Killings appear to have slowed in the murder capital of North America – El Paso Times.

JUAREZ — The killings appear to have slowed in the murder capital of North America.

Prostitutes are back on La Paz Street in the Downtown district, another sign that fear had lessened.

ANTANANARIVO, Madagascar – Madagascar’s president handed over power Tuesday — but not to the rival who plunged this Indian Ocean island nation into weeks of turmoil with his bid for power.

In a radio address Tuesday, President Marc Ravalomanana said he was ceding power to the military.

“After deep reflection, I have decided to dissolve the government and give up power so that a military directorate can be established,” he said. “This decision was very difficult and very hard, but it had to be made. We need calm and peace to develop our country.”

An aide to Ravalomanana said the military directorate would be made up of veteran, high-ranking military leaders who would organize a national conference that would be responsible for holding elections within two years. Ravalomanana’s term would have ended in 2011.

The members of the directorate were not named.

There was no immediate reaction from opposition leader Andry Rajoelina, who has led weeks of anti-government protests.

Rajoelina accuses Ravalomanana of misspending public funds and undermining democracy in Madagascar — an impoverished Indian Ocean island of the coast of Africa known both for its natural beauty and its history of political infighting and instability.

Over the weekend, Rajoelina declared himself president of a transitional government and promised new presidential elections within two years. On Monday, he called on the army to arrest the president, but soldiers refused.

The president says Rajoelina is seeking power by unconstitutional means. A breakaway army faction had claimed it was neutral and interested only in restoring order, but the split in the military has greatly weakened the president.

NASA – The X-48B Blended Wing Body.

The airplane is the X-48B, an advanced concept, fuel-efficient blended wing body or BWB. It’s called a blended wing body because it looks more like a modified triangular-shaped wing than the traditional aircraft, which is a tube and wing with a tail.

The eight-and-a-half percent scale prototype is being tested in the Langley Full-Scale Tunnel at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Va.

Boeing Phantom Works’ advanced research and development unit has partnered with NASA and the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) at Wright Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, to explore and confirm the structural, aerodynamic and operational advantages of the blended wing body design.

“The biggest difference between this aircraft and the traditional tube and wing aircraft is that this does not have a tail,” said Dan Vicroy, senior research engineer at NASA Langley. “The whole reason you have a tail is for stability and control. So what we want to do with this wind tunnel test is to look at how different multiple control surfaces can be used to control this particular vehicle.”

The team has produced two high-tech prototypes of the BWB, built to Boeing specifications by Cranfield Aerospace in England, for wind tunnel and flight-testing. The Air Force has designated the vehicles as the “X-48B” based on its interest in the design’s potential as a multi-role, long-range, high-capacity military aircraft.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has said Moscow will begin a comprehensive military rearmament from 2011.

He has called for a renewal of Russia’s nuclear weapons arsenal and added that NATO was pursuing military expansion near Russia’s borders.

Mr Medvedev says the rearmament will increase the combat readiness of Russian forces, with the strategic nuclear forces getting priority.

“From 2011 a large-scale rearmament of the army and navy will begin,” he was quoted by news agencies as saying at a meeting of military chiefs in Moscow.

There are now more than 7,000 soldiers and 2,300 federal police in Juárez as part of Joint Operation Chihuahua, the federal crackdown on crime.

When approaching a checkpoint, motorists should slow down, turn on the vehicle’s interior light, roll down windows, and the driver should place both hands at the top of the steering wheel where they are visible from the outside.

Military officials are expected to take command of the city police on Monday and later of transit police and the municipal Cereso prison, officials said.

Tornado Tower to light up Doha skyline

*Spectacular night light show on 15 &16 March
*35,000 light combinations set to shine in West Ba

Tornado Tower, the new icon of West Bay, is fast approaching completion and Doha residents will witness a spectacular light show on the 15th & 16th March as the tower’s 35,000 combination, state-of-the-art LED technology light system undergoes testing.

Tornado Tower’s outer steel structure is decorated by a unique lighting system with LED Technology. Residents travelling along the Doha Corniche at night will be amazed as one of the city’s landmark structures performs a glittering show to light up the Doha night skies.

Situated in the heart of Doha’s West Bay Central Business District, the 52-storey hyperboloid Tornado Tower offers 58,000 sq m of inspiring executive ambience and a full range of high-end business facilities including Conference Centre, 27th floor fitness centre, 28th floor sky view restaurant and coffee shop, as well as a retail Banking Branches and a hi-tech media belt situated on the ground floor. The Tornado Tower in-house concierge service adds that personal touch.