In the news today: Carney in Saudi Arabia, wildfire update, Ontario cancer coverage

Here is a roundup of stories from The Canadian Press designed to bring you up to speed …

Prime Minister Mark Carney was gifted a personalized pistol and ammunition by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the NATO summit.

Global Affairs Canada says the RCMP is having the weapon decommissioned so it no longer fires and that the ammunition was left in Turkey.

The government will look for a home for the gift, potentially a museum.

Carney is in Jeddah today to meet with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at his palace, but reporters travelling with the prime minister are not allowed to watch them meet.

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A wildfire is seen burning about 16 kilometres south of Port Alberni, B.C., on Monday, Aug. 11, 2025.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Evan Hammond

Federal officials set to give wildfire season update as blaze threatens B.C. town

Federal officials are today set to give an update on the national wildfire season, as an out-of-control fire in British Columbia forced evacuations this week. 

Information from the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre shows there have been 3,100 fires so far this season, compared to around 2,900 at this time last year.

But the total area burned so far this year is less than last year at around 12,000 square kilometres and down from 46,000 square kilometres.

In B.C., a pair of fires near the community of Boston Bar have forced hundreds of properties under evacuation orders and alerts.

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Prime Minister Mark Carney, middle, sits beside Minister of Foreign Affairs Anita Anand as they take part in a high-level international conference during the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York on Monday, Sept. 22, 2025.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

Canada’s UN envoy touts primacy of global law as advocates say Ottawa pulling punches

Canada is putting international law as one of its top priorities at the United Nations — as others accuse Ottawa of pulling its punches.

Canada’s UN ambassador David Lametti says international rules are “under strain” by major and regional powers but not actually under attack, despite countries killing civilians, aid workers and UN staff.

He says Canada is adept at shaping and promoting global rules, and he wants to work more with middle powers to promote international law.

Sabine Nolke, a former senior Canadian diplomat, says Canada needs to more clearly call out Washington’s violations of international law or no one will stand up for Canada.

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Alex Shved, left, and Agata Zieba pose with their two daughters in this undated handout photo.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Handout — Alex Shved (Mandatory Credit)

Ontario man fighting Stage 4 cancer seeking answers on out-of-country coverage denial

A 37-year-old Toronto man with Stage 4 melanoma is searching for answers after his application for funding under Ontario’s health plan for therapy in the U.S. was denied.

Tumour-infiltrating lymphocyte therapy has been approved by Health Canada, but Ontario hasn’t yet decided whether to publicly fund it.

Alex Shved says the brief explanation he received does not fit with the rules of the out-of-country funding program.

He says he doesn’t have the time to wait and is urging more transparency.

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Angel’s Cafe owner Cathy Jacobs at her new location near Crossfield, Alta., Thursday, June 18, 2026.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh

Calgary café displaced by water pipe construction starts anew outside city

A café yanked from its home in central Calgary because of vital city construction has revived on the Alberta countryside.

Angel’s Café’s former home was on the edge of the iconic Bow River, next to the site of repairs to a major, but unstable, Calgary water main.

The Café was given about a month to empty out before it was picked up and shipped outside of the city, about a 45-minute drive north, in an industrial storage yard next to a dormant Oldsmobile.

The city says it will store the old building for three years and then it’s slated to return to its old home, but owner Cathy Jacobs says she’s conflicted on whether she wants to stay or return to Calgary, now that she has re-established herself.

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 9, 2026.

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