title: Marshall Islands

text: Climate change is a serious threat to the Marshall Islands, with typhoons becoming stronger and sea levels rising. The sea around the Pacific islands has risen a year since 1993, which is more than twice the rate of the worldwide average. In Kwajalein, there is a high risk of permanent flooding; when sea level rises to , 37% of buildings will be permanently flooded in that scenario. In Ebeye, the risk of sea level rise is even higher, with 50% of buildings being permanently flooded in the same scenario. With of sea level rise, parts of the Majuro atoll will be permanently flooded and other parts are having a high risk of flooding especially the eastern part of the atoll would be significantly at risk. With sea level rise all the buildings of Majuro will be permanently flooded or would be at a high risk to be flooded.


title: Marshall Islands

text: The per capita emissions were 2.56t in 2020. The government of Marshall Islands pledged to be net zero in 2050, with a decrease of 32% decrease of GHGs in 2025, 45% decrease in 2030 and a 58% decrease in 2035 all compared to 2010 levels.


title: Marshall Islands

text: Most birds found in the Marshall Islands, with the exception of those few introduced by man, are either sea birds or a migratory species. There are about 70 species of birds, including 31 seabirds. 15 of these species actually nest locally. Sea birds include the black noddy and the white tern. The only land bird is the house sparrow, introduced by humans.


title: Marshall Islands

text: Historical population figures for the Marshall Islands are unknown. In 1862, the population of the Islands was estimated at 10,000. In 1960, the population of the Islands was approximately 15,000. The 2011 Census counted 53,158 island residents. Over two-thirds of the residents of the Marshall Islands live in the capital city, Majuro, and the secondary urban center, Ebeye (located in Kwajalein Atoll). This figures excludes Marshall Islands natives who have relocated elsewhere; the Compact of Free Association allows them to freely relocate to the United States and obtain work there. Approximately 4,300 Marshall Islands natives relocated to Springdale, Arkansas in the United States; this figure represents the largest population concentration of Marshall Islands natives outside their island home.


title: Marshall Islands

text: Most residents of the Marshall Islands are Marshallese. Marshallese people are of Micronesian origin and are believed to have migrated from Asia to the Marshall Islands several thousand years ago. A minority of Marshallese have some recent Asian ancestry (mainly Japanese). About one-half of the nation's population lives in Majuro and Ebeye.


title: Marshall Islands

text: The official languages of the Marshall Islands are English and Marshallese. Both languages are widely spoken.


title: Marshall Islands

text: Major religious groups in the Republic of the Marshall Islands include the United Church of Christ – Congregational in the Marshall Islands, with 51.5% of the population; the Assemblies of God, 24.2%; the Roman Catholic Church, 8.4%; and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons), 8.3%. Also represented are Bukot Nan Jesus (also known as Assembly of God Part Two), 2.2%; Baptist, 1.0%; Seventh-day Adventists, 0.9%; Full Gospel, 0.7%; and the Baháʼí Faith, 0.6%. Persons without any religious affiliation account for a very small percentage of the population. Islam is also present through Ahmadiyya Muslim Community which is based in Majuro, with the first mosque opening in the capital in September 2012.


title: Marshall Islands

text: Father A. Erdland, a Catholic priest of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart of Hiltrup (German Empire, called in German "Herz-Jesu-Missionare" and in Latin "Missionarii Sacratissimi Cordis"), lived in Jaluit between 1904 and 1914. After doing considerable research on Marshallese culture and language, he published a 376-page monograph on the islands in 1914. Father H. Linckens, another Sacred Heart missionary, visited the Marshall Islands in 1904 and 1911 for several weeks. In 1912 he published a small work on Catholic missionary activities and the people of the Marshall Islands. The Catholics are under the responsibility of the Apostolic Prefecture of the Marshall Islands ("Praefectura Apostolica Insularum Marshallensium") with headquarters at the Cathedral of the Assumption in Majuro, which was created by Pope John Paul II in 1993 through the papal bull "Quo expeditius".


title: Marshall Islands

text: During the Castle Bravo test of the first deployable thermonuclear bomb, a miscalculation resulted in the explosion being over twice as large as predicted. The nuclear fallout spread eastward onto the inhabited Rongelap and Rongerik Atolls. These islands were not evacuated before the explosion. Many of the Marshall Islands natives have since suffered from radiation burns and radioactive dusting, suffering the similar fates as the Japanese fishermen aboard the "Daigo Fukuryū Maru", but have received little, if any, compensation from the federal government.


title: Marshall Islands

text: The government of the Marshall Islands operates under a mixed parliamentary-presidential system as set forth in its 1979 Constitution. Elections are held every four years in universal suffrage (for all citizens above 18), with each of the twenty-four constituencies (see below) electing one or more representatives (senators) to the lower house of RMI's unicameral legislature, the Nitijela. (Majuro, the capital atoll, elects five senators.) The President, who is head of state as well as head of government, is elected by the 33 senators of the Nitijela. Four of the five Marshallese presidents who have been elected since the Constitution was adopted in 1979 have been traditional paramount chiefs.


title: Marshall Islands

text: In January 2016, senator Hilda Heine was elected by Parliament as the first female president of the Marshall Islands; previous president Casten Nemra lost office after serving two weeks in a vote of no confidence.


title: Marshall Islands

text: Legislative power lies with the Nitijela. The upper house of Parliament, called the Council of Iroij, is an advisory body comprising twelve paramount chiefs. The executive branch consists of the President and the Presidential Cabinet, which consists of ten ministers appointed by the President with the approval of the Nitijela. The twenty-four electoral districts into which the country is divided correspond to the inhabited islands and atolls. There are currently four political parties in the Marshall Islands: Aelon̄ Kein Ad (AKA), United People's Party (UPP), Kien Eo Am (KEA) and United Democratic Party (UDP). Rule is shared by the AKA and the UDP. The following senators are in the legislative body:


title: Marshall Islands

text: The Compact of Free Association with the United States gives the U.S. sole responsibility for international defense of the Marshall Islands. It gives the islanders (the Marshallese) the right to emigrate to the United States without any visa. But as aliens they can be placed in removal proceedings if convicted of certain criminal offenses.


title: Marshall Islands

text: The Marshall Islands was admitted to the United Nations based on the Security Council's recommendation on August 9, 1991, in Resolution 704 and the General Assembly's approval on September 17, 1991, in Resolution 46/3. In international politics within the United Nations, the Marshall Islands has often voted consistently with the United States with respect to General Assembly resolutions.


title: Marshall Islands

text: On April 28, 2015, the Iranian navy seized the Marshall Island-flagged MV "Maersk Tigris" near the Strait of Hormuz. The ship had been chartered by Germany's Rickmers Ship Management, which stated that the ship contained no special cargo and no military weapons. The ship was reported to be under the control of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard according to the Pentagon. Tensions escalated in the region due to the intensifying of Saudi-led coalition attacks in Yemen. The Pentagon reported that the destroyer USS "Farragut" and a maritime reconnaissance aircraft were dispatched upon receiving a distress call from the ship "Tigris" and it was also reported that all 34 crew members were detained. US defense officials have said that they would review U.S. defense obligations to the Government of the Marshall Islands in the wake of recent events and also condemned the shots fired at the bridge as "inappropriate". It was reported in May 2015 that Tehran would release the ship after it paid a penalty.


title: Marshall Islands

text: In March 2017, at the 34th regular session of the UN Human Rights Council, Vanuatu made a joint statement on behalf of the Marshall Islands and some other Pacific nations raising human rights violations in the Western New Guinea, which has been occupied by Indonesia since 1963, and requested that the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights produce a report. Indonesia rejected allegations.


title: Marshall Islands

text: Since 1991 the Republic of Marshall Islands Sea Patrol, a division of Marshall Islands Police, has operated the 160 ton patrol vessel RMIS "Lomor". "Lomor" is one of 22 Pacific Forum patrol vessels Australia provided to smaller nations in the Pacific Forum. While some other nations' missions for their vessels include sovereignty, protection, the terms of the Compact of Free Association restrict "Lomor" to civilian missions, like fishery protection and search and rescue.


title: Marshall Islands

text: In 2021, the governments of Australia and Japan decided to fund two major law enforcement developments of the Marshall Islands.


title: Marshall Islands

text: In February 2021, the Marshall Islands announced it would be formally withdrawing from the Pacific Islands Forum in a joint statement with Kiribati, Nauru, and the Federated States of Micronesia after a dispute regarding Henry Puna's election as the Forum's secretary-general.


title: Marshall Islands

text: Although the ancient skills are now in decline, the Marshallese were once able navigators, using the stars and stick-and-shell charts.


title: Marshall Islands

text: Major sports played in the Marshall Islands include volleyball, basketball (primarily by men), baseball, soccer and a number of water sports. The Marshall Islands has been represented at the Olympics at all games since the 2008 Beijing Olympics. In the 2020 Tokyo Olympics the Marshall Islands were represented by two swimmers.


title: Marshall Islands

text: The Marshall Islands have a small club league, including Kobeer as the most successful club. One tournament was held by "Play Soccer Make Peace". There is a small Football Association on the island of Majuro. The sport of association football in its growth is new to the Marshall Islands. The Marshall Islands does not yet have a national football team presently. The Marshall Islands is the only sovereign country in the world that does not have a record of a national football match.


title: Marshall Islands

text: Softball and baseball are held under one sports federation in the Marshall Islands. The President is Jeimata Nokko Kabua. Both sports are growing at a fast pace with hundreds of Marshallese people behind the Marshall Islands Baseball / Softball Federation. The Marshall Islands achieved a silver medal in the Micronesian Games in 2012, as well as medals in the SPG Games.


title: Marshall Islands

text: The islands have few natural resources, and their imports far exceed exports. According to the CIA, the value of exports in 2013 was approximately $53.7 million while estimated imports were $133.7 million. Agricultural products include coconuts, tomatoes, melons, taro, breadfruit, fruits, pigs and chickens. Industry is made of the production of copra and craft items, tuna processing and tourism. The GDP in 2016 was an estimated $180 million, with a real growth rate of 1.7%. The GDP per capita was $3,300.


