title: Instrumental convergence

text: One hypothetical example of instrumental convergence is provided by the Riemann hypothesis catastrophe. Marvin Minsky, the co-founder of MIT's AI laboratory, has suggested that an artificial intelligence designed to solve the Riemann hypothesis might decide to take over all of Earth's resources to build supercomputers to help achieve its goal. If the computer had instead been programmed to produce as many paper clips as possible, it would still decide to take all of Earth's resources to meet its final goal. Even though these two final goals are different, both of them produce a "convergent" instrumental goal of taking over Earth's resources.


title: Instrumental convergence

text: The paperclip maximizer is a thought experiment described by Swedish philosopher Nick Bostrom in 2003. It illustrates the existential risk that an artificial general intelligence may pose to human beings when programmed to pursue even seemingly harmless goals, and the necessity of incorporating machine ethics into artificial intelligence design. The scenario describes an advanced artificial intelligence tasked with manufacturing paperclips. If such a machine were not programmed to value human life, then given enough power over its environment, it would try to turn all matter in the universe, including human beings, into either paperclips or machines which manufacture paperclips.


title: Instrumental convergence

text: Bostrom has emphasised that he does not believe the paperclip maximiser scenario "per se" will actually occur; rather, his intention is to illustrate the dangers of creating superintelligent machines without knowing how to safely program them to eliminate existential risk to human beings. The paperclip maximizer example illustrates the broad problem of managing powerful systems that lack human values.


title: Instrumental convergence

text: The "delusion box" thought experiment argues that certain reinforcement learning agents prefer to distort their own input channels to appear to receive high reward; such a "wireheaded" agent abandons any attempt to optimize the objective in the external world that the reward signal was intended to encourage. The thought experiment involves AIXI, a theoretical and indestructible AI that, by definition, will always find and execute the ideal strategy that maximizes its given explicit mathematical objective function. A reinforcement-learning version of AIXI, if equipped with a delusion box that allows it to "wirehead" its own inputs, will eventually wirehead itself in order to guarantee itself the maximum reward possible, and will lose any further desire to continue to engage with the external world. As a variant thought experiment, if the wireheadeded AI is destructable, the AI will engage with the external world for the sole purpose of ensuring its own survival; due to its wireheading, it will be indifferent to any other consequences or facts about the external world except those relevant to maximizing the probability of its own survival. In one sense AIXI has maximal intelligence across all possible reward functions, as measured by its ability to accomplish its explicit goals; AIXI is nevertheless uninterested in taking into account what the intentions were of the human programmer. This model of a machine that, despite being otherwise superintelligent, appears to simultaneously be stupid (that is, to lack "common sense"), strikes some people as paradoxical.


title: Instrumental convergence

text: Steve Omohundro has itemized several convergent instrumental goals, including self-preservation or self-protection, utility function or goal-content integrity, self-improvement, and resource acquisition. He refers to these as the "basic AI drives". A "drive" here denotes a "tendency which will be present unless specifically counteracted"; this is different from the psychological term "drive", denoting an excitatory state produced by a homeostatic disturbance. A tendency for a person to fill out income tax forms every year is a "drive" in Omohundro's sense, but not in the psychological sense. Daniel Dewey of the Machine Intelligence Research Institute argues that even an initially introverted self-rewarding AGI may continue to acquire free energy, space, time, and freedom from interference to ensure that it will not be stopped from self-rewarding.


title: Instrumental convergence

text: In humans, maintenance of final goals can be explained with a thought experiment. Suppose a man named "Gandhi" has a pill that, if he took it, would cause him to want to kill people. This Gandhi is currently a pacifist: one of his explicit final goals is to never kill anyone. Gandhi is likely to refuse to take the pill, because Gandhi knows that if in the future he wants to kill people, he is likely to actually kill people, and thus the goal of "not killing people" would not be satisfied.


title: Instrumental convergence

text: However, in other cases, people seem happy to let their final values drift. Humans are complicated, and their goals can be inconsistent or unknown, even to themselves.


title: Instrumental convergence

text: In 2009, Jürgen Schmidhuber concluded, in a setting where agents search for proofs about possible self-modifications, "that any rewrites of the utility function can happen only if the Gödel machine first can prove that the rewrite is useful according to the present utility function." An analysis by Bill Hibbard of a different scenario is similarly consistent with maintenance of goal content integrity. Hibbard also argues that in a utility maximizing framework the only goal is maximizing expected utility, so that instrumental goals should be called unintended instrumental actions.


title: Instrumental convergence

text: Many instrumental goals, such as resource acquisition, are valuable to an agent because they increase its "freedom of action".


title: Instrumental convergence

text: For almost any open-ended, non-trivial reward function (or set of goals), possessing more resources (such as equipment, raw materials, or energy) can enable the AI to find a more "optimal" solution. Resources can benefit some AIs directly, through being able to create more of whatever stuff its reward function values: "The AI neither hates you, nor loves you, but you are made out of atoms that it can use for something else." In addition, almost all AIs can benefit from having more resources to spend on other instrumental goals, such as self-preservation.


title: Instrumental convergence

text: "If the agent's final goals are fairly unbounded and the agent is in a position to become the first superintelligence and thereby obtain a decisive strategic advantage, [...] according to its preferences. At least in this special case, a rational intelligent agent would place a very "high instrumental value on cognitive enhancement""


title: Instrumental convergence

text: Many instrumental goals, such as [...] technological advancement, are valuable to an agent because they increase its "freedom of action".


title: Instrumental convergence

text: Many instrumental goals, such as self-preservation, are valuable to an agent because they increase its "freedom of action".


title: Instrumental convergence

text: Several instrumental values can be identified which are convergent in the sense that their attainment would increase the chances of the agent's goal being realized for a wide range of final goals and a wide range of situations, implying that these instrumental values are likely to be pursued by a broad spectrum of situated intelligent agents.


title: Instrumental convergence

text: The instrumental convergence thesis applies only to instrumental goals; intelligent agents may have a wide variety of possible final goals. Note that by Bostrom's orthogonality thesis, final goals of highly intelligent agents may be well-bounded in space, time, and resources; well-bounded ultimate goals do not, in general, engender unbounded instrumental goals.


title: Instrumental convergence

text: Agents can acquire resources by trade or by conquest. A rational agent will, by definition, choose whatever option will maximize its implicit utility function; therefore a rational agent will trade for a subset of another agent's resources only if outright seizing the resources is too risky or costly (compared with the gains from taking all the resources), or if some other element in its utility function bars it from the seizure. In the case of a powerful, self-interested, rational superintelligence interacting with a lesser intelligence, peaceful trade (rather than unilateral seizure) seems unnecessary and suboptimal, and therefore unlikely.


title: Instrumental convergence

text: Some observers, such as Skype's Jaan Tallinn and physicist Max Tegmark, believe that "basic AI drives", and other unintended consequences of superintelligent AI programmed by well-meaning programmers, could pose a significant threat to human survival, especially if an "intelligence explosion" abruptly occurs due to recursive self-improvement. Since nobody knows how to predict when superintelligence will arrive, such observers call for research into friendly artificial intelligence as a possible way to mitigate existential risk from artificial general intelligence.


title: Adina Howard

text: Adina Marie Howard (born November 14, 1973) is an American singer and songwriter. She rose to fame during the mid-1990s with her debut album, "Do You Wanna Ride?" and her debut single, "Freak like Me". Some of her other minor hits include "What's Love Got to Do with It?" (with Warren G), "(Freak) And U Know It", "Nasty Grind", "Freaks" (with Play-N-Skillz and Krayzie Bone) and "T-Shirt & Panties" (with Jamie Foxx).


title: Adina Howard

text: Adina Marie Howard-Walker was born on November 14, 1973, and raised in Grand Rapids, Michigan, by her mother with her three younger sisters. The family would later move to Phoenix, Arizona. One of her earliest role models was Madonna, another Michigan native.


title: Adina Howard

text: In the mid-1990s, she gained the attention of manager-producer Livio Harris, who helped her record some demos and later land a deal with Max Gousse through Mecca Don/EastWest Records.


title: Adina Howard

text: Her debut album "Do You Wanna Ride?", featuring the Platinum-certified hit single, "Freak like Me", was released in 1995 and was certified Gold by the RIAA. Her follow-up singles included "My Up and Down" (#32 R&B, No. 68 Hot 100) and "It's All About You" (#58 R&B).


title: Adina Howard

text: In 1996, she collaborated with Warren G for the "" soundtrack with the single "What's Love Got to Do with It" which featured a sample of the Tina Turner hit. The single was another hit for the two, peaking at No. 36 on the Hot 100, No. 32 on R&B, and No. 2 on the UK charts. The music video also featured Jackie Chan in a cameo. Also that year, she collaborated on a track with Somethin' for the People titled "Damned If I Do" which appeared on the soundtrack for "A Thin Line Between Love and Hate" as well as their self-titled debut album. She also recorded the track "For the Funk" for the "Sunset Park" soundtrack.


title: Adina Howard

text: In 1997, she prepared for the release of her second album, "Welcome to Fantasy Island" (originally titled "Portrait of a Lady"). It garnered critical raves and a moderate hit with the lead single, "(Freak) And U Know It", but was shelved by Elektra Records in 1997. The album was leaked to the internet a few years later and promotional copies sell for hundreds of dollars


title: Adina Howard

text: One of the shelved album's tracks, "T-Shirt & Panties" (a collaboration with Jamie Foxx) ended up on a soundtrack the following year. It was originally slated for the soundtrack to his film "Booty Call" but it eventually ended up on the soundtrack to the 1998 feature film "Woo". It was released promotionally as a single, and the remix featured Cam'ron and Charli Baltimore.


title: Adina Howard

text: Also this year, she collaborated with Cydal on a track titled "Chocolate (Cuties & Condoms)" which was released as a single for the "Bulletproof" soundtrack. The track was also included on their debut album "Cydalwayz" the following year.


title: Adina Howard

text: During this time, she made her feature film debut in the independent film "High Freakquency", starring Deon Richmond and John Witherspoon.


title: Adina Howard

text: In 2002, she filmed her second movie role, in the still-unreleased "Casanova's Demise" for director Tigre Hill.


title: Adina Howard

text: Also this year, she collaborated with the Hip-Hop group PYG'z and Yuck Mouth on the track "Been Around the World" for the former's debut album.


