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Home What's New The Ruy Lopez Opening: How to Play It as White and Black
The Ruy Lopez Opening: How to Play It as White and Black
chessbright Sep 27, 2021 comments off
Introduction to the Ruy Lopez
The Ruy Lopez, also known as the Spanish Game, is one of oldest documented openings in chess – and amazingly, still one of the most popular and powerful to this day. Dating back to at least the late 1400s, the seemingly endless supply of rich, interesting positions have made the Ruy Lopez a favorite for both White and Black.
In fact, the Ruy Lopez is a staple of elite repertoires in the highest levels of tournament chess in the modern age. But this doesn't mean beginners can't enjoy it. Quite the contrary, in fact! The Ruy Lopez is an opening that can teach you much about chess in general, including general opening principles, strategy, and tactics. Its basic solidity and wide range of options are sure to bring you a lifetime of winning results – and entertainment – if you study it well. This article will serve as your introduction to the exquisite opening we call the Spanish Game.
Fundamentals of the Ruy Lopez
The Ruy Lopez starts with the moves 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5, resulting in this position:
The beauty of these three opening moves is that every single one fights for the center. With 1.e4, White stakes a claim in the center with a pawn, and also provides a doorway out for their king's bishop. Black responds in kind, stopping White's pawn from advancing any further. Then, on move 2, White already attacks this pawn, and develops a piece in the process. Black defends it and also develops a piece with 2…Nc6. But White continues the pressure with 3.Bb5, which threatens to capture the knight, the defender of e5 pawn, allowing White to capture the pawn with Nxe5 in the following moves.
That was the original intent of the opening in the early days, anyway. But it was eventually discovered that White can't capture this pawn even if he does take the knight. This is due to a tactical sequence at Black's disposal. Suppose play continues 3…a6, asking the question to White's bishop. If White plays 4…Bxc6, Black can play 4…dxc6. If 5.Nxe5, Black has 5…Qd5! with a double attack on White's knight and pawn. It's in White's best interest to retreat the knight with 6.Nf3 and let the pawn go. But in so doing, Black will play Qxe4+, losing the pawn and the right to castle.
Perhaps even deadlier is 5…Qg5!, with a double attack on the knight and White's g-pawn. By taking the g-pawn instead, Black ruins White's best real estate for a castle. They attack the h1 rook, the g-file has a hole in it, and White's king is altogether uncomfortable.
Black punishes White for their greed
For these reasons, the Exchange Variation is not typical at a high level. Club players may still employ it occasionally, resisting the urge to capture the pawn and instead playing against Black's damaged pawn structure in the long run. In a rapid or blitz game, it can be a fairly practical weapon. But much more ambitious setups are available if White refrains from capturing the c6 knight.
Main Line with 3…a6 4.Ba4
Instead, if Black plays 3…a6, White is better off retreating the bishop to a4, keeping the pressure. Here, it is important to note that 3…a6, the Morphy Defense, is not the only option for Black, even if it is the most common. The other major response is 3…Nf6, the Berlin Defense, a complex response that warrants its own section of this article.
But, back to 3…a6. After White saves the bishop with 4.Ba4, Black's intent is 4…b5, eliminating the threat of Bxc6 once and for all. The reason is that sooner or later (sooner, actually), White will castle, and the threat of Bxc6 followed by Nxe5 will become real. The main line usually continues like so:
4. Ba4 Nf6
Black doesn't need to play …b5 right away. Isn't it more fun to put some pressure on White's pawn and develop a piece at the same time?
5. O-O
"Big deal!" White says. If Black gets greedy and captures the pawn with 5…Nxe4, White can play 6.Re1! And will recoup a pawn after Black moves the knight away from the rook's attack. Not to mention another nice feature of this move – White gets their king to safety!
Time to execute this move. Black ends the threat of Nxc6, especially now that White castled and can safely execute Nxe5 after Nxc6.
6.Bb3
The only move, if White values their bishop! And this is where the theory really starts to take off. Black has a multitude of options here, and White has plenty of ways of facing them. Truth be told, Black had alternative defenses even earlier than this, although we can easily say that these moves are the main line. Let's take a look at some of the main defenses for Black.
A key starting point in the Ruy Lopez
Mainline Defenses for Black
Black has many options against these main line moves. One of the most common is 6…Bc5, the Arkhangelsk Variation. By placing their bishop to an active square, Black is getting more of their pieces in the fight for the center. The drawback to this move is that White can push this bishop around a bit, and ultimately it may not see much action after all.
Instead, Black can opt for the quieter Martinez Variation, 6…Be7. Though the bishop is on a less active square than c5, it aids the general safety of the king side and may even come in handy in a future kingside attack. 6…Be7 is also a precursor move to the Marshall Attack, an important strategy that every Ruy Lopez player should be familiar with.
The Marshall Attack arises from the moves 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O b5 6.Bb3 Be7 7.Re1 O-O 8.c3 d5:
If you've been paying attention closely, Black is giving up a free pawn! If White declines the free pawn, Black has a massive center that will crush White positionally. However, if White accepts the pawn, Black will launch an aggressive attack on White's king. In the main line, play will proceed with 9.exd5 Nxd5 10.Nxe5 Nxe5 11.Rxe5. Here, White is up a pawn, but Black will start the attack. After a preparatory 11…c6 preempting future counterplay from White, play will continue 12.d4 Bd6 13.Re1 Qh4.
This scary-looking attack from Black may have White questioning whether the pawn was worth it. Indeed, White can end up in a world of trouble if they are not careful. After 14.g3 preventing Qxh2, Black has ideas to continue the attack, such as Bg4.
With careful play, White will be fine nevertheless, but the Marshall Attack can be quite sharp. Practically speaking, if both sides know what to do, the Marshall Attack tends to end in draws. But at club level, the Marshall Attack can be a dangerous weapon, and White should know how to deal with it. See the resources in the section "Learn the Ruy Lopez in Depth" for how to fight back the Marshall Attack properly.
All of these variations barely scratch the surface of Ruy Lopez theory (I wasn't lying when I said it was a rich opening!) We can further subdivide the Martinez variation into other variations which all have their own interesting ideas,, such as the Chigorin Variation (…Na5) Breyer Variation (…Nb8), and Zaitsev Varation (…Bb7) just to name a few. Black could have even changed the nature of the game majorly early on with 5…Nxe4, leading to the Open Spanish.
All of these variations are playable, and any good Ruy Lopez player should study all of them. See the "Learn the Ruy Lopez in Depth" section for further reading.
Key Ideas in the Main Line for Both Sides
In the main lines described above, the center is often closed or fluid, creating a no-man's-land of sorts. This directs play onto the wings, with White attacking on the kingside and Black attacking on the queenside in most variations.
Typically, White will regroup their pieces by transferring both knights over to the kingside. In fact, the queen's knight will usually make a long journey all the way to f5, via Nbd2, Nf1, Ng3, and Nf5. The f5 square often serves as a perfect outpost for this knight in a kingside attack.
Black will often attack on the queenside, with moves like …Na5, …c5, …c4, …Qc7 and so on. A valuable target for Black will be the d3 square, which can perhaps at some point be the outpost for a knight.
A typical position in the closed Ruy Lopez looks like this:
Note many of the key features mentioned above are present. Pawns lock up the center, meaning that play will unfold on the wings. The f5 square is beckoning for White's g3 knight, Black's pawn on c4 is preparing an eventual knight outpost on d3, and so on. Notice that White also has a pawn on h3. This is a typical prophylactic move to stop Black from developing their bishop to g4, pinning the f3 knight.
Berlin Defense
So far, we've talked about the main lines that arise after 3…a6. However, 3…a6 is just one of the possible defenses Black can play early on. In addition to less common resources such as the Cozio Defense (3…Nge7) and Steinitz Defense (3…d6), one of the other key defenses is the Berlin Defense, nicknamed "The Berlin Wall" due to its solidity. The Berlin Defense arises after the moves 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6:
Though the moves above referred to the Morphy Defense as the main line, you could certainly call the Berlin Defense a main line by itself. In practice, the Berlin Defense is a common way to make a draw, and for this reason top players often use it to play it safe in key tournament moments.
The Berlin Defense comes in two main flavors after 4.O-O: the Main Line (4…Nxe4) or Classical Variation (4…Bc5). The main line popular with the pros typically goes 4.O-O Nxe4 5.d4 Nd6 6.Bxc6 dxc6 7.dxe5 Nf5 8.Qxd8+ Kxd8, resulting in this position:
While White succeeded in ruining Black's pawn structure, Black has compensation in the form of the bishop pair. All things considered, the position is equal, and most grandmaster games end in a draw.
The Berlin Defense is an extremely important chapter in the Ruy Lopez opening, and any player interested in playing the Ruy Lopez at a high level should study the Berlin Defense.
Learn the Ruy Lopez in Depth
With this, you've gotten a fair introduction to the Ruy Lopez, but it's just the tip of the iceberg! Though very powerful, this age-old opening is immensely complex and takes years to master.
But, don't be discouraged from playing it for that reason! You may not know all the theory at first, but your opponents won't either. As such, it's all the more reason to study and learn the ways you can get decisive advantages against your opponents. Chessable is a great way to study the Ruy Lopez, too. One of the world's foremost authorities on the Ruy Lopez, Grandmaster Nils Grandelius, has published comprehensive guide to the Ruy Lopez on Chessable, which joins many other great courses for both beginners and advanced players alike.
But first, I encourage you to check out some master games featuring the Ruy Lopez so you can see the awesome power of this weapon of world champions.
Example of the 3…a6 Ruy Lopez in the Martinez Variation: Bobby Fischer – Viktor Korchnoi, Stockholm 1962
Another example of 3…a6 Ruy Lopez, showing the typical attacking ideas on the wings: Mikhail Tal – Boris Spassky, Tilburg 1980
A famous and recent game in the Berlin Defense (played in Berlin!): Levon Aronian – Vladimir Kramnik, Berlin 2018
1. Is the Ruy Lopez a good opening? Absolutely! The world's top chess players have included the Ruy Lopez as a key weapon in their opening repertoires for well over 100 years. Its popularity shows no signs of slowing, either. You can regularly find the world's chess elite playing the Ruy Lopez in major tournaments today. In fact, chessgames.com, one of the largest online databases of chess games, holds over 64,000 games featuring the Ruy Lopez…more than 33,000 of which were played after the year 2000!
2. Is the Ruy Lopez an aggressive opening? Yes, the Ruy Lopez can be quite aggressive – and from both sides of the board. In main lines such as the Arkangelsk and Martinez, the center often locks up or remains tense, directing both players to start attacks on the wings. In White's case, that wing is the kingside, which means Black must be ready for a direct assault on their king.
But Black is not without their own aggressive options. Variations such as the Open Spanish and Marshall Attack can lead to very sharp play.
3. What is the point of the Ruy Lopez opening? The point, and indeed the beauty, of the Ruy Lopez is that it immediately fights for the center. By 2.Nf3, White is both developing and already attacking the e5 pawn in Black's center. And when Black defends that pawn with 2…Nc6, White threatens to remove the defender with 3.Bb5. As explained above, strictly speaking, White can't actually capture that pawn so easily by removing the defender, because Black meets 3…a6 4.Bxc6 dxc6 5.Nxe5 with 5…Qd4! attacking both White's and e4 pawn. That said, every move in the main lines does something to pressure the center and fight for its control.
4. Is the Ruy Lopez open or closed? Like many openings, it depends on the variation. The Open Spanish, as the name suggests, is open, as are variations such as the Exchange. The Berlin Defense main lines are also quite open.
Other main lines, such as the Arkhangelsk and Martinez, tend to be closed, and play progresses on the wings.
5. Is the Ruy Lopez good for Black? Yes. Although White scores an impressive 40% win rate with this opening, Black's 30% win rate is certainly nothing to scoff at. The Ruy Lopez holds a reputation for complex, dynamic play with good chances for both sides.
6. Is the Ruy Lopez for beginners? The Ruy Lopez is a fine opening for beginners. Though perhaps a bit more difficult to learn than other openings, it teaches extremely important principles. You can learn much about the game as a whole, including purposeful development, pawn structure, attacking on the wings, and more.
7. How do you beat the Ruy Lopez? There are many ways to fight against the Ruy Lopez. Popular variations for Black these days include the Arkhangelsk, Open Spanish, Martinez, and Berlin Defense. The Berlin Defense is a particularly challenging for White to handle, although it can be rather drawish. This means that while you will likely repel White's attack and stop them from winning, it won't be too easy to get a win of your own.
The Berlin Defense is a big chapter of the Ruy Lopez. In fact, many books and courses on the Ruy Lopez focus many pages to fighting the "Berlin Wall."
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Education and gender equality
UNESCO Prize for Girls' and Women's Education
UNESCO Prize for girls' and women's education - International Jury
The International Jury for the UNESCO Prize for Girls' and Women's Education is appointed by the Director-General of UNESCO on the basis of their reputation in the advancement of education for girls and women, and with consideration for equitable geographical distribution and gender balance.
Composed of five independent and recognized experts, the jury meets once every year to assess nominations to the Prize and presents its recommendations to the Director-General of UNESCO.
The five members of the Jury have served their initial two-year term and have been reappointed for the 2018/2020 period:
Africa - Ms Aïcha Bah Diallo (Guinea)
Ms Aïcha Bah Diallo is a founding member of the Forum for African Women Educationalists (FAWE) and is known as a champion for girls' and women's education. She is the Chair of the Africa Network Campaign for Education for All, Aide et Action International, and is member of the Prize Committee of the Mo Ibrahim Foundation, among other key roles she has taken to lower barriers related to education for girls and women. As the Minister of Education in Guinea (1990-1996), she pioneered a program that boosted the enrolment of girls in schools from 113,000 to 233,000.
Arab States - Ms Hayat Sindi (Saudi Arabia)
Dr Sindi is the Chief Scientific Advisor to the President of the Islamic Development Bank and a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador. She founded the i2 Institute for Imagination and Ingenuity to foster innovation among youth in STEM fields, and co-founded Diagnostics for All, a social enterprise serving the developing world. She became the first woman from the Gulf States to earn a Ph.D. in the field of biotechnology, and the first woman appointed to the Shura Council, Saudi Arabia's highest consultative body. Dr Sindi is also a member of the UN Scientific Advisory Board and the 10-Member Group to support the Technology Facilitation Mechanism.
Asia and the Pacific - Ms Zheping Xie (China)
Dr Xie is an author and an Associate Professor of Education at the Research Institute for Education, as well as the Deputy Director of Policy Research Office at Tsinghua University in China. Before joining the university, she worked at the EU-China Higher Education Cooperation Programme and at Renmin University of China, and was a Visiting Fellow at the London School of Economics and Political Science. Along with seasoned expertise, her current research focuses on education in global governance.
Europe and North America - Mr Maxime Forest (France)
Mr Forest is an associate researcher at CEVIPOF-SciencesPo and a senior researcher and lecturer in gender studies at SciencesPo (OFCE-PRESAGE) where he holds the role of principal evaluator of the EU-funded SUPERA project. He has been an executive member of the French High Council for Gender Equality from 2013 to 2019. Mr Forest brings expertise across the EU and Latin America in the areas of gender equality and policy analysis, including gender training instruments, and social innovation and policy change projects.
Latin America and the Caribbean - Ms Gloria Bonder (Argentina)
Prof. Bonder is the Director for the Postgraduate Programme on Gender, Society and Policies at FLACSO University in Argentina. She also holds the UNESCO Regional Chair for Women, Science and Technology in Latin America and she is the coordinator of the Global Network of UNESCO Chairs on Gender. Since 2014, she coordinates the LAC Focal Point of GenderInSITE. Prof. Bonder is distinguished by UNESCO as one of 60 women worldwide to have collaborated to advance the Organization's mandate, representing the voices, aspirations and visions of many women in the world.