title: Marshall Islands

text: The International Monetary Fund reported in mid-2016 that the economy of the Republic had expanded by about 0.5 percent in the Fiscal Year 2015 thanks to an improved fisheries sector. A surplus of 3% of GDP was recorded "owing to record-high fishing license fees. Growth is expected to rise to about 1.5 percent and inflation to about 0.5 percent in FY2016, as the effects of the drought in earlier 2016 are offset by the resumption of infrastructure projects."


title: Marshall Islands

text: In 2018, the Republic of Marshall Islands passed the Sovereign Currency Act, which made it the first country to issue their own cryptocurrency and certify it as legal tender; the currency is called the "Sovereign".


title: Marshall Islands

text: The Marshall Islands plays a vital role in the international shipping industry as a flag of convenience for commercial vessels. The Marshallese registry began operations in 1990, and is managed through a joint venture with International Registries, Inc., a US-based corporation that has offices in major shipping centers worldwide. As of 2017, the Marshallese ship registry was the second largest in the world, after that of Panama.


title: Marshall Islands

text: Unlike some flag countries, there is no requirement that a Marshallese flag vessel be owned by a Marshallese individual or corporation. Following the 2015 seizure of the "MV Maersk Tigris", the United States announced that its treaty obligation to defend the Marshall Islands did not extend to foreign-owned Marshallese flag vessels at sea.


title: Marshall Islands

text: As a result of ship-to-ship transfers by Marshallese flag tanker vessels, the Marshall Islands have statistically been one of the largest importers of crude oil from the United States, despite the fact that the islands have no oil refining capacity.


title: Marshall Islands

text: In 2007, the Marshall Islands joined the International Labour Organization, which means its labor laws will comply with international benchmarks. This may affect business conditions in the islands.


title: Marshall Islands

text: United States government assistance is the mainstay of the economy. Under terms of the Amended Compact of Free Association, the U.S. is committed to provide US$57.7 million per year in assistance to the Marshall Islands (RMI) through 2013, and then US$62.7 million through 2023, at which time a trust fund, made up of U.S. and RMI contributions, will begin perpetual annual payouts.


title: Marshall Islands

text: The United States Army maintains the Ronald Reagan Ballistic Missile Defense Test Site on Kwajalein Atoll. Marshallese land owners receive rent for the base.


title: Marshall Islands

text: Agricultural production is concentrated on small farms. The most important commercial crop is copra, followed by coconut, breadfruit, pandanus, banana, taro and arrowroot. The livestock consists primarily of pigs and chickens.


title: Marshall Islands

text: Majuro is the world's busiest tuna transshipment port, with 704 transshipments totaling 444,393 tons in 2015. Majuro is also a tuna processing center; the Pan Pacific Foods plant exports processed tuna to a number of countries, primarily the United States under the Bumble Bee brand. Fishing license fees, primarily for tuna, provide noteworthy income for the government.


title: Marshall Islands

text: In 1999, a private company built a tuna loining plant with more than 400 employees, mostly women. But the plant closed in 2005 after a failed attempt to convert it to produce tuna steaks, a process that requires half as many employees. Operating costs exceeded revenue, and the plant's owners tried to partner with the government to prevent closure. But government officials personally interested in an economic stake in the plant refused to help. After the plant closed, it was taken over by the government, which had been the guarantor of a $2 million loan to the business.


title: Marshall Islands

text: On September 15, 2007, Witon Barry (of the Tobolar Copra processing plant in the Marshall Islands capital of Majuro) said power authorities, private companies, and entrepreneurs had been experimenting with coconut oil as alternative to diesel fuel for vehicles, power generators, and ships. Coconut trees abound in the Pacific's tropical islands. Copra, the meat of the coconut, yields coconut oil (1 liter for every 6 to 10 coconuts). In 2009, a 57 kW solar power plant was installed, the largest in the Pacific at the time, including New Zealand. It is estimated that 330 kW of solar and 450 kW of wind power would be required to make the College of the Marshall Islands energy self-sufficient. Marshalls Energy Company (MEC), a government entity, provides the islands with electricity. In 2008, 420 solar home systems of 200 Wp each were installed on Ailinglaplap Atoll, sufficient for limited electricity use.


title: Marshall Islands

text: The Human Rights Measurement Initiative (HRMI) finds that the Marshall Islands are fulfilling only 66.1% of what it should be fulfilling for the right to education based on the country's level of income. HRMI breaks down the right to education by looking at the rights to both primary education and secondary education. While taking into consideration the Marshall Islands' income level, the nation is achieving 65.5% of what should be possible based on its resources (income) for primary education and 66.6% for secondary education.


title: Marshall Islands

text: The Ministry of Education is the education agency of the islands. Marshall Islands Public School System operates the state schools in the Marshall Islands.


title: Marshall Islands

text: In the 1994–1995 school year the country had 103 elementary schools and 13 secondary schools. There were 27 private elementary schools and one private high school. Christian groups operated most of the private schools.


title: Marshall Islands

text: Historically the Marshallese population was taught in English first with Marshallese instruction coming later, but this was reversed in the 1990s to keep the islands' cultural heritage and so children could write in Marshallese. Now English language instruction begins in grade 3. Christine McMurray and Roy Smith wrote in "Diseases of Globalization: Socioeconomic Transition and Health" that this could potentially weaken the children's English skills.


title: Marshall Islands

text: There are two tertiary institutions operating in the Marshall Islands, the College of the Marshall Islands and the University of the South Pacific.


title: Marshall Islands

text: The Marshall Islands are served by the Marshall Islands International Airport in Majuro, the Bucholz Army Airfield in Kwajalein, and other small airports and airstrips.


title: Marshall Islands

text: The Marshall Islands have several AM and FM radio stations. AM stations are 1098 5 kW V7AB Majuro (Radio Marshalls, national coverage) and 1224 AFN Kwajalein (both public radio) as well as 1557 Micronesia Heatwave. The FM stations are 97.9 V7AD Majuro, V7AA 96.3 FM Uliga and 104.1 V7AA Majuro (Baptist religious). BBC World is broadcast on 98.5 FM Majuro. The most recent station is Power 103.5 which started broadcasting in 2016.


title: Marshall Islands

text: There is one broadcast television station, MBC-TV operated by the state. Cable TV is available. On cable TV, most programs are shown two weeks later than in North America but news in real time can be viewed on CNN, CNBC and BBC. American Forces Radio and Television also provides TV service to Kwajalein Atoll.


title: Marshall Islands

text: The Marshall Islands National Telecommunications Authority (NTA) provides telephone, cable TV (MHTV), FAX, cellular and Internet services. The Authority is a private corporation with significant ownership by the national government.


title: Marshall Islands

text: "Loan Ran Kein", a Marshallese language paper, was published from 1953 to 1954. The current national newspaper is a bilingual (Marshallese and English) weekly, "The Marshall Islands Journal". It has been published since 1980.


title: Activision

text: Activision Publishing, Inc. is an American video game publisher based in Santa Monica, California. It serves as the publishing business for its parent company, Activision Blizzard, and consists of several subsidiary studios. Activision is one of the largest third-party video game publishers in the world and was the top United States publisher in 2016.


title: Activision

text: The company was founded as Activision, Inc. on October 1, 1979 in Sunnyvale, California, by former Atari game developers upset at their treatment by Atari in order to develop their own games for the popular Atari 2600 home video game console. Activision was the first independent, third-party, console video game developer. The video game crash of 1983, in part created by too many new companies trying to follow in Activision's footsteps without the expertise of Activision's founders, hurt Activision's position in console games and forced the company to diversify into games for home computers, including the acquisition of Infocom. After a management shift, with CEO Jim Levy replaced by Bruce Davis, the company renamed itself to Mediagenic and branched out into business software applications. Mediagenic quickly fell into debt, and the company was bought for around by Bobby Kotick and a small group of investors around 1991.


title: Activision

text: Kotick drastically revamped and restructured the company to get it out of debt: dismissing most of its staff, moving the company to Los Angeles, and reverting to the Activision name. Building on existing assets, the Kotick-led Activision pursued more publishing opportunities and, after recovering from its former financial troubles, started acquiring numerous studios and various types of intellectual property over the 1990s and 2000s, among these being the "Call of Duty" and "Guitar Hero" series. A holding company was formed as Activision's parent company to manage both its internal and acquired studios. In 2008, this holding company merged with Vivendi Games (the parent company of Blizzard Entertainment) and formed Activision Blizzard, with Kotick as its CEO. Within this structure, Activision manages numerous third-party studios and publishes all games besides those created by Blizzard.


title: Activision

text: In 1976, Warner Communications bought Atari, Inc. from Nolan Bushnell to help accelerate the Atari Video Computer System (Atari VCS or later the Atari 2600) to market by 1977. That same year, Atari began hiring programmers to create games for the system. Prior to Warner's acquisition, the company did not award bonus pay to programmers who worked on profitable games, nor credit the programmers publicly, to prevent them from being recruited by rival game companies. Warner Communication's management style was also different from Bushnell's. According to developer John Dunn, Warner management treated developers as engineers rather than creative staff, creating conflicts with staff. Atari's CEO Ray Kassar, named to that position following Warner's acquisition in 1978, was committed to keeping production costs minimal for Warner, according to David Crane, one of Atari's programmers.


title: Activision

text: In early 1979, Atari's marketing department circulated a memo listing the best-selling cartridges from the previous year to help guide game ideas. Crane noted that the games he was fully responsible for had brought in over for the company but he was still only receiving a salary. Out of a development staff of thirty-five, four programmers (Crane, Larry Kaplan, Alan Miller and Bob Whitehead), had produced games that had accounted for 60% of Atari's sales.


