At least eight Palestinians, including children, have been killed in mortar attacks and airstrikes in the Gaza Strip.

The deaths occurred in two separate attacks on the eastern part of Gaza City on Tuesday, witnesses said. Two of the dead were aged 11 and 16, and four of them were from the al-Quds Brigade, the armed wing of the Islamic Jihad movement, a spokesman for the group said.

Four people died when a shell slammed into a family home in Shejaiya, medical sources told AFP news agency. Several hours later, another four were killed - all of them fighters - in an air raid in the nearby Zeitun neighbourhood.

On Tuesday, the military said it was responding to rocket attacks from Gaza. It also confirmed it had fired mortar rounds towards the eastern outskirts of Gaza City on Tuesday, shortly after four rockets hit Israel, and expressed "regret" over reports that civilians had been hurt. It was the third time Shejaiya had been targeted on Tuesday, following an earlier one which wounded one fighter and a burst of tank fire, which left two civilians wounded shortly after dawn.

Desert Peace: ‘VICTIM STATUS’ NOT SUFFICIENT FOR SOME ZIONISTS - Tragedy once again struck out in the streets of Jerusalem yesterday afternoon. An explosive device went off near a crowded bus terminal killing one person and wounding over thirty others. As soon as the press arrived at the scene organised mobs gathered to chant ‘Maved l’Aravim’ (death to Arabs), the battle cry of the very wrong right. This coming just a day after Israel did, in fact, kill a number of civilians in Gaza. As in the attack in Itamar two weeks ago, there are no suspects and there have been no arrests, but the zionists have entered a collective plea of guilt to the entire nation of Palestine. Without investigation, the ‘verdict’ is in.

Desert Peace: BILLS AND BOMBS AGAINST PALESTINE (GRAPHIC PHOTOS)
PIC: Two civilians wounded in new Israeli air raids on Gaza

NAZARETH // Israel admitted this week that it was behind the abduction of the operations manager of Gaza's only power plant, who disappeared more than a month ago while travelling on a train in Ukraine. Israeli officials confirmed in a statement that Mr Dirar Abu Sisi, 42, was being held in Israel's Shikma prison, near Ashkelon, after a judge partially lifted reporting restrictions late on Sunday. However, the explanation for Mr Abu Sisi's abduction and detention are still covered by the gag order, which has been extended by a judge for 30 days. The whereabouts of Mr Abu Sisi, an engineer, had been the subject of intense speculation since he disappeared on February 18 travelling on a train to the Ukrainian capital, Kiev.

A few days after his disappearance, Mr Abu Sisi's wife, Veronika, a Ukrainian national, in statements to the media, accused the Israeli spy agency Mossad of seizing him to extract information that could be used to disable Gaza's power station in a future confrontation with the enclave's Hamas rulers democratically elected government (Hamas). Israel bombed the plant during its three-week assault on Gaza in the winter of 2008, causing widespread blackouts in the territory.

AWIP: Israel admits to holding missing Gaza engineer

Two strong earthquakes struck northeastern Myanmar less than a minute apart Thursday night. They could be felt as far away as Bangkok, but a tsunami was not generated. The first 7.0-magnitude quake was just six miles (10 kilometers) deep, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. It was followed by another of the same strength but far deeper: 140 miles (230 kilometers). The quakes struck along Myanmar's borders with Thailand and Laos, about 70 miles (110 kilometers) from the northern Thai city of Chiang Rai. Buildings swayed in Bangkok, 500 miles (800 kilometers) south of the epicenter. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center says it was located too far inland to create a destructive wave.

USGS: 2011 March 24 13:55:12 UTC: Magnitude 6.8 - MYANMAR
Google: 7.0-magnitdue quake strikes northeastern Myanmar
NYT: Large Earthquakes Hit Near Northern Thailand

US Army Specialist Jeremy Morlock, 23, has been sentenced to 24 years in prison for killing unarmed Afghan civilians last year.

A US soldier charged with killing unarmed Afghan civilians last year has been sentenced to 24 years in prison after pleading guilty to three counts of premeditated murder. The guilty plea and sentencing of Army Specialist Jeremy Morlock, 23, of Wasilla, Alaska, on Wednesday marked a turning point in the most serious prosecution of alleged US military atrocities during 10 years of war in Afghanistan.

Under questioning by the judge, Morlock recounted his role in the deaths of three unarmed Afghan villagers whose killings by grenade blasts and rifle fire were staged to appear as legitimate combat casualties. "I knew what I was doing was wrong, sir," he said, adding that, contrary to his lawyers' suggestions, his judgment was not impaired by drugs. He admitted smoking hashish three or four times a week during his deployment in Afghanistan.

His lawyer said he would be eligible for parole after seven years. Morlock was the first soldier to face court-martial out of five members of the rogue US unit from the Bravo Company, 2nd Battalion, 1st Division's Stryker brigade, based out of Fort Lewis, Washington. Earlier, he read a statement apologising to the victims' families and the "people of Afghanistan", saying, "I've spent a lot of time reflecting on how I lost my moral compass".

