auto-update week 26

africa/ao.json

@@ -483,7 +483,7 @@
         "text": "People's Republic of Angola"
       },
       "etymology": {
-        "text": "name derived by the Portuguese from the title \"ngola\" held by kings of the Ndongo (Ndongo was a kingdom in what is now northern Angola)"
+        "text": "name derived by the Portuguese from the title \"ngola\" held by kings of the Ndongo (Ndongo was a kingdom in what is now Angola)"
       }
     },
     "Government type": {
@@ -597,7 +597,7 @@
         "text": "Appointed Ambassador Agostinho de Carvalho dos Santos VAN-DÚNEM (since 2 June 2023)"
       },
       "chancery": {
-        "text": "2100-2108 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009"
+        "text": "2108 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009"
       },
       "telephone": {
         "text": "[1] (202) 785-1156"

africa/cf.json

@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 {
   "Introduction": {
     "Background": {
-      "text": "Upon independence in 1960, the former French region of Middle Congo became the Republic of the Congo. A quarter century of experimentation with Marxism was abandoned in 1990 and a democratically elected government took office in 1992. A two-year civil war that ended in 1999 restored former Marxist President Denis SASSOU-Nguesso, who had ruled from 1979 to 1992, and sparked a short period of ethnic and political unrest that was resolved by a peace agreement in late 1999. A new constitution adopted three years later provided for a multi-party system and a seven-year presidential term, and elections arranged shortly thereafter retained SASSOU-Nguesso. Following a year of renewed fighting, President SASSOU-Nguesso and southern-based rebel groups agreed to a final peace accord in March 2003. SASSOU-Nguesso was reeelected in 2009 and, after passing a referendum allowing him to run for a third term, was reelected again in 2016. The Republic of Congo is one of Africa's largest petroleum producers, but with declining production it will need new offshore oil finds to sustain its oil earnings over the long term."
+      "text": "Upon independence in 1960, the former French region of Middle Congo became the Republic of the Congo. A quarter century of experimentation with Marxism was abandoned in 1990 and a democratically elected government took office in 1992. A two-year civil war that ended in 1999 restored former Marxist President Denis SASSOU-Nguesso, who had ruled from 1979 to 1992, and sparked a short period of ethnic and political unrest that was resolved by a peace agreement in late 1999. A new constitution adopted three years later provided for a multi-party system and a seven-year presidential term, and elections arranged shortly thereafter retained SASSOU-Nguesso. Following a year of renewed fighting, President SASSOU-Nguesso and southern-based rebel groups agreed to a final peace accord in March 2003. SASSOU-Nguesso was reelected in 2009 and, after passing a referendum allowing him to run for additional terms, was reelected again in 2016 and 2021. The Republic of Congo is one of Africa's largest petroleum producers, but with declining production it will need new offshore oil finds to sustain its oil earnings over the long term."
     }
   },
   "Geography": {

africa/cm.json

@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 {
   "Introduction": {
     "Background": {
-      "text": "Much of the area of present-day Cameroon was ruled by powerful chiefdoms before becoming a German colony in 1884 known as Kamerun. After World War I, the territory was divided between France and the UK as League of Nations mandates. French Cameroon became independent in 1960 as the Republic of Cameroon. The following year the southern portion of neighboring British Cameroon voted to merge with the new country to form the Federal Republic of Cameroon. In 1972, a new constitution replaced the federation with a unitary state, the United Republic of Cameroon. The country has generally enjoyed stability, which has enabled the development of agriculture, roads, and railways, as well as a petroleum industry. Nonetheless, since 2016, an Anglophone movement has emerged seeking greater autonomy and possible independence for the western part of the country. Movement toward democratic reform is slow and political power remains firmly in the hands of President Paul BIYA."
+      "text": "Much of the area of present-day Cameroon was ruled by powerful chiefdoms before becoming a German colony in 1884 known as Kamerun. After World War I, the territory was divided between France and the UK as League of Nations mandates. French Cameroon became independent in 1960 as the Republic of Cameroon. The following year the southern portion of neighboring British Cameroon voted to merge with the new country to form the Federal Republic of Cameroon. In 1972, a new constitution replaced the federation with a unitary state, the United Republic of Cameroon. The country has generally enjoyed stability, which has enabled the development of agriculture, roads, and railways, as well as a petroleum industry. Nonetheless, unrest and violence in the country's two western, English-speaking regions has persisted since 2016. Movement toward democratic reform is slow and political power remains firmly in the hands of President Paul BIYA."
     }
   },
   "Geography": {

africa/cv.json

@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 {
   "Introduction": {
     "Background": {
-      "text": "The uninhabited islands were discovered and colonized by the Portuguese in the 15th century; Cabo Verde subsequently became a trading center for African slaves and later an important coaling and resupply stop for whaling and transatlantic shipping. The fusing of European and various African cultural traditions is reflected in Cabo Verde’s Krioulo language, music, and pano textiles. Following independence in 1975, and a tentative interest in unification with Guinea-Bissau, a one-party system was established and maintained until multi-party elections were held in 1990. Cabo Verde continues to sustain one of Africa's most stable democratic governments and one of its most stable economies, maintaining a currency formerly pegged to the Portuguese escudo and then the euro since 1998. Repeated droughts during the second half of the 20th century caused significant hardship and prompted heavy emigration. As a result, Cabo Verde's expatriate population - concentrated in Boston and Western Europe - is greater than its domestic one. <br><br>Most Cabo Verdeans have both African and Portuguese antecedents. Cabo Verde’s population descends from its first permanent inhabitants in the late 15th-century – a preponderance of West African slaves, a small share of Portuguese colonists, and even fewer Italians and Spaniards. Among the nine inhabited islands, population distribution is variable. Islands in the east are very dry and are home to the country's growing tourism industry. The more western islands receive more precipitation and support larger populations, but agriculture and livestock grazing have damaged their soil fertility and vegetation. For centuries, the country’s overall population size has fluctuated significantly, as recurring periods of famine and epidemics have caused high death tolls and emigration. In November 2021, Jose Maria NEVES was sworn in as Cabo Verde's latest president."
+      "text": "The uninhabited islands were discovered and colonized by the Portuguese in the 15th century; Cabo Verde subsequently became a trading center for African slaves and later an important coaling and resupply stop for whaling and transatlantic shipping. The fusing of European and various African cultural traditions is reflected in Cabo Verde’s Crioulo language, music, and pano textiles. Following independence in 1975, and a tentative interest in unification with Guinea-Bissau, a one-party system was established and maintained until multi-party elections were held in 1990. Cabo Verde continues to sustain one of Africa's most stable democratic governments and relatively stable economies, maintaining a currency formerly pegged to the Portuguese escudo and then the euro since 1998. Repeated droughts during the second half of the 20th century caused significant hardship and prompted heavy emigration. As a result, Cabo Verde's expatriate population - concentrated in Boston and Western Europe - is greater than its domestic one. <br><br>Most Cabo Verdeans have both African and Portuguese antecedents. Cabo Verde’s population descends from its first permanent inhabitants in the late 15th-century – a preponderance of West African slaves, a small share of Portuguese colonists, and even fewer Italians and Spaniards. Among the nine inhabited islands, population distribution is variable. Islands in the east are very dry and are home to the country's growing tourism industry. The more western islands receive more precipitation and support larger populations, but agriculture and livestock grazing have damaged their soil fertility and vegetation. For centuries, the country’s overall population size has fluctuated significantly, as recurring periods of famine and epidemics have caused high death tolls and emigration. In November 2021, Jose Maria Pereira NEVES was sworn in as Cabo Verde's latest president."
     }
   },
   "Geography": {

africa/et.json

@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 {
   "Introduction": {
     "Background": {
-      "text": "<p>Unique among African countries, the ancient Ethiopian monarchy maintained its freedom from colonial rule with the exception of a short-lived Italian occupation from 1936 to 1941. In 1974, a military junta, the Derg, deposed Emperor Haile SELASSIE (who had ruled since 1930) and established a socialist state. Torn by bloody coups, uprisings, wide-scale drought, and massive refugee problems, the regime was finally toppled in 1991 by a coalition of rebel forces, the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF). A constitution was adopted in 1994, and Ethiopia's first multiparty elections were held in 1995.</p> A border war with Eritrea in the late 1990s ended with a peace treaty in December 2000. In November 2007, the Eritrea-Ethiopia Border Commission (EEBC) issued specific coordinates as virtually demarcating the border and pronounced its work finished. Alleging that the EEBC acted beyond its mandate in issuing the coordinates, Ethiopia did not accept them and maintained troops in previously contested areas pronounced by the EEBC as belonging to Eritrea. This intransigence resulted in years of heightened tension between the two countries. In August 2012, longtime leader Prime Minister MELES Zenawi died in office and was replaced by his Deputy Prime Minister HAILEMARIAM Desalegn, marking the first peaceful transition of power in decades. Following a wave of popular dissent and anti-government protest that began in 2015, HAILEMARIAM resigned in February 2018 and ABIY Ahmed Ali took office in April 2018 as Ethiopia's first ethnic Oromo prime minister. In June 2018, ABIY announced Ethiopia would accept the border ruling of 2000, prompting rapprochement between Ethiopia and Eritrea that was marked with a peace agreement in July 2018 and a reopening of the border in September 2018. In November 2019, Ethiopia's nearly 30-year ethnic-based ruling coalition - the EPRDF - merged into a single unity party called the Prosperity Party, however, one of the four constituent parties (the Tigray Peoples Liberation Front or TPLF) refused to join.<br><br>In November 2020, a military conflict erupted between forces aligned with the Tigrayan People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) and Ethiopia’s national military, the Ethiopian National Defense Force. The conflict, which has continued into 2022, has exacerbated ethnic violence and has largely centered in Tigray, Amhara, and Afar regional states."
+      "text": "<p>The area that is modern-day Ethiopia is rich in cultural and religious diversity with more than 80 ethnic groups. The oldest hominid yet found comes from Ethiopia, and Ethiopia was the second country to officially adopt Christianity in the 4th century A.D. A series of monarchies ruled the area that is now Ethiopia from 980 B.C. to 1855, when the Amhara kingdoms of northern Ethiopia united in an empire under Tewodros II. Many Ethiopians still speak reverently about the Battle of Adwa in 1896, when they defeated Italian forces and thus retained their freedom from colonial rule. Emperor Haile SELASSIE became an internationally renowned figure in 1935, when he unsuccessfully appealed to the League of Nations to prevent Italy from occupying Ethiopia from 1936 to 1941. SELASSIE survived an attempted coup in 1960, annexed modern-day Eritrea in 1962, and played a leading role in establishing the Organization of African Unity in 1963. However, in 1974, a military junta, the Derg, deposed him and established a socialist state. Torn by bloody coups, uprisings, drought, and massive displacement, the Derg regime was toppled in 1991 by a coalition of opposing forces, the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF). The EPRDF became an ethno-federalist political coalition that ruled Ethiopia from 1991 until its dissolution in 2019. Ethiopia adopted its constitution in 1994 and held its first multiparty elections in 1995. A two-and-a-half-year border war with Eritrea in the late 1990s ended with a peace treaty in December 2000. Ethiopia subsequently rejected the 2007 Eritrea-Ethiopia Boundary Commission demarcation. This intransigence resulted in more than a decade of a tense “no peace, no war” stalemate between the two countries.<br><br>In 2012, longtime leader Prime Minister MELES Zenawi died in office and was replaced by his Deputy Prime Minister HAILEMARIAM Desalegn, marking the first peaceful transition of power in decades. Following a wave of popular dissent and anti-government protest that began in 2015, HAILEMARIAM resigned in 2018 and ABIY Ahmed Ali took office the same year as Ethiopia's first ethnic Oromo prime minister. In 2018, ABIY promoted a rapprochement between Ethiopia and Eritrea that was marked with a peace agreement and a reopening of their shared border. In November 2019, Ethiopia's nearly 30-year ethnic-based ruling coalition, the EPRDF, merged into a single unity party called the Prosperity Party; however, the lead coalition party, the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), declined to join. In November 2020, a military conflict erupted between forces aligned with the TPLF and the Ethiopian military. The conflict - which was marked by atrocities committed by all parties - ended in November 2022 with a cessation of hostilities agreement between the Tigrayan leaders and the Ethiopian Government. However, Ethiopia continues to experience ethnic-based violence as other groups - including the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA) and Amhara militias - seek concessions from the Ethiopian Government.</p>"
     }
   },
   "Geography": {