title: Activision

text: Crane, Kaplan, Miller, and Whitehead became vocal about the lack of recognition within the company and became known as the "Gang of Four". The group met with Kassar in May 1979 to demand that the company treat developers as record labels treated musicians, with royalties and their names on game boxes. Kaplan, who called the others "the best designers for the [2600] in the world", recalled that Kassar called the four men "towel designers" and claimed that "anybody can do a cartridge".


title: Activision

text: The four made the decision to soon leave Atari and start their own business, but were not sure how to go about it. In 1979, the concept of third-party developers did not exist, as software for video game consoles were published exclusively by makers of the systems for which the games were designed; thus the common thinking was that to make console games, one needed to make a console first. The four decided to create their own independent game development company. They were directed by their attorney to Jim Levy, who was at the time raising venture capital to get into the software business for early home computers. Levy listened to their plans, agreed with its direction, and helped the four to secure about in capital from Sutter Hill Ventures. They also checked with legal counsel on their plans to develop games for the Atari VCS, and included litigation fees in their capital investment.


title: Activision

text: By August, Crane and Miller had left Atari, with Whitehead joining them shortly after. Kaplan had also quit Atari in August, but initially decided not to join as he did not like the starting business plan; he came back later to join Activision that December. Activision was formally founded on October 1, 1979, with Levy serving as CEO. The company was initially named "Computer Arts, Inc." while they considered a better title. The founders had thought of the name VSync, Inc., but feared that the public would not understand or know how to say it. Levy suggested combining "active" and "television" to come up with Activision.


title: Activision

text: Activision began working out of Crane's garage in the latter half of 1979, each programmer developing their own game that was planned for release in mid-1980, "Dragster", "Fishing Derby", "Checkers", and "Boxing". The four's knowledge of the Atari 2600, as well as software tricks for the system, helped them make their own games visually distinct from Atari-produced games. To further distinguish themselves, Activision's boxes were brightly colored and featured an in-game screenshot on the back cover. Instruction manuals for games devoted at least one page to credit the developer. Additionally, for nearly all of Activision's games through 1983, the instruction manuals included instructions for sending the company a photograph of a player's high scores to receive a patch in return.


title: Activision

text: Ahead of the release of the first four games, Activision obtained space at the mid-year 1980 Consumer Electronics Show to showcase their titles, and quickly obtained favorable press. The attention afforded to Activision worried Atari, as the four's departure had already created a major dent in their development staff. Atari initially tried to tarnish Activision's reputation by using industry press at CES to label those that took trade secrets as "evil, terrible people", according to Crane, and then later threatened to refuse to sell Atari games to retailers that also carried these Activision titles. By the end of 1980, Atari filed a formal lawsuit against Activision to try to stop the company, claiming the four had stolen trade secrets and violated non-disclosure agreements. The lawsuit was settled by 1982, with Activision agreeing to pay royalties to Atari but otherwise legitimizing the third-party development model. In 2003, Activision's founders were given the Game Developers Choice "First Penguin" award, reflecting their being the first successful third-party developer in the video game industry.


title: Activision

text: Following the first round of releases, each of the founders developed their own titles, about once a year, over the first few years of the company. While their 1980 games were modest hits, one of the company's first successful games was "Kaboom!", released in 1981, which was Activision's first game to sell over a million units. Activision's breakout title was 1982's "Pitfall!", created by Crane. More than four million copies of the game were sold. Near the end of 1982, Kaplan left Activision to work on the development of the Amiga personal computer as he wanted to be more involved in hardware development.


title: Activision

text: Total sales for Activision were estimated at and revenues at ahead of its June 1983 initial public offering; at this point Activision had around 60 employees. Danny Goodman stated in "Creative Computing Video & Arcade Games" in 1983, "I doubt that there is an active [Atari 2600] owner who doesn't have at least one Activision cartridge in his library". The company completed its public offering in June 1983 on NASDAQ under the stock ticker AVSN.


title: Activision

text: The success of Activision, alongside the popularity of the Atari 2600, led to many more home consoles third-party developers as well as other home consoles. Activision produced some of its Atari games for the Intellivision and ColecoVision consoles, among other platforms. However, several new third-party developers also arose, attempting to follow the approach Activision had used but without the experience they had; according to Crane, several of these companies were founded with venture capital and hired programmers with little game design experience off the street, mass-publishing whatever product the developers had made. This was a contributing factor to the video game crash of 1983.


title: Activision

text: For Activision, while they survived the crash, they felt its effects in the following years. These third-party developers folded, leaving warehouses full of unsold games, which savvy retailers purchased and sold at a mass discount ( compared to Activision's manufacturer's suggested retail price). While there was still a demand for Activision games, uneducated consumers were more drawn to the heavily discounted titles instead, reducing their income. Their quarterly revenue dropped from in mid-1983 to about by the end of 1984, according to Levy, and were forced to lay off staff, going from about 400 employees to 95 in that period. Because of this, Activision decided that they needed to diversify their games onto home computers such as the Commodore 64, Apple, and Atari 8-bit family to avoid completely going out of business like other third-party developers. There still was a drain of talent through 1985 from the crash. Miller and Whitehead left in 1984 due to the large devaluation of their stock and went to form Accolade.


title: Activision

text: With the video game crash making console game development a risky proposition, the company focused on developing for home computers with games like "Little Computer People" and "Hacker", while Levy tried to keep expenditures in check as they recovered. Looking to expand further, Activision acquired, through a corporate merger, the struggling text adventure pioneer Infocom in June 1986. This acquisition was spearheaded by Levy, who was a big fan of Infocom's titles and felt the company was in a similar position as Activision. About six months after the "Infocom Wedding", Activision's board decided to replace Levy with Bruce Davis. Davis was against the purchase of Infocom from the start and was heavy-handed in its management, and even attempted to seek a lawsuit to recover their purchase from Infocom's shareholders. Crane also found Davis difficult to work with and was concerned with how Davis managed the closure of Imagic, one of the third-party development studios formed in Activision's success in 1981. Crane left Activision in 1986 and helped Garry Kitchen found Absolute Entertainment.


title: Activision

text: In 1988, Activision began involvement in software besides video games, such as business applications. As a result, Activision changed its corporate name to Mediagenic to better represent all of its activities.


title: Activision

text: In 1989, after several years of losses, Activision closed down the Infocom studios, extending to only 11 of the 26 employees an offer to relocate to Activision's Silicon Valley headquarters. Five of them accepted this offer.


title: Activision

text: Notably during this time, Mediagenic was known to have worked on the early version of a football game that would be the basis for "Joe Montana Football". Sega of America's Michael Katz had been able to get Sega to pay Mediagenic around early 1990 to develop this into the branded version after securing the rights to Joe Montana's name, but was unaware of internal troubles that had been going on within the company, which had left the state of the game mostly unfinished. Katz and Sega were forced to take the incomplete game to Electronic Arts, which had been developing its own "John Madden Football" series for personal computers, to complete the game.


title: Activision

text: During this period Mediagenic, via Activision, secured the rights to distribute games from Cyan Worlds. The first game published by Activision from Cyan was "The Manhole", on CD-ROM for personal computers, the first major game distributed in this format.


title: Activision

text: Davis' management of Mediagenic failed to produce a profitable company; in 1991, Mediagenic reported a loss of on only of revenue and had over in debt. Cyan severed their contract with Activision, and turned to Broderbund for publishing, including what would become one of the most significant computer games of the 1990s, "Myst".


title: Activision

text: Bobby Kotick had become interested in the value of the video game industry following the crash, and he and three other investors worked to buy Commodore International in an effort to gain access to the Commodore Amiga line of personal computers. After failing to complete purchase, the group bought a company that licensed Nintendo characters, and through Nintendo was directed to the failing Mediagenic. Kotick was drawn to buy out Mediagenic not for its current offerings but for the Activision name, given its past successes with "Pitfall!", with hopes to restore Activision to its former glory. Crane said that Kotick has recognized the Activision brand name could be valued around and rather than start a new company and spend that amount to obtain the same reputation, he saw the opportunity to buy the failing Mediagenic at a bargain price and gain Activision's reputation with minimal cost. Kotick and additional investors bought Mediagenic for approximately in 1991. This group of investors included real estate businessman Steve Wynn and Philips Electronics.


title: Activision

text: Kotick became CEO of Mediagenic on its purchase and made several immediate changes: He let go of all but 8 of the companies' 150 employees, performed a full restructuring of the company, developed a bankruptcy restructuring plan, and reincorporated the company in Los Angeles, California. In the bankruptcy plan, Kotick recognized that Mediagenic still had valuable assets, which included the Infocom library as well as its authoring tools to make games, Activision's distribution network, and licenses to develop on Nintendo and Sega home consoles. Kotick offset some debt by giving stock in the company to its distributors as to keep them vested in the company's success. Kotick also had the company reissue several of its past console and Infocom titles as compilations for personal computers. Kotick had also recognized the value of the "Zork" property from Infocom, and had the company develop a sequel, "Return to Zork". Combined, these steps allowed Mediagenic to fulfill on the bankruptcy plan, and by the end of 1992, Kotick renamed Mediagenic to the original Activision name. The new Activision went public in October 1993, raising about , and was listed on NASDAQ under its new ticker symbol ATVI.


title: Activision

text: By 1995, Kotick's approach had met one promise he made to investors: that he would give them four years of 50% growth in revenues while remaining break-even. Reaching this goal, Kotick then set Activision on his second promise to investors, to develop high-demand games and make the company profitable by 1997.


title: Activision

text: Activision published the first-person perspective "MechWarrior" in 1989, based on FASA's pen-and-paper game "BattleTech". A sequel, "MechWarrior 2", was released in 1995 after two years of delays and internal struggles, prompting FASA not to renew their licensing deal with Activision. To counter, Activision released several more games bearing the "MechWarrior 2" name, which did not violate their licensing agreement. These included "NetMech", "", and "". The entire "MechWarrior 2" game series accounted for more than in sales.


