dispute with Tanzania over the boundary in Lake Nyasa (Lake Malawi) and the meandering Songwe River; Malawi contends that the entire lake up to the Tanzanian shoreline is its territory, while Tanzania claims the border is in the center of the lake; the conflict was reignited in 2012 when Malawi awarded a license to a British company for oil exploration in the lake
" + "text": "dispute with Malawi over the boundary in Lake Nyasa (Lake Malawi) and the meandering Songwe River; Malawi contends that the entire lake up to the Tanzanian shoreline is its territory, while Tanzania claims the border is in the center of the lake; the conflict was reignited in 2012 when Malawi awarded a license to a British company for oil exploration in the lake
" }, "Refugees and internally displaced persons": { "refugees (country of origin)": { diff --git a/africa/uv.json b/africa/uv.json index 00bb5907..7f273aed 100644 --- a/africa/uv.json +++ b/africa/uv.json @@ -546,10 +546,10 @@ }, "Constitution": { "history": { - "text": "several previous; latest approved by referendum 2 June 1991, adopted 11 June 1991, temporarily suspended late October to mid-November 2014; initial draft of a new constitution to usher in the new republic was completed in January 2017 and a final draft was submitted to the government in December 2017; a constitutional referendum originally scheduled for adoption in March 2019 has been postponed" + "text": "several previous; latest approved by referendum 2 June 1991, adopted 11 June 1991, temporarily suspended late October to mid-November 2014; initial draft of a new constitution to usher in the new republic was completed in January 2017 and a final draft was submitted to the government in December 2017; a constitutional referendum originally scheduled for adoption in March 2019 was postponed" }, "amendments": { - "text": "proposed by the president, by a majority of National Assembly membership, or by petition of at least 30,000 eligible voters submitted to the Assembly; passage requires at least three-fourths majority vote in the Assembly; failure to meet that threshold requires majority voter approval in a referendum; constitutional provisions on the form of government, the multiparty system, and national sovereignty cannot be amended; amended several times, last in 2012" + "text": "proposed by the president, by a majority of National Assembly membership, or by petition of at least 30,000 eligible voters submitted to the Assembly; passage requires at least three-fourths majority vote in the Assembly; failure to meet that threshold requires majority voter approval in a referendum; constitutional provisions on the form of government, the multiparty system, and national sovereignty cannot be amended; on 1 March 2022 a transition charter was adopted, allowing military authorities to rule for three years and barring transitional President Lt. Col. Paul-Henri Sandaogo DAMIBA from being an electoral candidate after the transition." } }, "Legal system": { @@ -577,16 +577,16 @@ }, "Executive branch": { "chief of state": { - "text": "Lt. Col. Paul-Henri Sandaogo DAMIBA (since 16 February 2022); note - on 24 January 2022, a military junta led by DAMIBA, leader of the Patriotic Movement for Safeguard and Restoration, took power and ousted President Roch Marc Christian KABORE (since 22 November 2020)" + "text": "transitional President Lt. Col. Paul-Henri Sandaogo DAMIBA (since 2 February 2022); note - on 24 January 2022, a military junta led by DAMIBA, leader of the Patriotic Movement for Safeguard and Restoration, took power and ousted President Roch Marc Christian KABORE" }, "head of government": { - "text": "Prime Minister (vacant); note - the tenure of Prime Minister Lassina ZERBO (since 10 December 2021) ended on 24 January 2022 when the military, led by Lt. Col. Paul-Henri Sandaogo DAMIBA, seized power (2021)" + "text": "Prime Minister Albert OUEDRAOGO (since 3 March 2022); note - transitional President Lt. Col. DAMIBA appointed OUEDRAOGO Prime Minister on 3 March 2022; the position had been vacant since 24 January 2022 when the military ousted former Prime Minister Lassina ZERBO (2021)" }, "cabinet": { "text": "Council of Ministers appointed by the president on the recommendation of the prime minister" }, "elections/appointments": { - "text": "president elected by absolute majority popular vote in 2 rounds if needed for a 5-year term (eligible for a second); last held on 22 November 2020 (next to be held in November 2025); prime minister appointed by the president with consent of the National