africa/lt.json

@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 {
   "Introduction": {
     "Background": {
-      "text": "Paramount chief MOSHOESHOE I consolidated what would become Basutoland in the early 19th century and made himself king in 1822. Continuing encroachments by Dutch settlers from the neighboring Orange Free State caused the king to enter into an 1868 agreement with the UK by which Basutoland became a British protectorate, and after 1884, a crown colony. Upon independence in 1966, the country was renamed the Kingdom of Lesotho. The Basotho National Party ruled the country during its first two decades. King MOSHOESHOE II was exiled in 1990, but returned to Lesotho in 1992 and was reinstated in 1995 and subsequently succeeded by his son, King LETSIE III, in 1996. Constitutional government was restored in 1993 after seven years of military rule. In 1998, violent protests and a military mutiny following a contentious election prompted a brief but bloody intervention by South African and Batswana military forces under the aegis of the Southern African Development Community. Subsequent constitutional reforms restored relative political stability. Peaceful parliamentary elections were held in 2002, but the National Assembly elections in 2007 were hotly contested and aggrieved parties disputed how the electoral law was applied to award proportional seats in the Assembly. In 2012, competitive elections involving 18 parties saw Prime Minister Motsoahae Thomas THABANE form a coalition government - the first in the country's history - that ousted the 14-year incumbent, Pakalitha MOSISILI, who peacefully transferred power the following month. MOSISILI returned to power in snap elections in February 2015 after the collapse of THABANE’s coalition government and an alleged attempted military coup. In June 2017, THABANE returned to become prime minister."
+      "text": "Paramount chief MOSHOESHOE I consolidated what would become Basutoland in the early 19th century and made himself king in 1822. Continuing encroachments by Dutch settlers from the neighboring Orange Free State caused the king to enter into an 1868 agreement with the UK by which Basutoland became a British protectorate, and after 1884, a crown colony. Upon independence in 1966, the country was renamed the Kingdom of Lesotho. The Basotho National Party ruled the country during its first two decades. King MOSHOESHOE II was exiled in 1990 but returned to Lesotho in 1992 and was reinstated in 1995 and subsequently succeeded by his son, King LETSIE III, in 1996. Constitutional government was restored in 1993 after seven years of military rule. In 1998, violent protests and a military mutiny following a contentious election prompted a brief but bloody intervention by South African and Batswana military forces under the aegis of the Southern African Development Community. Subsequent constitutional reforms restored relative political stability. Peaceful parliamentary elections were held in 2002, but the National Assembly elections in 2007 were hotly contested and aggrieved parties disputed how the electoral law was applied to award proportional seats in the Assembly. In 2012, competitive elections involving 18 parties saw Prime Minister Motsoahae Thomas THABANE form a coalition government - the first in the country's history - that ousted the 14-year incumbent, Pakalitha MOSISILI, who peacefully transferred power the following month. MOSISILI returned to power in snap elections in February 2015 after the collapse of THABANE’s coalition government and an alleged attempted military coup. In June 2017, THABANE returned to become prime minister but stepped down in May 2020 after being implicated in his estranged wife’s murder. He was succeeded by Moseketsi MAJORO. In November 2022, Ntsokoane Samuel MATEKANE was inaugurated as prime minister as head of a three-party coalition featuring his Revolution for Prosperity (RFP), the Monyane MOLELEKI-led Alliance of Democrats (AD), and the Selibe MOCHOBOROANE-led Movement for Economic Change (MEC)."
     }
   },
   "Geography": {

africa/ml.json

@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 {
   "Introduction": {
     "Background": {
-      "text": "<p>Present-day Mali is named after the Mali Empire that ruled the region between the 13th and 16th centuries. At its peak in the 14th century, it was the largest and wealthiest empire in West Africa and controlled an area about twice the size of modern-day France. Primarily a trading empire, Mali derived its wealth from gold and maintained several goldfields and trade routes in the Sahel. The empire also influenced West African culture through the spread of its language, laws, and customs, but by the 16th century it fragmented into mostly small chiefdoms.  The Songhai Empire, previously a Mali dependency centered in Timbuktu, gained prominence in the 15th and 16th centuries. Under Songhai rule, Timbuktu became a large commercial center and well-known for its scholarship and religious teaching. Timbuktu remains a center of culture in West Africa today. In the late 16th century, the Songhai Empire fell to Moroccan invaders and disintegrated into independent sultanates and kingdoms.</p> <p>France, expanding from Senegal, seized control of the area in the 1890s and incorporated it into French West Africa as French Sudan. In 1960, French Sudan gained independence from France and became the Mali Federation. When Senegal withdrew after only a few months, the remaining area was renamed the Republic of Mali. Mali saw 31 years of dictatorship until 1991, when a military coup led by Amadou Toumani TOURE ousted the government, established a new constitution, and instituted a multi-party democracy. President Alpha Oumar KONARE won Mali's first two democratic presidential elections in 1992 and 1997. In keeping with Mali's two-term constitutional limit, he stepped down in 2002 and was succeeded by Amadou Toumani TOURE, who won a second term in 2007.</p> <p>In 2012, rising ethnic tensions and an influx of fighters - some linked to Al-Qa’ida - from Libya led to a rebellion and military coup. Following the coup, rebels expelled the military from the country’s three northern regions, allowing terrorist organizations to develop strongholds in the area. With French military intervention, the Malian Government managed to retake most of the north. However, the government’s grasp in the region remains weak with local militias, terrorists, and insurgent groups continuously trying to expand control. In 2015, the Malian Government and northern rebels signed an internationally mediated peace accord. Despite a June 2017 target for implementation of the agreement, the signatories have made little progress. Extremist groups were left out of the peace process, and terrorist attacks remain common.  </p> <p>Ibrahim Boubacar KEITA won the Malian presidential elections in 2013 and 2018. Aside from security and logistic shortfalls, international observers deemed these elections credible. Terrorism, banditry, ethnic-based violence, and extra-judicial military killings plagued the country during KEITA’s second term. In August 2020, the military arrested KEITA, his prime minister, and other senior members of the government and established a military junta called the National Committee for the Salvation of the People (CNSP). In September 2020, the junta established a transition government and appointed Bah N’DAW, a retired army officer and former defense minister, as interim president and Colonel Assimi GOITA, the coup leader and chairman of the CNSP, as interim vice president. The transition government’s charter allowed it to rule for up to 18 months before calling a general election.  <br><br>In May 2021, Colonel Assimi GOITA led a military takeover, arresting the interim president after a Cabinet shake up removed GOITA’s key allies. GOITA was sworn in as transition president in June 2021 and Choguel Kokalla MAIGA was sworn in as prime minister. In January 2022, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) imposed sanctions against the transition government and member states closed their borders after the transition government presented a five-year extension to the electoral calendar. ECOWAS and the transition government continue to work to negotiate an acceptable electoral calendar.</p>"
+      "text": "<p>Present-day Mali is named after the Mali Empire that ruled the region between the 13th and 16th centuries. At its peak in the 14th century, it was the largest and wealthiest empire in West Africa and controlled an area about twice the size of modern-day France. Primarily a trading empire, Mali derived its wealth from gold and maintained several goldfields and trade routes in the Sahel. The empire also influenced West African culture through the spread of its language, laws, and customs, but by the 16th century it fragmented into mostly small chiefdoms.  The Songhai Empire, previously a Mali dependency centered in Timbuktu, gained prominence in the 15th and 16th centuries. Under Songhai rule, Timbuktu became a large commercial center and well-known for its scholarship and religious teaching. Timbuktu remains a center of culture in West Africa today. In the late 16th century, the Songhai Empire fell to Moroccan invaders and disintegrated into independent sultanates and kingdoms.</p> <p>France, expanding from Senegal, seized control of the area in the 1890s and incorporated it into French West Africa as French Sudan. In 1960, French Sudan gained independence from France and became the Mali Federation. When Senegal withdrew after only a few months, the remaining area was renamed the Republic of Mali. Mali saw 31 years of dictatorship until 1991, when a military coup led by Amadou Toumani TOURE ousted the government, established a new constitution, and instituted a multi-party democracy. President Alpha Oumar KONARE won Mali's first two democratic presidential elections in 1992 and 1997. In keeping with Mali's two-term constitutional limit, he stepped down in 2002 and was succeeded by Amadou Toumani TOURE, who won a second term in 2007.</p> <p>In 2012, rising ethnic tensions and an influx of fighters - some linked to Al-Qa’ida - from Libya led to a rebellion and military coup. Following the coup, rebels expelled the military from the country’s three northern regions, allowing terrorist organizations to develop strongholds in the area. With a 2013 French-led military intervention, the Malian Government managed to retake most of the north. However, the government’s grasp in the region remains weak with local militias, terrorists, and insurgent groups competing for control. In 2015, the Malian Government and northern rebels signed an internationally mediated peace accord. Despite a June 2017 target for implementation of the agreement, the signatories have made little progress. Terrorist groups were left out of the peace process, and terrorist attacks remain common.  </p> <p>Ibrahim Boubacar KEITA won the Malian presidential elections in 2013 and 2018. Aside from security and logistic shortfalls, international observers deemed these elections credible. Terrorism, banditry, ethnic-based violence, and extra-judicial military killings plagued the country during KEITA’s second term. In August 2020, the military arrested KEITA, his prime minister, and other senior members of the government and established a military junta called the National Committee for the Salvation of the People (CNSP). In September 2020, the junta established a transition government and appointed Bah N’DAW, a retired army officer and former defense minister, as interim president and Colonel Assimi GOITA, the coup leader and chairman of the CNSP, as interim vice president. The transition government’s charter allowed it to rule for up to 18 months before calling a general election.  <br><br>In May 2021, Colonel Assimi GOITA led a military takeover, arresting the interim president after a Cabinet shake up removed GOITA’s key allies. GOITA was sworn in as transition president in June 2021 and Choguel Kokalla MAIGA was sworn in as prime minister. In January 2022, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) imposed sanctions against the transition government and member states closed their borders after the transition government presented a five-year extension to the electoral calendar. ECOWAS and the transition government continue to work to negotiate an acceptable electoral calendar.</p>"
     }
   },
   "Geography": {

africa/ni.json

@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 {
   "Introduction": {
     "Background": {
-      "text": "In ancient and pre-colonial times, the area of present-day Nigeria was occupied by a great diversity of ethnic groups with different languages and traditions. These included Islamic empires in northern Nigeria and smaller organized political groupings in southern Nigeria. British influence and control over what would become Nigeria and Africa's most populous country grew through the 19th century. In 1914, the British amalgamated their separately administered northern and southern territories into modern-day Nigeria. A series of constitutions after World War II granted Nigeria greater autonomy. After independence in 1960, politics were marked by coups and mostly military rule, until the death of a military head of state in 1998 allowed for a political transition. In 1999, a new constitution was adopted and a peaceful transition to civilian government was completed. The government continues to face the daunting task of institutionalizing democracy and reforming a petroleum-based economy, whose revenues have been squandered through decades of corruption and mismanagement. In addition, Nigeria continues to experience longstanding ethnic and religious tensions. Although both the 2003 and 2007 presidential elections were marred by significant irregularities and violence, Nigeria is currently experiencing its longest period of civilian rule since independence. The general elections of 2007 marked the first civilian-to-civilian transfer of power in the country's history. National and state elections in 2011 and 2015 were generally regarded as credible. The 2015 election was also heralded for the fact that the then-umbrella opposition party, the All Progressives Congress, defeated the long-ruling People's Democratic Party that had governed since 1999, and assumed the presidency, marking the first peaceful transfer of power from one party to another. Presidential and legislative elections were held in early 2019 and deemed broadly free and fair despite voting irregularities, intimidation, and violence."
+      "text": "<p>In ancient and pre-colonial times, the area of present-day Nigeria was occupied by a great diversity of ethnic groups with different languages and traditions. These included large Islamic kingdoms such as Borno, Kano, and the Sokoto Caliphate dominating the north, the Benin and Oyo Empires that controlled much of modern western Nigeria, and more decentralized political entities and city states in the south and southeast. In 1914, the British amalgamated their separately administered northern and southern territories into a Colony and Protectorate of Nigeria. Nigeria achieved independence in 1960 and transitioned to a federal republic with three constituent states in 1963 under President Nnamdi AZIKIWE. This structure served to enflame regional and ethnic tension, contributing to a bloody coup led by predominately southeastern military officers in 1966 and a countercoup later that year masterminded by northern officers. In the aftermath of this tension, the governor of Nigeria’s Eastern Region, centered on the southeast, declared the region independent as the Republic of Biafra. The ensuring civil war (1967-1970), resulted in more than a million deaths, many from starvation. While the war forged a stronger Nigerian state and national identity, it contributed to long-lasting mistrust of the southeast’s predominantly Igbo population. Wartime military leader Yakubu GOWON ruled until a bloodless coup by frustrated junior officers in 1975. This generation of officers, including Olusegun OBASANJO, Ibrahim BABANGIDA, and Muhammadu BUHARI, continue to exert significant influence in Nigeria to the present day. Military rule predominated until the first durable transition to civilian government in 1999. The general elections of 2007 marked the first civilian-to-civilian transfer of power in the country's history. National and state elections in 2011 and 2015 were generally regarded as credible. The 2015 election was also heralded for the fact that the then-umbrella opposition party, the All Progressives Congress, defeated the long-ruling (since 1999) People's Democratic Party, and assumed the presidency, marking the first peaceful transfer of power from one party to another. Presidential and legislative elections in 2019 and 2023 were deemed broadly free and fair despite voting irregularities, intimidation, and violence. The government continues to face the daunting task of institutionalizing democracy and reforming a petroleum-based economy, whose revenues have been squandered through decades of corruption and mismanagement. In addition, Nigeria faces increasing violence from Islamic terrorism, largely in the northeast, large scale criminal banditry focused in the northwest, secessionist violence in the southeast, and competition over land and resources nationwide.</p>"
     }
   },
   "Geography": {