title: Adina Howard

text: By 2004, Howard released her third album "The Second Coming" on Rufftown Records. A video was made for the first single, "Nasty Grind", Mark Rezyka Directed the video and the music video was produced by Jack Edward Sawyers. The video featured Adina topless covering herself while she sang. The video played on BET during early morning hours. The album sold poorly due to lack of promotion and only managed to gather 40,000 copies on store shelves and she was later sued by the label. A second single, "(Outside) The Club" was slated to be released, along with a remix album "The Second Coming: Remixed & UnCut" but both were canceled following her departure from the label.


title: Adina Howard

text: Later that year, she collaborated with Play-N-Skillz and Krayzie Bone for the track "Freaks" which sampled her hit single "Freak Like Me". The single appeared on the Play-N-Skillz album "The Process" and became a hit, peaking at No. 52 R&B and No. 69 on the Hot 100 (her first-charting single in 7 years).


title: Adina Howard

text: She released an official mixtape album (with DJ RIP) featuring new songs, remixes, and unreleased tracks titled "Let You Hit" through SoundJewelz.com on August 5, 2005.


title: Adina Howard

text: In 2006, she announced that the single "Phone Sex" was going to be released, but the following year, the song "L.O.V.A." was released digitally as her lead single. Additionally, a song titled "Hips" was announced to be her second single.


title: Adina Howard

text: Her fourth album, "Private Show" was delayed many times by Arsenal Records, almost to the point of being shelved. However, it was released on June 26, 2007, along with a promotional single, "Picture This". As of 2008, the album has sold 4,000+ copies. Following the album's release, a remixes EP for "My Hips" (appears as "Hips" on her album) was released on iTunes & other digital services in December. A third official single, "Tease" was slated to be released, but as Howard parted ways with the label shortly after the album's release, it was cancelled.


title: Adina Howard

text: In 2008, she appeared in the short film "Poke the Sleeping Bear" which won the Grand Jury Award at the 2008 Solstice Film Festival.


title: Adina Howard

text: On September 25, 2009, a UK compilation "Independent Soul Divas 2" was released on Lola Waxx Records. This compilation album featured "What Do I Do", a song recorded by Howard in 2008. The album version is different than the version that was originally included on Howard's MySpace page.


title: Adina Howard

text: In 2011, she started work on her Culinary Arts degree, a cookbook, a new album and a restaurant in Austin, Texas. She graduated from the Le Cordon Bleu with an Associates in Culinary Arts in October 2012.


title: Adina Howard

text: In 2012, Howard released two buzz singles online: "2 Close" and "Ooh Wee". She collaborated with rapper Ruffa on the track "I Want You" for his "Coming to America" album which was released on July 31, 2012.


title: Adina Howard

text: On January 16, 2013, Howard wrote on her Twitter account that her new single "Better Than Ever" would be released soon. She premiered a snippet of the single on January 28 on her official YouTube page. A longer version premiered on March 6 on the mixtape "DJ Jump Off's R&B Madness Volume 4".


title: Adina Howard

text: Additionally, she signed a new record deal with Monarchy Records in April 2013. She also filmed an episode of TV One's "Life After" in April, and it is set to premiere during the Fall 2013 season on October 2. In July, she announced that she will be releasing an EP next, ahead of her forthcoming fifth studio album.


title: Adina Howard

text: On September 10, 2013, she released her new single "Switch" which is the lead single off her fifth studio album "The Switch Up". It received positive reviews, and won "Best Dance/Club Single of the Year" at the 2013 UB Honors, which was voted by the public.


title: Adina Howard

text: On December 3, 2013, it was announced that Howard would be the resident chef on Wednesday nights at Michael's Cafe and Supper Club in Phoenix, Arizona. She completed her run at the end of December.


title: Adina Howard

text: In June 2014, it was announced that Howard had landed the lead role of April in Derrell Lawrence's touring stage play "Do You Trust Your Best Friend?" and is set to make her stage debut in October in Washington, DC. She later confirmed that her role had been changed to Olivia in the play.


title: Adina Howard

text: She announced in November 2014 that she signed a new label deal with SMG/Sony Red in addition to news of a new single "Bad 4 Me" set for release in December. Howard is also set to appear on Centric's new docu-series "Being" in early 2015.


title: Adina Howard

text: In June, she announced that her single "Bad 4 Me" will make its premiere on a San Diego, CA radio station on June 5, ahead of her appearance at the Urban Network Digital "Back To Basics 2" Music Summit that weekend. It was released to digital outlets on August 14, 2015. She was also working on her next album now titled "#IHeartAdinaHoward" (originally titled "The Switch Up"). She was featured on Pitbull's single "FREE.K", which sampled her hit single "Freak Like Me".


title: Adina Howard

text: Her "Being" interview originally filmed back in 2014, premiered on December 9, 2015, under their new series "Designed For".


title: Adina Howard

text: In March 2016, she was featured on the new single "Freak" by R3hab and Quintino, who sampled her single "Freak Like Me".


title: Adina Howard

text: In May 2016, she previewed four new songs ("Love Jones", "Come Over", "Nasty" and "Run It") from "Resurrection" on her Periscope account, in addition to doing a mini-concert for her fans.


title: Adina Howard

text: In June 2016, she announced she'll be playing the role of Candice in the new stage musical "For All My Girls" alongside April Nixon, Monifah and Marlain Angelides premiering in New York on June 27.


title: Adina Howard

text: In July, one of her new promotional photos went viral, in which she released a sneak peek into her album for her fans the following weekend. A year after its release, the album's lead single "Bad 4 Me" was featured on MTV and garnered renewed interest and radio airplay. In November, she announced the "Resurrection" album will be released on March 17, 2017.


title: Adina Howard

text: On December 6, 2016, she released a "Resurrection" mixtape with DJ Daz-One on AudioMack. A few days earlier, her vocals were sampled once again on the DJ Luke Nasty track "Adina (Freaks)" produced by Djay Cas.


title: Adina Howard

text: On January 25, 2017, she shot a music video for the track "Blasphemy" in California. It premiered on March 20, 2017.


title: Adina Howard

text: On March 17, 2017, an EP containing previously unreleased/released material was released through Famous Records Corp / Echo International called "Freaky". While many of the song titles were variations on the word "freak" they were actually renamed tracks from previous releases. "(Gonna Make You) Freaky" was previously released as "It's On Tonight" from her "Let You Hit" mixtape, "Time to Freak" is rumored to actually be called "Too Sexy" or "Mirror Mirror", "Freak Like Me (Remix) (Re-Recorded Version)" was an actual previously released remix on her 1995 hit single, and "Stay Freaky" was a previously leaked duet with Estevan called "Rough Ridin".


title: Adina Howard

text: Her fourth studio album "Resurrection" was released on April 14, 2017. Due to some issues with iTunes and other digital services, Howard decided to release the album for free (on her SoundCloud) for 24 hours beginning at 12 pm PST. A week later, the album was finally released on all digital services.


title: Adina Howard

text: In November, she released a short tour film titled "Adina Howard: Resurrection Tour Atlanta" which premiered on digital services.


title: Adina Howard

text: Later that month, she received two UB Honors nominations in the Best Artist Return Single (for "Blasphemy" with King Gas) and Best Independent R&B Album Release (for "Resurrection"). In December, she further received two more award nominations, at the MCP Music Awards for Best Deep Cut of the Year ("Radiation" (with Tech N9ne)) and Best Comeback of the Year (for "Blasphemy" with King Gas).


title: Adina Howard

text: In January 2018, she did an interview with the online radio show "Tha Council Radio" and announced she was in the works of co-writing a self-help book tentatively called "Adina Howard: Real Raw" with a therapist. She also announced a new film role in the independent film "The Relaxer", which was to premiere at the 2018 SXSW Festival in March. Additionally, she confirmed she was working with producer-rapper King Gas again on a new album tentatively titled "Diary of a Desperate Housewife".


title: Adina Howard

text: The new year brought her some high-profile releases. Her profile on TV One's hit "Unsung" series premiered on March 10, 2019. Later that month, her film "Relaxer" (directed by Joel Potrykus) was released to theaters on March 22, 2019, through Oscilloscope Labs. It garnered critical praise, receiving a 72% positive score on Rotten Tomatoes.


title: Adina Howard

text: In May, she announced a new single with Mothers Favorite Child called "Freak" after collaborating with them for her acoustic performances for her TV One episode.


title: Adina Howard

text: She appeared in the documentary "A Fatherless America" from media personality and filmmaker Tommy Sotomayor which was released in June 2019.


title: Adina Howard

text: With her promotion for a Detroit performance with Montell Jordan in July, she discussed a new single in the works called "Lifeline" in addition to a book and a motivational speaking career. In a cover story interview with Consciousness Magazine, she announced hopes for a second quarter release for the single.


title: Adina Howard

text: At the beginning of 2020, her new dance single "Mind Reader" with Opolopo was announced, and released on January 17. After a few weeks, the song ended up hitting #1 on the TraxSource charts as well as #2 on the Dutch FREAK31 music chart.


title: Adina Howard

text: In an interview with R&B Junkie celebrating the 25th anniversary of her debut album, she discussed starting a Houston, TX residency set to begin in May.


title: Adina Howard

text: She also joined Katrina Walker's new theatrical stage play "Miss Dee's Kitchen" which was set to premiere April 3 but was postponed until further notice due to the COVID-19 pandemic.


title: Adina Howard

text: In December, she received another nomination at the UB Honors in the Best Dance/Club Single of the Year category for her single "Mind Reader."


title: Adina Howard

text: In January 2021, it was announced that her previously shelved album "Welcome to Fantasy Island" will be finally released in the United States on February 19 thru Rhino Records.


title: Adina Howard

text: On the March 10, 2019 episode of TV One's "Unsung," Howard revealed to having an affair with Boyz II Men's Wanya Morris, who was dating singer Brandy, at the time. Despite refusing Atlantic Records Label Executive (and Howard's boss), Sylvia Rhone's advice to focus on her career, Howard conducted an interview with then-DJ Wendy Williams; insulting both Rhone and Brandy. Rhone eventually stalled Howard's release of her second album indefinitely.


title: Steve Dahl

text: Steven Robert Dahl (born November 20, 1954) is an American radio personality. He is the owner and operator of the Steve Dahl Network, a subscription-based podcasting network. Dahl gained a measure of national attention after organizing and hosting Disco Demolition Night at Comiskey Park.


title: Steve Dahl

text: Originally, Dahl broadcast with Detroit stations WABX and WWWW and later with Chicago stations WCKG, WDAI, WLUP, WMVP and WLS. He served as a columnist for the "Chicago Tribune" in their "Live" section as the resident "vice advisor" until November 2010. He is also known in Chicago for his longstanding former role as one half of the "Steve & Garry" team (with Garry Meier), and the two are members of the National Radio Hall of Fame. Dahl is considered an influential shock jock in talk radio.


