auto-update week 30

middle-east/iz.json

@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 {
   "Introduction": {
     "Background": {
-      "text": "<p>Formerly part of the Ottoman Empire, Iraq was occupied by the United Kingdom during World War I and&nbsp;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.</p> <p>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 in January 2009 and April 2013 and postponed the next provincial elections, originally planned for April 2017, until 2019. Iraq has held three national legislative elections since 2005, most recently in May 2018 when 329 legislators were elected to the COR. Adil ABD AL-MAHDI assumed the premiership in October 2018 as a consensus and independent candidate - the first prime minister who is not an active member of a major political bloc. However, widespread protests that began in October 2019 demanding more employment opportunities and an end to corruption prompted ABD AL-MAHDI to announce his resignation on 20 November 2019.</p> <p>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.</p>"
+      "text": "<p>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.</p> <p>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 in January 2009 and April 2013 and postponed the next provincial elections, originally planned for April 2017, until 2019. Iraq has held three national legislative elections since 2005, most recently in May 2018 when 329 legislators were elected to the COR. Adil ABD AL-MAHDI assumed the premiership in October 2018 as a consensus and independent candidate - the first prime minister who is not an active member of a major political bloc. However, widespread protests that began in October 2019 demanding more employment opportunities and an end to corruption prompted ABD AL-MAHDI to announce his resignation on 20 November 2019.</p> <p>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.</p>"
     }
   },
   "Geography": {
@@ -121,7 +121,7 @@
         "text": "Arabic (official), Kurdish (official), Turkmen (a Turkish dialect), Syriac (Neo-Aramaic), and Armenian are official in areas where native speakers of these languages constitute a majority of the population"
       },
       "printed major-language sample": {
-        "text": "<br />كتاب حقائق العالم، أحسن مصدر للمعلومات الأساسية (Arabic)<br /><br />The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information."
+        "text": "<br>كتاب حقائق العالم، أحسن مصدر للمعلومات الأساسية (Arabic)<br><br>The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information."
       }
     },
     "Religions": {
@@ -315,7 +315,7 @@
       "food or waterborne diseases": {
         "text": "bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever"
       },
-      "note": "<strong>note:</strong> widespread ongoing transmission of a respiratory illness caused by the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) is occurring throughout Iraq; as of 6 June 2021, Iraq has reported a total of 1,221,678 cases of COVID-19 or 3,037.3 cumulative cases of COVID-19 per 100,000 population with 41.1 cumulative deaths per 100,000 population; as of 8 June 2021, 1.11% of the population has received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine"
+      "note": "<strong>note:</strong> widespread ongoing transmission of a respiratory illness caused by the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) is occurring throughout Iraq; as of 19 July 2021, Iraq has reported a total of 1,501,595 cases of COVID-19 or 3,733.22 cumulative cases of COVID-19 per 100,000 population with 44.48 cumulative deaths per 100,000 population; as of 19 July 2021, 1.74% of the population has received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine"
     },
     "Obesity - adult prevalence rate": {
       "text": "30.4% (2016)"
@@ -437,7 +437,7 @@
       "food or waterborne diseases": {
         "text": "bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever"
       },
-      "note": "<strong>note:</strong> widespread ongoing transmission of a respiratory illness caused by the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) is occurring throughout Iraq; as of 6 June 2021, Iraq has reported a total of 1,221,678 cases of COVID-19 or 3,037.3 cumulative cases of COVID-19 per 100,000 population with 41.1 cumulative deaths per 100,000 population; as of 8 June 2021, 1.11% of the population has received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine"
+      "note": "<strong>note:</strong> widespread ongoing transmission of a respiratory illness caused by the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) is occurring throughout Iraq; as of 19 July 2021, Iraq has reported a total of 1,501,595 cases of COVID-19 or 3,733.22 cumulative cases of COVID-19 per 100,000 population with 44.48 cumulative deaths per 100,000 population; as of 19 July 2021, 1.74% of the population has received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine"