africa/rw.json

@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 {
   "Introduction": {
     "Background": {
-      "text": "<p>Rwanda - a small and centralized country dominated by rugged hills and fertile volcanic soil - has exerted disproportionate influence over the African Great Lakes region for centuries. A Rwandan kingdom increasingly dominated the region from the mid-18th century onward, with the Tutsi monarchs gradually extending the power of the royal court into peripheral areas and expanding their borders through military conquest. While the current ethnic labels Hutu and Tutsi predate colonial rule, their flexibility and importance have varied significantly over time. The majority Hutu and minority Tutsi have long shared a common language and culture, and intermarriage was not rare. The Rwandan royal court centered on the Tutsi king (<em>mwami</em>), who relied on an extensive hierarchy of political, cultural, and economic relationships that intertwined Rwanda’s ethnic and social groups. Social categories became more rigid during the reign of RWABUGIRI (1860-1895), who focused on aggressive expansion and solidifying Rwanda’s bureaucratic structures. German colonial rule began in 1898, but Belgian forces captured Rwanda in 1916 during World War I. Both European nations quickly realized the benefits of ruling through the already centralized Rwandan kingdom. Colonial rule reinforced existing trends toward autocratic and exclusionary rule, leading to the elimination of traditional positions of authority for Hutus and a calcification of ethnic identities. Belgian administrators significantly increased requirements for communal labor and instituted harsh taxes, increasing frustration and inequality. Changing political attitudes in Belgium contributed to colonial and Catholic officials shifting their support from Tutsi to Hutu leaders in the years leading up to independence.</p> <p>Newly mobilized political parties and simmering resentment of minority rule exploded in 1959, three years before independence from Belgium, when Hutus overthrew the Tutsi king. Thousands of Tutsis were killed over the next several years, and some 150,000 were driven into exile in neighboring countries. Army Chief of Staff Juvenal HABYARIMANA seized power in a coup in 1973 and ruled Rwanda as a single-party state for two decades. HABYARIMANA increasingly discriminated against Tutsi and extremist Hutu factions that gained prominence after multiple parties were introduced in the early 1990s. The children of Tutsi exiles later formed a rebel group, the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) and began a civil war in 1990. The civil war exacerbated ethnic tensions and culminated in the shooting down of HABYARIMANA’s private jet in April 1994. The event sparked a state-orchestrated genocide in which Rwandans killed approximately 800,000 of their fellow citizens, including approximately three-quarters of the Tutsi population. The genocide ended later that same year when the predominantly Tutsi RPF, operating out of Uganda and northern Rwanda, defeated the national army and Hutu militias and established an RPF-led government of national unity. Rwanda held its first local elections in 1999 and its first post-genocide presidential and legislative elections in 2003, formalizing President Paul KAGAME’s de facto role as head of government. KAGAME won reelection in 2010, and again in 2017 after changing the constitution to allow him to run for a third term.</p>"
+      "text": "<p>Rwanda - a small and centralized country dominated by rugged hills and fertile volcanic soil - has exerted disproportionate influence over the African Great Lakes region for centuries. A Rwandan kingdom increasingly dominated the region from the mid-18th century onward, with the Tutsi monarchs gradually extending the power of the royal court into peripheral areas and expanding their borders through military conquest. While the current ethnic labels Hutu and Tutsi predate colonial rule, their flexibility and importance have varied significantly over time and often manifested more as a hierarchical class distinction than an ethnic or cultural distinction. The majority Hutu and minority Tutsi have long shared a common language and culture, and intermarriage was not rare. The Rwandan royal court centered on the Tutsi king (<em>mwami</em>), who relied on an extensive hierarchy of political, cultural, and economic relationships that intertwined Rwanda’s social groups. Social categories became more rigid during the reign of RWABUGIRI (1860-1895), who focused on aggressive expansion and solidifying Rwanda’s bureaucratic structures. German colonial conquest began in the late 1890s, but the territory was ceded to Belgian forces in 1916 during World War I. Both European nations quickly realized the benefits of ruling through the already centralized Rwandan Tutsi kingdom. Colonial rule reinforced existing trends toward autocratic and exclusionary rule, leading to the elimination of traditional positions of authority for Hutus and a calcification of ethnic identities. Belgian administrators significantly increased requirements for communal labor and instituted harsh taxes, increasing frustration and inequality. Changing political attitudes in Belgium contributed to colonial and Catholic officials shifting their support from Tutsi to Hutu leaders in the years leading up to independence.</p> <p>Newly mobilized political parties and simmering resentment of minority rule exploded in 1959, three years before independence from Belgium, when Hutus overthrew the Tutsi king. Thousands of Tutsis were killed over the next several years, and some 150,000 were driven into exile in neighboring countries. Army Chief of Staff Juvenal HABYARIMANA seized power in a coup in 1973 and ruled Rwanda as a single-party state for two decades. HABYARIMANA increasingly discriminated against Tutsi and extremist Hutu factions that gained prominence after multiple parties were introduced in the early 1990s. The children of Tutsi exiles later formed a rebel group, the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) and began a civil war in 1990. The civil war exacerbated ethnic tensions and culminated in the shooting down of HABYARIMANA’s private jet in April 1994. The event sparked a state-orchestrated genocide in which Rwandans killed approximately 800,000 of their fellow citizens, including approximately three-quarters of the Tutsi population. The genocide ended later that same year when the predominantly Tutsi RPF, operating out of Uganda and northern Rwanda, defeated the national army and Hutu militias and established an RPF-led government of national unity. Rwanda held its first local elections in 1999 and its first post-genocide presidential and legislative elections in 2003, formalizing President Paul KAGAME’s de facto role as head of government. KAGAME was formally elected in 2010, and again in 2017 after changing the constitution to allow him to run for a third term.</p>"
     }
   },
   "Geography": {
@@ -495,7 +495,7 @@
         "text": "Rwanda"
       },
       "former": {
-        "text": "Ruanda, German East Africa"
+        "text": "Kingdom of Rwanda, Ruanda, German East Africa"
       },
       "etymology": {
         "text": "the name translates as \"domain\" in the native Kinyarwanda language"

africa/se.json

@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 {
   "Introduction": {
     "Background": {
-      "text": "<p>Seychelles was uninhabited prior to being discovered by Europeans early in the 16th century. A lengthy struggle between France and Great Britain for the islands ended in 1814, when they were ceded to the latter. During colonial rule, a plantation-based economy developed that relied on imported labor, primarily from European colonies in Africa. Independence came in 1976. Following a coup d’etat in 1977, the country was a socialist one-party state until adopting a new constitution and holding free elections in 1993. President France-Albert RENE, who had served since 1977, was reelected in 2001, but stepped down in 2004. Vice President James Alix MICHEL took over the presidency and in 2006 was elected to a new five-year term; he was reelected in 2011 and again in 2015. In 2016, James MICHEL resigned and handed over the presidency to his vice-president, Danny FAURE. In 2020, Wavel RAMKALAWAN was elected president, the first time an opposition candidate has won the presidency since independence.</p>"
+      "text": "<p>Seychelles was uninhabited prior to being discovered by Europeans early in the 16th century. A lengthy struggle between France and Great Britain for the islands ended in 1814, when they were ceded to the latter. During colonial rule, a plantation-based economy developed that relied on imported labor, primarily from European colonies in Africa. Independence came in 1976. In 1977, prime minister France-Albert RENE launched a coup against the country’s first president and Seychelles became a socialist one-party state until adopting a new constitution and holding elections in 1993. RENE continued to lead Seychelles through two election cycles until he stepped down in 2004. Vice President James Alix MICHEL took over the presidency and in 2006 was elected to a new five-year term; he was reelected in 2011 and again in 2015. In 2016, James MICHEL resigned and handed over the presidency to his vice-president, Danny FAURE. In 2020, Wavel RAMKALAWAN was elected president, the first time an opposition candidate has won the presidency since independence.</p>"
     }
   },
   "Geography": {

africa/sf.json

@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 {
   "Introduction": {
     "Background": {
-      "text": "<p>Some of the earliest human remains in the fossil record are found in South Africa. By about A.D. 500, Bantu speaking groups began settling into what is now northeastern South Africa displacing Khoisan speaking groups to the southwest. Dutch traders landed at the southern tip of present-day South Africa in 1652 and established a stopover point on the spice route between the Netherlands and the Far East, founding the city of Cape Town. After the British seized the Cape of Good Hope area in 1806, many of the settlers of Dutch descent (Afrikaners, also called \"Boers\" (farmers) at the time) trekked north to found their own republics, Transvaal and Orange Free State. In the 1820s, several decades of wars began as the Zulus expanded their territory, moving out of what is today southeastern South Africa and clashing with other indigenous peoples and with expanding European settlements. The discovery of diamonds (1867) and gold (1886) spurred wealth and immigration from Europe.<br><br>The Anglo-Zulu War (1879) resulted in the incorporation of the Zulu kingdom's territory into the British Empire. Subsequently, the Afrikaner republics were incorporated into the British Empire after their defeat in the Second South African War (1899-1902). However, the British and the Afrikaners ruled together beginning in 1910 under the Union of South Africa, which became a republic in 1961 after a Whites-only referendum. In 1948, the National Party was voted into power and instituted a policy of apartheid – billed as \"separate development\" of the races - which favored the White minority at the expense of the Black majority and other non-White groups. The African National Congress (ANC) led the opposition to apartheid and many top ANC leaders, such as Nelson MANDELA, spent decades in South Africa's prisons. Internal protests and insurgency, as well as boycotts by some Western nations and institutions, led to the regime's eventual willingness to negotiate a peaceful transition to majority rule.</p> <p>The first multi-racial elections in 1994 following the end of apartheid ushered in majority rule under an ANC-led government. South Africa has since struggled to address apartheid-era imbalances in wealth, housing, education, and health care. Jacob ZUMA became president in 2009 and was reelected in 2014, but resigned in February 2018 after numerous corruption scandals and gains by opposition parties in municipal elections in 2016. His successor, Cyril RAMAPHOSA, has made some progress in reigning in corruption, though many challenges persist. In May 2019 national elections, the country’s sixth since the end of apartheid, the ANC won a majority of parliamentary seats, delivering RAMAPHOSA a five-year term.</p>"
+      "text": "<p>Some of the earliest human remains in the fossil record are found in South Africa. By about A.D. 500, Bantu speaking groups began settling into what is now northeastern South Africa displacing Khoisan speaking groups to the southwest. Dutch traders landed at the southern tip of present-day South Africa in 1652 and established a stopover point on the spice route between the Netherlands and the Far East, founding the city of Cape Town. After the British seized the Cape of Good Hope area in 1806, many of the settlers of Dutch descent (Afrikaners, also called \"Boers\" (farmers) at the time) trekked north to found their own republics, Transvaal and Orange Free State. In the 1820s, several decades of wars began as the Zulus expanded their territory, moving out of what is today southeastern South Africa and clashing with other indigenous peoples and with expanding European settlements during a period known as the Mfecane. The discovery of diamonds (1867) and gold (1886) spurred wealth and immigration from Europe.<br><br>The Anglo-Zulu War (1879) resulted in the incorporation of the Zulu kingdom's territory into the British Empire. Subsequently, the Afrikaner republics were incorporated into the British Empire after their defeat in the Second South African War (1899-1902). However, the British and the Afrikaners ruled together beginning in 1910 under the Union of South Africa, which became a republic in 1961 after a Whites-only referendum. In 1948, the National Party was voted into power and instituted a policy of apartheid – billed as \"separate development\" of the races - which favored the White minority and suppressed the Black majority and other non-White groups. The African National Congress (ANC) led the resistance to apartheid and many top ANC leaders, such as Nelson MANDELA, spent decades in South Africa's prisons. Internal protests and insurgency, as well as boycotts by some Western nations and institutions, led to the regime's eventual willingness to unban the ANC and negotiate a peaceful transition to majority rule.</p> <p>The first multi-racial elections in 1994 following the end of apartheid ushered in majority rule under an ANC-led government. South Africa has since struggled to address apartheid-era imbalances in wealth, housing, education, and health care under successive administrations. Jacob ZUMA became president in 2009 and was reelected in 2014, but resigned in February 2018 after numerous corruption scandals and gains by opposition parties in municipal elections in 2016. His successor, Cyril RAMAPHOSA, has made some progress in reigning in corruption, though many challenges persist. In May 2019 national elections, the country’s sixth since the end of apartheid, the ANC won a majority of parliamentary seats, delivering RAMAPHOSA a five-year term. RAMAPHOSA was reelected ANC leader in 2022 ahead of national elections scheduled for 2024.</p>"
     }
   },
   "Geography": {

africa/sl.json

@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 {
   "Introduction": {
     "Background": {
-      "text": "<p>Continuously populated for at least 2,500 years, the dense jungle in the area of Sierra Leone allowed the region to remain relatively protected from invaders from empires in West Africa. Traders introduced Sierra Leone to Islam, which occupies a central role in Sierra Leonean culture and history. In the 17th century, the British set up a trading post near present-day Freetown. The trade originally involved timber and ivory but later expanded to enslaved people. In 1787, following the American Revolution, Sierra Leone became a destination for Black British loyalists from the new United States. After the abolition of the slave trade in 1807, British ships delivered thousands of liberated Africans to Sierra Leone. During the 19th century, the colony gradually expanded inland.</p> <p>In 1961, Sierra Leone became independent of the UK. While Sierra Leone held free and fair elections in 1962 and 1967, Siaka STEVENS - Sierra Leone’s second prime minister - quickly reverted to authoritarian tendencies, outlawing most political parties and ruling from 1967 to 1985. In 1991, Sierra Leonean soldiers launched a civil war against STEVENS’ ruling party. The war caused tens of thousands of deaths and displaced more than 2 million people (about one third of the population). In 1998, a Nigerian-led West African coalition military force intervened, installing Tejan KABBAH - who was originally elected in 1996 - as prime minister. In 2002, KABBAH officially announced the end of the war. Since 1998, Sierra Leone has conducted uninterrupted democratic elections, dominated by the two main political parties. In 2018, Julius Maada BIO of the Sierra Leone People’s Party won the presidential election that saw a high voter turnout despite some allegations of voter intimidation. The next presidential election is scheduled for March 2023.</p>"
+      "text": "<p>Continuously populated for at least 2,500 years, the dense jungle in the area of Sierra Leone allowed the region to remain relatively protected from invaders from empires in West Africa. Traders introduced Sierra Leone to Islam, which occupies a central role in Sierra Leonean culture and history. In the 17th century, the British set up a trading post near present-day Freetown. The trade originally involved timber and ivory but later expanded to enslaved people. In 1787, following the American Revolution, Sierra Leone became a destination for Black British loyalists from the new United States. After the abolition of the slave trade in 1807, British ships delivered thousands of liberated Africans to Sierra Leone. During the 19th century, the colony gradually expanded inland.</p> <p>In 1961, Sierra Leone became independent of the UK. While Sierra Leone held free and fair elections in 1962 and 1967, Siaka STEVENS - Sierra Leone’s second prime minister - quickly reverted to authoritarian tendencies, outlawing most political parties and ruling from 1967 to 1985. In 1991, Sierra Leonean soldiers launched a civil war against STEVENS’ ruling party. The war caused tens of thousands of deaths and displaced more than 2 million people (about one third of the population). In 1998, a Nigerian-led West African coalition military force intervened, installing Tejan KABBAH - who was originally elected in 1996 - as prime minister. In 2002, KABBAH officially announced the end of the war. Since 1998, Sierra Leone has conducted uninterrupted democratic elections, dominated by the two main political parties. In 2018, Julius Maada BIO of the Sierra Leone People’s Party won the presidential election that saw a high voter turnout despite some allegations of voter intimidation. The next presidential election is scheduled for June 2023.</p>"
     }
   },
   "Geography": {
@@ -559,19 +559,19 @@
     },
     "Executive branch": {
       "chief of state": {
-        "text": "President Julius Maada BIO (since 4 April 2018); Vice President Mohamed Juldeh JALLOH (since 4 April 2018) ; note - the president is both chief of state, head of government, and minister of defense"
+        "text": "President Julius Maada BIO (since 28 June 2023); Vice President Mohamed Juldeh JALLOH (since 28 June 2023); note - the president is both chief of state, head of government, and minister of defense"
       },
       "head of government": {
-        "text": "President Julius Maada BIO (since 4 April 2018); Vice President Mohamed Juldeh JALLOH (since 4 April 2018)"
+        "text": "President Julius Maada BIO (since 28 June 2023); Vice President Mohamed Juldeh JALLOH (since 28 June 2023)"
       },
       "cabinet": {
         "text": "Ministers of State appointed by the president, approved by Parliament; the cabinet is responsible to the president"
       },
       "elections/appointments": {
-        "text": "president directly elected by absolute majority popular vote in 2 rounds if needed for a 5-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held on 4 April 2018&nbsp;(next to be in 2023)"
+        "text": "president directly elected by absolute majority popular vote in 2 rounds if needed for a 5-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held on 24 June 2023 (next to be in 2028)"
       },
       "election results": {
-        "text": "<p><em>2018: </em>Julius Maada BIO elected president in second round; percent of vote - Julius Maada BIO (SLPP) 51.8%, Samura KAMARA (APC) 48.2%<br><br><em>2012: </em>Ernest Bai KOROMA reelected president; percent of vote - Ernest Bai KOROMA (APC) 58.7%, Julius Maada BIO (SLPP) 37.4%, other 3.9%</p> <p> </p>"
+        "text": "<p><em>2023: </em>Julius Maada BIO elected president in first round; percent of vote - Julius Maada BIO (SLPP) 56.1%, Samura KAMARA (APC) 41.1%<em><br><br>2018: </em>Julius Maada BIO elected president in second round; percent of vote - Julius Maada BIO (SLPP) 51.8%, Samura KAMARA (APC) 48.2%<br><br></p>"
       }
     },
     "Legislative branch": {
@@ -579,7 +579,7 @@
         "text": "unicameral Parliament (146 seats; 132 members directly elected in single-seat constituencies by a district block proportional representation vote and 14 seats filled in separate elections by non-partisan members of Parliament called \"paramount chiefs;\" members serve 5-year terms)"
       },
       "elections": {
-        "text": "last held on 7 March 2018 (next to be held on 24 June 2023)"
+        "text": "last held on 24 June 2023 (next to be held in 2024)"
       },
       "election results": {
         "text": "percent of vote by party - n/a; seats by party - APC 68, SLPP 49, C4C 8, other 7; composition as of May 2023 - men 127, women 19, percent of women 13%"