title: Activision

text: Activision procured the license to another pen-and-paper-based war game, "Heavy Gear", in 1997. The video game version was well received by critics, with an 81.46% average rating on GameRankings and being considered the best game of the genre at the time by GameSpot. The "Mechwarrior 2" engine was also used in other Activision games, including 1997's "Interstate '76" and 1998's "Battlezone".


title: Activision

text: With several of its own successfully developed games helping to turn a profit, Kotick led Activision to start seeking acquisitions of video game development studios, guided by market surveys to determine what areas of content to focus on. It is estimated that between 1997 and 2008, Activision made 25 acquisitions, several for undisclosed amounts. Several of these came prior to 2001, in the midst of the Dot-com bubble, enabling the company to acquire studios at a lower valuation. On June 16, 2000, Activision reorganized as a holding company, Activision Holdings, to manage Activision and its subsidiaries more effectively. Activision changed its corporate name from "Activision, Inc." to "Activision Publishing, Inc.", while Activision Holdings took Activision's former "Activision, Inc." name. Activision Publishing became a wholly owned subsidiary of Activision, which in turn became the publicly traded company, with all outstanding shares of capital stock converted.


title: Activision

text: While Activision was highly successful with its range of developers and successful series, Kotick was concerned that they did not have a title for the growing massively multiplayer online market, which presented the opportunity for continued revenues from subscription models and microtransactions instead of the revenue from a single sale. Around 2006, Kotick contacted Jean-Bernard Lévy, the new CEO of Vivendi, a French media conglomerate. Vivendi had a games division, Vivendi Games, that was struggling to be viable at the time, but its principal feature was that it owned Blizzard Entertainment and its highly successful "World of Warcraft" game, which was drawing in a year in subscription fees. Vivendi Games also owned Sierra Entertainment.


title: Activision

text: Lévy recognized Kotick wanted control of "World of Warcraft", and offered to allow the companies to merge, but only if Lévy held the majority shares in the merged group, forcing Kotick to cede control. Kotick fretted about this decision for a while, according to friends and investors. During this time in 2006–2007, some of Activision's former successful properties began to wane, such as "Tony Hawk's", so Activision bought RedOctane, the publisher of the "Guitar Hero" franchise. Kotick met with Blizzard's president Mike Morhaime, and learned that Blizzard also had a successful inroad into getting their games into China, a potentially lucrative market. Given this potential opportunity, Kotick agreed to the merger.


title: Activision

text: Activision's board signed on to the merger by December 2007. The merger was completed in July 2008. The new company was called Activision Blizzard and was headed by Kotick, while Vivendi maintained a 52% share in the company. The new company was estimated to be worth , ahead of Electronic Arts, which was valued at .


title: Activision

text: Activision Publishing remains a subsidiary of Activision Blizzard following the merger, and is responsible for developing, producing, and distributing games from its internal and subsidiary studios. Eric Hirshberg was announced as Activision Publishing's CEO in 2010.


title: Activision

text: Activision Publishing established Sledgehammer Games in November 2009. Formed earlier in 2009 by Glen Schofield and Michael Condrey, former Visceral Games leads that had worked on "Dead Space", Sledgehammer intended to develop a "Call of Duty" spin-off title fashioned after the gameplay in "Dead Space". However, in early 2010, legal issues between Infinity Ward and Activision Blizzard led to several members of Infinity Ward leaving, and Activision assigned Sledgehammer to assist Infinity Ward in the next major "Call of Duty" title, "". Since then, Sledgehammer, Infinity Ward, and Treyarch share development duties for the flagship series, with support from Raven and other studios as necessary.


title: Activision

text: In February 2010, Activision Blizzard reported significant losses in revenue stemming from a slow down in "Guitar Hero" sales and from its more casual games. Subsequently, Activision Publishing shuttered Red Octane, Luxoflux and Underground Development as well as laid off about 25% of the staff at Neversoft. Within the same year, Activision shuttered Budcat Creations in November 2010, and Bizarre Creations in February 2011.


title: Activision

text: Into the 2020s, Activision put more focus on the "Call of Duty" franchise, including the release of the free-to-play "" in 2020. By April 2021, the company had assigned all of its internal studios to work on some part of the "Call of Duty" franchise. This includes a new studio, Activision Mobile, devoted to the "Call of Duty Mobile" title as reported in August 2021.


title: Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani

text: Tamim is the fourth son of Emir Hamad bin Khalifa. He became heir apparent in 2003 when his older brother Sheikh Jassim renounced his claim to the throne. He became emir when his father abdicated in his favor in 2013. Tamim has been involved in efforts to raise Qatar's international profile through hosting sports events such as the 2022 FIFA World Cup, as well as buying Paris Saint-Germain F.C.


title: Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani

text: Tamim bin Hamad was born on 3 June 1980 in Doha, Qatar. He is the fourth son of Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, and second son of Sheikha Moza bint Nasser Al-Missned, Hamad's second wife. Tamim was educated at Great Britain's Sherborne School (International College) in Dorset, and at Harrow School, where he sat his A-Levels in 1997. He then attended the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, graduating in 1998.


title: Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani

text: Sheikh Tamim was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Qatar Armed Forces upon graduation from Sandhurst. He became the heir apparent to the Qatar throne on 5 August 2003, when his elder brother Sheikh Jassim renounced his claim to the title. Since then he was groomed to take over rule, working in top security and economics posts. On 5 August 2003, he was appointed deputy commander-in-chief of Qatar's armed forces.


title: Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani

text: Sheikh Tamim promoted sport as part of Qatar's bid to raise its international profile. In 2005 he founded Oryx Qatar Sports Investments, which owns Paris Saint-Germain F.C. among other investments. In 2006, he chaired the organizing committee of the 15th Asian Games in Doha. Under his leadership, all member countries attended the event for the first time in its history. That year Egypt's "Al Ahram" voted Tamim "the best sport personality in the Arab world". Under his guidance, Qatar won the rights to host the 2014 FINA Swimming World Championships and the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Tamim is chairman of the National Olympic Committee. At the 113th session of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in February 2002, he was elected as a member of the IOC. He headed Doha's bid for the 2020 Olympics. The country hosted the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Qatar is estimated to have spent around $200 billion on infrastructure in preparation for the event.


title: Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani

text: The Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) Evaluation Committee completed its tour to Doha in November 2020, and confirmed that the city will have much to offer for the Asian Games, and that they were satisfied with the prioritizing and support from Tamim. At the 39th General Assembly of the OCA, President Ahmed Al-Fahad Al-Ahmed Al-Sabah announced that Doha would host the 2030 Asian Games.


title: Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani

text: Sheikh Tamim heads the Qatar Investment Authority board of directors. Under his leadership, the fund has invested billions in British businesses. It owns large stakes in Barclays Bank, Sainsbury's, and Harrods. The fund also owns a share of Europe's fourth tallest building, the Shard.


title: Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani

text: On 25 June 2013, Tamim's father, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, revealed his own plan to step down as the Emir of Qatar in a meeting with his close relatives and aides. Tamim then became the Emir of Qatar after his father handed over power in a televised speech. He was the first ruler, in a succession of three Qatari rulers from the Al Thani family, to ascend to power without resorting to a coup. According to "The Economist", of his previous sibling rivals to the throne, "One played too much, the other prayed too much." The transition of power went smoothly, as family members hold many of the nation's top posts.


title: Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani

text: According to a diplomatic source close to the Al Thani family, Sheikh Tamim has "a strong personality" that allowed him to "establish himself within the ruling family". He became crown prince on 5 August 2003, after his brother Sheikh Jassim had stepped down. Diplomats quoted by the BBC argued that Jassim, who served as crown prince for eight years, had hoped to expand his political powers. In 2003, Sheikh Jassim stepped down from the position of crown prince. According to Qatar News Agency Jassim sent a letter to his father saying, “The time is appropriate to step down and prepare for a successor”. In the letter, Jassim stated, “I did not want, as I have told you from the start, to be appointed as crown prince”, and noted he had only accepted the position in October 1996 because of "sensitive circumstances". According to a report by Stratfor, Jassim had no allies among the military forces or secret police at the time of the 2013 political transition, and thereby few chances to overturn Hamad's decree.


title: Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani

text: Tamim rules an authoritarian regime in Qatar, as he holds all executive and legislative authority, political parties are forbidden, and elections are not free and fair. The citizens of Qatar have limited political and civil rights. There is no freedom of the press in Qatar. In February 2013, Jan Keulen (Director of the Doha Centre for Media Freedom) stated in an interview that the state implemented policies for escalating freedom and quality of information being broadcast. In 2016, Tamim's regime blocked Doha News after it had done critical reporting.


title: Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani

text: In striking contrast with his father's rule, who had prioritized Qatar's international profile, a new focus on domestic affairs has characterized Tamim's government so far. One of Tamim's first moves after coming to power was to streamline the bureaucracy by disassembling a number of parallel institutions, such as the Qatar National Food Security Program, which was incorporated into the Ministries of Economy and Agriculture. He also decreased the fiscal budget of several institutions, including Qatar Foundation and Qatar Museums Authority.


title: Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani

text: Since his accession to power, the government has expanded the roads around the capital, developed a new metro system, and completed the construction of a new airport. A new reform of the Qatari administration was launched towards increased efficiency and discipline. Moreover, the post of foreign minister has passed to a non-royal (Khalid al-Attiya). This is a significant change in the direction of meritocracy, given that during the previous administrations the prime minister, traditionally a royal, tended to double as foreign minister.


title: Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani

text: Tamim also took credit for some initiatives directed at countering local sensitivities arising from the Arab Spring upheaval. He announced that the government would establish a directive to lower the price of foodstuffs sold by companies working with the country's National Food Security Programme and anticipated social allowances and pension increases.


title: Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani

text: According to his inaugural speech to the nation held on 26 June 2013, Sheikh Tamim will continue to diversify the country's economy away from hydrocarbons.


