News you may have missed this week

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said she travelled on a private plane on behalf of the Saudi government during her trip to the Middle East last year.

These are the stories that dominated Edmontonians’ interest this week.

Premier defends gift of Saudi jet tour

Alberta’s premier this week defended accepting a private jet tour from the Saudi government last fall, when she and other members of her government travelled to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to discuss potential collaborations on energy development and artificial intelligence. On the tour, Danielle Smith visited a military base, an oilfield and a refinery. The Official Opposition called her acceptance of the tour as inappropriate and entitled, while Smith said the jet enabled her entourage to visit the locations more efficiently.

Draisaitl placed on LTIR

After taking a hit on Sunday during a game against the Nashville Predators, the Edmonton Oilers’ Leon Draisaitl was placed on the long-term injured reserve list. A 4-0 loss to the Florida Panthers on Friday was the first of 10 games Draisaitl is guaranteed to miss over 24 days.

Businesslike tobacco trafficking operation shut down

Four Edmonton men are accused of running an illegal tobacco distribution network in Parkland County “like a business,” going so far as to hand out business cards with a number to place orders. More than 200,000 cigarettes were found when police executed a search warrant in Edmonton.

Caught on camera: Train drives through semi trailer

A motorist caught the moment a train punched through a semi trailer in southern Alberta on Tuesday. The semi driver was ticketed for careless driving.

Infill project scene of fire

An infill construction project in Garneau went up in flames Thursday afternoon.