africa/su.json

@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 {
   "Introduction": {
     "Background": {
-      "text": "<p>Long referred to as Nubia, modern-day Sudan was the site of the Kingdom of Kerma (ca. 2500-1500 B.C.) until it was absorbed into the New Kingdom of Egypt. By the 11th century B.C., the Kingdom of Kush gained independence from Egypt; it lasted in various forms until the middle of the 4th century A.D. After the fall of Kush, the Nubians formed three Christian kingdoms of Nobatia, Makuria, and Alodia. The latter two endured until around 1500. Between the 14th and 15th centuries much of Sudan was settled by Arab nomads, and between the 16th–19th centuries it underwent extensive Islamization. Following Egyptian occupation early in the 19th century, the British established an Anglo-Egyptian Sudan - nominally a condominium, but in effect a British colony. <br><br>Military regimes favoring Islamic-oriented governments have dominated national politics since Sudan gained independence from Anglo-Egyptian co-rule in 1956. The 30-year reign of President Omar Hassan Ahmad al-BASHIR, following months of nationwide protests, ended with the military forcing him out in April 2019. In July 2019, the country’s Transitional Military Council signed an agreement with the Forces for Freedom and Change (an umbrella group of civilian actors) to form a transitional government under a Constitutional Declaration. Economist and former international civil servant Abdalla HAMDOUK al-Kinani was selected to serve as prime minister of a civilian-led transitional government, which was to have guided the country to credible democratic elections in late 2022. In October 2021, the Sudanese military organized a takeover that ousted Prime Minister HAMDOUK and his government and replaced civilian members of the Sovereign Council (Sudan’s collective Head of State) with individuals selected by the military. HAMDOUK was briefly reinstated in November 2021 but resigned in January 2022.</p> <p>As of March 2022, General Abd-al-Fatah al-BURHAN Abd-al-Rahman, the Chair of Sudan’s Sovereign Council and Commander-in-Chief of the Sudanese Armed Forces, serves as de facto head of state and government. He presides over a Sovereign Council consisting of military leaders, former armed opposition group representatives, and civilians appointed by the military. A cabinet of acting ministers handles day-to-day administration. These acting ministers are either senior civil servants (some appointed by former Prime Minister HAMDOUK and some selected by the military) or holdover ministers from Prime Minister HAMDOUK’s former cabinet who were appointed by former armed opposition groups that the military allowed to remain in their positions. The UN, the African Union, and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development have been facilitating a Sudanese-led political process intended to enable Sudanese civilian and military stakeholders to agree on the framework for a new civilian-led transitional government. However, a power struggle between the Sudanese Armed Forces, loyal to head of state General Abd-al-Fatah al-BURHAN Abd-al-Rahman, and the Rapid Support Forces, a paramilitary group lead by deputy head of state Mohammed Hamdan DAGALO (a.k.a. Hemeti), erupted into fighting in April 2023. The armed conflict was initially centered around Khartoum but spread across the country, indefinitely postponing the establishment of a civilian-led transitional government, which was due in mid-April under the December 2022 political framework agreement. <br><br>During most of the second half of the 20th century, Sudan was embroiled in two prolonged civil wars rooted in northern economic, political, and social domination of the largely non-Muslim, non-Arab southern portion of the country. The first civil war ended in 1972, but another broke out in 1983. Peace talks gained momentum in 2002-04, and the final North/South Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), signed in January 2005, granted the southern rebels autonomy for six years followed by a referendum on independence for Southern Sudan. South Sudan became independent on 9 July 2011, but Sudan and South Sudan have yet to fully implement security and economic agreements relating to the normalization of relations between the two countries. <br><br>In the 21st century, Sudan faced conflict in Darfur, Southern Kordofan, and Blue Nile starting in 2003. Together, these conflicts displaced more than 3 million people; while some repatriation has taken place, about 3.04 million IDPs remained in Sudan as of February 2022. Sudan also faces refugee influxes from neighboring countries, primarily Central African Republic, Eritrea, Ethiopia, South Sudan, and Syria.</p> <p> </p>"
+      "text": "<p>Long referred to as Nubia, modern-day Sudan was the site of the Kingdom of Kerma (ca. 2500-1500 B.C.) until it was absorbed into the New Kingdom of Egypt. By the 11th century B.C., the Kingdom of Kush gained independence from Egypt; it lasted in various forms until the middle of the 4th century A.D. After the fall of Kush, the Nubians formed three Christian kingdoms of Nobatia, Makuria, and Alodia. The latter two endured until around 1500. Between the 14th and 15th centuries much of Sudan was settled by Arab nomads, and between the 16th–19th centuries it underwent extensive Islamization. Following Egyptian occupation early in the 19th century, the British established an Anglo-Egyptian Sudan - nominally a condominium, but in effect a British colony. <br><br>Military regimes favoring Islamic-oriented governments have dominated national politics since Sudan gained independence from Anglo-Egyptian co-rule in 1956. The 30-year reign of President Omar Hassan Ahmad al-BASHIR, following months of nationwide protests, ended with the military forcing him out in April 2019. In July 2019, the country’s Transitional Military Council signed an agreement with the Forces for Freedom and Change (an umbrella group of civilian actors) to form a transitional government under a Constitutional Declaration. Economist and former international civil servant Abdalla HAMDOUK al-Kinani was selected to serve as prime minister of a transitional government, which was to have guided the country to credible democratic elections in late 2022. In October 2021, the Sudanese military organized a takeover that ousted Prime Minister HAMDOUK and his government and replaced civilian members of the Sovereign Council (Sudan’s collective Head of State) with individuals selected by the military. HAMDOUK was briefly reinstated in November 2021 but resigned in January 2022.</p> <p>As of June 2023, General Abd-al-Fatah al-BURHAN Abd-al-Rahman, the Chair of Sudan’s Sovereign Council and Commander-in-Chief of the Sudanese Armed Forces, serves as de facto head of state and government. He presides over a Sovereign Council consisting of military leaders, former armed opposition group representatives, and civilians appointed by the military. A cabinet of acting ministers handles day-to-day administration. These acting ministers are either senior civil servants (some appointed by former Prime Minister HAMDOUK and some selected by the military) or holdover ministers from Prime Minister HAMDOUK’s former cabinet who were appointed by former armed opposition groups that the military allowed to remain in their positions. The Sudanese Armed Forces have been embroiled in a fight with the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces since mid-April 2023. <br><br>During most of the second half of the 20th century, Sudan was embroiled in two prolonged civil wars rooted in northern economic, political, and social domination of the largely non-Muslim, non-Arab southern portion of the country. The first civil war ended in 1972, but another broke out in 1983. Peace talks gained momentum in 2002-04, and the final North/South Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), signed in January 2005, granted the southern rebels autonomy for six years followed by a referendum on independence for Southern Sudan. South Sudan became independent in July 2011, but Sudan and South Sudan have yet to fully implement security and economic agreements relating to the normalization of relations between the two countries. <br><br>In the 21st century, Sudan faced conflict in Darfur, Southern Kordofan, and Blue Nile starting in 2003, and between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces in 2023, sparking mass displacement. </p> <p> </p>"
     }
   },
   "Geography": {

africa/to.json

@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 {
   "Introduction": {
     "Background": {
-      "text": "<p>From the 11th to the 16th centuries, various ethnic groups settled the Togo region. From the 16th to the 18th centuries, the coastal region became a major trading center for enslaved people, and the surrounding region  took on the name of \"The Slave Coast.\" In 1884, Germany declared a region including present-day Togo as a protectorate called Togoland. After World War I, rule over Togo was transferred to France. French Togoland became Togo upon independence in 1960. Gen. Gnassingbe EYADEMA, installed as military ruler in 1967, ruled Togo with a heavy hand for almost four decades. Despite the facade of multi-party elections instituted in the early 1990s, the government was largely dominated by President EYADEMA, whose Rally of the Togolese People (RPT) party has been in power almost continually since 1967 and its successor, the Union for the Republic, maintains a majority of seats in today's legislature. Upon EYADEMA's death in February 2005, the military installed the president's son, Faure GNASSINGBE, and then engineered his formal election two months later. Togo held its first relatively free and fair legislative elections in October 2007. Since then, President GNASSINGBE has started the country along a gradual path to democratic reform. Togo has held multiple presidential and legislative elections, and in 2019 held its first local elections in 32 years. Despite those positive moves, political reconciliation has moved slowly, and the country experiences periodic outbursts of protests by frustrated citizens that have led to violence between security forces and protesters. Constitutional changes in 2019 to institute a runoff system in presidential elections and to establish term limits has done little to reduce the resentment many Togolese feel after more than 50 years of one-family rule. GNASSINGBE became eligible for his current fourth term and one additional fifth term under the new rules. The next presidential election will be in 2025. </p> <p> </p>"
+      "text": "<p>From the 11th to the 16th centuries, various ethnic groups settled the Togo region. From the 16th to the 18th centuries, the coastal region became a major trading center for enslaved people, and the surrounding region took on the name of \"The Slave Coast.\" In 1884, Germany declared a region, which included present-day Togo, as a protectorate called Togoland. After World War I, colonial rule over Togo was transferred to France. French Togoland became Togo upon independence in 1960. Gen. Gnassingbe EYADEMA, installed as military ruler in 1967, ruled Togo with a heavy hand for almost four decades. Despite the facade of multi-party elections instituted in the early 1990s, the government was largely dominated by President EYADEMA, whose Rally of the Togolese People (RPT) party has been in power almost continually since 1967 and its successor, the Union for the Republic, maintains a majority of seats in today's legislature. Upon EYADEMA's death in February 2005, the military installed the president's son, Faure GNASSINGBE, and then engineered his formal election two months later. Togo held its first relatively free and fair legislative elections in October 2007. Since then, President GNASSINGBE has started the country along a gradual path to democratic reform. Togo has held multiple presidential and legislative elections, and in 2019 held its first local elections in 32 years. Despite those positive moves, political reconciliation has moved slowly, and the country experiences periodic outbursts of protests by frustrated citizens that have led to violence between security forces and protesters. Constitutional changes in 2019 to institute a runoff system in presidential elections and to establish term limits has done little to reduce the resentment many Togolese feel after more than 50 years of one-family rule. GNASSINGBE became eligible for his current fourth term and one additional fifth term under the new rules. The next presidential election will be in 2025. </p> <p> </p>"
     }
   },
   "Geography": {