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Companies House seeks new director of Digital Services
robbrethauer 15 February 2018
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Companies House wants to recruit a director of digital services to help drive the agency's digital transformation and provide a new generation of digital services for its customers and staff.
The role, which will be based in Cardiff, carries a £100K-£125K salary. The successful candidate will report to the Chief Executive and be a key member of the Executive Team. The new post will lead the digital directorate, which consists of 210 people, and directly manage the senior management team of four, who lead the Development, Product, IT Services and Project teams.
The director will be responsible for delivering the next generation of high performing digital services for Company House's customers and staff, working with GDS, BEIS and wider government. He or she will also be in charge of managing strategic commercial relationships and delivery arrangements actively and efficiently to provide ongoing value for money to the tax payer.
Companies House, an executive agency of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) incorporates and dissolves limited companies, registers the information companies are legally required to supply, and makes that information available to the public.
There are more than 3m million companies registered in the UK, and 500,000 new companies are incorporated each year.
Louise Smyth, Chief Executive and Registrar England and Wales, said, "This is an exciting and challenging opportunity to join us as we begin an ambitious programme of digital transformation. Success will radically change the services we provide to the 3.7 million companies in the UK and millions of users of our data. It will also change the way we work within Companies House, delivering efficiency and better quality jobs for our people".
"The successful candidate will be an experienced senior manager, within either the private or public sector, experienced in delivering transformational change to business technologies and processes, making cost savings and service improvements for customers" Smyth said.
The closing date for applications is March 16.. . . .