title: Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani

text: In 2014, Tamim passed new cybercrime legislation, which was said to be part of an agreement among Gulf states to criminalize online insults of the region's royal families; The cybercrime law outlawed the spreading of "false news" as well as digital material that violates the country's "social values" or "general order". The legislation made it illegal to incite, aid and facilitate the publication of offensive material. The law was criticized as being intended by the authoritarian regime to silence dissent in Qatar. Amnesty International called the law "a major setback for freedom of expression in Qatar", while other critics suggest that the new law will violate provisions of the country's constitution that protect civil liberties.


title: Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani

text: In June 2013, Sheikh Tamim unveiled his new cabinet. Khalid bin Mohammad Al Attiyah was named foreign minister. Tamim made Hessa Al Jaber the first ever Minister of Information and Communications Technology in Qatar in 2013. She was the third female minister to be named to the cabinet.


title: Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani

text: In January 2016, Tamim made additional changes to his cabinet. He named a new foreign minister, Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani, moving the previous foreign minister, Khalid bin Mohammad Al Attiyah to the position of Minister of State for Defense Affairs. Tamim also merged several ministries, including communication and transport, culture, youth and sports. Journalists have speculated reasons behind the cabinet changes. Some have come to the conclusion that the reorganization was either an economic move, meant to save the country money at a time where the falling price of gas has forced the country to scale back its workforce or for reasons of political stability. Eurasia Group indicated in a report that the cabinet change aimed to increase efficiency in government operations and would not negatively impact political or economic stability. According to others the appointments showed that Tamim was trying to make the government his own by bringing in a new, younger generation of ministers that were more loyal to him than to his father. In August 2021, Tamim issued a decree to hold the first-ever legislative elections to the Consultative Assembly of Qatar which were held on 2 October 2021. Following a vote controversy at the elections, Tamim pledged equal citizenship and ordered legal amendments.


title: Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani

text: Two laws protecting workers' rights, which included clauses on maximum working hours and rights to annual leave, were passed by Sheikh Tamim in 2017. The next year, Sheikh Tamim passed Law No. 13 of 2018, abolishing exit visas for roughly 95% of the country's migrant workers. The remaining 5% of workers, which amount to approximately 174,000 people, still require their employer's permission to exit the country. While stating that more needs to be done to protect the rights of Qatar's workers, at the same time Stephen Cockburn of Amnesty claimed that the Emir had taken an "important first step towards meeting the authorities' promise to fundamentally reform the exploitative sponsorship system".


title: Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani

text: In November 2017, Qatar and the International Labour Organization started a technical cooperation programme to improve working conditions and labour rights.


title: Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani

text: The ILO opened its first project office in Qatar on 30 April 2018 to support the implementation of the programme.


title: Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani

text: Following the adoption on 30 August 2020 of Law No. 19 of 2020, migrant workers can now change jobs before the end of their contract without first having to obtain a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from their employer. This new law, coupled with the removal of exit permit requirements earlier in the year, effectively dismantles the “kafala” sponsorship system and marks the beginning of a new era for the Qatari labour market.


title: Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani

text: In March 2021, Qatar additionally implemented a monthly minimum wage of 1,000 riyals (USD 275) for all workers, making it the first country in the region to do so.


title: Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani

text: On 29 July 2021, Sheikh Tamim signed Law No. 6 of 2021 for the conduct of first legislative (Shura Council) election in Qatar and fifth in the Gulf cooperation Council (GCC). The law was first approved in a 2003 constitutional referendum but was never enforced. Of the 45 seats of the Shura Council, two-third (30 seats) is elected while the Emir appoints the remaining 15 members of the council giving this minority group and his cabinet overwhelming power of decision making on issues of defense, foreign policy and other critical issues of the state. The elected Shura Council members are vested with powers to draft laws, approves state budgets, debates major issues and provides advice to the ruling emir. This law was widely criticized by international rights groups for the exclusion of naturalized Qatari citizens and other groups. On 2 October 2021, first ever election held in Qatar recording 63.5 per cent voter turnout but with protests by disenfranchised groups. Qatari officials tagged the election “experiment”


title: Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani

text: The young Emir's transition to power was welcomed by leaders across the world, who expected Tamim to continue the good work in the footsteps of his father and increase Qatar's role in vital international affairs, including the Syrian crisis and Darfur agreement.


title: Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani

text: Analysts said he would be tasked with overseeing substantial upgrades to the national infrastructure, which have recently gotten underway. While some view Tamim as more religious than his father, most analysts expect him to retain his father's largely pragmatic habits of governing – using Islam to further objectives where useful, but not pushing strictly Islamic agenda items such as outlawing alcohol. Under his leadership, Qatar has condemned hate speech based on religion, belief and race.


title: Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani

text: In his inaugural speech to the nation, Tamim vowed that he would continue to pursue a central role for Qatar in the region but that he will not "take direction" in foreign affairs. He confirmed that he will commit to the highest possible level of integration with his Gulf neighbors.


title: Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani

text: In fact, during his first months in charge he has prioritized the Gulf. In late October 2013, only a few months after taking charge, Sheikh Tamim took a regional tour of the Gulf. Even before his accession to power, he formally represented his father at the annual Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Summit in Bahrain in December 2012 as well as in welcoming delegates to the Arab League Summit in Doha in March 2013.


title: Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani

text: Working in a government security post, he promoted stronger ties with Saudi Arabia, a neighbour and often contentious rival to Qatar. Tamim considers Qatar's rivalry with Saudi Arabia unproductive, as has been the case in the so far unsuccessful attempt to build a cohesive Syrian opposition. Despite this, Tamim worked within the GCC to support the Syrian opposition.


title: Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani

text: The country's support for Islamist causes and for organizations that oppose the absolute rule of the Gulf's hereditary rulers provoked tensions with the GCC countries. In March 2014 Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and United Arab Emirates withdrew their ambassadors from Qatar. Officially, the decision was motivated by Qatar's alleged refusal to ratify the agreements of non-interference in domestic policy within the GCC in December 2013. Some analysts observed that the diplomatic crisis was the peak of long-time degenerated relationships of Qatar with the Arab countries, who have rebuked Qatar for allegedly backing Islamists during Arab Spring revolts and are supportive of the new military-oriented Egyptian regime.


title: Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani

text: Qatar has also provided aid through loans and investments to the democratically elected Ennahdha Party in Tunisia, and to parties in Yemen and Morocco.


title: Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani

text: During 2014-2017, Qatar appeared to be in compliance with counter terrorism and demolishment of its support to Islamist rebels groups as a result the nation agreed to stop providing support to the Muslim Brotherhood, expelled non-citizen Brothers from its territory and would not shelter any persons from GCC countries to avoid undermining relations with the Gulf.


title: Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani

text: government finalized new counter-terrorism legislation that enhanced penalties for committing acts of terror and enabled the prosecution of Qataris who commit acts of terror. Both laws went into effect in February 2020. The US State Department’s report in April 2022 stated that Qatar uses national funds to pay for participation of Qatari personnel in the Department of State’s Anti-Terrorism Assistance (ATA) training program, including training pertinent to Qatar’s preparations to host the FIFA World Cup in 2022.


title: Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani

text: In January 2021, the Emir signed an agreement ending the 43-month air, land and sea blockade of Qatar by Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt. The nations reopened their land border and airspace to Qatar.


title: Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani

text: On 27 March 2022, the Fourth High-Level Strategic Dialogue between the State of Qatar & the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT), it was revealed that the State of Qatar is the second largest contributor to the United Nations Trust Fund for Counter-Terrorism out of a total 35 other donors.


title: Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani

text: In May 2022, during his first visit to Europe after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Emir signed energy and investment projects with several countries, including Spain and Germany, and for the first time spoke at the World Economic Forum annual meeting in Davos.


title: Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani

text: Sheikh Tamim has maintained a strong relationship with the Indian government. On 25 March 2015, he visited India and met Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He said that the government "trusts" the Indian economy so they would invest in India. Last time Sheikh Tamim met with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was on 23 September 2019, at the residence of the Permanent Mission of the State of Qatar to the United Nations, on the sidelines of the 74th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York. Talks during the meeting dealt with the bilateral relations and ways of developing them in various aspects of cooperation, especially in the political and economic areas, to serve the interests of the two friendly people.


title: Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani

text: During the COVID-19 crisis, on 26 May 2020, Sheikh Tamim spoke on the phone with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He said he appreciated the contributions made by the Indian community living in Qatar. In particular, he praised those working in the healthcare sector for their huge contribution during the present situation. In turn, Prime Minister Narendra Modi warmly appreciated the personal care taken by the Emir for ensuring the welfare of the Indian citizens in Qatar during the COVID-19 pandemic.


title: Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani

text: On 27 April 2021, Sheikh Tamim held a telephone conversation with Indian Prime Minister Modi and discussed ways to fight the novel COVID-19 pandemic. Sheikh Tamim immediately ordered to send urgent medical assistance to India.


title: Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani

text: Qatar heavily invested in loans and aid to Egypt during the Muslim Brotherhood’s government. In August 2013, Qatar joined a U.S.-led attempt to mediate the escalating tension between the Muslim Brotherhood and the military. Speaking at Georgetown University during his first visit to the United States, Tamim reiterated that Qatar will not interfere in Egypt although he condemned what happened in Egypt after the 2013 coup. Since Mohamed Morsi’s removal from office, the new government has turned down Qatari offers for financial aid. Qatar's continued support for the Muslim Brotherhood resulted in a diplomatic rift between Doha and Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates in 2014, culminating in the withdrawal of the latter three countries' ambassadors in March of that year. Qatar has continuously denied allegations of support for the Muslim Brotherhood, with the Foreign Minister stating in 2017: "In Egypt, when the Muslim Brotherhood assumed power, some linked this to Qatar's support, even though nearly 70 percent of the assistance program provided by Qatar was during the era of Essam Sharaf, during the period of the military council". In June 2016, former president of Egypt Mohamed Morsi was given a life sentence for accusations of passing state secrets to Qatar.