africa/tp.json

@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 {
   "Introduction": {
     "Background": {
-      "text": "<p>Portugal discovered and colonized the uninhabited islands in the late 15th century, setting up a sugar-based economy that gave way to coffee and cocoa in the 19th century - all grown with African plantation slave labor, a form of which lingered into the 20th century. While independence was achieved in 1975, democratic reforms were not instituted until the late 1980s. The country held its first free elections in 1991, but frequent internal wrangling between the various political parties precipitated repeated changes in leadership and four failed, non-violent coup attempts in 1995, 1998, 2003, and 2009. In 2012, three opposition parties combined in a no confidence vote to bring down the majority government of former Prime Minister Patrice TROVOADA, but in 2014, legislative elections returned him to the office. President Evaristo CARVALHO, of the same political party as Prime Minister TROVOADA, was elected in September 2016, marking a rare instance in which the positions of president and prime minister were held by the same party. Prime Minister TROVOADA resigned at the end of 2018 and was replaced by Jorge BOM JESUS. Carlos Vila NOVA was elected president in early September 2021 and was inaugurated 2 October 2021. New oil discoveries in the Gulf of Guinea may attract increased attention to the small island nation.</p>"
+      "text": "<p>Portugal discovered and colonized the uninhabited islands in the late 15th century, setting up a sugar-based economy that gave way to coffee and cocoa in the 19th century - all grown with African plantation slave labor, a form of which lingered into the 20th century. While independence was achieved in 1975, democratic reforms were not instituted until the late 1980s. The country held its first free elections in 1991, but frequent internal wrangling between the various political parties precipitated repeated changes in leadership and five failed, non-violent coup attempts in 1995, 1998, 2003, 2009, and 2022. In 2012, three opposition parties combined in a no confidence vote to bring down the majority government of former Prime Minister Patrice TROVOADA, but in 2014, legislative elections returned him to the office. President Evaristo CARVALHO, of the same political party as Prime Minister TROVOADA, was elected in September 2016, marking a rare instance in which the positions of president and prime minister were held by the same party. Prime Minister TROVOADA resigned at the end of 2018 and was replaced by Jorge BOM JESUS. Carlos Vila NOVA was elected president in September 2021 and was inaugurated early the following month. TROVOADA began his fourth stint as prime minister in November 2022, following his party's victory in legislative elections held in September of that year. New oil discoveries in the Gulf of Guinea may attract increased attention to the small island nation. </p>"
     }
   },
   "Geography": {

africa/tz.json

@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 {
   "Introduction": {
     "Background": {
-      "text": "<p>Tanzania contains some of Africa’s most iconic national parks and famous paleoanthropological sites, and its diverse cultural heritage reflects the multiple ethnolinguistic groups that live in the country. Its long history of integration into trade networks spanning the Indian Ocean and the African interior led to the development of Swahili as a common language in much of east Africa and the introduction of Islam into the region. A number of independent coastal and island trading posts in what is now Tanzania came under Portuguese control after 1498 when they began to take control of much of the coast and Indian Ocean trade. By 1700, the Sultanate of Oman had become the dominant power in the region after ousting the Portuguese who were also facing a series of local uprisings. During the following hundred years, Zanzibar - an archipelago off the coast of Tanzania - became a hub of Indian Ocean trade, with Arab and Indian traders establishing and consolidating trade routes with communities in mainland Tanzania that contributed to the expansion of the slave trade. Zanzibar briefly become the capital of the Sultanate of Oman before it split into separate Omani and Zanzibar Sultanates in 1856. Beginning in the mid-1800s, European explorers, traders, and Christian missionaries became more active in the region. The Germans eventually established control over mainland Tanzania - which they called Tanganyika - and the British established control over Zanzibar. Tanganyika later came under British administration after the German defeat in World War I.</p> <p>Tanganyika gained independence from Great Britain in 1961, and Zanzibar followed in 1963 as a constitutional monarchy. In Tanganyika, Julius NYERERE, a charismatic and idealistic socialist, established a one-party political system that centralized power and encouraged national self-reliance and rural development. In 1964, a popular uprising overthrew the Sultan in Zanzibar and either killed or expelled many of the Arabs and Indians who had dominated the isles for more than 200 years. Later that year, Tanganyika and Zanzibar combined to form the United Republic of Tanzania, but Zanzibar retained considerable autonomy. Their two ruling parties combined to form the Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) party in 1977. NYERERE handed over power to Ali Hassan MWINYI in 1985 and remained CCM chair until 1990. Tanzania held its first multi-party elections in 1995, but CCM candidates have continued to dominate politics. Political opposition in Zanzibar has led to four contentious elections since 1995, in which the ruling party claimed victory despite international observers' claims of voting irregularities. In 2001, 35 people in Zanzibar died when soldiers fired on protestors following the 2000 election. John MAGUFULI won the 2015 presidential election, and the CCM won a two-thirds majority in Parliament. He was reelected in 2020 and the CCM increased its majority in an election that was also critiqued by observers. MAGUFULI died in March 2021 while in office and was constitutionally succeeded by his vice president, Samia Suluhu HASSAN.</p>"
+      "text": "<p>Tanzania contains some of Africa’s most iconic national parks and famous paleoanthropological sites, and its diverse cultural heritage reflects the multiple ethnolinguistic groups that live in the country. Its long history of integration into trade networks spanning the Indian Ocean and the African interior led to the development of Swahili as a common language in much of east Africa and the introduction of Islam into the region. A number of independent coastal and island trading posts in what is now Tanzania came under Portuguese control after 1498 when they began to take control of much of the coast and Indian Ocean trade. By 1700, the Sultanate of Oman had become the dominant power in the region after ousting the Portuguese who were also facing a series of local uprisings. During the following hundred years, Zanzibar - an archipelago off the coast of Tanzania - became a hub of Indian Ocean trade, with Arab and Indian traders establishing and consolidating trade routes with communities in mainland Tanzania that contributed to the expansion of the slave trade. Zanzibar briefly become the capital of the Sultanate of Oman before it split into separate Omani and Zanzibar Sultanates in 1856. Beginning in the mid-1800s, European explorers, traders, and Christian missionaries became more active in the region. The Germans eventually established control over mainland Tanzania - which they called Tanganyika - and the British established control over Zanzibar. Tanganyika later came under British administration after the German defeat in World War I.</p> <p>Tanganyika gained independence from Great Britain in 1961, and Zanzibar followed in 1963 as a constitutional monarchy. In Tanganyika, Julius NYERERE, a charismatic and idealistic socialist, established a one-party political system that centralized power and encouraged national self-reliance and rural development. In 1964, a popular uprising overthrew the Sultan in Zanzibar and either killed or expelled many of the Arabs and Indians who had dominated the isles for more than 200 years. Later that year, Tanganyika and Zanzibar combined to form the United Republic of Tanzania, but Zanzibar retained considerable autonomy. Their two ruling parties combined to form the Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) party in 1977, which has won every presidential election to date. NYERERE handed over power to Ali Hassan MWINYI in 1985 and remained CCM chair until 1990. Tanzania held its first multi-party elections in 1995, but CCM candidates have continued to dominate politics. Political opposition in Zanzibar has led to four contentious elections since 1995, in which the ruling party claimed victory despite international observers' claims of voting irregularities. In 2001, 35 people in Zanzibar died when soldiers fired on protestors following the 2000 election. John MAGUFULI won the 2015 presidential election, and the CCM won a two-thirds majority in Parliament. He was reelected in 2020 and the CCM increased its majority in an election that was also critiqued by observers. MAGUFULI died in March 2021 while in office and was constitutionally succeeded by his vice president, Samia Suluhu HASSAN.</p>"
     }
   },
   "Geography": {

africa/uv.json

@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 {
   "Introduction": {
     "Background": {
-      "text": "<p>Many of Burkina Faso’s ethnic groups arrived in the region between the 12th and 15th centuries. The Gurma and Mossi peoples established several of the largest kingdoms in the area and used horse-mounted warriors in military campaigns. Of the various Mossi kingdoms, the most powerful were Ouagadougou and Yatenga. In the late 19th century, European states competed for control of the region. France eventually conquered the area and established it as a French protectorate.</p> The area achieved independence from France in 1960 and changed its name to Burkina Faso in 1984. Repeated military coups were common in the country’s first few decades. The last successful coup occurred in 1987 when Blaise COMPAORE deposed the former president, established a government, and ruled for 27 years. In October 2014, COMPAORE resigned following protests against his repeated efforts to amend the constitution's two-term presidential limit. An interim administration led a year-long transition period organizing presidential and legislative elections. In November 2015, Roch Marc Christian KABORE was elected president; he was reelected in November 2020.<br><br>Terrorist groups - including groups affiliated with Al-Qa’ida and the Islamic State - began attacks in the country in 2016 and conducted attacks in the capital in 2016, 2017, and 2018. By late 2021, insecurity in Burkina Faso had displaced 1.4 million people and led to significant jumps in humanitarian needs and food insecurity. In addition to terrorism, the country faces a myriad of problems including high population growth, recurring drought, pervasive and perennial food insecurity, and limited natural resources. It is one of the world’s poorest countries.<br> <p> </p>"
+      "text": "<p>Many of Burkina Faso’s ethnic groups arrived in the region between the 12th and 15th centuries. The Gurma and Mossi peoples established several of the largest kingdoms in the area and used horse-mounted warriors in military campaigns. Of the various Mossi kingdoms, the most powerful were Ouagadougou and Yatenga. In the late 19th century, European states competed for control of the region. France eventually conquered the area and established it as a French protectorate.</p> The area achieved independence from France in 1960 and changed its name to Burkina Faso in 1984. Repeated military coups were common in the country’s first few decades. The most successful coup occurred in 1987 when Blaise COMPAORE deposed the former president, established a government, and ruled for 27 years. In October 2014, COMPAORE resigned following protests against his repeated efforts to amend the constitution's two-term presidential limit. An interim administration led a year-long transition period organizing presidential and legislative elections. In November 2015, Roch Marc Christian KABORE was elected president; he was reelected in November 2020. In 2022, military personnel conducted two coups. First, in January 2022, Paul Henri DAMIBA, a colonel in the army, overthrew KABORE and then in September 2022, army captain Ibrahim TRAORE deposed DAMIBA and became transition president. The transition government plans to hold democratic election in July 2024.<br><br>Terrorist groups - including groups affiliated with Al-Qa’ida and the Islamic State - began attacks in the country in 2016 and conducted attacks in the capital in 2016, 2017, and 2018. By early 2023, insecurity in Burkina Faso had displaced more than 2 million people and led to significant jumps in humanitarian needs and food insecurity. In addition to terrorism, the country faces a myriad of problems including high population growth, recurring drought, pervasive and perennial food insecurity, and limited natural resources. It is one of the world’s poorest countries.<br> <p> </p>"
     }
   },
   "Geography": {

africa/za.json

@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 {
   "Introduction": {
     "Background": {
-      "text": "Multiple waves of Bantu-speaking groups moved into and through what is now Zambia over the past thousand years. In the 1880s, the British began securing mineral and other economic concessions from various local leaders and the territory that is now Zambia eventually came under the control of the former British South Africa Company and was incorporated as the protectorate of Northern Rhodesia in 1911. Administrative control was taken over by the UK in 1924. During the 1920s and 1930s, advances in mining spurred development and immigration. <br><br>The name was changed to Zambia upon independence in 1964. In the 1980s and 1990s, declining copper prices, economic mismanagement, and a prolonged drought hurt the economy. Elections in 1991 brought an end to one-party rule and propelled the Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD) into power. The subsequent vote in 1996, however, saw increasing harassment of opposition parties and abuse of state media and other resources. The election in 2001 was marked by administrative problems, with three parties filing a legal petition challenging the election of ruling party candidate Levy MWANAWASA. MWANAWASA was reelected in 2006 in an election that was deemed free and fair. Upon his death in August 2008, he was succeeded by his vice president, Rupiah BANDA, who won a special presidential byelection later that year. The MMD and BANDA lost to the Patriotic Front (PF) and Michael SATA in the 2011 general elections. SATA, however, presided over a period of haphazard economic management and attempted to silence opposition to PF policies. SATA died in October 2014 and was succeeded by his vice president, Guy SCOTT, who served as interim president until January 2015, when Edgar LUNGU won the presidential byelection and completed SATA's term. LUNGU then won a full term in August 2016 presidential elections. Hakainde HICHILEMA was elected president in August 2021."
+      "text": "Bantu-speaking groups mainly from the Luba and Lunda Kingdoms in the Congo River Basin and from the Great Lakes region in East Africa settled in what is now Zambia beginning around A.D. 300, displacing and mixing with previous population groups in the region. The Mutapa Empire developed after the fall of Great Zimbabwe to the south in the 14th century and ruled the region, including large parts of Zambia, from the 14th to 17th century. The empire collapsed as a result of the growing slave trade and Portuguese incursions in the 16th and 17th centuries. The region was further influenced by migrants from the Zulu Kingdom to the south and the Luba and Lunda Kingdoms to the north after invading colonial and African powers displaced local residents into the area around the Zambezi River, in what is now Zambia. In the 1880s, British companies began securing mineral and other economic concessions from various local leaders. The companies eventually claimed control of the region and incorporated it as the protectorate of Northern Rhodesia in 1911. The UK Government took over administrative control from the British South Africa Company in 1924. During the 1920s and 1930s, advances in mining spurred British economic ventures and colonial settlement. <br><br>Northern Rhodesia’s name was changed to Zambia upon independence from the UK in 1964 under independence leader and first President Kenneth KUANDA. In the 1980s and 1990s, declining copper prices, economic mismanagement, and a prolonged drought hurt the economy. Elections in 1991 brought an end to one-party rule and propelled the Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD) into power. The subsequent vote in 1996, however, saw increasing harassment of opposition parties and abuse of state media and other resources. The election in 2001 was marked by administrative problems, with three parties filing a legal petition challenging the election of ruling party candidate Levy MWANAWASA. MWANAWASA was reelected in 2006 in an election that was deemed free and fair. Upon his death in August 2008, he was succeeded by his vice president, Rupiah BANDA, who won a special presidential byelection later that year. The MMD and BANDA lost to the Patriotic Front (PF) and Michael SATA in the 2011 general elections. SATA, however, presided over a period of haphazard economic management and attempted to silence opposition to PF policies. SATA died in October 2014 and was succeeded by his vice president, Guy SCOTT, who served as interim president until January 2015, when Edgar LUNGU won the presidential byelection and completed SATA's term. LUNGU then won a full term in August 2016 presidential elections. Hakainde HICHILEMA was elected president in August 2021."
     }
   },
   "Geography": {
@@ -514,7 +514,7 @@
     },
     "Capital": {
       "name": {
-        "text": "Lusaka; note - a proposal to build a new capital city in Ngabwe was announced in May 2017"
+        "text": "Lusaka"
       },
       "geographic coordinates": {
         "text": "15 25 S, 28 17 E"