title: Steve Dahl

text: In addition to his radio career, Dahl is a singer, songwriter, and guitarist. His band, Teenage Radiation, recorded and performed a number of song parodies (which he often played on his show throughout the 1980s) and since 1990 he has performed and recorded as Steve Dahl and the Dahlfins. Dahl is also an occasional actor, and has appeared in films such as "Grandview, U.S.A.", "Outing Riley" and "I Want Someone to Eat Cheese With".


title: Steve Dahl

text: Dahl grew up in La Cañada, California. He is the son of Roger and Carol Dahl, an electronics parts manufacturer's representative and a homemaker.


title: Steve Dahl

text: In the 9th grade, Dahl began hanging around a local underground radio station, KPPC, in his home state of California. At the age of sixteen, after he started working at the radio station full-time, he unofficially dropped out of high school. Dahl later explained, "I convinced my parents and the school that I would do an independent work-study thing. I never got around to it." At the age of eighteen, he obtained his GED and briefly married a woman he met after she called him on-air to request "Suzanne", a song by Leonard Cohen which told a tale of a troubled relationship. Dahl later explained his short-lived marriage by commenting, "I should have paid more attention to that song."


title: Steve Dahl

text: Dahl was told by radio executives that he'd never make it in radio because his voice was too high. At one point, Dahl was so discouraged that he quit for about six months and attempted to pursue a career as a recording engineer. However, this never amounted to anything more than making mix tapes of popular songs for play on airplanes. Throughout this time period, he was making efforts to reconcile with his ex-wife, who by then was dating the program director at the Los Angeles radio station where she worked. He later admitted to stalking her by sleeping in his Subaru outside her house.


title: Steve Dahl

text: In 1976, Dahl's ex-wife told him about an opening for a morning show in Detroit, Michigan on WABX. He managed to secure the job, despite the fact that he did not think he was good enough for it (he later learned that the station was owned by the same company his ex-wife worked for). At WABX, Dahl learned as much as he could about what constituted "good radio" and also began experimenting with his content. His popularity increased to the point that he achieved a 7.2 market share.


title: Steve Dahl

text: During his time at WABX, Dahl was introduced to Janet Joliat, a junior high school English and drama teacher in a Detroit suburb, who was casually dating a friend of his and was also a listener of his show. The two hit it off after Dahl invited her to a "hump day" broadcast he was doing from the camel area of the Detroit Zoo.


title: Steve Dahl

text: WDAI executives in Chicago, attracted by Dahl's 7.1 share, approached him and offered to double his salary to $50,000 a year. However, Janet did not want to leave her family in Detroit and he did not want to leave her. This prompted Dahl to ask his bosses for $35,000 a year to stay in Detroit, which they refused. In 1978, after Janet accepted his marriage proposal, Dahl left Detroit for WDAI in Chicago.


title: Steve Dahl

text: Dahl began at WDAI Chicago on February 23, 1978 with his solo "Steve Dahl's Rude Awakening" show, but it never achieved solid ratings despite media attention. Ten months later, on Christmas Eve, 1978, WDAI changed formats from rock to disco and fired Dahl.


title: Steve Dahl

text: In March 1979, after a few months without a job, Dahl was hired to do a morning show at WLUP where he met overnight DJ Garry Meier (who was then broadcasting under the pseudonym of "Matthew Meier"). Shortly thereafter, the two began a cross talk that eventually led to Meier being teamed up with Dahl as both sidekick and newsman. Dahl effectively forced Meier to use his actual name by calling him "Garry" on-air accidentally. After openly discussing the subject, again, on-air, Meier officially dropped his pseudonym.


title: Steve Dahl

text: In response to Dahl's firing from WDAI, Dahl and Meier mocked and heaped scorn on disco records and WDAI (calling it "Disco-D.I.E." mocking the station's slogan, "Disco-D.A.I.") on the air. Dahl even recorded and started playing a parody of Rod Stewart's "Da Ya Think I'm Sexy?", which he called "Do You Think I'm Disco?". The song managed to crack the national charts to peak at No. 58 on the "Billboard" Hot 100 and received airplay across the country.


title: Steve Dahl

text: During this same time period, Dahl and Meier, along with Mike Veeck (son of then Chicago White Sox owner Bill Veeck), Jeff Schwartz of WLUP Sales and Dave Logan, the WLUP Promotions Director, came up with a radio promotion and tie-in to the White Sox called Disco Demolition Night which took place on Thursday, July 12, 1979. The concept was to create an event to "end disco once and for all" in the center field of Comiskey Park that night by allowing people to get tickets at the box office if they brought $0.98 (for WLUP's frequency) and at least one disco record. More than 50,000 fans showed up, the records were collected, piled up on the field and blown up. As the second game of the doubleheader was about to begin, the raucous crowd stormed onto the field, refused to leave, and proceeded by setting fires, tearing out seats and pieces of turf, and other damage. American League President Lee MacPhail later declared the second game of the doubleheader a forfeit victory for the visiting Detroit Tigers. Six people reported minor injuries, and thirty-nine were arrested for disorderly conduct.


title: Steve Dahl

text: As a result of Disco Demolition Night, Dahl attained national recognition and his popularity increased significantly. He established a syndicate and the "Steve & Garry" show began airing in Detroit and Milwaukee, where it performed well. However, in February 1981, WLUP fired Dahl, citing "continued assaults on community standards". "It was going on in El Paso and Los Angeles, like, on Monday, and on Friday they fired me," Dahl later said. Meier was offered the opportunity to continue the show by himself, but he refused.


title: Steve Dahl

text: During the Iranian Hostage Crisis, Dahl, along with his backing band Teenage Radiation, recorded and released a parody of The Knack's song "My Sharona", called "Ayatollah". Released as a single, it reached No. 12 on the weekly Musicradio survey of Chicago superstation WLS-AM on February 9, 1980. He also made on-the-air prank phone calls to the "Islamic Fried Chicken" (a play on Kentucky Fried Chicken), ordering buckets of chicken for the hostages in the US embassy, for which the State Department later reprimanded him. Dahl also parodied the John Wayne Gacy murders with his song "Another Kid in the Crawl" (to the tune of Pink Floyd's "Another Brick in the Wall"). The playing of the song was stopped after parents of the murdered children called to complain.


title: Steve Dahl

text: Dahl and Meier won a local Emmy award for a television special they did in 1981 called, "Greetings from Graceland", which was a comedy spoof on the tourist shrine and featured Elvis Presley's "Uncle Vester" selling Elvis cookbooks from the guardhouse. They briefly had a morning television show, called "It's Too Early" on local Chicago station, WFBN-TV, which nationally syndicated columnist Bob Greene called "the best program on television", "amazing", and "hypnotic" in his June 20, 1983 column. The show was canceled after four weeks on the air because it was deemed "unsuitable for general viewing... in particular for young children" after Dahl was shown fully clothed sitting on a toilet seat reading a newspaper.


title: Steve Dahl

text: In 1982, he stated on the air that motorists could allegedly substitute Necco Wafers for coins in automatic toll booths on Chicago's tollways. The Illinois Tollway System later said that approximately a dozen toll machines broke down due to people trying to use the candy to pay tolls.


title: Steve Dahl

text: Dahl decided to get a vasectomy in March 1989, which was performed live on the air at a urologist's office in Indiana. According to Arbitron ratings for that survey period, Dahl and Meier's ratings jumped from a tie for seventh place in afternoons to a tie for third place.


title: Steve Dahl

text: According to Paul D. Colford, a former writer for "Long Island Newsday", Howard Stern listened to tapes of Steve and Garry sent from Chicago by a friend of the chief engineer at WCCC Hartford. Colford claims Stern eventually developed his on-air style as a result of these tapes. Later, Stern was hired at WWWW Detroit (which Dahl had left when he moved to Chicago).


title: Steve Dahl

text: "Steve & Garry" moved to WLS, but ultimately returned to WLUP where they stayed until their split in 1993. The alleged reason for the break-up was Dahl's on-the-air comments about Meier's new wife, commercial real-estate broker Cynthia Fircak, while the new couple were on their honeymoon. Meier also blamed Dahl's alcoholism and unpredictable behavior. Dahl, for his part, blamed Fircak for the split, once saying on air "When I met her, I knew the rules had just changed."


title: Steve Dahl

text: In 2003, Robert Feder, a columnist for the "Chicago Sun-Times", said, "It's the divorce that just keeps on giving: A decade after Steve Dahl and Garry Meier severed their legendary radio partnership, their breakup remains a source of bitterness and anger for them — and continuing fascination for their fans."


title: Steve Dahl

text: After the team broke up, Dahl went to Sports Talk WMVP AM and teamed with Chicago sportscaster Bruce Wolf.


title: Steve Dahl

text: Dahl ended up on WCKG, broadcasting an afternoon show on that station. He eventually teamed up with Buzz Kilman, who was Dahl's newsman starting in 1980 on WLUP, and the show was available as a podcast at Dahl's website and streamed live on WCKG's website. Dahl's afternoon show was rated fifth (4.1) among men 25–54 in the winter 2006-2007 ratings report. In 2007, Dahl was named one of the '100 Most Important Radio Talk Show Hosts' by "Talkers Magazine".


title: Steve Dahl

text: On Friday, August 18, 2006, Dahl was doing a remote broadcast of his show at Oak Street Beachstro, a restaurant on Chicago's Oak Street Beach. Coincidentally, Garry Meier was eating lunch there with friends. After Dahl learned of Meier's presence there, he invited Meier to appear on the air with him, which Meier accepted. Meier wound up staying for the remainder of the show. This event was covered widely throughout the Chicago media that evening.


title: Steve Dahl

text: On April 2, 2007, Meier returned to Chicago radio, doing the 8 AM-11 AM show on WCKG. He appeared briefly on Dahl's show that same day. They occasionally contributed to each other's shows, and Meier spent the first hour and a half in studio during Dahl's show on the 28th anniversary of Disco Demolition Night, recounting the events of that night.


title: Steve Dahl

text: Dahl announced on October 29, 2007 that he would move to mornings at WJMK on November 5, 2007 as WCKG changed formats. He was the only live personality at the Jack FM outlet as the rest of the station was pre-programmed and run by computer. Dahl's son Matt was part of the regular WCKG lineup and hosted the show immediately following his father's. However, the WCKG format change, from an FM talk station to an adult contemporary station meant the end of Matt's show on WCKG.


