On a frigid night in Canada’s oil capital, Jordan Fritz joined a rally of thousands for a separatist movement once considered a sideshow, but which is now drawing interest from US President Donald Trump’s allies.”We need the Americans’ support,” said Fritz, a burly, bearded man with the flag of Alberta — western Canada’s oil-rich province — draped around his shoulders. “We need pipelines here in Alberta. We need them to be built. We need them to flow oil, and if the Canadian government isn’t going to help us with that, I’m sure the Americans will,” Fritz told AFP at a Calgary roadhouse.  Unlike the decades-old, highly organized independence movement in French-speaking Quebec province, Alberta’s fractious separatist camp has not previously threatened Canadian unity.Western Canadian resentment of eastern political elites is not new, but political scientist Frederic Boily said the idea of an independent Alberta only began to crystallize around 2018.Albertans broadly opposed then-prime minister Justin Trudeau, viewing his climate-conscious government as hostile to an oil and gas sector crucial to the local and Canadian economies. “It was at first mainly an economic idea, about no longer paying for the rest of Canada,” Boily, a professor at the University of Alberta, said of Alberta’s independence movement.Trudeau is gone, replaced by Prime Minister Mark Carney — an Albertan who has backed initiatives to support the oil industry, drawing scorn from environmental groups.But despite those shifts, the Alberta independence push is more prominent than ever and may secure the right to a referendum this year.Elections Alberta has approved a citizens’ petition initiative from a group called the Alberta Prosperity Project.If the group collects 178,000 signatures by May 2, they will be on track to secure an independence vote this fall.- ‘Natural’ US partner -Current polling indicates the separatists would lose. A January 23 Ipsos survey found just 28 percent of Albertans would vote to secede.The possible significance of interventions from Washington remains unclear, but Boily said: “It’s certain that the agitation south of the border has an impact on what is happening in Alberta.”US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent offered veiled backing for Alberta’s independence last week.”Alberta has a wealth of natural resources, but they won’t let them build a pipeline to the Pacific,” Bessent said.”I think we should let them come down into the US, and Alberta is a natural partner for the US. They have great resources. The Albertans are very independent people.”Earlier this month, former Trump advisor Steve Bannon had the Republican-supporting writer Brandon Weichert on his podcast. “Alberta is the linchpin,” Weichert told Bannon. “They’re getting out of the Canadian union, they are going to become an independent state. We’re gonna recognize them.”- All about oil -Some at the roadhouse rally wore cowboy hats. Others, like Jesse Woodroof, had on baseball caps that said “Alberta Republic.”Woodroof told AFP his ancestors arrived in what is now Canada “hundreds and hundreds of years” ago.He voiced concern about “immigrants pouring into this country,” and implied that a sovereign Alberta would take a different approach.Jennifer Wiebe — her daughter resting against her chest — said: “Alberta could be more prosperous and free on our own.”While the views expressed may vary, conversations about Alberta independence typically circle back to oil.Right-wing Premier Danielle Smith, an outspoken oil industry advocate who despised Trudeau’s leadership, has said she supports “Alberta sovereignty within a united Canada.” Speaking on her weekend radio program, Smith implied the motivation for independence has diminished because Ottawa appears open to a new pipeline.”I’m forging a new relationship with Canada. We’ve got a new leader, we’ve got a new prime minister… and we seem to have common cause on trying to get a new pipeline built,” she said.The leader of the separatist Bloc Quebecois, Yves‑Francois Blanchet, drew smirks with his May critique of Alberta’s prospective independence.”The first idea is to define oneself as a nation,” he said, adding nations need “a culture of their own.””I am not sure that oil and gas qualifies to define a culture.”