Assembly" + "text": "president elected by absolute majority popular vote in 2 rounds if needed for a 5-year term (eligible for a second); last held on 22 November 2020 (next to be held in November 2025); prime minister appointed by the president with consent of the National Assembly; note - on 1 March 2022 a transition charter was adopted, allowing military authorities to rule for three years and barring transitional President Lt. Col. Paul-Henri Sandaogo DAMIBA from being an electoral candidate after the transition." }, "election results": { "text": "Roch Marc Christian KABORE reelected president in first round; percent of vote - Roch Marc Christian KABORE (MPP) 57.9%, Eddie KOMBOIGO (CDP) 15.5%, Zephirin DIABRE (UPC)12.5%, other 14.1%" diff --git a/australia-oceania/aq.json b/australia-oceania/aq.json index 5c81cb75..43d1d1a9 100644 --- a/australia-oceania/aq.json +++ b/australia-oceania/aq.json @@ -391,7 +391,7 @@ "text": "adopted 17 October 1960; revised 1 July 1967" }, "amendments": { - "text": "proposed by either house of the Legislative Assembly; passage requires three-fifths majority vote by the membership of each house, approval in a referendum, approval by the US Secretary of the Interior, and only by an act of the US Congress; amended several times, last in 2021" + "text": "proposed by either house of the Legislative Assembly; passage requires three-fifths majority vote by the membership of each house, approval by simple majority vote in a referendum, approval by the US Secretary of the Interior, and only by an act of the US Congress; amended several times, last in 2021" } }, "Legal system": { diff --git a/australia-oceania/as.json b/australia-oceania/as.json index 52b402a5..e93594cc 100644 --- a/australia-oceania/as.json +++ b/australia-oceania/as.json @@ -568,10 +568,10 @@ "text": "bicameral Federal Parliament consists of:drug trafficking groups are major players in the procurement and transportation of large quantities of cocaine destined for European markets
" diff --git a/europe/mk.json b/europe/mk.json index 95c80b6d..909d50ef 100644 --- a/europe/mk.json +++ b/europe/mk.json @@ -1124,7 +1124,7 @@ "stateless persons": { "text": "553 (mid-year 2021)" }, - "note": "note: 528,369 estimated refugee and migrant arrivals (January 2015-January 2022)" + "note": "note: 529,056 estimated refugee and migrant arrivals (January 2015-February 2022)" }, "Illicit drugs": { "text": "major transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin and hashish; minor transit point for South American cocaine destined for Europe; although not a financial center and most criminal activity is thought to be domestic, money laundering is a problem due to a mostly cash-based economy and weak enforcement" diff --git a/europe/pl.json b/europe/pl.json index e8e3ba61..f2fc92d1 100644 --- a/europe/pl.json +++ b/europe/pl.json @@ -1230,7 +1230,7 @@ }, "Refugees and internally displaced persons": { "refugees (country of origin)": { - "text": "9,870 (Russia) (2019); 1,294,903 (2022)" + "text": "9,870 (Russia) (2019); 1,808,436 (2022)" }, "stateless persons": { "text": "1,389 (mid-year 2021)" diff --git a/europe/ro.json b/europe/ro.json index 2618e3d0..776f7ff1 100644 --- a/europe/ro.json +++ b/europe/ro.json @@ -1194,7 +1194,7 @@ }, "Refugees and internally displaced persons": { "refugees (country of origin)": { - "text": "85,444 (Ukraine) (2022)" + "text": "453,452 (Ukraine) (2022)" }, "stateless persons": { "text": "314 (mid-year 2021)" diff --git a/europe/si.json b/europe/si.json index 574cbbb5..96027a37 100644 --- a/europe/si.json +++ b/europe/si.json @@ -1155,7 +1155,7 @@ "stateless persons": { "text": "10 (2020)" }, - "note": "note: 537,032 estimated refugee and migrant arrivals (January 2015-December 2021)" + "note": "note: 537,032 estimated refugee and migrant arrivals (January 2015-February 2022)" }, "Illicit drugs": { "text": "minor transit point for cocaine and Southwest Asian heroin bound for Western Europe, and for precursor chemicals" diff --git a/europe/sp.json b/europe/sp.json index d169b1ba..1c33c928 100644 --- a/europe/sp.json +++ b/europe/sp.json @@ -1220,7 +1220,7 @@ "stateless persons": { "text": "6,.92 (mid-year 2021)" }, - "note": "note: 198,770 estimated refugee and migrant arrivals (January 2015-March 2022)" + "note": "note: 199,150 estimated refugee and migrant arrivals (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 c457acd6..e1b07bc2 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 8 March, more than 2.1 million people had fled Ukraine, and over 1,200 civilian casualties had been reported.