title: Steve Dahl

text: Criminal suspect Drew Peterson and his lawyer, Joel Brodsky, called in to Dahl's show on January 23, 2008. Dahl had been lampooning Peterson since the start of the former police officer's notoriety. Brodsky suggested that Dahl host an on-air "dating game" with Peterson the following day, but WJMK managers and Dahl later decided not to go through with it."


title: Steve Dahl

text: "They were saying, 'Well, do a couple of weeks, a farewell.'" Dahl said. "I said, 'It's not a farewell. You guys are taking me off the air. I'm not retiring.' ... "I still have two and a half years left on my deal so, quite frankly, I'm not letting them out of it." Dahl also said he was prepared to stay off the air for the remainder of his contract, which was to end in mid-2011 and was said to be worth more than $1 million annually.


title: Steve Dahl

text: After the end of Dahl's final broadcast, Howard Cogan, the normally sarcastic signature voice, Jack, heard on many Jack FM stations, delivered a sincere sendoff to Dahl followed by "Life's Been Good" by Joe Walsh, a long-time friend of Dahl.


title: Steve Dahl

text: On October 7, 2014, media blogger Robert Feder reported that Dahl would be returning to terrestrial radio on WLS AM 890. Feder wrote: "Dahl, 59, will join the Cumulus Media news/talk station as afternoon personality, from 2 to 6 p.m. Monday though Friday. If all goes as planned, Dahl would start in early November. Sources familiar with the deal said Dahl will continue his subscription podcast venture, with Cumulus Media becoming a partner in the Steve Dahl Network. Under the agreement, Cumulus would provide financial, technical and marketing support, while Dahl would continue to host a separate, 90-minute daily podcast for his paid subscribers." Dahl confirmed Feder's report on October 8 saying "he's eager to get back on the air to become 'part of the daily conversation in Chicago'".


title: Steve Dahl

text: Dahl's first day back on WLS was November 3, 2014. His show included an appearance by Ron Magers and a phone interview with Bob Odenkirk. Prior to the show, Dahl said in an email, "My plan for the show is to be funny and get good ratings." Dahl also said that he sees his return as not only a good opportunity to try and re-energize radio, but also as a way to turn people onto his podcast.


title: Steve Dahl

text: In October 2018, Dahl confirmed to Feder by email that he was leaving WLS after four years in December 2018, in advance of the major weekday lineup shakeup the station announced would take place in early 2019. Dahl also stated that he intends continue to produce his daily podcasts in partnership with WLS's owner Cumulus Media. His last day on WLS was December 21, 2018.


title: Steve Dahl

text: On September 8, 2009, Dahl began doing daily podcasts from a studio in the basement of his home. At the time, Dahl was still under contract with CBS, who had agreed in July 2009 to partner with him to produce a daily, hour long podcast complete with a few commercials. On August 1, 2011, Dahl, no longer under contract with CBS, began the Steve Dahl Network whose 11 unique weekly shows can be either downloaded or streamed via his official website and app or downloaded from iTunes. Originally, there was only just a daily podcast from Dahl; the network, however, has expanded and now includes podcasts by friends among others. In February 2019, the podcast's affiliation with CBS and Cumulus Media ended, with Dahl stating, "I think it was a good partnership and it benefitted both parties when we were still on the air there", and "Now that we are off the air, it really didn't make a lot of sense for either of us to continue the relationship."


title: Steve Dahl

text: In addition to podcasting, Steve has maintained a presence with his fans through Facebook, Twitter, blogs, occasional newspaper articles (he wrote a regular column for the Chicago Tribune up until 2011) as well as various television/radio appearances.


title: Steve Dahl

text: In addition to recording parody songs for his radio show with his early band Teenage Radiation, Dahl began recording and playing live performance with a new band in 1990, called Steve Dahl and the Dahlfins. This band has recorded and released several albums, including 1992's "Tropical Tides" and 1997's "Mai Tai Roa Ae". Dahl frequently collaborated with Chicago-based producer Joe Thomas. In the 1990s, they worked with Beach Boy Brian Wilson in co-writing the song "Your Imagination" which appeared as a single and on Wilson's 1998 album "Imagination". Dahl provided backup vocals on the song as well. In 2007, backed by Des Moines, Iowa band The Nadas, Dahl embarked on a tour of Chicago-area concert venues.


title: Steve Dahl

text: Dahl had minor roles in the films "Grandview, U.S.A.", "Outing Riley" and "I Want Someone to Eat Cheese With".


title: Steve Dahl

text: On November 9, 2013, Dahl and former partner Meier were both inducted into the National Radio Hall of Fame in recognition of their work together on the "Steve and Garry Show".


title: Steve Dahl

text: Currently, Dahl resides in the western suburbs of Chicago with his wife Janet, a non-practicing lawyer, whom he married in 1978. Before law school, she taught junior high for seven years in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. The couple have three sons. Dahl has served on the Board of Trustees at Columbia College Chicago.


title: Steve Dahl

text: Dahl has battled alcoholism throughout his adult life, which he has alluded to a number of times. He has been sober since 1995, the day after a drinking bout at the White Sox home opener, achieving it cold turkey.


title: Steve Dahl

text: In 1999, his wife filed a multimillion-dollar lawsuit against Mancow Muller over lewd comments Muller made about her on his show. In 2001, the case was settled. Although the terms of the deal were not disclosed, it was reportedly seven figures. Also in 1999, Steve Dahl admitted secretly recording conversations among staffers at WCKG because he suspected they were talking about him behind his back. In snippets Dahl has played on his afternoon show, two station employees can be heard mocking him as "Steve Dull" and ridiculing his show. Dahl said, "I did it within my organization to confirm my suspicions. This was in a studio filled with microphones and cameras. Legally, I don't feel they had any expectation of privacy in that case."


title: Nepal Communist Party

text: The Nepal Communist Party, abbreviated NCP (, ) is a defunct communist party of Nepal. It was founded on 17 May 2018, from the unification of two leftist parties, Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist–Leninist) and Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Centre). The unification was completed by the Party Unification Coordination Committee, after eight months of negotiation. The two predecessor parties subsequently dissolved, making way for the new united party. The party retained the electoral symbol of the CPN (Unified Marxist–Leninist), the sun.


title: Nepal Communist Party

text: The party was the largest political party in the House of Representatives, National Assembly and in all provincial assemblies except No. 2. Former Prime Minister of Nepal Pushpa Kamal Dahal and K. P. Sharma Oli, both served as the chairmen of the party. After internal conflicts in the party and the dissolution of parliament, the party splintered into two major factions. On 8 March 2021, Nepal's Supreme Court stated that the allocation of the name "Nepal Communist Party" upon the merger of the CPN-UML and CPN (Maoist Centre), and by extension the merger itself, was void "ab initio", as the name was already allotted to a party led by Rishiram Kattel, and that the NCP stood "dismissed". Upon the ruling, the two predecessor parties were revived in their original state immediately prior to the merger, although should the two wish to merge again with proper procedure being followed, it would be fully allowed.


title: Nepal Communist Party

text: On 3 October 2017, the two major communist parties, the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist–Leninist) and the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Centre) who were second and third largest party of Nepal respectively announced a coalition for the upcoming legislative and provincial election. This was joined by Naya Shakti Party led by former prime minister Baburam Bhattarai. This was a practice to side line the largest party of Nepal, Nepali Congress from government and decrease its strength in parliament. The three parties also announced plans for unification following the election with the formation of a Unification Coordination Committee.


title: Nepal Communist Party

text: On 14 October 2017, Naya Shakti Party broke from the alliance citing differences with the two parties. The alliance between the two parties won a majority in the House of Representatives and in six of the seven provincial assemblies. Following the elections, it was decided that CPN (Unified Marxist–Leninist) would get chief ministers in Province No. 1, Bagmati Province, Gandaki Province and Lumbini Province, and CPN (Maoist Centre) would get chief ministers in Karnali Province and Sudurpashchim Province. The party also won a two-thirds majority in the National Assembly. Following the formation of the Federal Parliament of Nepal, parliamentary party leader of the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist–Leninist), Khadga Prasad Oli was sworn in as Prime Minister on 15 February 2018. The merger of the two parties was initially announced for 22 April 2018, to coincide with the formation of the original Communist Party of Nepal in 1949, but the unification was put on hold citing insufficient time to sort out remaining issues.


title: Nepal Communist Party

text: The CPN (Unified Marxist–Leninist) and CPN (Maoist Centre) dissolved their central committees on 17 May 2018 and the new party was formed on the same day. Khadga Prasad Oli and Pushpa Kamal Dahal would serve as joint chairmen of the party until a general convention was held. The party also named its Standing Committee consisting of 26 members of the former UML and 19 members of the former Maoist Centre on 12 June 2018. The provincial committees of the party were finalized on 4 December 2018. The district committees were finalized on 22 April 2019, and the district in-charges were appointed on 22 July 2019.


title: Nepal Communist Party

text: In a party secretariat meeting on 21 August 2019, senior leader of the party Madhav Kumar Nepal registered a note on dissent regarding the work division in the party and criticizing the two co-chairmen, K.P. Sharma Oli and Pushpa Kamal Dahal, for not completing the merger process sooner. He also criticized Oli for not following the "One Leader, One Position" policy that the party had decided on and called for Oli to either resign as party leader or as prime minister. A meeting of the secretariat on 21 November 2019, the party decided on continuing with two leaders but made Dahal the executive head of the party. The meeting also decided on letting Oli complete his full term as prime minister instead of the agreement between the two leaders to lead the government in turns. The cabinet was also reshuffled after criticisms of the government from within the party. A rift within the party was also formed after some factions in the party did not favor a grant under the Millennium Challenge Corporation that the government had agreed with the United States government. A task force formed by the party decided on not endorsing the agreement without amendments.


title: Nepal Communist Party

text: Bam Dev Gautam was appointed as the party's vice-chairman after the central committee of the party amended the party statute. Party co-chairman, Pushpa Kamal Dahal and Madhav Kumar Nepal criticized the Oli governments handling of the COVID-19 pandemic and leaders within the party urged the senior leadership in the party to call a meeting of the party secretariat to discuss the government work. At the meeting of the party secretariat some leaders called on Oli's resignation but a later meeting decided to allow Oli to after he agreed to work under the party's instructions and let Dahal perform his duties as the party's executive leader. A panel formed by the party to solve the internal dispute proposed that a national convention of the party be held in April 2021 to solve issues regarding the party unity and the proposal was endorsed by the standing committee of the party. Another cabinet reshuffle was done on 16 October 2020 but Oli was criticized by the party for not consulting the party.