title: Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani

text: On 20 January 2021, Qatar and Egypt agreed to resume diplomatic relations. In March 2021, during a visit to Cairo, Qatari foreign minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani handed over Sheikh Tamim's invitation for Egypt's President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi. Sheikh Tamim named the Qatari ambassador to Egypt in July 2021 and met with el-Sisi in Baghdad on 28 August 2021. On 24 June 2022, Tamim met with el-Sisi in Cairo. They discussed diplomatic and economic relations after Qatar and Egypt had signed investments contracts worth more than US$5 billion in March 2022.


title: Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani

text: There have also been claims that Qatar supports the Muslim Brotherhood. Qatar allegedly provided a financial boost to Morsi's Freedom and Justice Party, and Brotherhood opponents allegedly argued that Morsi's narrow election victory was achieved through Qatari funding. After Morsi's election, Qatar contributed a total of US$5.5 billion to the Muslim Brotherhood administration. Qatar has repeatedly denied that it supports the Muslim Brotherhood, saying it supports “the legitimate peoples and governments elected whatever the ideology of the ruling group as long as it works on the prosperity and welfare of its people.” Tamim himself has also repeatedly denied that Qatar supports extremists.


title: Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani

text: There have been rumors that Qatar looked at the Brotherhood in Syria as a natural Islamist ally to deliver its policy aims in the region. "The Financial Times" claimed in a report that Qatar provided Syrian rebels financial support of US$1 billion, saying that “people close to the Qatar government” claimed that the real amount is close to 3 billion dollars. Furthermore, there have been rumors that Qatar is using its funding to develop networks of loyalty among rebels and allegedly to set the stage for Qatar's influence in the post-Assad era, although these rumors are unconfirmed.


title: Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani

text: Some countries and regional analysts have claimed that Qatar has supported a spectrum of Islamist groups around the region. Especially since the beginning of the Arab Spring upheaval in 2011, the country has provided diplomatic and medical initiatives, and warnings to Islamist groups. There have also been claims that the Qatar-based pan-Arab satellite television channel Al Jazeera promoted the narratives of the Islamist parties and causes supported by Qatar, thereby contributing to the electoral success of some of these movements during national polls. However, Al Jazeera maintains that it was under pressure because “it is the most transparent, balanced and unbiased of all Arab channels". The channel previously hosted a talk-show, “al-Sharīʿa wa al-Ḥayāh” ("Shariah and Life"), featuring the controversial Brotherhood-associated Egyptian cleric Yusuf al-Qaradawi.


title: Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani

text: Tamim in particular played a role in the mediation with Taliban leaders, with whom he initiated contacts under his father's government. The United States requested the establishment of a Taliban office in Doha. In June 2013, the Taliban opened their first official overseas office in the Qatari capital as part of the long-standing attempt to broker a long-term Afghan peace agreement. In June 2015, Qatar successfully mediated efforts to free four Tajikistan soldiers kidnapped in December 2014 in Afghanistan by a Taliban group.


title: Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani

text: Qatar called for a military intervention by Arab countries to end the bloodshed in Syria in 2012. Analysts expected that he would have been under immediate pressure to reduce Qatar's support for the rebels in the Syrian Civil War, which Tamim had previously supported. In fact, Sheikh Tamim took a step back after taking charge, primarily in response to the irritation voiced by Western powers at Qatar's operation to arm Syrian rebel groups which had been directed haphazardly. However, Qatar has continued to provide support to Syrian opposition groups, with Tamim declaring in a speech to the UN in September 2020 that Qatar would continue to support efforts to achieve justice and hold accountable perpetrators of atrocities, war crimes, and crimes against humanity in Syria. Recently, under the aegis of a joint initiative with Saudi Arabia and Turkey promoted by Sheikh Tamim, Qatar has provided Syrian rebels with new weapons and forged a new opposition coalition in Syria known as “Army of Conquest." The Sheikh has also renewed his country's support for the Syrian people's demands for justice and freedom during a meeting with the chief of the Syrian National Coalition Khaled Khoja and his delegation in April 2015.


title: Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani

text: Syrian rebel group Al-Rahman Legion is supported by Qatar. Since 2017, Qatari-backed Al-Rahman Legion has been fighting Saudi Arabian-backed Jaysh al-Islam rebel coalition.


title: Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani

text: On 13 October 2022, Tamin met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in the capital of Kazakhstan, Astana. He said he was "proud" of the relationship between Qatar and Russia.


title: Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani

text: Tamim signed a military cooperation agreement with Turkey during an official visit to the country in December 2014. The agreement aims to promote cooperation in military training and the defense industry, and allows for the deployment of the Turkish Armed Forces to Qatar and the Qatari military to Turkey.


title: Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani

text: On 2 December 2015, Tamim signed a number of agreements with president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Cooperative agreements in education, maritime transport and correspondence pacts between intelligence agencies were signed. An agreement was also reached by Turkey to purchase liquefied natural gas from Qatar over a lengthy duration. The two leaders also announced the planned creation of a Turkish military base


title: Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani

text: In August 2018, Qatar pledged $15 billion investment in Turkey, during currency crisis amid a diplomatic standoff with US. The investment package was announced after Qatar's Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani met President Erdoğan in Ankara, on 15 August 2018.


title: Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani

text: On 6 December 2021, Sheikh Tamim received President Erdogan for a state visit in Doha. During the two-day visit, they signed 15 agreements regarding culture, economy, defense and security. In addition, several Memoranda of Understanding were signed between the countries' ministries. Sheikh Tamim and President Erdogan also agreed to extend the $15 billion currency swap agreement between Qatar and Turkey.


title: Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani

text: In October 2014, Sheikh Tamim met UK Prime Minister David Cameron and Queen Elizabeth II on his first official visit to the UK. Qatar and the UK anticipated a Qatari-British Economic Forum to explore mutual investment opportunities. Up to and during this meeting "The Telegraph" newspaper launched a campaign to urge Cameron to discuss Qatar's funding of Islamic extremists with Tamim. Stephen Barclay, the Conservative MP, repeatedly called for transparency in Britain's dealings with Qatar and said it was "essential" for Mr Cameron to raise the issue of terror finance. "I welcome the fact that the Prime Minister is meeting with the Emir," he said. "As part of these discussions it is essential that the issue of financing Sunni tribes in Syria and Iraq is raised.”


title: Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani

text: In July 2018, Sheikh Tamim and UK Prime Minister Theresa May signed a letter of intent between the governments of Qatar and the United Kingdom. Both agreed to exchange information and intelligence on terrorism, to cooperate in the areas of law enforcement related to terror activities and security of the transport sector, including airports and aviation, and to fight financial crime.


title: Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani

text: Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar houses the Royal Air Force's operational headquarters in the Middle East. It is host to the RAF's No. 83 Expeditionary Air Group. The group provides command and control to the four Expeditionary Air Wings which support Operation Kipion and Operation Shader.


title: Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani

text: The UK government has turned to Qatar to seek a long-term gas deal to ensure a stable supply of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to the UK. Prime Minister Johnson asked Tamim for help during a meeting at the UN General Assembly in September 2021.


title: Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani

text: Sheikh Tamim and Sheikha Jawaher attended the state funeral of Queen Elizabeth II at Westminster Abbey, London, on 19 September 2022.


title: Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani

text: Tamim met French president François Hollande twice in 2014 and 2015. In the latter meeting, they signed an agreement for the sale of Rafale jets to Qatar.


title: Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani

text: Tamim met French president Emmanuel Macron twice in 2017. In the latter meeting, they signed commercial contracts worth more than US$14 billion. During their 2018 meeting, Tamim thanked Macron for his support for Qatar in the Gulf crisis. They met again in 2021.


title: Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani

text: In July 2014, Tamim renewed the defence agreement with the U.S. and confirmed Qatar's cooperation with the U.S. in the Combined Air Operations Center (CAOC) at Al Udeid Air Base.


title: Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani

text: After visiting U.S. President Barack Obama at the White House in February 2015, Tamin wrote an editorial saying the U.S.-Qatari “strategic partnership has deepened in recent years, in spite of the regional unrest” and reiterated his commitment to support a more comprehensive approach to the strategic challenges facing the Middle East.


title: Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani

text: Sheikh Tamim has been a personal friend of U.S. President Donald Trump prior to the latter's presidency. He visited the United States several times during Trump's presidency and has held bilateral meetings at the White House in Washington, D.C.


title: Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani

text: In July 2017, the US and Qatar signed a memorandum of understanding to combat the financing of terrorism, making Qatar the first country in the region to sign the executive program with the United States to fight terrorism financing. Same year, then U.S. secretary of state Rex Tillerson stated that "The emir of Qatar has made progress in halting financial support and expelling terrorist elements from his country".


title: Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani

text: In July 2019, Sheikh Tamim visited the US to meet President Donald Trump and discuss the latest regional and international developments. A state dinner to welcome Tamim was organized at the White House with “who’s who of people in business”, including Robert Kraft and Christine Lagarde The meeting concluded with an enhanced economic partnership between both the countries, with Qatar agreeing to do business with major US companies, including Boeing, Gulfstream, Raytheon and Chevron Phillips Chemical.


title: Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani

text: On 20 August 2021, Sheikh Tamim held a telephone conversation with U.S. President Joe Biden. Biden thanked Tamim for Qatar's support regarding the US evacuations from Afghanistan. According to Biden, the airlifts "would not have been possible without the early support from Qatar". Sheikh Tamim visited U.S. President Joe Biden at the White House on a visit to Washington, D.C. on 31 January 2022. He was the first leader from the Gulf Cooperation Council to visit the White House since Biden took office. They discussed bilateral relations, stability of global energy supplies, the situation in Afghanistan, and peace in the Middle East. Biden called Qatar a “good friend and reliable and capable partner”, and announced the designation of Qatar as a major non-NATO ally.


title: Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani

text: Qatar hosted the historic signing of a peace deal between the US and the Taliban in February 2020 which called for the full withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan. Beginning in September 2020, Qatar has hosted the peace talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban to end decades of war in the country.


