        "text": "<br>Senate - last held 26 May 2019 (next to be held on 9 June 2024) <br>Chamber of Representatives - last held on 26 May 2019 (next to be held on 9 June 2024); note - elections coincided with the EU parliamentary elections"
+        "text": "Senate - last held 26 May 2019 (next to be held on 9 June 2024) <br>Chamber of Representatives - last held on 26 May 2019 (next to be held on 9 June 2024); note - elections coincided with the EU parliamentary elections"
       },
       "election results": {
-        "text": "<br>Senate - percent of vote by party - N-VA 15%, VB 12%, PS 12%, MR 12%, CD&amp;V 8.3%, Open VLD 8.3%, Ecolo 15%, SP.A 6.7%, CDH 3.3%, PVDA-PTB 8.3%; seats by party - N-VA 9, VB 7, PS 7, MR 7, CD&amp;V 5, Open VLD 5, Ecolo 9, SP.A 4, CDH 2, PVDA-PTB 5; composition as of February 2024 - men 34, women 26, percent percentage women 43.3%<br><br>Chamber of Representatives - percent of vote by party - N-VA 16.7%, VB 12%, PS 13.3%, CD&amp;V 8%, PVDA-PTB 8%, Open VLD 8%, MR 9.3%, SP.A 6%, Ecolo 8.7%, Green 5.3%, CDH 3.3%, Defi 1.3%; seats by party - N-VA 25, VB 18, PS 20, CD&amp;V 12, PVDA+PTB 12, Open VLD 12, MR 14, SP.A 9, Ecolo 13, Green 8, CDH 5, Defi 2; composition as of February 2024 - men 86, women 64, percent age women 42.7%; note - total Parliament percentage women 42.9%"
+        "text": "Senate - percent of vote by party - N-VA 15%, VB 12%, PS 12%, MR 12%, CD&amp;V 8.3%, Open VLD 8.3%, Ecolo 15%, SP.A 6.7%, CDH 3.3%, PVDA-PTB 8.3%; seats by party - N-VA 9, VB 7, PS 7, MR 7, CD&amp;V 5, Open VLD 5, Ecolo 9, SP.A 4, CDH 2, PVDA-PTB 5; composition as of February 2024 - men 34, women 26, percent percentage women 43.3%<br><br>Chamber of Representatives - percent of vote by party - N-VA 16.7%, VB 12%, PS 13.3%, CD&amp;V 8%, PVDA-PTB 8%, Open VLD 8%, MR 9.3%, SP.A 6%, Ecolo 8.7%, Green 5.3%, CDH 3.3%, Defi 1.3%; seats by party - N-VA 25, VB 18, PS 20, CD&amp;V 12, PVDA+PTB 12, Open VLD 12, MR 14, SP.A 9, Ecolo 13, Green 8, CDH 5, Defi 2; composition as of February 2024 - men 86, women 64, percentage women 42.7%; total Parliament percentage women 42.9%"
       },
       "note": "<strong>note:</strong> the 1993 constitutional revision that further devolved Belgium into a federal state created three levels of government (federal, regional, and linguistic community) with a complex division of responsibilities; this reality leaves six governments, each with its own legislative assembly; changes above occurred since the sixth state reform"
     },
@@ -1241,7 +1241,7 @@
       "note": "<strong>note 1:</strong> in 2023, women comprised nearly 11% of the military's full-time personnel<br><br><strong>note 2:</strong> foreign nationals 18-34 years of age who speak Dutch or French and are citizens of EU countries, Iceland, Lichtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland may apply to join the military"
     },
     "Military deployments": {
-      "text": "125 France (EuroCorps); 325 Eastern Europe (NATO); 100 Middle East; 325 Niger (2023)"
+      "text": "100 Middle East; Belgium has more than 300 ground forces deployed in Eastern Europe, as well as air and naval assets, supporting NATO missions for the defense of NATO's eastern flank (numbers vary based on the mission) (2024)"
     },
     "Military - note": {
       "text": "the Belgian military’s responsibilities include territorial defense, humanitarian/disaster relief, assistance to the police if required, international peacekeeping missions, and support to its NATO and EU security commitments, which Belgium considers vital components of its national security policy; outside of the country, the military operates almost always within an international organization or a coalition, such as its ongoing deployments to Africa for the EU and UN, eastern Europe as part of NATO’s Enhanced Forward Presence mission, and the Middle East with an international coalition to combat the Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham; Belgium was one of the original 12 countries to sign the North Atlantic Treaty (also known as the Washington Treaty) establishing NATO in 1949; it hosts the NATO headquarters in Brussels; Belgium also cooperates with neighboring countries, such as Luxembourg and the Netherlands, in conducting joint patrols of their respective air spaces and in a composite combined special operations command with Denmark and the Netherlands<br><br>the Belgian military is a small, professional, and all-volunteer force equipped with modern Western equipment; the Land Component’s combat forces are a motorized brigade and a special operations regiment; the Marine Component is a compact but active force that conducts a variety of missions ranging from territorial water patrols to humanitarian and counterpiracy operations, as well as support to multinational security operations; it has two frigates, which are supported by several patrol boats and mine warfare vessels; the Air Component has about 50 US-made F-16 fighter aircraft, which are slated to be replaced by US F-35 stealth multirole fighter aircraft by 2025 (2023)"
@@ -1263,9 +1263,6 @@
     }
   },
   "Transnational Issues": {
-    "Disputes - international": {
-      "text": "<p>none identified</p>"
-    },
     "Refugees and internally displaced persons": {
       "refugees (country of origin)": {
         "text": "20,086 (Syria), 7,049 (Afghanistan), 5,769 (Iraq) (mid-year 2022); 75,030 (Ukraine) (as of 29 February 2024)"