" + "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 15 March, more than 2.97 million people had fled Ukraine, and as of 9 March, over 1,506 civilian casualties had been reported.
" } }, "Geography": { diff --git a/middle-east/aj.json b/middle-east/aj.json index 4599497a..088cf4a6 100644 --- a/middle-east/aj.json +++ b/middle-east/aj.json @@ -1,7 +1,7 @@ { "Introduction": { "Background": { - "text": "
| Azerbaijan - a secular nation with a majority-Turkic and majority-Shia Muslim population - was briefly independent (from 1918 to 1920) following the collapse of the Russian Empire; it was subsequently incorporated into the Soviet Union for seven decades. Azerbaijan remains involved in the protracted Nagorno-Karabakh conflict with Armenia. Nagorno-Karabakh was a primarily ethnic Armenian region that Moscow recognized in 1923 as an autonomous oblast within Soviet Azerbaijan. In the late Soviet period, a separatist movement developed which sought to end Azerbaijani control over the region. Fighting over Nagorno-Karabakh began in 1988 and escalated after Armenia and Azerbaijan attained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. By the time a ceasefire took effect in May 1994, separatists, with Armenian support, controlled Nagorno‑Karabakh and seven surrounding Azerbaijani territories. Under the terms of a cease-fire agreement following Azerbaijan’s victory in the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War that took place from September-November 2020, Armenia returned to Azerbaijan the remaining territories it had occupied and also the southern part of Nagorno-Karabakh, including the culturally and historically important city that Azerbaijanis call Shusha and Armenians call Shushi. Despite Azerbaijan’s territorial gains, peace in the region remains elusive because of unsettled issues concerning the delimitation of borders, the opening of regional transportation and communication links, the status of ethnic enclaves near border regions, and the final status of the Nagorno-Karabakh region. Russian peacekeepers deployed to Nagorno-Karabakh to supervise the cease-fire for a minimum five-year term have not prevented the outbreak of sporadic, low-level military clashes along the Azerbaijan-Armenia border in 2021. |
Azerbaijan - a secular nation with a majority-Turkic and majority-Shia Muslim population - was briefly independent (from 1918 to 1920) following the collapse of the Russian Empire; it was subsequently incorporated into the Soviet Union for seven decades. Azerbaijan remains involved in the protracted Nagorno-Karabakh conflict with Armenia. Nagorno-Karabakh was a primarily ethnic Armenian region that Moscow recognized in 1923 as an autonomous oblast within Soviet Azerbaijan. In the late Soviet period, a separatist movement developed which sought to end Azerbaijani control over the region. Fighting over Nagorno-Karabakh began in 1988 and escalated after Armenia and Azerbaijan attained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. By the time a ceasefire took effect in May 1994, separatists, with Armenian support, controlled Nagorno‑Karabakh and seven surrounding Azerbaijani territories.
Under the terms of a cease-fire agreement following Azerbaijan’s victory in the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War that took place from September-November 2020, Armenia returned to Azerbaijan the remaining territories it had occupied and also the southern part of Nagorno-Karabakh, including the culturally and historically important city that Azerbaijanis call Shusha and Armenians call Shushi. Despite Azerbaijan’s territorial gains, peace in the region remains elusive because of unsettled issues concerning the delimitation of borders, the opening of regional transportation and communication links, the status of ethnic enclaves near border regions, and the final status of the Nagorno-Karabakh region. Russian peacekeepers deployed to Nagorno-Karabakh to supervise the cease-fire for a minimum five-year term have not prevented the outbreak of sporadic, low-level military clashes along the Azerbaijan-Armenia border in 2021.