africa/zi.json

@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 {
   "Introduction": {
     "Background": {
-      "text": "<p>The hunter-gatherer San people first inhabited the area that eventually became Zimbabwe. Farming communities migrated to the area around A.D. 500 during the Bantu expansion, and Shona-speaking societies began to develop in the Limpopo valley and Zimbabwean highlands around the 9th century. These societies traded with Arab merchants on the Indian Ocean coast and organized under the Kingdom of Mapungubwe in the 11th century. A series of powerful trade-oriented Shona states succeeded Mapungubwe, including the Kingdom of Zimbabwe (ca. 1220-1450), Kingdom of Mutapa (ca. 1450-1760), and the Rozwi Empire. The Rozwi Empire expelled Portuguese colonists from the Zimbabwean plateau but was eventually conquered in 1838 by the Ndebele clan of Zulu general MZILIKAZI during the era of conflict and population displacement known as the Mfecane. In the 1880s, colonists arrived with the British South Africa Company (BSAC) and obtained a written concession for mining rights from Ndebele King LOBENGULA. The king later disavowed the concession and accused the BSAC agents of deceit. The BSAC annexed Mashonaland and subsequently conquered Matabeleland by force during the First Matabele War of 1893-1894 to establish company rule over the territory. BSAC holdings south of the Zambezi River were annexed by the UK in 1923 and became the British colony of Southern Rhodesia. The 1930 Land Apportionment Act restricted Black land ownership and established structural racial inequalities that would favor the White minority for decades. A new constitution in 1961 further cemented White minority rule.<br><br>In 1965, the government under White Prime Minister Ian SMITH unilaterally declared its independence from the UK. London did not recognize Rhodesia’s independence and demanded more voting rights for the Black majority in the country. International diplomacy and a liberation struggle by Black Zimbabweans finally led to biracial elections in 1979 and independence (as Zimbabwe) in 1980. Robert MUGABE, who led the uprising and became the nation's first prime minister, was the country's only ruler (as president since 1987) from independence until his forced resignation in November 2017. In the mid-1980s, the government tortured and killed thousands of civilians in a crackdown on dissent known as the Gukurahundi campaign. Economic mismanagement and chaotic land redistribution policies following independence periodically crippled the economy and resulted in widespread shortages of basic commodities. General elections in 2002, 2008, and 2013 were severely flawed and widely condemned but allowed MUGABE to remain president. In November 2017, Vice President Emmerson MNANGAGWA became president following a military intervention that forced MUGABE to resign, and MNANGAGWA cemented power by sidelining rivals Grace MUGABE (Robert MUGABE’s wife) and Jonathan MOYO of the G40 faction of the ruling Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front party. In July 2018, MNANGAGWA won the presidential election after a close contest with opposition candidate Nelson CHAMISA. MNANGAGWA has resorted to the government's longstanding practice of violently disrupting protests and opposition rallies. Economic conditions remained dire under MNANGAGWA, with inflation soaring in 2019 and the country’s export revenues declining dramatically in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.</p>"
+      "text": "<p>The hunter-gatherer San people first inhabited the area that eventually became Zimbabwe. Farming communities migrated to the area around A.D. 500 during the Bantu expansion, and Shona-speaking societies began to develop in the Limpopo valley and Zimbabwean highlands around the 9th century. These societies traded with Arab merchants on the Indian Ocean coast and organized under the Kingdom of Mapungubwe in the 11th century. A series of powerful trade-oriented Shona states succeeded Mapungubwe, including the Kingdom of Zimbabwe (ca. 1220-1450), Kingdom of Mutapa (ca. 1450-1760), and the Rozwi Empire. The Rozwi Empire expelled Portuguese colonists from the Zimbabwean plateau but was eventually conquered in 1838 by the Ndebele clan of Zulu general MZILIKAZI during the era of conflict and population displacement known as the Mfecane. In the 1880s, colonists arrived with the British South Africa Company (BSAC) and obtained a written concession for mining rights from Ndebele King LOBENGULA. The king later disavowed the concession and accused the BSAC agents of deceit. The BSAC annexed Mashonaland and subsequently conquered Matabeleland by force during the First Matabele War of 1893-1894 to establish company rule over the territory. BSAC holdings south of the Zambezi River were annexed by the UK in 1923 and became the British colony of Southern Rhodesia. The 1930 Land Apportionment Act restricted Black land ownership and established structural racial inequalities that would favor the White minority for decades. A new constitution in 1961 further cemented White minority rule.<br><br>In 1965, the government under White Prime Minister Ian SMITH unilaterally declared its independence from the UK. London did not recognize Rhodesia’s independence and demanded more voting rights for the Black majority in the country. International diplomacy and a liberation struggle by Black Zimbabweans led to biracial elections in 1979 and independence (as Zimbabwe) in 1980. Robert MUGABE, who led the uprising and became the nation's first prime minister, was the country's only ruler (as president since 1987) from independence until November 2017, when loss of support from his political party and the country's military forced his resignation. In the mid-1980s, the government tortured and killed thousands of civilians in a crackdown on dissent known as the Gukurahundi campaign. Economic mismanagement and chaotic implementation of land redistribution policies following independence periodically crippled the economy and resulted in widespread shortages of basic commodities. General elections in 2002, 2008, and 2013 were severely flawed and widely condemned but allowed MUGABE to remain president. In November 2017, Vice President Emmerson MNANGAGWA became president following a military intervention led by Constantino CHIWENGA that forced MUGABE to resign, and MNANGAGWA cemented power by sidelining rivals Grace MUGABE (Robert MUGABE’s wife) and her faction of the ruling Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front party. In July 2018, MNANGAGWA won the presidential election after a close contest with opposition candidate Nelson CHAMISA. MNANGAGWA has maintained the government's longstanding practice of violently disrupting protests and opposition rallies and politicizing institutions. Economic conditions remain dire under MNANGAGWA.</p>"
     }
   },
   "Geography": {

australia-oceania/as.json

@@ -624,7 +624,7 @@
         "text": "[1] (202) 797-3168"
       },
       "email address and website": {
-        "text": "<br>https://usa.embassy.gov.au/"
+        "text": "<br>info.us@dfat.gov.au<br><br>https://usa.embassy.gov.au/"
       },
       "consulate(s) general": {
         "text": "Chicago, Honolulu, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco"

australia-oceania/nz.json

@@ -865,7 +865,7 @@
       }
     },
     "Exports - partners": {
-      "text": "China 28%, Australia 14%, United States 9%, Japan 6% (2019)"
+      "text": "China 28%, Australia 14%, US 9%, Japan 6% (2019)"
     },
     "Exports - commodities": {
       "text": "milk cream powders, lumber, beef, butter, mutton (2021)"
@@ -882,7 +882,7 @@
       }
     },
     "Imports - partners": {
-      "text": "China 18%, Australia 15%, United States 9%, Japan 6%, Germany 5% (2019)"
+      "text": "China 18%, Australia 15%, US 9%, Japan 6%, Germany 5% (2019)"
     },
     "Imports - commodities": {
       "text": "cars, crude petroleum, refined petroleum, delivery trucks, gas turbines (2019)"

central-america-n-caribbean/ac.json

@@ -524,7 +524,7 @@
         "text": "Ambassador Sir Ronald SANDERS (since 17 September 2015)"
       },
       "chancery": {
-        "text": "3234 Prospect Street NW, Washington, DC 20007"
+        "text": "3216 New Mexico Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20016"
       },
       "telephone": {
         "text": "[1] (202) 362-5122"

east-n-southeast-asia/ja.json

@@ -751,7 +751,7 @@
       }
     },
     "Agricultural products": {
-      "text": "rice, milk, sugar beet, vegetables, eggs, poultry, potatoes, cabbages, onions, pork"
+      "text": "rice, milk, sugar beets, vegetables, eggs, poultry, potatoes, cabbages, onions, pork"
     },
     "Industries": {
       "text": "among world's largest and most technologically advanced producers of motor vehicles, electronic equipment, machine tools, steel and nonferrous metals, ships, chemicals, textiles, processed foods"
@@ -870,7 +870,7 @@
       }
     },
     "Exports - partners": {
-      "text": "China 21%, United States 18%, South Korea 7%, Taiwan 7%, Thailand 4% (2021)"
+      "text": "China 21%, US 18%, South Korea 7%, Taiwan 7%, Thailand 4% (2021)"
     },
     "Exports - commodities": {
       "text": "cars and vehicle parts, integrated circuits, general machinery, photo lab equipment, construction vehicles, semiconductors  (2021)"
@@ -887,7 +887,7 @@
       }
     },
     "Imports - partners": {
-      "text": "China 24%, United States 10%, Australia 7%, South Korea 4%, Taiwan 4% (2021)"
+      "text": "China 24%, US 10%, Australia 7%, South Korea 4%, Taiwan 4% (2021)"
     },
     "Imports - commodities": {
       "text": "crude petroleum, natural gas, integrated circuits, coal, refined petroleum, iron (2021)"

east-n-southeast-asia/ks.json

@@ -867,7 +867,7 @@
       }
     },
     "Exports - partners": {
-      "text": "China 24%, United States 15%, Vietnam 9%, Hong Kong 6%, Japan 5% (2021)"
+      "text": "China 24%, US 15%, Vietnam 9%, Hong Kong 6%, Japan 5% (2021)"
     },
     "Exports - commodities": {
       "text": "integrated circuits, cars and vehicle parts, refined petroleum, office machinery, ships, telephones (2021)"
@@ -884,7 +884,7 @@
       }
     },
     "Imports - partners": {
-      "text": "China 24%, United States 12%, Japan 9%, Vietnam 4%, Taiwan 4% (2021)"
+      "text": "China 24%, US 12%, Japan 9%, Vietnam 4%, Taiwan 4% (2021)"
     },
     "Imports - commodities": {
       "text": "crude oil, integrated circuits, natural gas, refined petroleum, photo lab equipment, cars, iron (2021)"

east-n-southeast-asia/my.json

@@ -876,7 +876,7 @@
       }
     },
     "Exports - partners": {
-      "text": "Singapore 13%, China 13%, United States 11%, Hong Kong 6%, Japan 6%, Thailand 5% (2019)"
+      "text": "Singapore 13%, China 13%, US 11%, Hong Kong 6%, Japan 6%, Thailand 5% (2019)"
     },
     "Exports - commodities": {
       "text": "integrated circuits, refined petroleum, palm oil, rubber apparel, natural gas, semiconductors (2021)"
@@ -893,7 +893,7 @@
       }
     },
     "Imports - partners": {
-      "text": "China 24%, Singapore 14%, Japan 6%, United States 6%, Taiwan 5%, Thailand 5% (2019)"
+      "text": "China 24%, Singapore 14%, Japan 6%, US 6%, Taiwan 5%, Thailand 5% (2019)"
     },
     "Imports - commodities": {
       "text": "integrated circuits, refined petroleum, crude petroleum, broadcasting equipment, coal (2019)"

east-n-southeast-asia/vm.json

@@ -886,10 +886,10 @@
       }
     },
     "Exports - partners": {
-      "text": "United States 23%, China 14%, Japan 8%, South Korea 7% (2019)"
+      "text": "US 28%, China 17%, South Korea 6%, Japan 6%, Hong Kong 4% (2021)"
     },
     "Exports - commodities": {
-      "text": "broadcasting equipment, telephones, integrated circuits, footwear, furniture (2019)"
+      "text": "broadcasting equipment, telephones, integrated circuits, office machinery, footwear, furniture (2021)"
     },
     "Imports": {
       "Imports 2021": {
@@ -903,10 +903,10 @@
       }
     },
     "Imports - partners": {
-      "text": "China 35%, South Korea 18%, Japan 6% (2019)"
+      "text": "China 39%, South Korea 17%, Japan 5%, Taiwan 4%, Thailand 4% (2021)"
     },
     "Imports - commodities": {
-      "text": "integrated circuits, telephones, refined petroleum, textiles, semiconductors (2019)"
+      "text": "integrated circuits, telephones, clothing and apparel, broadcasting accessories, refined petroleum, iron sheeting (2021)"
     },
     "Reserves of foreign exchange and gold": {
       "Reserves of foreign exchange and gold 31 December 2021": {

europe/an.json

@@ -536,7 +536,7 @@
         "text": "[1] (212) 750-6630"
       },
       "email address and website": {
-        "text": "<br>contact@andorraun.org"
+        "text": "<br>contact@andorraun.org<br><br>https://www.exteriors.ad/en/embassies-of-andorra/andorra-usa-embassy"
       }
     },
     "Diplomatic representation from the US": {

europe/au.json

@@ -1240,7 +1240,7 @@
     },
     "Refugees and internally displaced persons": {
       "refugees (country of origin)": {
-        "text": "67,588 (Syria), 43,725 (Afghanistan), 10,110 (Iraq), 8,684 (Somalia), 7,294 (Iran), 6,124 (Russia) (mid-year 2022); 98,830 (Ukraine) (as of 5 June 2023)"
+        "text": "67,588 (Syria), 43,725 (Afghanistan), 10,110 (Iraq), 8,684 (Somalia), 7,294 (Iran), 6,124 (Russia) (mid-year 2022); 99,270 (Ukraine) (as of 19 June 2023)"
       },
       "stateless persons": {
         "text": "3,219 (2022)"

europe/be.json

@@ -1257,7 +1257,7 @@
     },
     "Refugees and internally displaced persons": {
       "refugees (country of origin)": {
-        "text": "20,086 (Syria), 7,049 (Afghanistan), 5,769 (Iraq) (mid-year 2022); 72,395 (Ukraine) (as of 6 June 2023)"
+        "text": "20,086 (Syria), 7,049 (Afghanistan), 5,769 (Iraq) (mid-year 2022); 71,070 (Ukraine) (as of 6 June 2023)"
       },
       "stateless persons": {
         "text": "1,190 (2022)"