American rock hero Bruce Springsteen dived into the outrage over the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown with a fiery song released Wednesday that pays tribute to two protesters fatally shot by federal agents in Minneapolis.Springsteen said the song “Streets of Minneapolis” was a response to “state terror” in the northern US city, rocked by the actions of armed federal officers that have stoked vociferous local protests.”I wrote this song on Saturday, recorded it yesterday and released it to you today in response to the state terror being visited on the city” in the state of Minnesota, The Boss wrote on his Instagram page.”It’s dedicated to the people of Minneapolis, our innocent immigrant neighbors and in memory of Alex Pretti and Renee Good,” the 76-year-old wrote, referring to the two US nationals killed this month. Pretti died after a scuffle with agents on a snowy Minneapolis street on Saturday. “Stay free,” Springsteen added.The “Born to Run” and “Badlands” singer has often been willing to criticize President Donald Trump with very blunt language in interviews and at performances, and the anthemic song he released online Wednesday pulls no punches.It refers to the several thousand immigration agents who descended on Minneapolis as “King Trump’s private army” wearing “occupiers’ boots” and with “guns belted to their coats” as they undertake Trump’s push to deport undocumented immigrants.”There were bloody footprints where mercy should have stood, and two dead left to die on snow-filled streets: Alex Pretti and Renee Good,” he sings in the opening verse.The chorus: “Oh Minneapolis I hear your voice, crying through the bloody mist. We’ll remember the names of those who died on the streets of Minneapolis.”The song’s title echoes the 1994 classic “Streets of Philadelphia,” Springsteen’s haunting ballad about people living with AIDS.For decades, Springsteen has been revered by rock fans in the United States and beyond for his man-of-the-people guitar music and socially conscious, working-class anthems like “Born in the USA,” “The River,” and “Rosalita.”During the 2024 election campaign that led to Trump’s second presidency, Springsteen threw his support behind Democratic candidate Kamala Harris, and said Trump was running to be an “American tyrant.”At that time he said of Trump, “He does not understand this country, its history or what it means to be deeply American.”Trump has in recent days sought to tamp down the furor over the violence in Minneapolis and has shuffled the leadership of immigration agents deployed there, putting a less confrontational figure in charge.But on Wednesday he warned the mayor of Minneapolis that he is “playing with fire” with his refusal to cooperate with federal authorities.

Tesla reported a 61-percent drop in fourth-quarter profits on Wednesday due to lower auto sales and increased expenses as CEO Elon Musk ramps up technology investments.The results conclude a turbulent year for the electric vehicle maker that included a controversial Musk stint in Donald Trump’s White House and a shareholder vote in November to award the outspoken CEO a pay package worth as much as $1 trillion in anticipation of massive technology breakthroughs at Tesla. Profits came in at $840 million in the quarter ending December 31, down from $2.1 billion a year earlier. Revenues were $24.9 billion, down 3.1 percent.Lower profits had been expected after Tesla reported a drop in fourth-quarter and full-year auto deliveries early in January. A company presentation cited a litany of other factors. These included higher restructuring costs, increased research and development funding for AI pursuits, the drag from higher tariffs and a decline in revenues tied to emission tax credits following Trump’s reversals on US environmental policies.Musk opened a conference call by saying he was committed to “very, very big investments” to realize the mission of working to ensure “the best future,” an “era of abundance” where the “environment is great, nature is great, and people can have whatever they want.”Chief Financial officer Vaibhav Taneja said the 2026 capital spending budget would be “in excess of $20 billion,” more than that double the $8.5 billion last year.Musk said Tesla plans to wind down production of the Models S and X luxury EVs and will convert plant capacity in Fremont, California to build humanoid robots.Tesla’s outlook did not include a projection for its expected 2026 auto sales, saying it would depend partly on “aggregate demand for our products.” In its January 2025 earnings release, Tesla projected a return to growth in vehicle sales. But Tesla’s 2025 auto sales fell nine percent, reflecting increased competition from rivals and blowback to Musk’s embrace of Trump and far-right political figures.- Unrealistic timing? -Shares of Tesla rose sharply in the second half of 2025 after Musk left the White House in spite of weaker financial results shrugged off due to Tesla’s perceived growth potential.Musk has touted Tesla’s technological prowess on artificial intelligence and autonomous driving as a decisive advantage against rivals that justifies the company’s lofty stock market valuation. The company describes itself as in “transition from a hardware-centric business to a physical AI company.”At the World Economic Forum earlier this month, Musk described self-driving cars as “essentially a solved problem at this point,” adding that the robotaxi service will be very widespread in the United States by the end of 2026.Musk has also spoken optimistically about the expected growth in revenue tied to subscriptions of the driver-assistance “FSD” program. Many analysts have learned to take Musk’s utterances with a grain of salt after earlier predictions about the nearness of fully autonomous driving didn’t come to pass.CFRA Research analyst Garrett Nelson characterized Wednesday’s results as better than expected, pointing to revenue gains from Tesla’s energy generation and storage business and the company’s confirmation of the buildout of Cybercab and other big projects targeted for 2026.Stil, “execution risk is high as Tesla has its work cut out to deliver on its promises and justify the company’s lofty valuation in the face of challenging EV demand and growing competitive threats,” Nelson said. Included in Wednesday’s earnings press release, Tesla disclosed that it entered into an agreement on January 16 to invest $2 billion in Musk’s xAI artificial intelligence venture.A “framework” accord “builds upon the existing relationship between Tesla and xAI by providing a framework for evaluating potential AI collaborations between the companies,” said Tesla, adding that the investment agreement is expected to close in the first quarter.Tesla shares rose 1.7 percent in after-hours trading.