Morlock told the judge that he and the other soldiers began plotting to murder unarmed Afghans in late 2009. To make the killings appear justified, the soldiers planned to plant weapons near the victims' bodies, he said. Asked by the judge what his intent was, Morlock replied, "The plan was to kill people." "Did everybody know, 'We're killing people who are completely innocent'?" the judge asked. "Generally, yes, sir, everyone knew," Morlock replied.

James Petras: Imperialism and Imperial Barbarism
Jerry White: Photos released of atrocities by US “kill team” in Afghanistan
Arthur Silber: A Few Ugly Truths about the Death State and Its Supporters
AWIP: Kill Teams and Anti-War Kooks

Protests were again active in the southern city of Daraa, in Syria. Hundreds took to the streets there, and also in the nearby town of Nawa. Daraa has been the site of several protests over the past week and security forces have killed and wounded a number of people. And Wednesday unfortunately, was no different, as an attack on protesters who had gathered inside the Omari mosque in Daraa left at least 37 people dead, including a prominent city doctor who went to treat the wounded. Witnesses say security forces cut off electricity and telephone service to the mosque around midnight, and then launched the attack.

Al Jazeera: Anger in Syria over crackdown - Video
NYT: More Protesters Are Killed in Syrian Crackdown
MSNBC: 25 dead in Syria and rising rapidly - government has 'declared war,' killing protesters indiscriminately

"European governments – including Britain and France – sold Libya more than $470 million worth of weapons [in 2009], including fighter jets, guns and bombs ... the Obama administration was working to provide the Libyan dictator another $77 million in weapons. If protecting civilians from evil dictators was the goal, though -- as opposed to, say, safeguarding natural resources and the investments of major oil companies -- there’s an easier, safer way than aerial bombardment for the U.S. and its allies to consider: simply stop arming and propping up evil dictators. After all, Libya's Muammar Gaddafi reaped the benefits from Western nations all too eager to cozy up to and rehabilitate the image of a dictator with oil, with those denouncing him today as a murderous tyrant just a matter of weeks ago selling him the very arms his regime has been using to suppress the rebellion against it.

PressTV: US protesters call for end to Libya war

Western warplanes have hit Libya for a fifth night, but have so far failed to stop Muammar Gaddafi's tanks from shelling opposition-held towns.

A loud explosion was heard in Tripoli, the capital, early on Thursday, and smoke could be seen rising from an area where a military base is situated. "We heard another explosion just now. We see smoke rising. There are people on rooftops. It seems to be in a military area near the engineering college [in the Tajoura area]," one resident told Reuters news agency. Eight explosions were also heard in the east of the capital late on Wednesday. The US military said 14 Tomahawk missiles were launched overnight, while the US Africa Command in Germany said coalition forces also dropped bombs on targets.

PressTV: US fails to curb Gaddafi firepower
NYT: Western Air Strikes Fail to Dislodge Gaddafi Armor
Twitter: BREAKING: Gadhafi sends up first warplane violating no fly zone -- plane is shot down by French fighter jets."
BBC: France 'shoots down Libyan plane'
WSWS: US-NATO warplanes strike Libyan ground forces

Stephen Lendman: Cheerleading for War
Pablo Ouziel: One More War And Another Collective Silence
Richard Falk: Qaddafi, Moral Interventionism, Libya, and the Arab Revolutionary Moment

Dakar, Senegal - As gun, rocket, and mortar battles intensify in Ivory Coast's capital, Abidjan, functionaries in distant capitals have begun selecting more loaded vocabulary to describe the conflict: civil war, ethnic cleansing. And given that more than 400 people have died and nearly 400,000 have fled since renegade President Laurent Gbagbo refused to step aside after losing the Nov. 28 election, the conflict is earning comparisons to what's happening in Libya. On Monday, rightful President Alassane Ouattara asked the United Nations to provide "legitimate force" to protect civilians after a mortar attack last week killed at least 25 people. But West Africa security specialists say Ivory Coast is hardly set to receive the kind of international military push currently underway in Libya.

STATESVILLE, NC—Bernard von NotHaus, 67, was convicted today by a federal jury of making, possessing, and selling his own coins, announced Anne M. Tompkins, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. Following an eight-day trial and less than two hours of deliberation, von NotHaus, the founder and monetary architect of a currency known as the Liberty Dollar, was found guilty by a jury in Statesville, North Carolina, of making coins resembling and similar to United States coins; of issuing, passing, selling, and possessing Liberty Dollar coins; of issuing and passing Liberty Dollar coins intended for use as current money; and of conspiracy against the United States. The guilty verdict concluded an investigation which began in 2005 and involved the minting of Liberty Dollar coins with a current value of approximately $7 million. Joining the U.S. Attorney Anne M. Tompkins in making today’s announcement are Edward J. Montooth, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the FBI, Charlotte Division; Russell F. Nelson, Special Agent in Charge of the United States Secret Service, Charlotte Division; and Sheriff Van Duncan of the Buncombe County Sheriff’s Office.