In the three decades following its independence in 1991, Azerbaijan has succeeded in significantly reducing the poverty rate and has directed revenues from its oil and gas production to develop the country’s infrastructure. However, corruption remains a burden on the economy, and Western observers and members of the country’s political opposition have accused the government of authoritarianism, pointing to elections that are neither free nor fair, state control of the media, and the systematic abuse of human rights targeting individuals and groups who are perceived as threats to the administration. The country’s leadership has remained in the Aliyev family since Heydar ALIYEV, formerly the most highly ranked Azerbaijani member of the Communist Party during the Soviet period, became president in the midst of the first Nagorno-Karabakh War in 1993. Heydar ALIYEV groomed his son to succeed him, and Ilham ALIYEV subsequently became president in 2003. As a result of two national referendums that eliminated presidential term limits and extended the presidential term from 5 to 7 years, President ALIYEV secured a fourth term in April 2018 in an election that international observers noted had serious shortcomings. Reforms are underway to diversify the country’s economy away from its dependence on oil and gas; additional reforms are needed to address weaknesses in government institutions, particularly in the education and health sectors, and the court system.
Armenia prides itself on being the first nation to formally adopt Christianity (early 4th century). Despite periods of autonomy, over the centuries Armenia came under the sway of various empires including the Roman, Byzantine, Arab, Persian, and Ottoman. During World War I in the western portion of Armenia, the Ottoman Empire instituted a policy of forced resettlement coupled with other harsh practices that resulted in at least 1 million Armenian deaths - actions widely recognized as constituting genocide. The eastern area of Armenia was ceded by the Ottomans to Russia in 1828; this portion declared its independence in 1918, but was conquered by the Soviet Red Army in 1920.
Armenia remains involved in the protracted struggle with Azerbaijan over control of Nagorno-Karabakh, a primarily ethnic Armenian region that Moscow recognized in 1923 as an autonomous oblast within Soviet Azerbaijan. In the late Soviet period, a separatist movement developed that sought to end Azerbaijani control over the region. Fighting over Nagorno-Karabakh began in 1988 and escalated after Armenia and Azerbaijan attained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. By the time a cease-fire took effect in May 1994, separatists, with Armenian support, controlled Nagorno‑Karabakh and seven surrounding Azerbaijani territories. Following the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War that took place in September-November 2020, Armenia lost control over much of the territory it had captured a quarter century earlier. Under the terms of a cease-fire agreement signed in November 2020, Armenia returned to Azerbaijan the remaining territories it occupied and some parts of the Nagorno-Karabakh region, including the key city that Armenians call Shushi and Azerbaijanis call Shusha.
Turkey closed the common border with Armenia in 1993 in support of Azerbaijan in its conflict with Armenia over control of Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding areas, further hampering Armenian economic growth. In 2009, Armenia and Turkey signed Protocols normalizing relations between the two countries, but neither country ratified the Protocols, and Armenia officially withdrew from the Protocols in March 2018. In 2015, Armenia joined the Eurasian Economic Union alongside Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan. In November 2017, Armenia signed a Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement (CEPA) with the EU.
In spring 2018, former President of Armenia (2008-18) Serzh SARGSIAN of the Republican Party of Armenia (RPA) tried to extend his time in power by becoming prime minister, prompting popular protests that became known as the “Velvet Revolution” after SARGSIAN was forced to resign. The leader of the protests, Civil Contract party chief Nikol PASHINYAN, was elected by the National Assembly as the new prime minister on 8 May 2018. Pashinyan’s party prevailed in an early legislative election in December 2018, and he was reelected as prime minister.