title: Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani

text: in 1996, Qatar established trade relations with the State of Israel, the first amongst all nations of the Arabian Peninsula and has continued to maintain its “working relationship” with Israel. But in 2021, Qatar abstained from entering diplomatic agreement with state of Israel brokered by the United States. It stated that it would normalize diplomatic ties when Israel commits to the Arab Peace Initiative. In May 2021, it was reported that Qatar had within a period of 10 years provided over $3 billion in aid to Gaza and West Bank with Israeli approval. In 2022, Israeli military officials were secretly dispatched to Qatar’s al-Udeid air base, forward operating headquarters of all US forces in the Middle East, also known as CENTCOM as part of a security reshuffle. On 10 June 2022, FIFA announced that Israeli nationals would be allowed entry into Qatar during the World Cup tournament.


title: Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani

text: Sheikh Tamim is described as friendly, confident, and open by those who know him. He is also described as savvy, careful, and conservative. In addition, he is considered to be a pragmatist, and to have "excellent relations" with the West, including the United States and France.


title: Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani

text: Political analysts expected Tamim to be more conservative and risk-averse than his father. Because Tamim is very close to the Muslim Brotherhood, preserving a national identity grounded in Islamic traditional values has been Tamim's first priority.


title: Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani

text: In total he has thirteen children born between 2006 and 2020; seven sons and six daughters, from three wives.


title: Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani

text: Tamim participates in competitive sport. He was filmed playing badminton and bowled with former Egyptian military chief Mohamed Hussein Tantawi. He has a strong interest in history and his nation's heritage. He is fluent in Arabic, English and French.


title: Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani

text: A sketch of Tamim entitled "Tamim al-majd" ("Tamim the Glorious") by advertiser Ahmed al-Maadheed became extremely popular as a nationalistic symbol in Qatar following the beginning of the 2017 Qatar diplomatic crisis.


title: Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani

text: In January 2019, a Reuters investigation revealed that a team of former US government intelligence operatives working on behalf of the United Arab Emirates had hacked the iPhones of activists, diplomats and foreign leaders, including Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani. Beginning in 2016 the spying tool, codenamed ‘K4RM4’, enabled the UAE to monitor hundreds of individuals identified as potential critics of, or threats to, the Emirati government and its ideology. The hacking unit using the tool, known as ‘Project Raven’, was based in Abu Dhabi and composed of local security officials and former US intelligence operatives working for the UAE's intelligence services. Ex-Project Raven operatives described how Karma was able to remotely gain access to iPhones, including that of Sheikh Tamim's, by uploading numbers or email addresses into an automated targeting system. According to Reuters the phones of Sheikh Tamim's brother as well as several associates were also hacked by the Project Raven team.


title: Pacific War

text: The Pacific War, sometimes called the Asia–Pacific War, was the theater of World War II that was fought in Asia, the Pacific Ocean, the Indian Ocean, and Oceania. It was geographically the largest theater of the war, including the vast Pacific Ocean theater, the South West Pacific theater, the Second Sino-Japanese War, and the Soviet–Japanese War.


title: Pacific War

text: The Second Sino-Japanese War between the Empire of Japan and the Republic of China had been in progress since 7 July 1937, with hostilities dating back as far as 19 September 1931 with the Japanese invasion of Manchuria. However, it is more widely accepted that the Pacific War itself began on 7 December (8 December Japanese time) 1941, when the Japanese simultaneously invaded Thailand, attacked the British colonies of Malaya, Singapore, and Hong Kong as well as the United States military and naval bases in Hawaii, Wake Island, Guam, and the Philippines.


title: Pacific War

text: The Pacific War saw the Allies pitted against Japan, the latter aided by Thailand and to a lesser extent by the Axis allies, Germany and Italy. Fighting consisted of some of the largest naval battles in history, and incredibly fierce battles and war crimes across Asia and the Pacific Islands, resulting in immense loss of human life. The war culminated in massive Allied air raids over Japan, and the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, accompanied by the Soviet Union's declaration of war and invasion of Manchuria and other territories on 9 August 1945, causing the Japanese to announce an intent to surrender on 15 August 1945. The formal surrender of Japan ceremony took place aboard the battleship in Tokyo Bay on 2 September 1945. After the war, Japan lost all rights and titles to its former possessions in Asia and the Pacific, and its sovereignty was limited to the four main home islands and other minor islands as determined by the Allies. Japan's Shinto Emperor relinquished much of his authority and his divine status through the Shinto Directive in order to pave the way for extensive cultural and political reforms.


title: Pacific War

text: In Allied countries during the war, the "Pacific War" was not usually distinguished from World War II in general, or was known simply as the "War against Japan". In the United States, the term "Pacific Theater" was widely used, although this was a misnomer in relation to the Allied campaign in Burma, the war in China and other activities within the South-East Asian Theater. However, the US Armed Forces considered the China-Burma-India Theater to be distinct from the Asiatic-Pacific Theater during the conflict.


title: Pacific War

text: Japan used the name , as chosen by a cabinet decision on 10 December 1941, to refer to both the war with the Western Allies and the ongoing war in China. This name was released to the public on 12 December, with an explanation that it involved Asian nations achieving their independence from the Western powers through armed forces of the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere. Japanese officials integrated what they called the into the Greater East Asia War.


title: Pacific War

text: During the Allied military occupation of Japan (1945–52), these Japanese terms were prohibited in official documents, although their informal usage continued, and the war became officially known as the . In Japan, the is also used, referring to the period from the Mukden Incident of 1931 through 1945.


title: Pacific War

text: The major Allied participants were China, the United States and the British Empire. China had already been engaged in bloody war against Japan since 1937 including both the KMT government National Revolutionary Army and CCP units, such as the guerrilla Eighth Route Army, New Fourth Army, as well as smaller groups. The United States and its territories, including the Philippine Commonwealth, entered the war after being attacked by Japan. The British Empire was also a major belligerent consisting of British troops along with large numbers of colonial troops from the armed forces of India as well as from Burma, Malaya, Fiji, Tonga; in addition to troops from Australia, New Zealand and Canada. The Dutch government-in-exile (as the possessor of the Dutch East Indies) were also involved. All of these were members of the Pacific War Council. From 1944 the French commando group Corps Léger d'Intervention also took part in resistance operations in Indochina. French Indochinese forces faced Japanese forces in a coup in 1945. The commando corps continued to operate after the coup until liberation. Some active pro-allied guerrillas in Asia included the Malayan Peoples' Anti-Japanese Army, the Korean Liberation Army, the Free Thai Movement, the Việt Minh, and the Hukbalahap.


title: Pacific War

text: The Soviet Union fought two short, undeclared border conflicts with Japan in 1938 and again in 1939, then remained neutral through the Soviet–Japanese Neutrality Pact of April 1941, until August 1945 when it (and Mongolia) joined the rest of the Allies and invaded the territory of Manchukuo, China, Inner Mongolia, the Japanese protectorate of Korea and Japanese-claimed territory such as South Sakhalin.


title: Pacific War

text: Mexico provided some air support in the form of the 201st Fighter Squadron and Free France sent naval support in the form of and later the . Most Latin American countries however had little to no involvement, including ones with an island presence in the Pacific, such as Chile, who administer Easter Island and several other Pacific islands, and Ecuador, who administer the Galápagos Islands. All these islands were unaffected by the war.


title: Pacific War

text: The Axis-aligned states which assisted Japan included the authoritarian government of Thailand, which formed a cautious alliance with the Japanese in 1941, when Japanese forces issued the government with an ultimatum following the Japanese invasion of Thailand. The leader of Thailand, Plaek Phibunsongkhram, became greatly enthusiastic about the alliance after decisive Japanese victories in the Malayan campaign and in 1942 sent the Phayap Army to assist the invasion of Burma, where former Thai territory that had been annexed by Britain were reoccupied (Occupied Malayan regions were similarly reintegrated into Thailand in 1943). The Allies supported and organized an underground anti-Japanese resistance group, known as the Free Thai Movement, after the Thai ambassador to the United States had refused to hand over the declaration of war. Because of this, after the surrender in 1945, the stance of the United States was that Thailand should be treated as a puppet of Japan and be considered an occupied nation rather than as an ally. This was done in contrast to the British stance towards Thailand, who had faced them in combat as they invaded British territory, and the United States had to block British efforts to impose a punitive peace.


title: Pacific War

text: Also involved were members of the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere, which included the Manchukuo Imperial Army and Collaborationist Chinese Army of the Japanese puppet states of Manchukuo (consisting of most of Manchuria), and the collaborationist Wang Jingwei regime (which controlled the coastal regions of China), respectively. In the Burma campaign, other members, such as the anti-British Indian National Army of Free India and the Burma National Army of the State of Burma were active and fighting alongside their Japanese allies.


title: Pacific War

text: Moreover, Japan conscripted many soldiers from its colonies of Korea and Taiwan. Collaborationist security units were also formed in Hong Kong (reformed ex-colonial police), Singapore, the Philippines (also a member of the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere), the Dutch East Indies (the PETA), British Malaya, British Borneo, former French Indochina (after the overthrow of the French regime in 1945) (the Vichy French had previously allowed the Japanese to use bases in French Indochina beginning in 1941, following an invasion) as well as Timorese militia. These units assisted the Japanese war effort in their respective territories.


title: Pacific War

text: Germany and Italy both had limited involvement in the Pacific War. The German and the Italian navies operated submarines and raiding ships in the Indian and Pacific Oceans, notably the Monsun Gruppe. The Italians had access to concession territory naval bases in China which they utilized (and which was later ceded to collaborationist China by the Italian Social Republic in late 1943). After Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor and the subsequent declarations of war, both navies had access to Japanese naval facilities.


title: Pacific War

text: Between 1942 and 1945, there were four main areas of conflict in the Pacific War: China, the Central Pacific, South-East Asia and the South West Pacific. US sources refer to two theaters within the Pacific War: the Pacific theater and the China Burma India Theater (CBI). However these were not operational commands.