europe/bk.json

@@ -1226,7 +1226,7 @@
       "stateless persons": {
         "text": "48 (2022)"
       },
-      "note": "<strong>note: </strong>123,496 estimated refugee and migrant arrivals (January 2015-June 2023)"
+      "note": "<strong>note: </strong>124,160 estimated refugee and migrant arrivals (January 2015-June 2023)"
     },
     "Illicit drugs": {
       "text": "<p>drug trafficking groups are major players in the procurement and transportation of of large quantities of cocaine destined for European markets</p>"

europe/bo.json

@@ -599,7 +599,7 @@
     },
     "Diplomatic representation in the US": {
       "chief of mission": {
-        "text": "Ambassador (vacant; recalled by Belarus in 2008); Chargé d'Affaires Pavel SHYDLOWSKI (since 9 August 2022)"
+        "text": "Ambassador (vacant; recalled by Belarus in 2008); Chargé d'Affaires Pavel SHIDLOWSKI (since 9 August 2022)"
       },
       "chancery": {
         "text": "1619 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009"

europe/bu.json

@@ -1261,7 +1261,7 @@
     },
     "Refugees and internally displaced persons": {
       "refugees (country of origin)": {
-        "text": "22,226 (Syria) (mid-year 2022); 161,370 (Ukraine) (as of 6 June 2023)"
+        "text": "22,226 (Syria) (mid-year 2022); 161,420 (Ukraine) (as of 12 June 2023)"
       },
       "stateless persons": {
         "text": "1,129 (2022)"

europe/cy.json

@@ -1222,7 +1222,7 @@
     },
     "Refugees and internally displaced persons": {
       "refugees (country of origin)": {
-        "text": "10,869 (Syria) (mid-year 2022); 18,120 (Ukraine) (as of 14 May 2023)"
+        "text": "10,869 (Syria) (mid-year 2022); 18,680 (Ukraine) (as of 4 June 2023)"
       },
       "IDPs": {
         "text": "242,000 (both Turkish and Greek Cypriots; many displaced since 1974) (2021)"
@@ -1230,7 +1230,7 @@
       "stateless persons": {
         "text": "74 (2022)"
       },
-      "note": "<strong>note:</strong> 51,987 estimated refugee and migrant arrivals (January 2015-April 2023)"
+      "note": "<strong>note:</strong> 52,826 estimated refugee and migrant arrivals (January 2015-May 2023)"
     },
     "Illicit drugs": {
       "text": "<p>the ROC financial system is vulnerable to money laundering by domestic and foreign criminals; proceeds generated by illicit activity abroad pose a greater threat; primary sources of illicit proceeds are investment fraud, corruption, advance fee fraud, tax evasion, illegal drugs, and tobacco smuggling. Additionally, cybercrime, especially phishing, e-mail hacking, and ransomware use, continues to increase. Criminals have reportedly used ROC banks to launder proceeds, particularly from Russian and Ukrainian illicit activity.</p> <p> </p>"

europe/ei.json

@@ -1215,7 +1215,7 @@
     },
     "Refugees and internally displaced persons": {
       "refugees (country of origin)": {
-        "text": "84,625 (Ukraine) (as of 4 June 2023)"
+        "text": "85,790 (Ukraine) (as of 18 June 2023)"
       },
       "stateless persons": {
         "text": "7 (2022)"

europe/ez.json

@@ -1230,7 +1230,7 @@
     },
     "Refugees and internally displaced persons": {
       "refugees (country of origin)": {
-        "text": "520,695 (Ukraine) (as of 4 June 2023)"
+        "text": "528,045 (Ukraine) (as of 18 June 2023)"
       },
       "stateless persons": {
         "text": "1,625 (2022)"

europe/gm.json

@@ -892,10 +892,10 @@
       }
     },
     "Exports - partners": {
-      "text": "United States 9%, China 8%, France 8%, Netherlands 6%, United Kingdom 6%  (2020)"
+      "text": "United States 9%, China 8%, France 8%, Netherlands 6%, Italy 6% (2021)"
     },
     "Exports - commodities": {
-      "text": "cars and vehicle parts, packaged medicines, medical cultures/vaccines, aircraft, industrial machinery, medical instruments (2021)"
+      "text": "cars and vehicle parts, packaged medicines, medical cultures and vaccines, aircraft, industrial machinery, medical instruments (2021)"
     },
     "Imports": {
       "Imports 2021": {
@@ -909,10 +909,10 @@
       }
     },
     "Imports - partners": {
-      "text": "China 10%, Netherlands 10%, Poland 7%, France 6%, Italy 6%  (2020)"
+      "text": "China 10%, Netherlands 10%, Poland 7%, Italy 6%, France 6% (2021)"
     },
     "Imports - commodities": {
-      "text": "cars and vehicle parts, packaged medicines, broadcasting equipment, medical cultures/vaccines, computers (2020)"
+      "text": "cars and vehicle parts, medical cultures/vaccines, packaged medicines, crude petroleum, natural gas, computers (2021)"
     },
     "Reserves of foreign exchange and gold": {
       "Reserves of foreign exchange and gold 31 December 2021": {

europe/gr.json

@@ -542,7 +542,7 @@
         "text": "President Ekaterini SAKELLAROPOULOU (since 13 March 2020)"
       },
       "head of government": {
-        "text": "Caretaker Prime Minister Ioannis SARMAS (since 25 May 2023)"
+        "text": "Prime Minister Kyriakos MITSOTAKIS (since 26 June 2023)"
       },
       "cabinet": {
         "text": "Cabinet appointed by the president on the recommendation of the prime minister"
@@ -559,10 +559,10 @@
         "text": "unicameral Hellenic Parliament or Vouli ton Ellinon (300 seats; 280 members in multi-seat and single-seat constituencies and 15 members - including 3 seats for Greek diaspora - in a single nationwide constituency directly elected by open party-list proportional representation vote; members serve up to 4 years);  note - only parties surpassing a 3% threshold are entitled to parliamentary seats; parties need 10 seats to become formal parliamentary groups but can retain that status if the party participated in the last election and received the minimum 3% threshold"
       },
       "elections": {
-        "text": "last held on 21 May 2023 (next to be held on 25 June 2023 because a government could not be formed)"
+        "text": "last held on 25 June 2023 (next to be held in 2027)"
       },
       "election results": {
-        "text": "percent of vote by party - ND 39.9%, SYRIZA 31.5%, KINAL 8.1%, KKE 5.3%, Greek Solution 3.7%, MeRA25 3.4%, other 8.1%; seats by party - ND 158, SYRIZA 86, KINAL 22, KKE 15, Greek Solution 10, MeRA25 9; composition - men 244, women 56, percent of women 18.7%"
+        "text": "percent of vote by party - ND 40.6%, SYRIZA-PS 17.8%, PASOK-KINAL 11.9%, KKE 7.7%, Spartans 4.6%, Greek Solution 4.4%, NIKI 3.7%, Course of Freedom 3.2%, other 6.1%; seats by party - ND 158, SYRIZA-PS 48, PASOK-KINAL 32, KKE 20, Spartans 12, Greek Solution 12, NIKI 10, Course of Freedom 8; composition - men NA, women NA, percent of women NA%"
       }
     },
     "Judicial branch": {
@@ -577,7 +577,7 @@
       }
     },
     "Political parties and leaders": {
-      "text": "Anticapitalist Left Cooperation for the Overthrow or ANTARSYA [collective leadership]<br>Coalition of the Radical Left-Progressive Alliance or SYRIZA-PS [Alexios (Alexis) TSIPRAS]<br>Communist Party of Greece or KKE [Dimitrios KOUTSOUMBAS]<br>Democratic Left or DIMAR [Athanasios (Thanasis) THEOCHAROPOULOS]<br>European Realistic Disobedience Front or MeRA25 [Ioannis (Yanis) VAROUFAKIS]<br>Greek Solution [Kyriakos VELOPOULOS]<br>Independent Greeks or ANEL [Panagiotis (Panos) KAMMENOS]<br>National Party-Greeks [Anastasios (Tasos) KANELLOPOULOS]<br>New Democracy or ND [Kyriakos MITSOTAKIS]<br>PASOK - Movement for Change or PASOK-KINAL [Nikolaos (Nikos) ANDROULAKIS]<br>Popular Unity or LAE [Nikolaos CHOUNTIS]<br>Union of Centrists or EK [Vasileios (Vasilis) LEVENTIS]"
+      "text": "Coalition of the Radical Left-Progressive Alliance or SYRIZA-PS [Alexios (Alexis) TSIPRAS]<br>Communist Party of Greece or KKE [Dimitrios KOUTSOUMBAS]<br>Course of Freedom [Zoe KONSTANTOPOULOU]<br>Democratic Patriotic Movement-Victory or NIKI [Dimitris NATSIOS]<br>Greek Solution [Kyriakos VELOPOULOS]<br>New Democracy or ND [Kyriakos MITSOTAKIS]<br>PASOK - Movement for Change or PASOK-KINAL [Nikolaos (Nikos) ANDROULAKIS]<br>Spartans [Vassilis STIGAS]"
     },
     "International organization participation": {
       "text": "Australia Group, BIS, BSEC, CD, CE, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, ECB, EIB, EMU, ESA, EU, FAO, FATF, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IGAD (partners), IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OIF, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, Schengen Convention, SELEC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNWTO, UPU, Wassenaar Arrangement, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC"
@@ -1239,7 +1239,7 @@
       "stateless persons": {
         "text": "4,488 (2022)"
       },
-      "note": "<strong>note:</strong> 1,239,492 estimated refugee and migrant arrivals (January 2015-June 2023)"
+      "note": "<strong>note:</strong> 1,239,662 estimated refugee and migrant arrivals (January 2015-June 2023)"
     },
     "Illicit drugs": {
       "text": "a gateway to Europe for traffickers smuggling cannabis products and heroin from the Middle East and Southwest Asia to the West and precursor chemicals to the East; some South American cocaine transits or is consumed in Greece; money laundering related to drug trafficking and organized crime"

europe/hr.json

@@ -1247,7 +1247,7 @@
     },
     "Refugees and internally displaced persons": {
       "refugees (country of origin)": {
-        "text": "22,820 (Ukraine) (as of 2 June 2023)"
+        "text": "23,115 (Ukraine) (as of 16 June 2023)"
       },
       "stateless persons": {
         "text": "2,889 (2022)"

europe/hu.json

@@ -1263,7 +1263,7 @@
     },
     "Refugees and internally displaced persons": {
       "refugees (country of origin)": {
-        "text": "36,315 (Ukraine) (as of 5 June 2023)"
+        "text": "36,315 (Ukraine) (as of 18 June 2023)"
       },
       "stateless persons": {
         "text": "130 (2022)"

europe/it.json

@@ -1268,7 +1268,7 @@
       "stateless persons": {
         "text": "3,000 (2022)"
       },
-      "note": "<strong>note:</strong> 751,054 estimated refugee and migrant arrivals (January 2015-June 2023)"
+      "note": "<strong>note:</strong> 753,596 estimated refugee and migrant arrivals (January 2015-June 2023)"
     },
     "Illicit drugs": {
       "text": "<p>important gateway for drug trafficking; organized crime groups allied with Colombian and Spanish groups trafficking cocaine to Europe</p>"

europe/lh.json

@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 {
   "Introduction": {
     "Background": {
-      "text": "Lithuanian lands were united under MINDAUGAS in 1236; over the next century, through alliances and conquest, Lithuania extended its territory to include most of present-day Belarus and Ukraine. By the end of the 14th century Lithuania was the largest state in Europe. An alliance with Poland in 1386 led the two countries into a union through the person of a common ruler. In 1569, Lithuania and Poland formally united into a single dual state, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. This entity survived until 1795 when its remnants were partitioned by surrounding countries. Lithuania regained its independence following World War I but was annexed by the USSR in 1940 - an action never recognized by the US and many other countries. On 11 March 1990, Lithuania became the first of the Soviet republics to declare its independence, but Moscow did not recognize this proclamation until September of 1991 (following the abortive coup in Moscow). The last Russian troops withdrew in 1993. Lithuania subsequently restructured its economy for integration into Western European institutions; it joined both NATO and the EU in the spring of 2004. In 2015, Lithuania joined the euro zone, and it joined the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development in 2018."
+      "text": "Lithuanian lands were united under MINDAUGAS in 1236; over the next century, through alliances and conquest, Lithuania extended its territory to include most of present-day Belarus and Ukraine. By the end of the 14th century Lithuania was the largest state in Europe. An alliance with Poland in 1386 led the two countries into a union through the person of a common ruler. In 1569, Lithuania and Poland formally united into a single dual state, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. This entity survived until 1795 when its remnants were partitioned by surrounding countries. Lithuania regained its independence following World War I but was annexed by the USSR in 1940 - an action never recognized by the US and many other countries. On 11 March 1990, Lithuania became the first of the Soviet republics to declare its independence, but Moscow did not recognize this proclamation until September of 1991 (following the abortive coup in Moscow). The last Russian troops withdrew in 1993. Lithuania subsequently restructured its economy for integration into West European institutions; it joined both NATO and the EU in the spring of 2004. In 2015, Lithuania joined the euro zone, and it joined the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development in 2018."
     }
   },
   "Geography": {

europe/lo.json

@@ -1219,7 +1219,7 @@
     },
     "Refugees and internally displaced persons": {
       "refugees (country of origin)": {
-        "text": "117,835 (Ukraine) (as of 11 June 2023)"
+        "text": "118,945 (Ukraine) (as of 18 June 2023)"
       },
       "stateless persons": {
         "text": "2,940 (2022)"

europe/lu.json

@@ -1184,7 +1184,7 @@
     },
     "Refugees and internally displaced persons": {
       "refugees (country of origin)": {
-        "text": "5,805 (Ukraine) (as of 1 June 2023)"
+        "text": "5,890 (Ukraine) (as of 13 June 2023)"
       },
       "stateless persons": {
         "text": "174 (2022)"