" + "text": "Armenia prides itself on being the first nation to formally adopt Christianity (early 4th century). Despite periods of autonomy, over the centuries Armenia came under the sway of various empires including the Roman, Byzantine, Arab, Persian, and Ottoman. During World War I in the western portion of Armenia, the Ottoman Empire instituted a policy of forced resettlement coupled with other harsh practices that resulted in at least 1 million Armenian deaths - actions widely recognized as constituting genocide. The eastern area of Armenia was ceded by the Ottomans to Russia in 1828; this portion declared its independence in 1918, but was conquered by the Soviet Red Army in 1920.
Armenia remains involved in the protracted struggle with Azerbaijan over control of Nagorno-Karabakh, a primarily ethnic Armenian region that Moscow recognized in 1923 as an autonomous oblast within Soviet Azerbaijan. In the late Soviet period, a separatist movement developed that sought to end Azerbaijani control over the region. Fighting over Nagorno-Karabakh began in 1988 and escalated after Armenia and Azerbaijan attained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. By the time a cease-fire took effect in May 1994, separatists, with Armenian support, controlled Nagorno‑Karabakh and seven surrounding Azerbaijani territories. Following the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War that took place in September-November 2020, Armenia lost control over much of the territory it had captured a quarter century earlier. Under the terms of a cease-fire agreement signed in November 2020, Armenia returned to Azerbaijan the remaining territories it occupied and some parts of the Nagorno-Karabakh region, including the key city that Armenians call Shushi and Azerbaijanis call Shusha.
Turkey closed the common border with Armenia in 1993 in support of Azerbaijan in its conflict with Armenia over control of Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding areas, further hampering Armenian economic growth. In 2009, Armenia and Turkey signed Protocols normalizing relations between the two countries, but neither country ratified the Protocols, and Armenia officially withdrew from the Protocols in March 2018. In 2015, Armenia joined the Eurasian Economic Union alongside Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan. In November 2017, Armenia signed a Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement (CEPA) with the EU.
In spring 2018, former President of Armenia (2008-18) Serzh SARGSIAN of the Republican Party of Armenia (RPA) tried to extend his time in power by becoming prime minister, prompting popular protests that became known as the “Velvet Revolution” after SARGSIAN was forced to resign. The leader of the protests, Civil Contract party chief Nikol PASHINYAN, was elected by the National Assembly as the new prime minister on 8 May 2018. Pashinyan’s party prevailed in an early legislative election in December 2018, and he was reelected as prime minister.
" } }, "Geography": { @@ -524,7 +524,7 @@ }, "Executive branch": { "chief of state": { - "text": "Acting President Alen SIMONYAN (since 1 February 2022)" + "text": "President Vahagn KHACHATURYAN (since 13 March 2022)" }, "head of government": { "text": "Prime Minister Nikol PASHINYAN (since 10 September 2021); Deputy Prime Ministers Mher GRIGORYAN (since 3 August 2021) and Hambardzum MATEVOSYAN (since 25 November 2021); note - Prime Minister Nikol PASHINYAN resigned on 25 April 2021; he was reappointed by the president on 2 August 2021 and sworn in on 10 September 2021" @@ -548,7 +548,7 @@ "text": "last held early on 20 June 2021 (next to be held in June 2026)" }, "election results": { - "text": "percent of vote by party - Civil Contract 53.9%, Armenia Alliance 21.0%, I Have Honour Alliance 5.2%; seats by party - Civil Contract 71 of 107 seats, Armenia Alliance 29, I Have Honour Alliance 7; composition (as of November 2021) - men 71, women 36, percent of women 33.6%" + "text": "percent of vote by party - Civil Contract 53.9%, Armenia Alliance 21.0%, I Have Honour Alliance 5.2%; seats by party - Civil Contract 71 of 107 seats, Armenia Alliance 29, I Have Honour Alliance 7; composition (as of February 2022) - men 69, women 38, percent of women 35.5%" } }, "Judicial branch": { diff --git a/middle-east/iz.json