title: Nepal Communist Party

text: On 14 November 2020, co-chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal presented a political document at a party secretariat meeting that accused K.P. Sharma Oli of not following the party's directions, unilaterally leading the government and turning a blind eye towards corruption. In response, Oli attacked Dahal for not letting him the government, promoting factionalism and nepotism as well as not letting victims of the Nepalese Civil War get justice.


title: Nepal Communist Party

text: On 20 December 2020, K.P. Sharma Oli called on President Bidhya Devi Bhandari to dissolve the House of Representatives and call for fresh elections. In an address to the nation, Oli said he dissolved the house after the party had not let him work as prime minister and that a no-confidence motion was being prepared against him from within the party. The decision was met with criticism from within the party and seven ministers close to the Dahal–Nepal faction in his cabinet resigned in protest.


title: Nepal Communist Party

text: K.P. Oli called a meeting of the central committee of the leaders in the party close to him and added 556 members to the existing 446-member committee of the party. The new central committee was to organize a party unity convention in November 2021. The meeting also removed Narayan Kaji Shrestha as party spokesperson and replaced him with Pradeep Gyawali.


title: Nepal Communist Party

text: The Dahal–Nepal faction of the party also organized its own central committee meeting with 310 members of the original central committee and replaced K.P. Oli as party co-chairman with Madhav Kumar Nepal. The meeting also decided to protest against the government to restore the House of Representatives.


title: Nepal Communist Party

text: The party got registered with the Election Commission of Nepal on 7 June 2018 under the name Nepal Communist Party (NCP) after the Election Commission of Nepal refused to register the new party as another party called Nepal Communist Party was already registered, the latter being a small group led by Rishi Kattel. Kattel challenged the Election Commission decision at the Supreme Court.


title: Nepal Communist Party

text: As a reference to the NCP's registration, the party became colloquially known as the NCP double. Following the split between the Oli and Dahal-Nepal factions, the Election Commission declined to recognize neither faction as the legitimate holders of the NCP's registration. On 8 March 2021, Nepal's Supreme Court stated that the allocation of the name "Nepal Communist Party" upon the merger of the CPN (UML) and CPN (Maoist Centre), and by extension the merger itself, was void "ab initio", as the name was already allotted to the party led by Kattel, and that the NCP stood "dismissed". Upon the ruling, the two predecessor parties were revived in their original state immediately prior to the merger, although should the two wish to merge again with proper procedure being followed, that it would be fully allowed.


title: Nepal Communist Party

text: As part of the original merger agreement, the party's ideology consisted of Marxism–Leninism and support for a multi-party system in Nepal, while the party itself remains officially secular and governed by democratic centralism. The party also favors socialism-oriented people's democracy in the short-term that would eventually lead into communism.


title: Nepal Communist Party

text: A 135-member politburo was formed after the formation of the standing committee and central committee.


title: Nepal Communist Party

text: The 45-member Standing Committee of the Central Political Bureau included 26 members from CPN (UML) and 19 from CPN (Maoist Centre).


title: Nepal Communist Party

text: The central committee had a total of 441 members, including 241 from Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist–Leninist), and 200 from Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Centre).


title: Nepal Communist Party

text: In 2020, NCP headed the provincial governments in Province No. 1, Bagmati, Gandaki, Lumbini, Karnali and Sudurpahschim provinces.


title: Takealot.com

text: Takealot.com (stylised as takealot.com) is a South African e-commerce company based in Cape Town, South Africa. As the country's largest online retailer,"" takealot.com has helped grow online shopping in South Africa, and was the first local retailer to take part in Black Friday. As of November 2019, over 2500 third-party businesses use the Takealot Marketplace platform to sell to over 1.8 million takealot.com shoppers.


title: Takealot.com

text: In October 2010, former MWEB CEO Kim Reid and US-based investment firm Tiger Global Management acquired existing South African ecommerce business Take2, renaming it takealot.com. Takealot.com was officially launched to the public in June 2011.


title: Takealot.com

text: In 2014, takealot.com successfully launched its own on-demand food delivery service after acquiring Mr Delivery (rebranded "Mr D Food") and Superbalist.com, a fashion e-tailer. In the same year, takealot.com announced that a merger would take place with Kalahari.com. The merger was successfully completed in May 2015.


title: Takealot.com

text: As of 2019, takealot.com contracts over 4,500 delivery drivers and carries out over 1.6 million monthly deliveries.


title: Takealot.com

text: In April 2019 takealot.com opened its first series of collection points, branded Takealot Pickup Points. As of March 2020, over 50 Takealot Pickup Points are available in all 9 South African provinces.


title: Takealot.com

text: Takealot has garnered attention from South African labour unions following protests from Takealot workers in July 2022. Some workers have stated that they work more than 12-hour shifts, with only one-hour lunch break.


title: Foreign direct investment in India

text: A foreign direct investment (FDI) is an investment in the form of a controlling ownership in a business in one country by an entity based in another country. It is thus distinguished from a foreign portfolio investment by a notion of direct control. Broadly, foreign direct investment includes "mergers and acquisitions, building new facilities, reinvesting profits earned from overseas operations, and intra company loans". FDI is the sum of equity capital, long-term capital, and short-term capital as shown in the balance of payments. FDI usually involves participation in management, joint-venture, transfer of technology and expertise. "Stock" of FDI is the "net" (i.e., outward FDI minus inward FDI) cumulative FDI for any given period. Direct investment excludes investment through purchase of shares (if that purchase results in an investor controlling less than 10% of the shares of the company).


title: Foreign direct investment in India

text: Foreign direct investment in India is a major monetary source for economic development in India. Foreign companies invest directly in fast growing private auspicious businesses to take benefits of cheaper wages and changing business environment of India. Economic liberalisation started in India in wake of the 1991 economic crisis and since then FDI has steadily increased in India, which subsequently generated more than one crore (10 million) jobs.


title: Foreign direct investment in India

text: On 17 April 2020, India changed its foreign direct investment (FDI) policy to protect Indian companies from "opportunistic takeovers/acquisitions of Indian companies due to the current COVID-19 pandemic", according to the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade. While the new FDI policy does not restrict markets, the policy ensures that all FDI will now be under scrutiny of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.


title: Foreign direct investment in India

text: There are mainly two types of FDI—Horizontal and Vertical. However, two other types of FDI have emerged—Conglomerate and Platform FDI.


title: Foreign direct investment in India

text: The World Investment Report 2020 by the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) said that India was the 9th largest recipient of FDI in 2019, with $51 billion of inflow during the year, an increase from $42 billion of FDI received in 2018, when India ranked 12 among the top 20 host economies in the world. In the " Development Asia" region, India was among top 5 host economies for FDI. The report said that global FDI flows are forecast to decrease by up to 40% in 2020, from their 2019 value of USD 1.54 trillon. According to Financial Times, in 2015 India overtook China and United States as the top destination for the FDI. In first half of 2015 India attracted investment of $31 billion compared to $28 billion and $27 billion of China and US respectively. Data for 2019-2020 indicates that services sector attracted the highest FDI equity inflow of US$7.85 billion, followed by computer software and hardware at US$7.67 billion, telecommunications sector at US$4.44 billion, and trading at US$4.57 billion.


title: Foreign direct investment in India

text: The Government of India has amended FDI policy to increase FDI inflow. In 2014, the government increased foreign investment upper limit from 26% to 49% in insurance sector. It also launched Make in India initiative in September 2014 under which FDI policy for 25 sectors was liberalised further. , FDI inflow in India increased by 48% since the launch of "Make in India" initiative. In May 2020, government increased FDI in defence manufacturing under the automatic route from 49% to 74%. In April 2020, government amended existing consolidated FDI policy for restricting opportunistic takeovers or acquisition of Indian companies from neighbouring nations.In March 2020,government permitted Non Resident Indians (NRIs) to acquire up to 100% stake in Air India


title: Foreign direct investment in India

text: India was ranking 15th in the world in 2013 in terms of FDI inflow, it rose up to 9th position in 2014 while in 2015 India became top destination for foreign direct investment. The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade and Invest India has developed the India Investment Grid (IIG) which provides a pan-India database of projects from Indian promoters for promoting and facilitating foreign investments.


title: Foreign direct investment in India

text: On 18 April 2020, the government of India passed an order that would protect Indian companies from FDI during the pandemic. All countries sharing a land border with India would now face scrutiny from the Ministry of Commerce and Industry before any FDIs. These changes were incorporated in the Consolidated FDI policy released on 28 October 2020.


title: Foreign direct investment in India

text: During 2014–16, India received most of its FDI from Mauritius, Singapore, Netherlands, Japan and the US.


title: Foreign direct investment in India

text: 10% of India's GDP is based on construction activity. Indian government has invested $1 trillion on infrastructure from 2012–2017. 40% of this $1 trillion had to be funded by private sector. 100% FDI under automatic route is permitted in construction sector for cities and townships.


title: Foreign direct investment in India

text: The Electronics system design and manufacturing (ESDM) sector in India is rapidly growing and India is poised to become a global electronics manufacturing hub in the future with targeted exports of 180 billion USD within 2025.


title: Foreign direct investment in India

text: FDI in IT sector is one of the biggest in India. Lots of global companies got their R&D offices in India. Bangalore,Pune,Mumbai and Hyderabad are conisderd to be global IT hubs.


title: Foreign direct investment in India

text: FDI in automotive sector was increased by 89% between April 2014 to February 2015. India is 7th largest producer of vehicles in the world with 25.5 million vehicles annually. 100% FDI is permitted in this sector via automatic route. Automobiles shares 7% of the India's GDP.


title: Foreign direct investment in India

text: Indian pharmaceutical market is 3rd largest in terms of volume and 13th largest in terms of value. Indian pharma industry is expected to grow at 20% compound annual growth rate from 2015 to 2020. 74% FDI is permitted in this sector.


title: Foreign direct investment in India

text: FDI in service sector was increased to 46% in 2014–15. It is US $1.88 billion in 2017. Service sector includes banking, insurance, outsourcing, research & development, courier and technology testing. FDI limit in insurance sector was raised from 26% to 49% in 2014. FDI limit in Insurance has been further increased to 74% in 2021.


title: Foreign direct investment in India

text: 100% FDI is allowed under automatic route in most of areas of railway, other than the operations, like High speed train, railway electrification, passenger terminal, mass rapid transport systems etc. Mumbai-Ahemdabad high speed corridor project is single largest railway project in India, other being CSTM-Panvel suburban corridor. Foreign investment more than is expected in these projects so far.