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Muggiaea delsmani is een hydroïdpoliep uit de familie Diphyidae. De poliep komt uit het geslacht Muggiaea. Muggiaea delsmani werd in 1954 voor het eerst wetenschappelijk beschreven door Totton.

Diphyidae

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The American Academy of Dermatology makes the following recommendations to consider before undergoing a chemical peel. Especially medium to deep chemical peels or if you are concerned about who going to be performing the peel.
of your peel. You'll want to put these on before you leave the office. Having a chemical peel makes your skin more sensitive to the sun.
If you are considering any cosmetic treatment, be sure to watch this AAD video: Who should be providing your cosmetic treatment?


While Black Friday and the rest of Thanksgiving weekend are notorious for the shopping sales, there's one fitness brand going against the grain, and capturing major headlines in the process. As you may know, many brands have started to creep into Thanksgiving, opening their doors and starting online sales early to compete for your dollars. While some small business owners and retail companies do this for their very survival – the holiday season revenue is oftentimes the only thing keeping their doors open – other consumers are upset that employees are expected to work instead of spending the holiday with their families.
Yet, one fitness brand is taking a stand against these new trends, and has turned it into a major (successful!) marketing campaign for their business. Last year, REI began its #OptOutside campaign, closing its retail stores and online website on Black Friday, and instead encouraging customers and employees to spend the time outside with loved ones. The hashtag has roughly two million posts on Instagram, which I can only imagine will increase this year.
This year, Google and Subaru are joining the fray. Subaru which will provide cars in New York, so dog owners can take their own pups with them into nature. Google and REI are working together to support outdoor-focused nonprofits in Seattle and Austin, like the Washington Trails Association and the Shoal Creek Conservancy.
As a Group X instructor, and likely consumer of REI and other fitness brands, would this sway your purchasing decision? Will you use the #OptOutside hashtag?


The Turing Test: Are you a computer or human?
I don't like to talk much.
How's the weather in your area today?
Sunny, with a bit of clouds.
What would you want to be when you grow up?
Congratulations! You have passed The Turing Test. You are 100% human, and know just how to act like one. Life will definitely hold many challenges, but you will be able to overcome them. You have a hint of a naïve personality, just like a regular human does.
You did not pass The Turing Test. Your actions and answers are too robotic, and they are too common. You do not have a lot of human personality traits, but they will develop.
Take this test inspired by The Turing Test created by Alan Turing in 1950, to determine whether you can pass the life test and be classified as a human or computer.


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Woodsman

(documentation to come later)

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An over-acidification of the organism can easily arise with the diet and lifestyle common today. That is why many people suffer from an acid-base imbalance. Many of those affected do not even suspect that an over-acidification could be the cause or trigger for their complaints. If you feel drained, tired and listless, this can be the clear indication of an over-acidification of the body.
The proportion of acids and bases in our body must be balanced. A predominantly neutral or even slightly basic environment prevails in our organism, but acids are essential for a few specific functions. For example, acid is required for the digestive processes in the stomach, and the skin needs an acidic environment to be able to protect itself against external germs.
The body has balancing mechanisms in order to control the sensitive balance of acids and bases in the body tissue and maintain the balance. These sensitive mechanisms in the metabolism can become unbalanced through absorption of too many acids from nutrition and environment.


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Theophrastus
The·o·phras·tus
372?-287? ; Gr. philosopher & natural scientist
Webster's New World College Dictionary, Fifth Edition Copyright © 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
"Theophrastus." YourDictionary. LoveToKnow. www.yourdictionary.com/Theophrastus.
Theophrastus. (n.d.). In YourDictionary. Retrieved from https://www.yourdictionary.com/Theophrastus
371?-287? BC
Greek philosopher who succeeded Aristotle as leader of the Peripatetics and wrote important treatises in botany and other sciences, logic, and metaphysics.
About 292, thanks to his friend Theophrastus, he was able to return to Attica, and took up his abode in the country with a former associate, Proxenus.
The date of the evidence, however, has not been fixed with unanimity, and this very The musical service of the temple has no place in the Pentateuch, but was considerably developed under the second temple and attracted the special attention of Greek observers (Theophrastus, apud Porphyry, de Abstin.
He purchased from the family of Neleus of Skepsis in the Troad manuscripts of the works of Aristotle and Theophrastus (including their libraries), which had been given to Neleus by Theophrastus himself, whose pupil Neleus had been.
The Egyptians obtained silver, iron, copper, lead, zinc and tin, either pure or as alloys, by smelting the ores; mercury is mentioned by Theophrastus (c. 300 B.C.).
He was taught first by his father Spintharus, a pupil of Socrates, and later by the Pythagoreans, Lamprus of Erythrae and Xenophilus, from whom he learned the theory of music. Finally he studied under Aristotle at Athens, and was deeply annoyed, it is said, when Theophrastus was appointed head of the school on Aristotle's death.
theophrasti
staff-tree
Philippus Aureolus Paracelsus
Bartholomaeus Anglicus
Menander
WORDS NEAR Theophrastus IN THE DICTIONARY
theophobists
theophoric
theophrastite
theophyllines
theopneust
theopneusted
theopneustic


When one is looking at a blog as a potential candidate for writing a guest post for, there are many things that they must do in order to ensure that the site is a good fit.
Most, for example, check and make sure that a site has a decent PageRank, that it has a good amount of traffic and that the subject matter and writing style of the site are a good fit both for the writer and for the site they wish to link to from their bio line.
However, there is an additional step that many forget to take. Namely, they forget to check and make sure that the audiences between the two sites overlap, especially in terms of the nations they come from.
This causes many guest bloggers to write for sites with completely different audiences than they are targeting, making their efforts largely a waste of time.
Fortunately, this is an easy mistake to avoid if one is simply willing to check Alexa before agreeing to write a new guest post.
When you check Alexa for virtually any site, you are automatically taken to its traffic rank page, which has a "Global Traffic Rank" for the site. Unfortunately, this information can be fairly misleading as it is possible for a site to rank very high in a smaller Internet market, such as the Philippines, but still only get a small percentage of their traffic there.
Instead, one needs to click the "Audience" tab and then scroll down where they will find "Visitors By Country". That will give the raw data as to what percentage of the site's visitors come from which countries.
Though you won't have the actual visitor data for each nation, you can easily estimate that by looking at Alexa's estimated traffic data and calculating what that percentage would mean.
All in all, it's a pretty simple fact to check, on my made difficult by the fact it is well-hidden on a tab few people click.
The reason you want to check this is because you need to know if the site you are writing for will bring you any SEO or branding value.
For example, if you're targeting a U.S.-based audience, a blog with less than 20% of its audience from the US, most likely, is a very poor choice. Many of the popular guest blogging blogs I looked at had more than 70% Indian and Pakistan audience.
Checking to see where a site gets its traffic from is a critical step when looking at any blog for a potential guest blogging post as you don't want to spend time and energy creating content for a site that will provide you with little to no benefit.
If you own a US based website you should remember that a link from a non US site is valued much less than a link from a US site.
All in all, it takes only a few seconds to get this important background information and it can save you hours of negotiation and writing time getting a guest posting spot on a site that isn't going to help you in the least.
This is a guest post by Lior Levin who works for an online task management startup and also advises to iAdvize, a live support tool for websites.