b/middle-east/iz.json index b106bc3b..768f910b 100644 --- a/middle-east/iz.json +++ b/middle-east/iz.json @@ -1195,7 +1195,7 @@ }, "Refugees and internally displaced persons": { "refugees (country of origin)": { - "text": "15,272 (Turkey), 7,881 (West Bank and Gaza Strip) (mid-year 2021); 256,006 (Syria) (2022)" + "text": "15,272 (Turkey), 7,881 (West Bank and Gaza Strip) (mid-year 2021); 256,861 (Syria) (2022)" }, "IDPs": { "text": "1,198,940 (displacement in central and northern Iraq since January 2014) (2021)" diff --git a/middle-east/le.json b/middle-east/le.json index ba145365..061feb36 100644 --- a/middle-east/le.json +++ b/middle-east/le.json @@ -555,7 +555,7 @@ "text": "unicameral National Assembly or Majlis al-Nuwab in Arabic or Assemblee Nationale in French (128 seats; members directly elected by listed-based proportional representation vote; members serve 4-year terms); prior to 2017, the electoral system was by majoritarian vote" }, "elections": { - "text": "last held on 6 May 2018 (next to be held in 2022)" + "text": "last held on 6 May 2018 (next to be held on 15 May 2022)" }, "election results": { "text": "percent of vote by coalition - NA; seats by coalition – Strong Lebanon Bloc (Free Patriotic Movement-led) 25; Future Bloc (Future Movement-led) 20; Development and Liberation Bloc (Amal Movement-led) 16; Loyalty to the Resistance Bloc (Hizballah-led) 15; Strong Republic Bloc (Lebanese Forces-led) 15; Democratic Gathering (Progressive Socialist Party-led) 9; Independent Centre Bloc 4; National Bloc (Marada Movement-led) 3; Syrian Social Nationalist Party 3; Tashnaq 3; Kata’ib 3; other 8; independent 4; composition - men 122, women 6, percent of women 4.6%" diff --git a/middle-east/sy.json b/middle-east/sy.json index c583cf72..2d5dc67d 100644 --- a/middle-east/sy.json +++ b/middle-east/sy.json @@ -1133,7 +1133,7 @@ "stateless persons": { "text": "160,000 (mid-year 2021); note - Syria's stateless population consists of Kurds and Palestinians; stateless persons are prevented from voting, owning land, holding certain jobs, receiving food subsidies or public healthcare, enrolling in public schools, or being legally married to Syrian citizens; in 1962, some 120,000 Syrian Kurds were stripped of their Syrian citizenship, rendering them and their descendants stateless; in 2011, the Syrian Government granted citizenship to thousands of Syrian Kurds as a means of appeasement; however, resolving the question of statelessness is not a priority given Syria's ongoing civil war" }, - "note": "note: the ongoing civil war has resulted in nearly 5.7 million registered Syrian refugees - dispersed in Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, and Turkey - as of February 2022" + "note": "note: the ongoing civil war has resulted in more than 5.7 million registered Syrian refugees - dispersed in Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, and Turkey - as of March 2022" }, "Trafficking in persons": { "current situation": { diff --git a/middle-east/tu.json b/middle-east/tu.json index d648a340..c4f4f73f 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": "3,747,734 (Syria) (2022)" + "text": "3,750,462 (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/north-america/ca.json b/north-america/ca.json index 6da7a723..d8a41e25 100644 --- a/north-america/ca.json +++ b/north-america/ca.json @@ -581,7 +581,7 @@ } }, "Political parties and leaders": { - "text": "Bloc Quebecois [Yves-Francois BLANCHET]
Senate - percent of vote by bloc or party - NA; seats by bloc or party - JxC 14, FdT 9, VcV 1; composition (as of November 2021) - men 43, women 29, percent of women 40.3%
Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by bloc or party - NA; seats by bloc or party - JxC 61, FdT 50, FIT-U 4, VcV 4, other 8; composition (as of November 2021) - men 148, women 109, percent of women 42.4%; note - total National Congress percent of women 41.9%
Senate - percent of vote by bloc or party - NA; seats by bloc or party - JxC 14, FdT 9, VcV 1; composition (as of February 2022) - men 41, women 31, percent of women 43.1%
Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by bloc or party - NA; seats by bloc or party - JxC 61, FdT 50, FIT-U 4, VcV 4, other 8; composition (as of February 2022) - men 142, women 115, percent of women 44.7%; note - total National Congress percent of women 44.4%