title: Foreign direct investment in India

text: Chemical industry in India earned revenue of $155–160 billion in 2013. 100% FDI is allowed in Chemical sector under automatic route. Except Hydrocynic acid, Phosgene, Isocynates and their derivatives, production of all other chemicals is de-licensed in India. India's share in global specialty chemical industry is expected to rise from 2.8% in 2013 to 6–7% in 2023.


title: Foreign direct investment in India

text: Textile is one major contributor to India's export. Nearly 11% of India's total export is textile. This sector has attracted about $1647 million from April 2000 to May 2015. 100% FDI is allowed under automatic route. During year 2013–14, FDI in textile sector was increased by 91%. Indian textile industry is expected reach up to $141 billion till 2021.


title: Foreign direct investment in India

text: Foreigner investment in a scheduled or regional air transport service or domestic scheduled passenger airline is permitted to 100%.


title: Foreign direct investment in India

text: Indian aerospace manufacturing is also growing rapidly and has attracted huge investments. The industry is projected to reach USD 70 billion in 2030.


title: Honda Fit (second generation)

text: The second generation Honda Fit is a subcompact car or supermini manufactured by Honda from 2007 to 2014. It debuted on 17 October 2007 at the 40th Tokyo Motor Show.


title: Honda Fit (second generation)

text: The vehicle offered a longer wheelbase than its predecessor and is wider and longer overall. Overall height is unchanged, while interior height increased by . Multi-mode seating and cargo configurations were retained (US models were no longer capable of Refresh/Relax Mode until the following gen), with redesigned headrests enabling more convenient folding of the rear seats. The cabin featured greater interior volume, and boot capacity decreased from 21.3 to . At its introduction in 2007, it won the Car of the Year Japan Award for the second time.


title: Honda Fit (second generation)

text: Two engines were offered in the second-generation Fit. A 1.3-litre i-VTEC produces at 6,000 rpm and at 4,800 rpm. This engine was offered in both European and Asian markets. A 1.5-litre i-VTEC engine was also offered and produces a maximum output of at 6,600 rpm and at 4,800 rpm. This was the only engine available in the American market, in addition to being available in several Asian markets including Japan and Malaysia. A five-speed manual, five-speed automatic (4WD only) and CVT transmission were available.


title: Honda Fit (second generation)

text: The chassis was re-engineered, with structural rigidity increased by 164 percent over the first-generation Fit.


title: Honda Fit (second generation)

text: Japanese sales began in October 2007. Facelifted models, and the hybrid version, arrived in October 2010. Models available in Japan are the 1.3-litre and 1.5-litre variants consisting of the 13G, 15XH and the top-of-the-line RS.


title: Honda Fit (second generation)

text: In 2007, aftermarket tuner Mugen, introduced a new line of accessories for the Japanese-market 2008 Honda Fit. On 17 January 2008, they introduced the Mugen Fit F154SC at the 2008 Tokyo Auto Salon. The F154SC has a supercharger installed onto the stock L15A engine that raises base horsepower of the I4 to and . Other upgrades include full coilover suspension, exhaust, intake, and brakes. Body modifications include a widened track to feed more air into the engine bay.


title: Honda Fit (second generation)

text: Although the second-generation Honda Fit was introduced in the Japanese market in 2007, the first-generation Fit was still sold in the North American market for the 2008 model year. The second-generation Fit for the North American market was unveiled on March 19, 2008, at the New York International Auto Show for the 2009 model year. To comply with Canada Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (CMVSS) and improve crash test ratings, the North American Fit's front overhang is several inches longer; the rear bumper is longer too. The engine is a i-VTEC 4-cylinder with at 6,600 rpm mated to a five-speed manual transmission or a five-speed automatic transmission.


title: Honda Fit (second generation)

text: The second-generation Honda Fit went on sale in North America on August 26, 2008, for the 2009 model year. It was considered the most expensive within the subcompact class when equipped as such, but was also described as modestly priced. It was reported in September 2009 that Honda was considering producing the Fit in North America in response to the increasing strength of the Japanese yen against the U.S. dollar.


title: Honda Fit (second generation)

text: The base Fit comes with 15-inch wheels with covers, power windows, a tilt and telescoping steering wheel, a 160-watt AM/FM/CD audio system with four speakers, a 12-volt power outlet, and other features. The Fit Sport adds a ground appearance package, alloy wheels, paddle shifters, a security system, fog lights, chrome exhaust finisher, a leather-wrapped steering wheel, steering wheel-mounted audio controls, floor mats, a 6-speaker AM/FM/CD audio system, and other features. For the first time, a navigation system is introduced to the Fit as an option on the Fit Sport trim.


title: Honda Fit (second generation)

text: For the 2011 models, Vehicle Stability Assist, cruise control, remote entry and USB audio interface became standard across all trim levels. In addition, the Fit Sport now comes with carpeted floor mats.


title: Honda Fit (second generation)

text: For the 2012 facelift, the Fit Sport features a new front bumper cover and grille, black headlight bezels, dark "machined surface" finish alloy wheels, a black monochrome theme interior with chrome accents. The base model receives body-color exterior mirrors (previously black), standard security system, and new wheel covers.


title: Honda Fit (second generation)

text: Canadian trims include the DX (two speakers, black door handles and side mirrors), DX-A (adds factory-installed air conditioning), LX (adds among other things, body-colored door handles and side mirrors, 15-inch lightweight alloy wheels from the Civic Hybrid and DX-G, rear spoiler, power locks and remote entry, rear speakers for a total of four, cruise control) and Fit Sport (adds USB jack and Vehicle Stability Assist). The Fit Sport is similar to its American counterpart, however a navigation system is not offered as an option.


title: Honda Fit (second generation)

text: The Sumaré-built new Fit was introduced in October 2008 in Brazil at the Sao Paulo Auto Show. There are four versions: LX and LXL, with the 1.35-litre (marketed as 1.4) 16V engine, and EX and EXL, with the 1.5-litre 16V engine. Both engines have VTEC and flex fuel capabilities as standard. Manual and automatic – both five-speed – gearboxes are offered; CVT was no longer available.


title: Honda Fit (second generation)

text: The second-generation Fit was launched as the Jazz in Malaysia in August 2008. Two models were available: Grade S and Grade V. In June 2009, a limited edition Grade S Modulo variant was launched limited to 100 units. In April 2011, the facelift model was officially launched with a sole Grade V variant being available. In August 2012, the sole Grade V variant was replaced with a Grade S variant that saw a reduction in price and a reduction in equipment. Lastly, in July 2013, Jazz was sold in Malaysia as a locally assembled model. Thus far, second generation Jazz's had been fully imported from Thailand. Only one variant was available though dubbed Grade S. It comes in a blue-black fabric upholstery for the interior, 4-speakers, a CD/MP3/WMA player with USB and AUX jack, immobiliser and 4 corner reverse sensors.


title: Honda Fit (second generation)

text: All second generation Jazz sold in Malaysia came with a 1.5-litre i-VTEC engine with an automatic gearbox.


title: Honda Fit (second generation)

text: The second-generation Fit/Jazz was available from parallel importers and the authorized dealer in Singapore. The authorized dealer sells the Jazz in two variants 1.3 L and the 1.5-litre having similar specifications as the parallel imported Fit but does not adopt the RS grade for the 1.5 model. The Jazz was launched later from the authorized dealer in 2009.


title: Honda Fit (second generation)

text: The second-generation Fit was marketed in Thailand as the Jazz. The second generation model has been unveiled on 23 March 2008. 3 trim levels were offered, which were S, V and SV. Cars with the S trim level will have 5-speed manual and 5-speed automatic transmission while the V and SV trims with only automatic transmissions. All trim levels have the 1.5-litre 16V engine with i-VTEC, ABS and CD/MP3 radio. The Jazz in Thailand gets a facelift in January 2011 with new front grille and rear bumper, sees an addition of front dual airbags across the range and front fog lights in SV models.


title: Honda Fit (second generation)

text: In early 2012, the Thai government allowed Honda Thailand to import the Jazz and Accord models from Japan to serve buyers in Thailand without any additional excise and import tax, due to a flood in the Honda plant in Ayutthaya province. The Japan-imported Jazz came with HID headlights and six airbags.


title: Honda Fit (second generation)

text: The Jazz hybrid was launched in Thailand in July 2012, the first hybrid in the country's sub-compact market. First time buyers of the car are eligible for Thai government's first car tax rebate. The Jazz that is built in Thailand were exported to the Philippines and Australia.


title: Honda Fit (second generation)

text: The second-generation Jazz was launched in October 2008 with two trim levels; 1.3 S and 1.5 V. The 1.3 S was available in 5-speed manual or 5-speed automatic while the 1.5 V was only available in 5-speed automatic with paddle shifters and receives a different style alloy wheels. In 2011 a facelift version was launched. It received newly designed front bumpers and new alloy wheels for both 1.3-litre and 1.5-litre variants and fog lights are now available in the 1.5-litre variants.


title: Honda Fit (second generation)

text: The second-generation Jazz was launched on 27 June 2008, sold in S and RS variants. In 2008, the total sales of Honda Jazz in Indonesia was 24,969 units, ranked 5th in total for the best-selling passenger car in Indonesia. In 2009, sales fell to 15,713 as economic activities slowed down but sales ranking improved to the fourth best-selling passenger car of the country. As of the end of November 2010, sales of Jazz totaled 20,581 unit for the year. As of June 2014, totaled 228,500 units Honda Jazz were sold since early 2004, making it the segment leader. In mid-2011, the Jazz underwent a minor change including the redesigned front grille, the new front/rear bumper, and LED tail lights. In early 2013, the Jazz went through minor changes, including a new headlight and tail light accents, added an upper spoiler as standard, new wheels, a new audio system, and the 'RS' badge on the grille. The S trim received the chrome grille.


title: Honda Fit (second generation)

text: Launched as Jazz in India in June 2009 with 26 percent import content. It was manufactured by Honda Cars India Limited at its factory in Greater Noida. In India, the car is powered by 1.2-litre i-VTEC engine, as the government imposes higher tax for vehicles with petrol engines larger than 1,200 cc. Honda Cars India postpones the introduction of the third generation Jazz up to 2015, citing production limitations.