title: Pacific War

text: In the Pacific, the Allies divided operational control of their forces between two supreme commands, known as Pacific Ocean Areas and Southwest Pacific Area. In 1945, for a brief period just before the Japanese surrender, the Soviet Union and Mongolia engaged Japanese forces in Manchuria and northeast China.


title: Pacific War

text: The Imperial Japanese Navy did not integrate its units into permanent theater commands. The Imperial Japanese Army, which had already created the Kwantung Army to oversee its occupation of Manchukuo and the China Expeditionary Army during the Second Sino-Japanese War, created the Southern Expeditionary Army Group at the outset of its conquests of South East Asia. This headquarters controlled the bulk of the Japanese Army formations which opposed the Western Allies in the Pacific and South East Asia.


title: Pacific War

text: In 1931, without declaring war, Japan invaded Manchuria, seeking raw materials to fuel its growing industrial economy. By 1937, Japan controlled Manchuria and it was also ready to move deeper into China. The Marco Polo Bridge Incident on 7 July 1937 provoked full-scale war between China and Japan. The Nationalist Party and the Chinese Communists suspended their civil war in order to form a nominal alliance against Japan, and the Soviet Union quickly lent support by providing large amounts of materiel to Chinese troops. In August 1937, Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek deployed his best army to fight about 300,000 Japanese troops in Shanghai, but, after three months of fighting, Shanghai fell. The Japanese continued to push the Chinese forces back, capturing the capital Nanjing in December 1937 and conducted the Nanjing Massacre. In March 1938, Nationalist forces won their first victory at Taierzhuang, but then the city of Xuzhou was taken by the Japanese in May. In June 1938, Japan deployed about 350,000 troops to invade Wuhan and captured it in October. The Japanese achieved major military victories, but world opinion—in particular in the United States—condemned Japan, especially after the "Panay" incident.


title: Pacific War

text: In 1939, Japanese forces tried to push into the Soviet Far East from Manchuria. They were soundly defeated in the Battle of Khalkhin Gol by a mixed Soviet and Mongolian force led by Georgy Zhukov. This stopped Japanese expansion to the north, and Soviet aid to China ended as a result of the signing of the Soviet–Japanese Neutrality Pact at the beginning of its war against Germany.


title: Pacific War

text: In September 1940, Japan decided to cut China's only land line to the outside world by seizing French Indochina, which was controlled at the time by Vichy France. Japanese forces broke their agreement with the Vichy administration and fighting broke out, ending in a Japanese victory. On 27 September Japan signed a military alliance with Germany and Italy, becoming one of the three main Axis Powers. In practice, there was little coordination between Japan and Germany until 1944, by which time the US was deciphering their secret diplomatic correspondence.


title: Pacific War

text: The war entered a new phase with the unprecedented defeat of the Japanese at the Battle of Suixian–Zaoyang, 1st Battle of Changsha, Battle of Kunlun Pass and Battle of Zaoyi. After these victories, Chinese nationalist forces launched a large-scale counter-offensive in early 1940; however, due to its low military-industrial capacity, it was repulsed by the Imperial Japanese Army in late March 1940. In August 1940, Chinese communists launched an offensive in Central China; in retaliation, Japan instituted the "Three Alls Policy" ("Kill all, Burn all, Loot all") in occupied areas to reduce human and material resources for the communists.


title: Pacific War

text: By 1941 the conflict had become a stalemate. Although Japan had occupied much of northern, central, and coastal China, the Nationalist Government had retreated to the interior with a provisional capital set up at Chungking while the Chinese communists remained in control of base areas in Shaanxi. In addition, Japanese control of northern and central China was somewhat tenuous, in that Japan was usually able to control railroads and the major cities ("points and lines"), but did not have a major military or administrative presence in the vast Chinese countryside. The Japanese found its aggression against the retreating and regrouping Chinese army was stalled by the mountainous terrain in southwestern China while the Communists organised widespread guerrilla and saboteur activities in northern and eastern China behind the Japanese front line.


title: Pacific War

text: Japan sponsored several puppet governments, one of which was headed by Wang Jingwei. However, its policies of brutality toward the Chinese population, of not yielding any real power to these regimes, and of supporting several rival governments failed to make any of them a viable alternative to the Nationalist government led by Chiang Kai-shek. Conflicts between Chinese Communist and Nationalist forces vying for territory control behind enemy lines culminated in a major armed clash in January 1941, effectively ending their co-operation.


title: Pacific War

text: Japanese strategic bombing efforts mostly targeted large Chinese cities such as Shanghai, Wuhan, and Chongqing, with around 5,000 raids from February 1938 to August 1943 in the later case. Japan's strategic bombing campaigns devastated Chinese cities extensively, killing 260,000–350,934 non-combatants.


title: Pacific War

text: From as early as 1935, Japanese military strategists had concluded the Dutch East Indies were, because of their oil reserves, of considerable importance to Japan. By 1940 they had expanded this to include Indochina, Malaya, and the Philippines within their concept of the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere. Japanese troop build ups in Hainan, Taiwan, and Haiphong were noted, Imperial Japanese Army officers were openly talking about an inevitable war, and Admiral Sankichi Takahashi was reported as saying a showdown with the United States was necessary.


title: Pacific War

text: In an effort to discourage Japanese militarism, Western powers including Australia, the United States, Britain, and the Dutch government in exile, which controlled the petroleum-rich Dutch East Indies, stopped selling oil, iron ore, and steel to Japan, denying it the raw materials needed to continue its activities in China and French Indochina. In Japan, the government and nationalists viewed these embargoes as acts of aggression; imported oil made up about 80% of domestic consumption, without which Japan's economy, let alone its military, would grind to a halt. The Japanese media, influenced by military propagandists, began to refer to the embargoes as the "ABCD ("American-British-Chinese-Dutch") encirclement" or "ABCD line".


title: Pacific War

text: Faced with a choice between economic collapse and withdrawal from its recent conquests (with its attendant loss of face), the Japanese Imperial General Headquarters (GHQ) began planning for a war with the Western powers in April or May 1941.


title: Pacific War

text: In preparation for the war against the United States, which would be decided at sea and in the air, Japan increased its naval budget as well as putting large formations of the Army and its attached air force under navy command. While formerly the IJA consumed the lion's share of the state's military budget due to the secondary role of the IJN in Japan's campaign against China (with a 73/27 split in 1940), from 1942 to 1945 there would instead be a roughly 60/40 split in funds between the army and the navy. Japan's key objective during the initial part of the conflict was to seize economic resources in the Dutch East Indies and Malaya which offered Japan a way to escape the effects of the Allied embargo. This was known as the Southern Plan. It was also decided—because of the close relationship between the United Kingdom and the United States, and the (mistaken) belief that the US would inevitably become involved—that Japan would also require taking the Philippines, Wake and Guam.


title: Pacific War

text: Japanese planning was for fighting a limited war where Japan would seize key objectives and then establish a defensive perimeter to defeat Allied counterattacks, which in turn would lead to a negotiated peace.


title: Pacific War

text: The attack on the US Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, by carrier-based aircraft of the Combined Fleet was intended to give the Japanese time to complete a perimeter.


title: Pacific War

text: The early period of the war was divided into two operational phases. The First Operational Phase was further divided into three separate parts in which the major objectives of the Philippines, British Malaya, Borneo, Burma, Rabaul and the Dutch East Indies would be occupied. The Second Operational Phase called for further expansion into the South Pacific by seizing eastern New Guinea, New Britain, Fiji, Samoa, and strategic points in the Australian area. In the Central Pacific, Midway was targeted as were the Aleutian Islands in the North Pacific. Seizure of these key areas would provide defensive depth and deny the Allies staging areas from which to mount a counteroffensive.


title: Pacific War

text: By November these plans were essentially complete, and were modified only slightly over the next month. Japanese military planners' expectation of success rested on the United Kingdom and the Soviet Union being unable to effectively respond to a Japanese attack because of the threat posed to each by Germany; the Soviet Union was even seen as unlikely to commence hostilities.


title: Pacific War

text: The Japanese leadership was aware that a total military victory in a traditional sense against the US was impossible; the alternative would be negotiating for peace after their initial victories, which would recognize Japanese hegemony in Asia. In fact, the Imperial GHQ noted, should acceptable negotiations be reached with the Americans, the attacks were to be canceled—even if the order to attack had already been given. The Japanese leadership looked to base the conduct of the war against America on the historical experiences of the successful wars against China (1894–95) and Russia (1904–05), in both of which a strong continental power was defeated by reaching limited military objectives, not by total conquest.


title: Pacific War

text: They also planned, should the United States transfer its Pacific Fleet to the Philippines, to intercept and attack this fleet "en route" with the Combined Fleet, in keeping with all Japanese Navy prewar planning and doctrine. If the United States or Britain attacked first, the plans further stipulated the military were to hold their positions and wait for orders from GHQ. The planners noted that attacking the Philippines and British Malaya still had possibilities of success, even in the worst case of a combined preemptive attack including Soviet forces.


title: Pacific War

text: Following prolonged tensions between Japan and the Western powers, units of the Imperial Japanese Navy and Imperial Japanese Army launched simultaneous surprise attacks on the United States and the British Empire on 7 December (8 December in Asia/West Pacific time zones). The locations of this first wave of Japanese attacks included the American territories of Hawaii, the Philippines, Guam, and Wake Island and the British territories of Malaya, Singapore, and Hong Kong. Concurrently, Japanese forces invaded southern and eastern Thailand and were resisted for several hours, before the Thai government signed an armistice and entered an alliance with Japan. Although Japan declared war on the United States and the British Empire, the declaration was not delivered until after the attacks began.


title: Pacific War

text: Subsequent attacks and invasions followed during December 1941 and early 1942 leading to the occupation of American, British, Dutch and Australian territories and air raids on the Australian mainland. The Allies suffered many disastrous defeats in the first six months of the war.