europe/mj.json

@@ -1237,12 +1237,12 @@
     },
     "Refugees and internally displaced persons": {
       "refugees (country of origin)": {
-        "text": "8,940 (Ukraine) (as of 5 June 2023)"
+        "text": "9,075 (Ukraine) (as of 19 June 2023)"
       },
       "stateless persons": {
         "text": "468 (2022)"
       },
-      "note": "<strong>note:</strong> 30,790 estimated refugee and migrant arrivals (January 2015-June 2023)"
+      "note": "<strong>note:</strong> 31,036 estimated refugee and migrant arrivals (January 2015-June 2023)"
     },
     "Illicit drugs": {
       "text": "<p>drug trafficking groups are major players in the procurement and transportation of of large quantities of cocaine destined for European markets</p>"

europe/no.json

@@ -1219,7 +1219,7 @@
     },
     "Refugees and internally displaced persons": {
       "refugees (country of origin)": {
-        "text": "15,901 (Syria), 10,883 (Eritrea) (mid-year 2022); 47,890 (Ukraine) (as of 23 May 2023)"
+        "text": "15,901 (Syria), 10,883 (Eritrea) (mid-year 2022); 48,280 (Ukraine) (as of 5 June 2023)"
       },
       "stateless persons": {
         "text": "3,901 (2022)"

europe/pl.json

@@ -1268,7 +1268,7 @@
     },
     "Refugees and internally displaced persons": {
       "refugees (country of origin)": {
-        "text": "1,615,825 (Ukraine) (as of 5 June 2023)"
+        "text": "1,618,785 (Ukraine) (as of 13 June 2023)"
       },
       "stateless persons": {
         "text": "1,435 (2022)"

europe/ro.json

@@ -1264,7 +1264,7 @@
     },
     "Refugees and internally displaced persons": {
       "refugees (country of origin)": {
-        "text": "138,850 (Ukraine) (as of 11 June 2023)"
+        "text": "136,075 (Ukraine) (as of 11 June 2023)"
       },
       "stateless persons": {
         "text": "297 (2022)"

europe/sp.json

@@ -1270,12 +1270,12 @@
     },
     "Refugees and internally displaced persons": {
       "refugees (country of origin)": {
-        "text": "14,994 (Syria) (mid-year 2022); 418,200 (Venezuela) (economic and political crisis; includes Venezuelans who have claimed asylum, are recognized as refugees, or have received alternative legal stay) (2021); 178,580 (Ukraine) (as of 5 June 2023)"
+        "text": "14,994 (Syria) (mid-year 2022); 418,200 (Venezuela) (economic and political crisis; includes Venezuelans who have claimed asylum, are recognized as refugees, or have received alternative legal stay) (2021); 183,470 (Ukraine) (as of 18 June 2023)"
       },
       "stateless persons": {
         "text": "6,489 (2022)"
       },
-      "note": "<strong>note: </strong>289,173 estimated refugee and migrant arrivals, including Canary Islands (January 2015-June 2023)"
+      "note": "<strong>note: </strong>290,047 estimated refugee and migrant arrivals, including Canary Islands (January 2015-June 2023)"
     },
     "Illicit drugs": {
       "text": "<p>a primary European transit point for cocaine from South America and for hashish from Morocco; cocaine is shipped in raw or liquid form with mixed cargo to avoid detection or altered to escape detection Spanish chemists reconstitute it and distribute to Europe; minor domestic drug production; synthetic drugs, including ketamine, new psychoactive substances (NPS), and MDMA transit from Spain to the United States</p>"

europe/sz.json

@@ -1260,7 +1260,7 @@
     },
     "Refugees and internally displaced persons": {
       "refugees (country of origin)": {
-        "text": "14,726 (Eritrea), 11,441 (Afghanistan), 8,039 (Syria), (mid-year 2022); 81,470 (Ukraine) (as of 2 June 2023)"
+        "text": "14,726 (Eritrea), 11,441 (Afghanistan), 8,039 (Syria), (mid-year 2022); 84,775 (Ukraine) (as of 16 June 2023)"
       },
       "stateless persons": {
         "text": "891 (2022)"

middle-east/aj.json

@@ -604,7 +604,7 @@
         "text": "[1] (202) 337-5911"
       },
       "email address and website": {
-        "text": "<br>azerbaijan@azembassy.us; consul@azembassy.us<br><br>https://washington.mfa.gov.az/en"
+        "text": "<br>azerbaijan@azembassy.us<br><br>https://washington.mfa.gov.az/en"
       },
       "consulate(s) general": {
         "text": "Los Angeles"

middle-east/ba.json

@@ -579,7 +579,7 @@
     },
     "Diplomatic representation in the US": {
       "chief of mission": {
-        "text": "Ambassador Abdulla bin Rashid AL KHALIFA (since 21 July 2017)"
+        "text": "Ambassador Abdulla bin Rashed AL KHALIFA (since 21 July 2017)"
       },
       "chancery": {
         "text": "3502 International Drive NW, Washington, DC 20008"
@@ -591,7 +591,7 @@
         "text": "[1] (202) 362-2192"
       },
       "email address and website": {
-        "text": "<br>ambsecretary@bahrainembassy.org<br><br>mofa.gov.bh"
+        "text": "<br>ambsecretary@bahrainembassy.org<br><br>https://www.mofa.gov.bh/Default.aspx?language=en-US&amp;tabid=7702"
       },
       "consulate(s) general": {
         "text": "New York"

middle-east/tu.json

@@ -1286,7 +1286,7 @@
     },
     "Refugees and internally displaced persons": {
       "refugees (country of origin)": {
-        "text": "10,244 (Iraq) (mid-year 2022); 3,358,813 (Syria) (2023); 95,874 (Ukraine) (as of 26 January 2023)"
+        "text": "10,244 (Iraq) (mid-year 2022); 3,358,813 (Syria) (2023)"
       },
       "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) (2021)"

north-america/us.json

@@ -890,10 +890,10 @@
       }
     },
     "Exports - partners": {
-      "text": "Canada 17%, Mexico 16%, China 7%, Japan 5% (2019)"
+      "text": "Canada 16%, Mexico 15%, China 9%, Japan 4%, South Korea 4% (2021)"
     },
     "Exports - commodities": {
-      "text": "refined petroleum, crude petroleum, cars and vehicle parts, integrated circuits, aircraft (2019)"
+      "text": "refined petroleum, natural gas, crude petroleum, cars and vehicle parts, integrated circuits, aircraft, vaccines and cultures (2021)"
     },
     "Imports": {
       "Imports 2021": {
@@ -907,10 +907,10 @@
       }
     },
     "Imports - partners": {
-      "text": "China 18%, Mexico 15%, Canada 13%, Japan 6%, Germany 5% (2019)"
+      "text": "China 19%, Mexico 13%, Canada 13%, Germany 5%, Japan 5% (2021)"
     },
     "Imports - commodities": {
-      "text": "cars, crude petroleum, computers, broadcasting equipment, packaged medicines (2019)"
+      "text": "cars, crude petroleum, computers, broadcasting equipment, packaged medicines (2021)"
     },
     "Reserves of foreign exchange and gold": {
       "Reserves of foreign exchange and gold 31 December 2021": {

south-america/bl.json

@@ -182,7 +182,7 @@
       "text": "18.08 births/1,000 population (2023 est.)"
     },
     "Death rate": {
-      "text": "6.54 deaths/1,000 population (2023 est.)"
+      "text": "4.33 deaths/1,000 population (2023 est.)"
     },
     "Net migration rate": {
       "text": "-0.96 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2023 est.)"

south-asia/bg.json

@@ -632,7 +632,7 @@
         "text": "[1] (202) 244-0183"
       },
       "FAX": {
-        "text": "[1] (202) 244-2771; [1] (202) 244 7830"
+        "text": "[1] (202) 244-2771"
       },
       "email address and website": {
         "text": "<br>mission.washington@mofa.gov.bd<br><br>http://www.bdembassyusa.org/"
@@ -1302,7 +1302,7 @@
     },
     "Refugees and internally displaced persons": {
       "refugees (country of origin)": {
-        "text": "960,128 (Burma) (2023)"
+        "text": "961,175 (Burma) (2023)"
       },
       "IDPs": {
         "text": "427,000 (conflict, development, human rights violations, religious persecution, natural disasters) (2021)"

south-asia/bt.json

@@ -552,7 +552,7 @@
         "text": "[1] (212) 661-0551"
       },
       "email address and website": {
-        "text": "email - consulate.pmbny@mfa.gov.bt<br>web address - https://www.mfa.gov.bt/pmbny/"
+        "text": "<br>consulate.pmbny@mfa.gov.bt<br><br>https://www.mfa.gov.bt/pmbny/"
       },
       "consulate(s) general": {
         "text": "New York"

south-asia/np.json

@@ -114,19 +114,19 @@
       }
     },
     "Ethnic groups": {
-      "text": "Chhettri 16.6%, Brahman-Hill 12.2%, Magar 7.1%, Tharu 6.6%, Tamang 5.8%, Newar 5%, Kami 4.8%, Muslim 4.4%, Yadav 4%, Rai 2.3%, Gurung 2%, Damai/Dholii 1.8%, Thakuri 1.6%, Limbu 1.5%, Sarki 1.4%, Teli 1.4%, Chamar/Harijan/Ram 1.3%, Koiri/Kushwaha 1.2%, other 19% (2011 est.)",
-      "note": "<strong>note:</strong> 125 caste/ethnic groups were reported in the 2011 national census"
+      "text": "Chhettri 16.5%, Brahman-Hill 11.3%, Magar 6.9%, Tharu 6.2%, Tamang 5.6%, Bishwokarma 5%, Musalman 4.9%, Newar 4.6%, Yadav 4.2%, Rai 2.2%, Pariyar 1.9%, Gurung 1.9%, Thakuri 1.7%, Mijar 1.6%, Teli 1.5%, Yakthung/Limbu 1.4%, Chamar/Harijan/Ram 1.4%, Koiri/Kushwaha 1.2%, other 20% (2021 est.)",
+      "note": "<strong>note:</strong> 141 caste/ethnic groups were reported in the 2021 national census"
     },
     "Languages": {
       "Languages": {
-        "text": "Nepali (official) 44.6%, Maithali 11.7%, Bhojpuri 6%, Tharu 5.8%, Tamang 5.1%, Newar 3.2%, Bajjika 3%, Magar 3%, Doteli 3%, Urdu 2.6%, Avadhi 1.9%, Limbu 1.3%, Gurung 1.2%, Baitadeli 1%, other 6.4%, unspecified 0.2%; note - 123 languages reported as mother tongue in 2011 national census; many in government and business also speak English (2011 est.)"
+        "text": "Nepali (official) 44.9%, Maithali 11.1%, Bhojpuri 6.2%, Tharu 5.9%, Tamang 4.9%, Bajjika 3.9%, Avadhi 3%, Nepalbhasha (Newari) 3%, Magar Dhut 2.8%, Doteli 1.7%, Urdu 1.4%, Yakthung/Limbu 1.2%, Gurung 1.1%, other 8.9%; note - 123 languages reported as mother tongue in 2021 national census; many in government and business also speak English (2021 est.)"
       },
       "major-language sample(s)": {
         "text": "<br>विश्व तथ्य पुस्तक,आधारभूत जानकारीको लागि अपरिहार्य स्रोत (Nepali)<br><br>The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information."
       }
     },
     "Religions": {
-      "text": "Hindu 81.3%, Buddhist 9%, Muslim 4.4%, Kirant 3.1%, Christian 1.4%, other 0.5%, unspecified 0.2% (2011 est.)"
+      "text": "Hindu 81.2%, Buddhist 8.2%, Muslim 5.1%, Kirat 3.2%, Christian 1.8%, other 0.5% (2021 est.)"
     },
     "Age structure": {
       "0-14 years": {

world/xx.json

@@ -831,7 +831,7 @@
       "text": "<p>stretching over some 280,000 km, the world's 325 international land boundaries separate 195 independent states and 70 dependencies, areas of special sovereignty, and other miscellaneous entities; ethnicity, culture, race, religion, and language have divided states into separate political entities as much as history, physical terrain, political fiat, or conquest, resulting in sometimes arbitrary and imposed boundaries; most maritime states have claimed limits that include territorial seas and exclusive economic zones; overlapping limits due to adjacent or opposite coasts create the potential for 430 bilateral maritime boundaries of which 209 have agreements that include contiguous and non-contiguous segments; boundary, borderland/resource, and territorial disputes vary in intensity from managed or dormant to violent or militarized; undemarcated, indefinite, porous, and unmanaged boundaries tend to encourage illegal cross-border activities, uncontrolled migration, and confrontation; territorial disputes may evolve from historical and/or cultural claims, or they may be brought on by resource competition; ethnic and cultural clashes continue to be responsible for much of the territorial fragmentation and internal displacement of the estimated 45.7 million people and cross-border displacements of approximately 31.7 million refugees and asylum seekers around the world as of yearend 2021; approximately 429,300 refugees were repatriated during 2021; other sources of contention include access to water and mineral (especially hydrocarbon) resources, fisheries, and arable land; armed conflict prevails not so much between the uniformed armed forces of independent states as between stateless armed entities that detract from the sustenance and welfare of local populations, leaving the community of nations to cope with resultant refugees, hunger, disease, impoverishment, and environmental degradation</p>"
     },
     "Refugees and internally displaced persons": {
-      "text": "<p>the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimated that as of year-end 2021 there were 89.3 million people forcibly displaced worldwide; this includes 53.2 million IDPs, 27.1 million refugees, 4.6 million asylum seekers, and 4.4 million Venezuelans displaced abroad; the UNHCR estimates there are currently more than 4.3 million stateless persons as of year-end 2021</p>"
+      "text": "<p>the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimated that as of year-end 2022 there were 108.4 million people forcibly displaced worldwide; this includes 62.5 million IDPs, 35.3 million refugees, 5.4 million asylum seekers, 5.2 million others in need of international protection; the UNHCR estimates there are currently more than 4.4 million stateless persons as of year-end 2022 (the true estimate is estimated to be significantly higher)</p>"
     },
     "Trafficking in persons": {
       "tier rating": {