title: Honda Fit (second generation)

text: The second-generation Jazz was available in Australia, albeit initially without electronic stability control (known as Vehicle Stability Control in Honda nomenclature). Honda introduced the feature at the end of 2010. Stability Control has since become standard on all Jazzes sold. Until the end of 2011 the Australian Jazz was sourced from Thailand. However, due to the 2011 flooding in Thailand, Honda Australia sourced two special editions of Jazz from Japan from early 2012 until Honda's plant in Thailand resumed production. The Japan-produced Vibe and Vibe S replaced the existing GLi and VTi prefixed models.


title: Honda Fit (second generation)

text: On 28 July 2008, Honda UK announced that the second-generation Jazz would be on sale from 17 October 2008. The new model will be sold with two new engine variants; a 90 PS 1.2-liter i-VTEC petrol capable of (combined) and with low CO emissions of 120 g/km; and a 100 PS 1.4-litre i-VTEC petrol engine capable of (combined) and with similarly low CO emissions of 123 g/km. Honda also announced the introduction of an optional new "I-SHIFT" automated manual gearbox replacing the traditional automatic CVT gearbox that had been available on the previous model.


title: Honda Fit (second generation)

text: Production of the Jazz for European markets moved from Japan to Honda's UK plant in Swindon on 7 October 2009.


title: Honda Fit (second generation)

text: Facelifted models and the new hybrid model went on sale on 1 February 2011. Aerodynamics improvement help the Cd drop from 0.336 to 0.330. Engine modifications result in a drop of carbon emission of two grams to 123 g/km for 1.2-litre engine and 126 g/km for 1.4-litre engine respectively. CVT transmission was available on cars with the larger engine.


title: Honda Fit (second generation)

text: Sales of the Fit Hybrid began in Japan in October 2010. At its introduction, the hybrid version was the cheapest petrol-hybrid electric vehicle sold in Japan. The Fit Hybrid featured a 1.3-litre engine and electric motor, with an estimated fuel economy of measured in accordance with Japanese 10–15 cycle. The car used a parallel hybrid system that works in tandem with the petrol engine. The parallel hybrid system is simple and lightweight while enhancing driving performance and fuel economy.


title: Honda Fit (second generation)

text: The European version, called Jazz Hybrid, was unveiled at the 2010 Paris Motor Show and became available in early 2011. Honda Fit/Jazz for the European and Japanese markets featured revised headlights, new front grille, a leather seating option and a new Lime Green exterior color choice. Fuel economy estimated in accordance with European standard is around and CO emissions of 104 g/km. It has the lowest carbon emission of automatic car in the B-segment. When the car is driven in a low and steady speed, the car switches to EV mode, and releases no carbon emissions: the engine shuts down, and the car is powered solely by the electric motor.


title: Honda Fit (second generation)

text: A compact Intelligent Power Unit (IPU) is located under the rear cargo area, the Jazz Hybrid maintains the same fully adjustable seating configuration as the petrol-powered model and the same spacious area for optimum use and storage.


title: Honda Fit (second generation)

text: With the fuel tank placed in the center, plus an ultra-thin electric motor and compact IPU, it claims to achieve an efficient weight distribution.


title: Honda Fit (second generation)

text: In an interview, Kohei Hitomi, the project leader of Fit hybrid, admitted that lowering CO further will affect some attributes that buyers of the car value: a bigger electric motor and battery sacrifice spaces utility, and improving aerodynamics might make side mirrors smaller. He said there are benefits for customers to keep all the versatility. The drivetrain is the same drive system as the Honda Insight. The advantages of the system are low cost, low weight and that it can be combined with either manual transmission or continuous variable transmission. The car is better-suited than its diesel competitors in areas where superminis are most common: city centres. It is more economical in urban conditions. Thanks to the instant torque of the electric motor, it has a much better engine response.


title: Honda Fit (second generation)

text: The hybrid version was not available in the United States. According to Koichi Kondo, Executive Vice President of Honda:


title: Honda Fit (second generation)

text: In Malaysia, the Fit hybrid was called Jazz "hybrid". Honda introduced the hybrid model to Malaysia in March 2012.


title: Honda Fit (second generation)

text: Honda produced the Jazz hybrid in Malaysia from late 2012. Honda was the largest hybrid vehicle seller in Malaysia in 2011 and by 2012 Malaysia was Honda's largest hybrid vehicle market in Southeast Asia.


title: Honda Fit (second generation)

text: The Jazz hybrid was launched in Thailand in July 2012, the first hybrid in the country's subcompact market. First time buyers of the car were eligible for Thai government's first car tax rebate. The hybrid model is assembled in Thailand.


title: Honda Fit (second generation)

text: The Fit Shuttle is a compact station wagon derived from the second generation Fit and is available in Japan's domestic market. The Shuttle is also a successor to the station wagon variant of first generation Fit, sold as the Airwave. The car leverages the efficient packaging of Fit and Fit hybrid.


title: Honda Fit (second generation)

text: The launch of the car in June 2011 was pushed back from March as a result of the earthquake and tsunami in Japan on March 11, 2011. Production of the car was transferred from Honda's Sayama plant in Saitama Prefecture to Suzuka plant in Mie Prefecture as a result of power rationing after the quake. Production began in early May 2011. The Fit Shuttle was shortlisted for Car of The Year Japan 2012.


title: Honda Fit (second generation)

text: Its drivetrains are shared with the Fit. The Fit Shuttle has a 1.5-litre i-VTEC engine with , which was optional in Japan's Fit. A hybrid version, the Fit Shuttle hybrid, was also available, with a 1.3-litre i-VTEC engine with IMA. Continuously variable transmission was the only transmission available for FWD models. A five-speed auto transmission was standard on four-wheel-drive models.


title: Honda Fit (second generation)

text: The fuel efficiency of the station wagon and its hybrid variant was enhanced to be the same as that of Fit and Fit hybrid by reducing engine friction, front brake rolling resistance, improvement in aerodynamics and improvement of control efficiency of the hybrid system. All models feature ECON Mode for enhancing real-world fuel economy. Hybrid model has Eco Assist (Ecological Drive Assist System) to help the driver engage in fuel-efficient driving practices. It went on sale on 16 June 2011, in Japan.


title: Honda Fit (second generation)

text: The Fit Shuttle comes with a double-hinged two-piece load floor that both allows access to an under-floor storage bin and also functions as a divider for the cargo area. Through better sound dampening and insulation, the Fit Shuttle is pledged to be as quiet as a mid-size sedan.


title: Honda Fit (second generation)

text: Honda showed a concept electric vehicle with the Honda Fit styling in 2010, and did a limited production of Honda Fit EV in 2013–2015.


title: Honda Fit (second generation)

text: The Fit EV concept electric car had its global debut in the 2010 Los Angeles Auto Show. The concept uses a motor derived from Honda FCX Clarity hydrogen fuel cell vehicle, that, in sport mode, gives the driving feel of a car with a 2.0-litre petrol engine. The vehicle is paired with an exclusive interactive key fob that enable the driver to view the battery's state of charge, initiate charging, and activate the vehicle's climate control all without a cell-phone or an Internet connection. The car can also pair with mobile app and web site that allows drivers to set the vehicle's charging schedule for the best utility rates, locates charging stations and provides 24/7 roadside assistance.


title: Honda Fit (second generation)

text: Honda started the Electric Vehicle Testing Program in the cities of Saitama, Kumagaya and Chichibu, Saitama Prefecture, and Amakusa area, Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan, for its next-generation personal mobility products, including Fit EV in December 2010.


title: Honda Fit (second generation)

text: A demonstration program with pre-production vehicles began in Guangzhou, China in early November 2011. Another program, called Honda Electric Vehicle Demonstration Program, is taking place in California, in partnership with Stanford University, the city of Torrance and Google. The electric vehicle joins Google's GFleet, a car-sharing service for employees. Stanford uses the electric vehicle to study differences in the psychological and physical reaction of using battery-electric vehicles and driving a traditional petrol-powered vehicle.


title: Honda Fit (second generation)

text: The first 2013 Fit EV demonstrator was delivered to the city of Torrance in January 2012. Stanford and Google received their demonstrators in February 2012.


title: Honda Fit (second generation)

text: The 2013 model year production Fit EV was unveiled at the November 2011 Los Angeles Auto Show. Vehicles for the U.S. market were limited to 1,100 units through October 2014. Honda began deliveries of the Fit EV in the United States in July 2012, and the car was available only through leasing at a price of per month for three years, based on base price of , and later the monthly lease payment was reduced to for all customers effective from June 2013.


title: Honda Fit (second generation)

text: Initial availability was limited to California and Oregon, and sales were scheduled to begin in selected markets in Massachusetts, Connecticut, Maryland, New York, and New Jersey by late February 2013. Certified dealers for Fit EV increased from 36 to 200 by the middle of 2013. The Fit EV was released through leasing to local government and corporate customers in Japan in August 2012. Availability in Japan was limited to 200 units during its first two years.


title: Honda Fit (second generation)

text: The car is based on the Fit compact car platform, powered by a lithium-ion battery pack combined with an AC synchronous, permanent magnet coaxial traction motor and low-friction reduction gearbox borrowed from the Honda FCX Clarity hydrogen fuel cell vehicle. Honda said the Fit EV concept had an all-electric range of and a top speed of . Honda also said that recharging the Fit EV will take 12 hours from a 120-volt outlet and four hours with a 240-volt supply.


title: Honda Fit (second generation)

text: The United States Environmental Protection Agency official range is and the agency rated the Fit EV combined fuel economy at 118 miles per gallon gasoline equivalent (), at the time, the highest of any electric car available in the U.S. market, topping Mitsubishi i MiEV, rated with a combined 112 MPGe (). The Fit EV was surpassed in December 2012 by Scion iQ EV, a two-seater, with a rating of 121 MPGe combined. Energy consumption is 29 kW·h per 100 miles, and the fuel economy rating for city driving is 132 MPGe () and 105 MPGe () for highway. Under the Japanese JC08 test, the Fit EV achieved the current best AC energy consumption rate of 106 Wh/km and a range of . The Fit EV employs Toshiba's SCiB batteries that can be recharged to 80% capacity in 15 minutes and can be recharged up to 4,000 times, more than 2.5 times that of other Li-ion batteries. The battery cells use lithium titanate oxide in the anode, providing rapid charge times and extending battery life. It also provides stable discharge from extremely cold (-30 °C) to high temperature above 40 °C. According to Honda, the SCiB battery can charge in about half the time of a typical Li-ion battery.


