US Senator John McCain said that Ukraine’s future is with Europe and voiced his support for pro-EU protesters after meeting with Ukrainian opposition leaders in the country’s capital of Kiev on Saturday. ● “We believe that the future of Ukraine lies in Europe. We’ve met with government officials and with members of the opposition,” McCain told reporters. “I look forward to visiting the square tomorrow and I am proud of what the people of Ukraine are doing, so they can restore democracy to their country.” During the meeting with opposition leaders - former boxing champion Vitaly Klitschko, former economy minister Arseny Yatsenyuk and far right nationalist Oleh Tyahnybog - McCain was asked for more than just moral support from the US – referring to the possible introduction of sanctions, Unian news agency reported. On Friday, US Democratic and Republican senators introduced a resolution that asks the US to consider the use of sanctions against Ukraine if violence against protesters continues to take place. The resolution urges a “peaceful and democratic conclusion” to the demonstrations. McCain has said that he believes the resolution will be adopted swiftly and unanimously by Washington, Ukrainian Pravda quoted him as saying. During the visit to Kiev, the US Senator confirmed Washington’s position: “We want a peaceful resolution, which can be achieved through dialogue and at the same time make sure that every effort is made, make sure Ukraine is aligned with Europe.” McCain also met with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Leonid Kozhara. International players have been involved in the demonstrations from the start; the pro-EU protests in Kiev have received visits from western politicians who have condemned Ukrainian authorities for their actions. Earlier this week, US Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland handed out snacks to protesters on Kiev’s Independence Square...

Kiev Ukraine News Blog: Ukraine’s Richest Oligarch Rinat Akhmetov Weighs In To Crisis
Fox News: Senators McCain, Murphy join "massive" Ukraine anti-government protest, threaten sanctions

More than 5,000 people have been evacuated from their homes in northern Gaza Strip following a flood caused by days of torrential rains. ● Gaza Health Ministry said one person died and score of others were injured as flood waters damaged poorly-built homes in what the United Nations has called “a disaster area.” The flooding was so severe that many homes could only be accessed by rowing boat. The United Nations Relief Works Agency (UNRWA) that administers refugee camps in the Palestinian territory, said in a statement on Saturday, “Large swathes of northern Gaza are a disaster area with water as far as the eye can see.” Chris Gunness, a spokesman for the main UN aid agency in the territory, said areas near a refugee camp in northern Gaza “have become a massive lake with two-meter-high waters engulfing homes and stranding thousands.” Gunness said that thousands of agency workers were evacuating stranded Palestinians to UN shelters. The Hamas government said schools and other centers have turned into temporary shelters for thousands of homeless Palestinians in the past four days.

Mohammed Omer: State of Emergency in Gaza

Thousands took to the streets of Madrid Saturday to protest against a proposed law that would, among other things, impose stiff fines on "illegal" demonstrations, according to state-run broadcaster TVE. ● Much of the protest was peaceful, but a small group clashed with riot police and seven people were arrested. Officials said at least 23 people were injured, including 14 police officers. "The voice of the people is not illegal," protesters shouted as they were met by 1,250 riot police, TVE reported. Under the proposed law, "unauthorized" demonstrations in front of the Parliament building carry a fine of up to 30,000 euros (about $41,000), but the measure is likely to pass as conservatives hold the majority in the government. Spain has seen its share of protests since the government imposed austerity measures to comply with European Union demands. Spain's unemployment is at 26%, one of the highest jobless rates in Europe

Turkey has sent over 47 tons of weaponry to the foreign-sponsored militants operating inside Syria since June, according to a UN report. ● Based on data from the UN Commodity Trade Statistics Database (UN Comtrade), Turkey sent different amounts of guns, including shotguns and hunting rifles, to the militants, with the highest reaching nearly 29 tons in September alone. Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman Levent Gumrukcu initially denied the statistics, but later confirmed that the UN figures were based on previous records from the Turkish Statistical Institute (TUIK).

Chemical weapons were probably used in four locations in Syria this year, in addition to the confirmed attack near Damascus in August that forced the government to abandon its secret chemical stockpile, U.N. inspectors have said. ● In a report released Thursday, the experts, led by Swedish professor Ake Sellstrom, examined seven alleged chemical weapons attacks and said it lacked information to corroborate the allegations at two locations. The inspectors’ limited mandate barred them from identifying whether the government or opposition fighters were responsible for any of the attacks. Thursday’s report said evidence indicated chemical weapons were probably used in Khan al Assal outside Aleppo, Jobar in Damascus’ eastern suburbs, Saraqueb near Idlib in the northwest, and Ashrafiah Sahnaya in the Damascus countryside. In two cases, it found ‘‘signatures of sarin.’’ The government and opposition accused each other of using chemical weapons at Khan al Assal and the report said none of the parties in Syria denied their use in the village. The allegations of chemical weapons use at Jobar and Ashrafiah Sahnaya were made by the Syrian government, while Britain and France raised the allegations about Saraqueb.

Al Arabiya News: UN: chemical arms used 5 times in Syria

Patrick O’Connor: UN Syrian chemical weapons report exposes Washington’s lies ■ The release of a United Nations chemical weapons inspectors’ report pointing to multiple sarin gas attacks carried out by so-called “rebel” forces further exposes the Obama administration’s lies about Syrian government responsibility for an August 21 chemical shelling of the Ghouta area outside of Damascus. Washington seized on the incident as the pretext for a planned bombing campaign and stepped-up drive for regime-change against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. The UN report’s appearance last Thursday follows the publication of Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist Seymour Hersh’s detailed article in the London Review of Books revealing that the Obama administration deliberately manipulated intelligence to falsely assert it had proof of Syrian government and military responsibility for the Ghouta attack. Hersh cited current and former US military and intelligence officials on the falsification of intelligence regarding the August 21 attack as well as the Obama administration’s concealment of the existence of intelligence reports warning that the Al Qaeda-affiliated Al Nusra Front militia had the capacity to manufacture and weaponise the nerve gas sarin used in the Ghouta attack.

Yemeni MPs have strongly condemned US assassination drone strikes inside the Arab country and the parliament passed a law banning the drone attacks. | "Lawmakers have voted to ban drone strikes in Yemen," the official Saba news agency reported after the parliament held a session on Sunday. The legislators stressed "the importance of protecting all citizens from any aggression" and "the importance of preserving the sovereignty of Yemeni air space," Saba said. On Thursday, a US drone fired several missiles into a convoy of vehicles traveling to a wedding party in central Yemen, killing at least 17 people.

Jason Ditz: Yemen Parliament Bans Drone Strikes