Add some energy to your look with this cool Vintage Biker Leather jacket, a must-have for every man's wardrobe. Feel like a rock star every day of the week in stylish, durable leather. Available in a dark, cool black for lots of attitude. A contrasting color front full zipper will add a pop of color and fashion to your outfit. You'll want to wear these long sleeves on cool days to stay warm.


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Faulconer Is Just the Latest to Test the Limits of City Powers | Voice of San Diego
Faulconer Is Just the Latest to Test the Limits of City Powers
The mayor's use of his veto power to restore special election funding and take a shot at opponents was a power move that could change the politics of city budgets for years to come. And it was only the latest of many such moves provoked by novel interpretations of, and actual changes to, the City Charter.
Mayor Kevin Faulconer delivers his 2016 State of the City speech. / Photo by Cam Buker
San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer didn't hurt anyone when he vetoed parts of the City Council's budget and replaced it with funding for the special election of his dreams.
The mayor overtly targeted City Council Democrats who had rejected the push for a special election and its funding before the topic had even come before the Council. If they were afraid of constituents and labor unions, he wanted them afraid of him too.
He had been setting up a special election for months, and felt they owed him the opportunity to consider it.
Not only did they ignore him, they sneered at spending money on an election and offered myriad better ways the money could be used. It became a classic "who started it" exchange on Twitter between Convention Center Corp. Chairman Gil Cabrera and Mark Cafferty, CEO of the Economic Development Corp.
If you really want to understand who started it, you have to go back many years. Because what the mayor did was not just a nasty little shot at the opposition on the City Council. It was an innovation – a power move that will change the politics of city budgets for many years to come.
And it was only the latest of many such moves provoked by novel interpretations of, and actual changes to, the City Charter.
It started with Mike Aguirre, when he was elected city attorney in 2004. Nobody needs a reminder of his tenure except to say he based his approach on a new interpretation of the city attorney's role: He would answer to the people, not the City Council and mayor. Not only would he not defer to them but a mess of scandals had convinced him he must investigate and counter city leadership. Maybe he would actually sue them himself.
When Aguirre was elected, we had a different government at City Hall. The mayor was just a member of the City Council. And the Council chose a city manager. But proponents seized on the same scandals Aguirre had to advocate for a new form of operation: the strong-mayor system.
The mayor became the city's CEO and separate from the City Council.
Jerry Sanders, the first strong mayor, did not test the system in any extraordinary way. His entire tenure was a test of a new system. It was new.
What Sanders presided over, however, was a new more partisan culture. Organized labor was emerging as more than just a bit player in Republican city politics. Carl DeMaio brought a new, starker Republican fervor to the Council and bit by bit, Republicans stopped courting labor unions. Labor leaders stopped going to Chamber of Commerce meetings.
Party mattered more. Lorena Gonzalez, mentored by labor leader Jerry Butkiewicz, made unions more visible in city politics. They started wanting more. Labor's interest was no longer limited to the negotiations of city employee unions. Gonzalez and her allies successfully made job quality a consideration on all matters the city considered.
Then they brought in Bob Filner. The new mayor was, like Aguirre, determined to reinterpret the role of mayor. One side effect of his scandalous downfall is that we don't talk enough about the other things he did.
He realized, for example, building inspectors worked for him. He could tell them what to do. And if he didn't like a building project, he could stop it. Filner could get that builder to spend money supporting his pet causes.
Every paper that came across his desk for a signature made Filner wonder what he could get out of it.
He was in the process of setting up a new machine at City Hall. Had women working around him not exposed him as a sexual abuser, it's rather unsettling to think what he might have achieved. Like our new president, Filner might have been good at disrupting but it was unclear if he was up to building what he envisioned.
We didn't get to see what Filner might do because he resigned. But it was another city attorney, Jan Goldsmith, who stretched the limits of his own office to help make that happen.
See, Goldsmith had not completely reversed Aguirre's innovative interpretation of the city attorney's role. He clearly saw benefits in the broader powers. (Mara Elliott, Goldsmith's successor, has also quickly seen the vast power she has in City Hall.)
Goldsmith told the Los Angeles Times that he recognized Filner early as a unique problem and he plotted to bring him down. Goldsmith saw the Filner resignation as a "de facto impeachment" he led. He clarified it as a "removal" from office produced by an agreement between the mayor and City Council that he brokered.
That provoked yet another change to the charter to make a true recall a clearer and more realistic prospect.
Faulconer has been the anti-Filner. Where Filner was bombastic in his goals, Faulconer has been subdued. Where Filner was impulsive, Faulconer has been obscenely predictable.
That is, until this year. Faulconer is anxious to pass a special tax for a Convention Center expansion and to collect money to spend on homelessness and streets.
In that struggle, Faulconer showed us the search for innovations in City Hall governance is going strong.
Turns out, the mayor can change whatever he wants in the city budget.
Faulconer can not only veto spending proposals, he can add money to other parts of the final budget as he sees fit.
In other words, it's the mayor's budget. The City Council has no actual role with it unless they can muster six votes to override him. Who knew?
There's nothing illegal or even unethical about what the mayor's done. You could even make the case that he has now shown future mayors – who may very well be Democrats – what kind of power they'll have.
Former City Council President Scott Peters, a rumored mayoral hopeful, called the move corrosive. That implies that it pushed us down a path of paralyzing partisan divisions marked by power struggles and novel attempts to gain advantage.
We started down it, however, a long time ago.
Scott Lewis oversees Voice of San Diego's operations, website and daily functions as Editor in Chief. He also writes about local politics, where he frequently breaks news and goes back and forth with local political figures. Contact Scott at scott.lewis@voiceofsandiego.org or 619.325.0527, and follow him on Twitter at @vosdscott.
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The Glowforge Basic does not have the pass-through feature of the Glowforge Pro but with this magnet hack, you can trick the front flap to think the lid is shut fully, allowing you to "pass-in" larger material than usual.
Glowforge does NOT want you to do this.
First, obviously, this is going to remove the safety feature that is protecting your eyes.
Second, you are removing the seal that makes the smoke go out of the vent rather than into your room.
Why Trick the Front Flap of Your Glowforge?
Tricking the flap in this way simply allows you to fit longer pieces of material, or awkward shaped material, onto your bed.
In my case, I had acquired a large amount of off-cut plywood from a friendly guy at one of my makerspaces. I had quickly cut it on the table saw just enough to transport it, but I still needed to reduce the length for it to fit on my Glowforge.
This trick allows you to accept more generosity from materials-having friends!
Load the Glowforge UI so you can monitor in the top right of the screen where it says the lid is open. We need that to switch to "scanning" so we know we fooled it.
Get a couple of cheap magnets. They don't need to be especially strong.
Move them as shown until the LED lights change – that means it thinks the lid is closing.
When the screen changes from lid open to scanning, you know you have the right spots either side and can tape down.
Once you are done needing the front flap open, simply un-tape the magnets and you can close it as usual.
Thank you to Kevin Meinert from the Facebook Glowforge group for alerting me that this was even possible!