     },
     "Food insecurity": {
       "severe localized food insecurity": {
@@ -540,7 +540,7 @@
         "text": "president indirectly elected by Council of Representatives (COR) to serve a 4-year term (eligible for a second term);&nbsp;COR election last held on 12 May 2018 (next NA)"
       },
       "election results": {
-        "text": "<p>COR vote in first round - Barham SALIH (PUK) 165, Fuad HUSAYN (KDP) 90; Barham SALIH elected president in second round -&nbsp;Barham SALIH 219, Fuad HUSAYN 22; note - the COR vote on 1 October 2018 failed due to a lack of quorum, and a new session was held on 2 October</p>"
+        "text": "<p>COR vote in first round - Barham SALIH (PUK) 165, Fuad HUSAYN (KDP) 90; Barham SALIH elected president in second round - Barham SALIH 219, Fuad HUSAYN 22; note - the COR vote on 1 October 2018 failed due to a lack of quorum, and a new session was held on 2 October</p>"
       }
     },
     "Legislative branch": {
@@ -566,7 +566,7 @@
       }
     },
     "Political parties and leaders": {
-      "text": "<br />Al Fatah Alliance [Hadi al-AMIRI]<br />Al Nasr Alliance [Haydar al-ABADI]<br />Al Sadiqun Bloc [Adnan al-DULAYMI]<br />Al Sa'irun Alliance [Muqtda al-SADR]<br />Badr Organization [Hadi al-AMIRI]<br />Da`wa Party [Nuri al-MALIKI]<br />Fadilah Party [Muhammad al-YAQUBI]<br />Goran Movement [Omar SAYYID ALI]<br />Iraqi Communist Party [Hamid Majid MUSA]<br />Iraq Decision Alliance [Khamis al-KHANJAR, Usama al-NUJAYFI]<br />Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq or ISCI [Humam HAMMUDI]<br />Kurdistan Democratic Party or KDP [Masoud BARZANI]<br />National Wisdom Trend [Ammar al-HAKIM]<br />New Generation Movement [SHASWAR Abd al-Wahid Qadir]<br />Our Identity [Muhammad al-HALBUSI]<br />Patriotic Union of Kurdistan or PUK [KOSRAT Rasul Ali, acting]<br />State of Law Coalition [Nuri al MALIKI<br />Wataniyah coalition [Ayad ALLAWI]<br />numerous smaller religious, local, tribal, and minority parties"
+      "text": "<br>Al Fatah Alliance [Hadi al-AMIRI]<br>Al Nasr Alliance [Haydar al-ABADI]<br>Al Sadiqun Bloc [Adnan al-DULAYMI]<br>Al Sa'irun Alliance [Muqtda al-SADR]<br>Badr Organization [Hadi al-AMIRI]<br>Da`wa Party [Nuri al-MALIKI]<br>Fadilah Party [Muhammad al-YAQUBI]<br>Goran Movement [Omar SAYYID ALI]<br>Iraqi Communist Party [Hamid Majid MUSA]<br>Iraq Decision Alliance [Khamis al-KHANJAR, Usama al-NUJAYFI]<br>Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq or ISCI [Humam HAMMUDI]<br>Kurdistan Democratic Party or KDP [Masoud BARZANI]<br>National Wisdom Trend [Ammar al-HAKIM]<br>New Generation Movement [SHASWAR Abd al-Wahid Qadir]<br>Our Identity [Muhammad al-HALBUSI]<br>Patriotic Union of Kurdistan or PUK [KOSRAT Rasul Ali, acting]<br>State of Law Coalition [Nuri al MALIKI<br>Wataniyah coalition [Ayad ALLAWI]<br>numerous smaller religious, local, tribal, and minority parties"
     },
     "International organization participation": {
       "text": "ABEDA, AFESD, AMF, CAEU, CICA, EITI (compliant country), FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, LAS, MIGA, NAM, OAPEC, OIC, OPCW, OPEC, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer)"
@@ -1137,7 +1137,7 @@
       }
     },
     "Military and security service personnel strengths": {
-      "text": "assessments of the size of the Iraqi military and militia forces vary; approximately 225,000 active military personnel (190,000 Army; 5,000 Navy; 5,000 Air Force; est. 10,000 Iraqi Counterterrorism Service; est. 10,000 Presidential Brigades; est. 5,000 Prime Minister&rsquo;s Special Forces Division); 100-160,000 Popular Mobilization Forces; 150,000-200,000 Peshmerga Forces (2020)"
+      "text": "information varies; approximately 200,000 personnel under the Ministry of Defense (est. 190,000 Army/Aviation Command/Special Forces; est. 5,000 Navy; est. 5,000 Air/Air Defense Forces); approximately 25,000 National-Level Security Forces (est. 10,000 Iraqi Counterterrorism Service; est. 10,000 Presidential Brigades; est. 5,000 Prime Minister&rsquo;s Special Forces Division); 100-160,000 Popular Mobilization Forces; 150,000-200,000 Peshmerga Forces (2020)"
     },
     "Military equipment inventories and acquisitions": {
       "text": "the Iraqi military inventory is comprised of Russian and Soviet-era equipment combined with newer European- and US-sourced platforms; since 2010, Russia and the US are the leading suppliers of military hardware to Iraq (2020)"
@@ -1146,13 +1146,13 @@
       "text": "18-40 years of age for voluntary military service; no conscription (2019)"
     },
     "Military - note": {
