Elections in West Bank: ‘Barometer’ on Palestinian public opinion

Palestinians in the West Bank and central Gaza voted Saturday in municipal elections, the first since the war in Gaza erupted, with low turnout and a limited political field. Nearly 1.5 million people are registered to vote in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, as well as 70,000 people in Gaza's Deir el-Balah area, according to the Ramallah-based Central Elections Commission.

US envoys were expected in the Pakistani capital on Saturday to kickstart a new round of peace negotiations with Iran, although Iranian state media said Tehran's representatives had no immediate plans to hold face-to-face talks. "According to Tehran, until and unless that blockade (of Iranian ports) is lifted, the conditions are not ripe for diplomacy," FRANCE 24's Reza Sayah said, reporting from Tehran.

The court sided with a Canadian hiker who deliberately challenged the order imposed to curb spread of wildfires As wildfires raged across Nova Scotia last summer, the Canadian province made a simple plea to residents: stay away from the woods. As the situation deteriorated, authorities turned the request into a prohibition: anyone caught hiking under the shade of the forest canopy faced a C$25,000 fine – a figure more than half the average worker’s yearly salary. Continue reading...

Raids on a truck and a motorcycle in the town of Yohmor al-Shaqif kill four people, state media report.