The roles of foreign aid and education in the war on terror

This paper presents a theoretical framework and some empirical results showing that the level of foreign aid received reduces the supply of terrorist attacks by recipient countries, as does the recipient country’s level of education. Due account is taken of endogeneity problems in producing these results. They suggest that Western democracies, which are the main targets of terrorist attacks, should invest more funds in foreign aid with a special emphasis on supporting education.     

The Politics of Foreign Direct Investment into Developing Countries: Increasing FDI through International Trade Agreements?

The flow of foreign direct investment into developing countries varies greatly across countries and over time. The political factors that affect these flows are not well understood. Focusing on the relationship between trade and investment, we argue that international trade agreements—GATT/WTO and preferential trade agreements (PTAs)—provide mechanisms for making commitments to foreign investors about the treatment of their assets, thus reassuring investors and increasing investment. These international commitments are more credible than domestic policy choices, because reneging on them is more costly. Statistical analyses for 122 developing countries from 1970 to 2000 support this argument. Developing countries that belong to the WTO and participate in more PTAs experience greater FDI inflows than otherwise, controlling for many factors including domestic policy preferences and taking into account possible endogeneity. Joining international trade agreements allows developing countries to attract more FDI and thus increase economic growth.     

Detection of diatoms in blood by a combination of membrane filtering and chemical digestion

An improved method for detecting diatom in blood is reported. Blood of cadavers was obtained by cardiac puncture at inquest or from the left atrium directly at autopsy. The blood was hemolyzed by sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) and filtered through membrane filter (47 mm in diameter and 5 microns in pore size). When the blood was putrefied, two or three pieces of membranes filters were needed because of choking membrane pore. The membrane filters were digested with fuming nitric acid and diluted with distilled water. The diluted solution was filtered through membrane filter (25 mm in diameter) again. After drying the membrane filter was immersed in oil. Diatoms on the membrane filter were clearly observed microscopically.     

Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation,Ruling of February 8, 2001, No. 15-O

In Nal' chik they are estimating the losses caused at residences during an attack by fighters and are replacing glass in the buildings in the Iskozh neighborhood, located near the third city division of internal affairs, where the fighters held hostages for more than a day.     

Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation,Determination of October 3, 2002, No. 233-O

A group of members of the Public Chamber adopted a petition addressed to the parliament. It contains a proposal to improve the legislation in the sphere of countering extremist activity.     

Supervising the Implementation of Legislation on Land Use

For a long time, land use in the Russian Federation (RF) lacked a proper legal foundation. On October 30, 2001, the Land Code of the Russian Federation entered into force. In many respects it has facilitated a positive solution to questions of land use. The experience of application of the law accumulated over the period of its effect was analyzed by the procurators of subjects of the Federation, who in the first half of 2003 on the instructions of the General Procuracy of the RF conducted a verification of the implementation of the Land Code of the RF.