-      "text": "<p>as of early 2021, Iraqi military and security forces continued to conduct counterinsurgency and counter-terrorism operations against the Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham (ISIS) terrorist group, particularly in northern and western Iraq</p> <p>Shia militia and paramilitary units from the Popular Mobilization Committee and Affiliated Forces (PMF) have fought alongside the Iraqi military against ISIS since 2014, but the majority of these forces continue to largely ignore the 2016 Law of the Popular Mobilization Authority, which mandated that armed militias must be regulated in a fashion similar to Iraq&rsquo;s other security forces and act under the Iraqi government&rsquo;s direct control; the Iraqi prime minister legally commands the PMF, but most of the militia brigades take orders from associated political parties and/or other government officials, including some with ties to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps</p> <p>the Kurdish Peshmerga are formally recognized as a legitimate Iraqi military force under the country&rsquo;s constitution and have operated jointly with the Iraqi military against ISIS militants, but they also operate outside of Iraqi military command structure; the Peshmerga report to the Kurdistan Regional Government or Kurdistan Democratic Party and Patriotic Union of Kurdistan parties instead of the Iraqi Ministry of Defense<br /><br />at the request of the Iraqi government, NATO agreed to establish an advisory, training and capacity-building mission in Iraq in October 2018 to help Iraqi forces in their fight against ISIS; NATO Mission Iraq (NMI) currently has about 500 troops, but in February 2021 NATO announced it would increase the presence to about 4,000, although no timeframe was given</p>"
+      "text": "<p>as of early 2021, Iraqi military and security forces continued to conduct counterinsurgency and counter-terrorism operations against the Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham (ISIS) terrorist group, particularly in northern and western Iraq</p> <p>Shia militia and paramilitary units from the Popular Mobilization Committee and Affiliated Forces (PMF) have fought alongside the Iraqi military against ISIS since 2014, but the majority of these forces continue to largely ignore the 2016 Law of the Popular Mobilization Authority, which mandated that armed militias must be regulated in a fashion similar to Iraq’s other security forces and act under the Iraqi government’s direct control; the Iraqi prime minister legally commands the PMF, but most of the militia brigades take orders from associated political parties and/or other government officials, including some with ties to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps</p> <p>the Kurdish Peshmerga are formally recognized as a legitimate Iraqi military force under the country’s constitution and have operated jointly with the Iraqi military against ISIS militants, but they also operate outside of Iraqi military command structure; the Peshmerga report to the Kurdistan Regional Government or Kurdistan Democratic Party and Patriotic Union of Kurdistan parties instead of the Iraqi Ministry of Defense<br><br>at the request of the Iraqi government, NATO agreed to establish an advisory, training and capacity-building mission in Iraq in October 2018 to help Iraqi forces in their fight against ISIS; NATO Mission Iraq (NMI) currently has about 500 troops, but in February 2021 NATO announced it would increase the presence to about 4,000, although no timeframe was given</p>"
     }
   },
   "Terrorism": {
     "Terrorist group(s)": {
-      "text": "Ansar al-Islam; Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq; Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps/Qods Force; Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham (ISIS); Jaysh Rijal al-Tariq al-Naqshabandi; Kata'ib Hizballah; Kurdistan Workers' Party<br><br><strong>note:</strong> details about the history, aims, leadership, organization, areas of operation, tactics, targets, weapons, size, and sources of support of the group(s) appear(s) in <a title=\"Appendix-T\" href=\"../appendix/appendix-t.html\">Appendix-T</a>",
-      "note": "<strong>note:</strong> details about the history, aims, leadership, organization, areas of operation, tactics, targets, weapons, size, and sources of support of the group(s) appear(s) in <a title=\"Appendix-T\" href=\"../appendix/appendix-t.html\">Appendix-T</a>"
+      "text": "Ansar al-Islam; Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq; Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps/Qods Force; Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham (ISIS); Jaysh Rijal al-Tariq al-Naqshabandi; Kata'ib Hizballah; Kurdistan Workers' Party<br><br><strong>note:</strong> details about the history, aims, leadership, organization, areas of operation, tactics, targets, weapons, size, and sources of support of the group(s) appear(s) in Appendix-T",
+      "note": "<strong>note:</strong> details about the history, aims, leadership, organization, areas of operation, tactics, targets, weapons, size, and sources of support of the group(s) appear(s) in Appendix-T"
     }
   },
   "Transnational Issues": {