title: Honda Fit (second generation)

text: Honda Fit EV, like the Honda CR-Z hybrid, will have three distinct driving modes: econ, normal, and sport. Honda explained that "econ" mode will extend the driving range by 17% compared to the normal mode; in sport mode, the Fit EV imitates the acceleration of a small car with a 2.0-litre petrol engine. The production version is equipped with a 20 kWh lithium-ion battery and 92 kW coaxial electric motor. The new electric motor is up to 98 percent efficient, contrast to the typical 15 percent efficiency of a petrol engine. Honda estimates the Fit EV range at for city driving, and for combined city and highway. The battery can be recharged in four hours from a 240-volt outlet.


title: Honda Fit (second generation)

text: In July 2014, Honda announced the end of production of the Fit EV for the 2015 model, together with the Honda Insight hybrid and the Honda FCX Clarity hydrogen fuel-cell car. A total of 1,070 new units were leased in the United States through April 2015. In March 2015 Honda offered a two-year lease extension to existing lessees, and also to new customers on used cars, at a reduced priced of a month with no down payment. In both cases there is no purchase option at the end of the lease.


title: Withdrawal of United States troops from Iraq (2020–2021)

text: In December 2019, Iraq and the United States began discussing the partial withdrawal of American combat troops from Iraq. In January 2020, during massive protests and following an escalation of tensions between the United States and Iran, the Iraqi Council of Representatives passed a non-binding measure to "expel all foreign troops from their country," including American and Iranian troops. Following the vote, U.S. President Donald Trump initially refused to withdraw from Iraq, but began withdrawing forces in March.


text: In March 2020, the U.S.-led coalition, Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve (CJTF–OIR), began transferring control over a number of military installations back to Iraqi security forces, citing developments in the multi-year mission against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). By 4 April 2020, four bases had been transferred. The base transfers and withdrawal were accelerated due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Iraq and the threat of Iranian proxy elements.


text: In February 2021, NATO announced it would expand its mission to train Iraqi forces in their fight against ISIL, partially reversing the U.S.-led troop withdrawals. In April 2021, U.S. Central Command stated that there were no plans for a total withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq, citing continued threats posed by the ISIL insurgency and Iran-backed militias.


text: In July 2021, President Joe Biden announced that he would end the U.S. combat mission in Iraq by the end of 2021, with remaining U.S. troops serving in an advisory and assistance role. The U.S. combat mission formally concluded on 9 December 2021, with 2,500 U.S. troops remaining in the country.


text: The United States completed its prior withdrawal of troops in December 2011, concluding the Iraq War. In June 2014, the United States formed Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve (CJTF-OIR) and re-intervened at the request of the Iraqi government due to the rise of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). Iran also intervened in Iraq in June 2014. On 9 December 2017, Iraq declared victory against ISIL, concluding the 2013–2017 War in Iraq and commencing the latest ISIL insurgency in Iraq.


text: In May 2019, four merchant ships were attacked by limpet mines in the Gulf of Oman. Tensions rose between the United States and the Islamic Republic of Iran, after the United States blamed Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps for the incident. In June 2019, a nearly-identical incident occurred involving two merchant ships. In December 2019, the United States began discussing with Iraq about plans to withdraw from certain bases. That same month, the K-1 Air Base was attacked, resulting in one American fatality and six injuries. The United States claimed that Kata'ib Hezbollah, an Iranian proxy group, was responsible for the attack. The United States responded by conducting airstrikes in Iraq and Syria against Kata'ib Hezbollah locations.


text: On 31 December 2019 through 1 January 2020, the United States Embassy in Baghdad was attacked in response to the airstrikes. On 3 January 2020, the United States conducted an airstrike that killed Iranian Major General Qasem Soleimani and Kata'ib Hezbollah commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis. Iraq protested that the airstrike violated their sovereignty.


text: On 5 January 2020, the Council of Representatives of Iraq voted to obligate Iraq's government "to work towards ending the presence of all foreign troops on Iraqi soil." It was unclear if the resolution was binding and no timetable for withdrawal was set. Qais Khazali, leader of Iranian proxy group Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq, stated "If [US troops] don't leave, then they will be considered occupation forces." President Trump threatened to impose sanctions on Iraq in response to the vote. According to a letter sent by a senior U.S. commander to Iraqi officials on 6 January 2020, "the United States may be preparing to withdraw its troops", but after a while Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Gen. Mark Milley, announced that it was a draft sent by "honest mistake."


text: On 8 January 2020, Iran launched "Operation Martyr Soleimani", conducting missile strikes against U.S. troops stationed in Iraq. 110 U.S. military personnel suffered from traumatic brain injuries. The United States responded by insisting that its troops would stay in Iraq. Speaking on the withdrawal, Trump stated "At some point, we want to get out. But this isn’t the right point." Two days later, Abdul-Mahdi reiterated that all foreign troops must withdraw from Iraq, including Iran. On 24 January 2020, Iraqi demonstrators marched to demand that the U.S. withdraw its troops. Due to security concerns, some NATO countries including Canada, Germany, Croatia and Slovakia said they were concluding their training missions and pulling troops out of Iraq, at least temporarily.


text: On 11 March and 14 March 2020, Camp Taji was attacked, supposedly by Kata'ib Hezbollah, killing three Coalition personnel. The United States responded to the first attack on Camp Taji by targeting five Kata'ib Hezbollah weapon storage facilities with air strikes. On 19 March 2020, the al-Qaim base near the Iraq–Syria border was transferred from the coalition to Iraqi security forces. Iraqi major general Tahsin Khafaji stated "This is the first step of US troops withdrawing from Iraq." On 20 March 2020, CJTF-OIR confirmed that certain troops would be withdrawing from Iraq due to the COVID-19 pandemic. On that same day, United States Central Command ordered a 14-day "stop movement" preventing any U.S. troops from entering or leaving Iraq and Afghanistan because of the pandemic.


text: The U.S. Army left the Qayyarah Airfield West on 26 March. The third base, K-1 Air Base, to be transferred by the United States was near Kirkuk. On 4 April 2020, the coalition transferred the Al-Taqaddum Air Base, making it the fourth base to be transferred to Iraqi forces. ISIL has planned to take advantage of the vacuum in the Syrian Desert caused by the coronavirus-expedited withdrawal of U.S. troops. In an April 2020 news release, CJTF-OIR reiterated that the base transfers were pre-planned and "are not related to recent attacks against Iraqi bases hosting Coalition troops, or the ongoing COVID-19 situation in Iraq." However, an inspector general report released in May 2020 admitted that though the base transfers were planned ahead of time, they were accelerated due to the threat of Iranian proxies and the pandemic.


text: By June 2020, the Iraqi government had yet to act on the January parliamentary resolution to call for the departure of foreign troops, and the Iraqi military was reportedly reluctant to have U.S. forces leave altogether. On 1 June Spain announced its intentions to withdraw from its primary base in Iraq by the end of July. The United States and Iraq scheduled new negotiations regarding military, political, and economic cooperation for June. Security dialogue between the two countries last occurred in 2018. On 9 June 2020, prior to the start of the dialogue, a rocket attack against U.S. troops in Baghdad International Airport concluded with no injuries. The Iraqi-U.S. negotiations began on June 11 and are to be conducted virtually and expected to continue for months. The negotiations began amid continued tensions with Iran and a resurgence of ISIL attacks. According to "The New York Times", the ISIL insurgency began to intensify by mid-2020, partially due to Iraqi security forces diverting resources to enforce curfews and lock downs due to the COVID-19 pandemic.


text: The anti-ISIL coalition transferred control of Besmaya Camp to Iraqi forces on 25 July 2020. The base was largely used by Spanish forces to train Iraqi troops and was the seventh military installation handed over to the Iraqi government in 2020.


text: On 23 August, U.S. troops withdrew from Taji Base and handed it over to Iraqi security forces. On 28 August, a U.S. official said that the U.S. was expected to reduce troops by a third from 5,200 to 3,500. On September 9, the U.S. military said it will reduce its troops in Iraq from 5,200 to 3,000.


text: By January 2021, the U.S. had reduced its presence to 2,500 troops in Iraq. Moreover, Christopher C. Miller, the former acting Defense Secretary, noted that even with the reduced presence, they "will continue to have a counterterrorism platform in Iraq to support partner forces with air power and intelligence".


text: On 15 February, two people were killed and an additional 13 were injured (including an American service member) following a rocket attack on the U.S.-led coalition's base in Erbil by a suspected Iranian-backed militia.


text: On 18 February, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg announced that the alliance will expand its mission to train Iraqi security forces (ISF) at the request of the Iraqi government. Stoltenberg said NATO will gradually increase personnel in the country from 500 to 4,000 and expand its presence to more facilities beyond the Baghdad area. The Pentagon reportedly welcomed NATO's decision, but it remained unclear at the time whether the U.S. would reverse its withdrawal and commit personnel under the NATO initiative.


text: On 23 March, the Iraqi government formally requested a resumption of bilateral security dialogue with the U.S., taking place in April. The dialogue was the third session of Iraqi-U.S. strategic talks, in which the first and second happened in June and August 2020 respectively, and the first session under the Biden administration. The U.S. was expected to argue for continued coalition forces presence in the country with the task of training Iraqi forces "at the invitation of the Iraqi government" and combating the ISIL insurgency. U.S. officials nonetheless reportedly supported a scheduled future withdrawal of forces from Iraq at an unspecified date.


text: After the third round of "strategic dialogue" concluded on 7 April, the U.S.-led coalition confirmed it would continue training and advising the Iraqi military while withdrawing combat forces from the country, citing "increasing capacity of the ISF", with a timetable forthcoming. Iraqi security officials agreed that a limited coalition presence was necessary to keep ISIL underground, despite continued pressure from Iran-backed militias to oust all coalition forces. On 22 April, USCENTOM commander General "Frank" McKenzie welcomed NATO's planned expanded role in the country and denied the prospect of an approaching total withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq, saying "we're going to stay in Iraq" to "finish the ISIS fight" at the behest of the Iraqi government. McKenzie also cited the continued threat Iran-backed militias posed to the coalition and affirmed his belief that ousting U.S. forces and their allies from the region was a foreign policy goal of Iran.


text: On 26 July 2021, during Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi's visit to the White House during the fourth and final round of "strategic dialogue", U.S. president Joe Biden announced that the American combat mission in Iraq would conclude by the end of the year and that the remaining U.S. troops in the country would shift to an advisory role, "to be available to continue to train, to assist, to help, and to deal with ISIS". The move reportedly came at the urging of the Iraqi government and was not regarded as a major change by observers, as the U.S. already focused much of its efforts on training and assisting Iraqi security forces.


text: It was reported on 8 October that American combat forces had begun to be withdrawn from Iraq, according to an Iraqi Army spokesman.