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← Tested @ RIMPAC 2014: the Ultra Heavy-Lift Amphibious Connector
Wofür Israel und Hamas diesmal wirklich kämpfen – über Berichterstattung und Krieg in Gaza →
Shadowy Terror Group 'White Shroud' Hits Back at ISIS
Syrian sniper in Aleppo, Syria in mid-2013. Youtube screencap/Wikipedia photo
by Robert Beckhusen. Robert Beckhusen is a freelance writer who contributes regularly at War is Boring. He's also written for publications including C4ISR Journal, Wired, The Daily Beast and World Politics Review. You can follow him on Twitter.
The Islamist terror group ISIS's big advantage is that it doesn't fight conventionally. It's held off the regular army of Bashar al-Assad and routed thousands of Iraqi troops. But now a group has emerged that turns ISIS's tactics back against them.
The group is called White Shroud. There's very little known about the group, but Syrian citizen journalism website Tahrir Souri reported on the group's existence on July 24. According to the report, White Shroud is based in Abu Kamal near the border with Iraq, and the organization is associated with Syria's melange of rebel forces, not the Assad regime.
It's tactics include "secret assassinations, raids and surveillance" of ISIS targets, according to the report. The group uses improvised explosive devices, and stages attacks on ISIS gatherings at a distance with silenced sniper weapons. It also engages in kidnapping. Notably, these tactics are not dissimilar from those used by ISIS.
ISIS forces captured Abu Kamal in early July after pitched battles with "opposition battalions and the Al-Qaeda-affiliated Al-Nusra Front terrorist group," reported Tasnim News. Whether White Shroud is affiliated with Al-Nusra or other opposition groups is unclear.
But there's plenty of reasons for those living under ISIS rule to take up arms against it. As the New York Times detailed in a report from ISIS-controlled Raffa in northern Syria, life under the terror group is hardly charitable. Law and order coexists with threats and the public amputation of the hands of alleged thieves. Women in particular are subject to severe dress codes (see also Christian Caryl, "9 Things to Avoid When Creating Your Own Caliphate", Foreign Policy, 29.07.2014).
If White Shroud's tactics at all sounds like terror, it is. Adversaries as extreme as ISIS — and use non-conventional tactics that make them difficult to uproot and defeat — lead to innovation and the development of counter-tactics among their opponents. One famous example is the U.S. recruiting Sunni tribesmen to fight Islamic State in Iraq forces during the Anbar Awakening — by essentially bringing the very communities under siege into the fight.
ISIS forces execute unarmed Iraqi prisoners in mid-2014. YouTube screencap
There are other examples. During the worst years of Colombia's cocaine-fueled violence in the early 1990s, the vigilante group Los Pepes emerged to conduct a covert war of assassination against associates — and family members — of drug lord Pablo Escobar's Medellín Cartel. These vigilantes were tacitly supported by Colombian law enforcement. Likewise, Mexico has seen a surge in anti-cartel vigilantes operating outside the control of the state security services.
An insurgent group can blend in and avoid detection from a conventional army, which is relatively easier to detect compared to the insurgent group. But an insurgent group faces similar difficulties fighting another group that flips its own tactics around. While ISIS's opponents might not be overtly comfortable with a shadowy group assassinating the jihadis with silenced weapons at a distance — what comes around, goes around. But as has been seen in other conflicts, covert violence against the bad guys can often mutate into something worse. Leaders of Los Pepes in Colombia later went on to lead death squads from the country's right-wing United Self-Defense Forces. Even ISIS initially sprouted up to fight the Assad regime, alongside rebel groups supported by the West.
Tahrir Souri reports White Shroud plans to extend its operations beyond Abu Kamal. That will make the difference between just harassment and a serious threat like the Awakening or Los Pepes.
I Got Caught in the Feds' Terror Finance Net by DAVID AXE I went to Congo to write a comic book about a terror group — and ended up...
What the Fall of Saigon Teaches Us About the Latest ISIS Offensive by Jeong Lee and Stephanie Chenault. Jeong Lee is a freelance writer whose writings on U.S. defense and foreign policy...
Book Review: The Influence of the U.S. Drone War in Pakistan on the "War on Terror" by Ralf Büsser. Ralf grew up in Appenzell, Switzerland. He studies International Relations at the University of St. Gallen with...
Cartoon of the month: CR(ISIS) As large parts of Iraq are taken over by ISIS, Nouri al-Maliki, who won the 30 April elections, faces dissent...
Iran Rushes Into Iraq, But Can Barely Afford to Fight in Syria by Robert Beckhusen. Robert Beckhusen is a freelance writer who contributes regularly at War is Boring. He's also written for publications...
This entry was posted in English, Robert Beckhusen, Syria, Terrorism.
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abstract	 C-reactive protein (CRP) is a very important biomarker of infection and inflammation for a number of diseases. Routine CRP measurements with high sensitivity and reliability are highly relevant to the assessment of states of inflammation and the efficacy of treatment intervention, and require the development of very sensitive, selective, fast, robust and reproducible assays. Gold nanoparticles (Au NPs) are distinguished for their unique electrical and optical properties and the ability to conjugate with biomolecules. Au NP-based probes have attracted considerable attention in the last decade in the analysis of biological samples due to their simplicity, high sensitivity and selectivity. Thus, this article aims to be a critical and constructive analysis of the literature of the last three years regarding the advances made in the development of bioanalytical assays based on gold nanoparticles for the in vitro detection and quantification of C-reactive protein from biological samples. Current methods for Au NP synthesis and the strategies for surface modification aiming at selectivity towards CRP are highlighted.