A branch of the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) sent to Italy for the Winter Olympics will not carry out patrols and will have only an “advisory” role, Washington’s ambassador to Rome said on Wednesday.News of its deployment for the February 6-22 Games in Milan-Cortina has sparked anger in Italy, after the agency’s involvement in an often brutal crackdown on immigration in the United States.But US ambassador to Italy Tilman J. Fertitta said ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations unit will be “strictly advisory and intelligence-based, with no patrolling or enforcement involvement”.”At the Olympics, HSI criminal investigators will contribute their expertise by providing intelligence on transnational criminal threats, with a focus on cybercrimes and national security threats.”All security operations will remain the responsibility of Italian authorities,” he said after meeting Italy’s Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi.ICE operations in a number of US cities have triggered large-scale protests, and the recent killings of two demonstrators have caused outrage.Agents accused of violence there are from a different division than that earmarked for the Olympics.Fertitta said the HSI focuses on “cross-border criminal activity, ranging from investigating human smuggling, narcotics trafficking, child exploitation, financial crimes, intellectual property right theft, to recovering stolen art and antiquities”.The Italian authorities initially denied speculation that ICE would be present at the Games, then played down their role, suggesting that they would only be helping with security for the US delegation.US Vice-President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio are expected at the opening ceremony at Milan’s San Siro stadium on February 6.Italy’s political opposition has asked the government to refuse the deployment, and protests are expected in the coming days in Rome and Milan.

A US immigration judge on Wednesday granted asylum to a Chinese man who fled his country after documenting sites of alleged human rights abuses against Uyghurs, his mother and lawyer told AFP.Guan Heng, 38, had been detained by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in August, sparking fear among activists and supporters that he could be sent back to China where they said he would likely face persecution.But Guan was granted asylum Wednesday, a result that has become increasingly difficult in recent times.His lawyer, Chen Chuangchuang, told AFP that his actions “driven by his extraordinary moral courage, are worthy of US government protection.””We’ve been very moved, and thankful for everyone’s concern,” he said.Besides efforts by human rights activists, the top Democrat of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, Raja Krishnamoorthi, also urged in December for Guan’s asylum petition to be granted.In a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, he said the United States has “a legal responsibility to protect those who seek refuge in our country from persecution by authoritarian governments.”For now, Guan remains in detention and the Department of Homeland Security has a 30-day window where it could appeal the decision.”It’s unbelievable,” Guan’s mother, Luo Yun, said of the outcome. “I’m really, really happy.”She has spoken with her son since learning of the decision, and said he is similarly overwhelmed: “He had been anxious and unsettled about today’s hearing.”In late 2021, Guan published a 20-minute video online detailing his travel around the northwestern Xinjiang region in China.He was visiting places identified by a BuzzFeed investigation as detention facilities for Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities — or likely sites for such centers.Beijing has been accused of detaining more than a million Uyghurs and other Muslims since 2017, part of a campaign that the United Nations previously said could constitute “crimes against humanity.”China vehemently denies these allegations, claiming its policies have rooted out extremism in Xinjiang and boosted economic development.Guan left China after filming the videos, and entered the United States after travels through South America.Asked about her plans if Guan were released, Luo said: “The first thing I want to do is go shopping at a large supermarket with him, to finally be able to walk through the aisles hand-in-hand with my child.”