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UPR: 38th Session, 3-14 May 2021
Recommendations to Somalia
38th UPR Session of the Human Rights Council on the human rights situation in Somalia as delivered by Ambassador Tine Mørch Smith, Permanent Representative of Norway
Madame President,
Norway welcomes the positive steps taken by Somalia since its last review, resolving the current political crisis is key to ensuring further progress on human rights.
Norway recommends that Somalia:
finalises and adopts a revised Federal Constitution fully compliant with Somalia's international human rights obligations;
passes legislation that prohibits all forms of violence against women and girls with effective protection measures including support and treatment for survivors of SGBV, and abolish all forms of FGM in law and practice;
takes concrete actions to increase women's participation in elected and appointed bodies at all levels of government;
establishes a moratorium on the use of the death penalty with a view to abolishing it through legislation;
ensures the protection of human rights defenders, journalists and media workers against attacks and harassment.


With all this carnage in the market , I was pretty surprised to open up my lap top and see sbd up strong over last few hours to 3 bucks and steem holding up quite well to .. Seems to me that people are using steem as a safe haven . I moved quite a bit over to steem this week . What you guys think ? Is that why steem isn't down up to 80 percent like many others are ..
The crypto-carnage is unreal - it even seems too much now. People are piling in trying to get out with some $ intact.
The media meanwhile still spin the FUD. It's fear, fear, fear. Is all I hear.
When that all you hear folks, its time to buy!
I agree on steem ! The future here is sound even if crypto has a tough time .
Don't worry that the market will return to good.
Upvoted! Good post. My theory is Steem is locked up on the this platform and it takes 3 months to power down. So there are more barriers to sell! Also, who would sell Steem? This thing will take off like a rocket.


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It is that time of year, again, and ALL SENIOR Northfield Village residents who want to utilize the Village's Senior Snow Plowing Service are urged to sign up early for the 2017-2018 season at the Service Department Offices at 199 Ledge Road. We are happy to report that the senior snow plowing service program will be in effect again this year.
IT IS NECESSARY FOR ALL RESIDENTS WHO QUALIFY FOR THIS SERVICE TO FILL OUT A NEW APPLICATION FOR THE 2018-2019 SEASON REGARDLESS OF WHETHER YOU HAVE RECEIVED THIS SERVICE IN THE PAST OR NOT.
Deadline to submit application is 10/31/18.
Seniors that are 65 yrs and older receive free trash pickup paid for by Village of Northfield. To sign up please stop into the Dept. of Public Service at 199 Ledge Rd to complete application and submit copy of drivers license.
Click here for senior trash application.
Senior Citizen Information Booklets are ready!
Summit County Fiscal Officer Kristen M. Scalise CPA, CFE has announced that the veteran identification card will be available to military veterans at participating venues throughout Summit County. The card is similar in size and shape to a driver's license and can conveniently serve in place of the military discharge form DD214. Renewal cards will be available to those who hold a card expiring in 2017.


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Study Links TV Viewing With Shorter Lifespan
TV addicts are shortening their lifespans by watching too much TV, according to researchers in Australia, reports HealthDay.
People who averaged six hours a day of TV viewing lived nearly five years less, on average, than people who watched no TV, according to research led by Dr. J. Lennert Veerman of the University of Queensland.
Other experts pointed out that the study found only an association between watching a lot of TV and a shorter life, not that TV watching causes people to die earlier.
"As a rule, the more time we spend watching TV, the more time we spend eating mindlessly in front of the TV, and the less time we spend being physically active," pointed out Dr. David L. Katz, director of the Prevention Research Center at Yale University School of Medicine. "More eating and less physical activity, in turn, mean greater risk for obesity, and the chronic diseases it tends to anticipate, notably diabetes, heart disease and cancer."
The study, which was published in the Aug. 15 online edition of the British Journal of Sports Medicine, tracked data on 11,000 people over 25 years of age from the Australian Diabetes, Obesity and Lifestyle Study, the story notes. That study included survey information about how much TV people watched each week.
The researchers said the statistics indicate that too much TV may be as risky as smoking and lack of exercise in cutting down life expectancy, the article notes.
New Front Opening Up in Widening News Corp. Scandal
Watchdog Group Says Children's Cartoons Contain References to Pedophilia, Rape and Prostitution


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Author: tradeuser
E-commerce for green trade in Africa
[vc_row css=".vc_custom_1579853773155{margin-bottom: 10px !important;}"][vc_column][rev_slider alias="e-commerce-for-green-trade"][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] On 23rd January 2020, over one hundred delegates convened in Nairobi for the Second two-day Epower Forum aimed at driving the E-commerce agenda in Africa. Through funding from the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs, TradeMark East Africa (TMEA) partnered with Amari Consulting to convene women traders who shared their experiences on cross border trading and how they can leverage on the envisioned benefits of the Africa Continental Free Trade Area. Speaking at the event, TMEA Director for the Women in Trade Programme, Gloria Atuheirwe said, "Ecommerce is a platform that gives women-owned enterprises, both formal and informal, and opportunity to expand their business in the East African Community and beyond." Reflecting on the master class held on day one that provided participants with insights on ecommerce penetration, adoption and applicability, Abigail Bundi, Chief Executive Officer of Amari Consulting Limited said, ''Last year ecommerce traded US$ 3.5 trillion worldwide proving that it's an increasingly lucrative option for businesses. It's no longer a question of whether we should sell online or not, it's HOW." TMEA's ICT for Trade programming contributes to reducing barriers to trade and cost of doing business within the East African region through automation of key trade processes and systems. Through various interventions, cross cutting benefits are accrued which include eliminating periods of process inaction occasioned by manual activities when acquiring trade documents; reducing transactional costs in acquiring trade regulatory documents; and increasing process transparency therefore stakeholder confidence and trust in the management of...
The time is ripe to fully unlock the UK and Africa's trade potential
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]The road to Brexit has been both long and winding, and over the past three and a half years we have heard arguments from both sides as to what this historic change will mean for Britain, and the wider international community. The UK-Africa Investment summit taking place today is a clear indication that despite concerns, the UK will fall behind with international trade, the Government is taking seriously the very real opportunity Brexit provides to expand and improve its trade relationships with one of the most culturally diverse, innovative and fastest developing continents in the world – Africa. For too long, Africa has been overlooked and undervalued as a trading partner. Previous administrations have focused their attentions on developing strategic economic partnerships with countries likes of China, Japan, Germany and India, at the expense of both regional and a continent-wide economic framework in Africa. Bilateral trade between the UK and Africa totalled £28.7 billion in 2016. The UK imported £12.7 billion in goods and services from Africa in 2016. In fact, the value of UK-Africa trade in 2018 remained largely unchanged from a decade before. At the time of former Prime Minister Theresa May's Africa tour in 2018, the entire African continent accounted for just three per cent of all UK good and services exports, by stark contest Europe took the lion's share – 54 per cent. Compared to other trading partners the UK is lagging far behind. The US, China, Germany and Japan have all established specific trading initiatives...
You inspired us to take charge of change
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]We are profoundly saddened at the death of Ali A. Mufuruki, the founding Board Chairperson of TradeMark East Africa (2015 – 2018). Ali passed away in South Africa on 8th December 2019. Ali was one of the most remarkable Africans of his generation, an inspirational leader who made great contributions to industrialisation in Africa, to technology and research; to innovation and technology, entrepreneurship, business and to private and non-profit sector governance. He also established the Africa Leadership Initiative that has played a key role in developing ethical leaders across the Continent. Ali was deeply committed to his country, to the economic integration of East Africa, and to Africa as a whole. He was an ardent champion of African Continental Free Trade Area and fiercely advocated for the involvement of private sector. Ali had an immediate positive impact when he joined TMEA's first Governance body in late 2012. He went on to leading formation of a talented TMEA Board in 2015, on which he served with distinction until 2018. He was a popular and highly engaged Chairperson, always ready to provide advice and perspective on leadership, governance, transformative economic models and industrialisation in Africa. Ali co-authored an influential book on Industrialisation in Tanzania in 2017, which helps to guide TMEA's work. He also co-led a review of the UK's work on supporting trade in Africa with Lord Green and the UK All Party Parliamentary Group on Trade in 2016. After standing down we continued to work with Ali and the Afro-Champions...
Simulations forecast far-reaching economic benefits for Eastern Africa from AfCFTA
TradeMark East Africa and United Nations Economic Commission for Africa Brief History of Integration in Africa The push for greater economic integration in Africa is not a new phenomenon by any means. Efforts to achieve some level of continental integration can be traced as far back as 1960, also nicknamed "the year of Africa" due to the heightened spread of Pan-Africanist sentiments, culminating into the independence of the largest number of African countries of any other year in history. Arguably, no period in this almost-70-year span has presented a more dire need for integration – and the global economy provides grounds for this assertion. Events such as the ongoing Sino-American trade war and Brexit are an indication of an impending reversal in the expansion of world trade. In fact, in the World Trade Organization's (WTO) recent estimation, the volume of global merchandise trade grew by just 3 percent in 2018, down from 4.6 percent in 2017. By contrast, according to Afreximbank's Africa Trade Report 2019, intra-African trade has been increasing steadily and it further accelerated in 2018, growing by 17 percent to reach US$159.1 billion. If anything, this provides a great premise for adopting growth strategies that leverage the regional markets more aggressively., The African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA), signed by 44 countries (now 54) in Kigali in March 2018 is the perfect opportunity in the pursuit of this goal. The Case for Intra-Regional Trade in Eastern Africa There are several reasons why Eastern Africa stands to benefit considerably...
Annual Symposium, a Fruit Bowl of Research, Policy and Practice on Inclusion of Women in Trade
We at TradeMark East Africa were pleased to recently launch a series of annual events we call Sustainable and Inclusive Aid for Trade (SIAT) symposia. Our first event, organised in partnership with the University of Portsmouth, brought together over 300 delegates from around the world to learn and share practical experiences and policy approaches to the Inclusive Participation of Women in Trade for Sustainable Development. One of our communications team members shared the experience on social media, calling it "a fruit bowl of research, policy and practice.'' That phrase stuck with me as an apt way to describe what we had hoped to achieve in designing the symposium. Plenary sessions provided a platform for high-level discussions focusing on emerging issues, building new ideas and sharing lived experiences. Break-out sessions were interactive, where presenters engaged with a small group of participants in discussing evidence on the conference sub-themes. On the day before the main conference, a Master Class comprised practical, hands-on knowledge sessions hosted by subject matter experts to a select audience of practitioners and policy makers. My enviable task at the end of the programme was to sum-up this amazing fruit bowl! It was a challenge to do so. We had covered so many interesting topics and we had traversed from macro-level ideas—from the opportunities demonstrated globally to the potential of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), and regional economic integration—to national level experiences in policy and practical experiences on the ground from individual cross-border traders. Throughout the event, academicians and practitioners presented robust...
A promising new continent-wide trade agreement for Africa
The new African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) is expected to be a game changer, boosting inter-African trade, spurring manufacturing, and creating economic opportunities. But for its benefits to be realised, the details need to be negotiated; and Africa's leaders need to commit to AfCFTA for the long haul. On 21 March 2018, 44 African states signed the African Union's (AU) AfCFTA in Kigali, Rwanda. According to the AU, which initiated the process in 2015, the goal is to "Create a single continental market for goods and services, with free movement of business persons and investments," with the purpose of accelerating intra-African trade. If, and when, all 55-member states of the AU sign the AfCFTA, the African Trade Policy Centre (ATPC) notes that the trade agreement will, "Cover a market of 1.2 billion people and a GDP of US$2.5 trillion [more than €2 trillion]." Among the largest African economies, Nigeria and South Africa have not yet signed the AfCFTA. Nigeria's President is facing pressure from labour unions and other groups who believe that the agreement will hurt the Nigerian economy by undermining local businesses. South Africa indicated its political support for the AfCFTA but stated that further internal consultations, as mandated by its constitution, were needed before signing it. IMPLICATIONS FOR TARIFFS AND TRADE With current tariffs of 6%, ATPC notes that African businesses face higher tariffs when they export within Africa than when they export outside the continent. As AfCFTA eliminates tariffs on intra-African trade, this should encourage African businesses to trade within Africa. Intra-African trade could be boosted by...
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