标签： North America

WASHINGTON, April 15 (Xinhua) – In a recent interview with FOX News on Tuesday, former and current U.S. President Donald Trump made a striking announcement regarding the ongoing conflict between the United States and Iran, stating that the war is “very close” to being completed. The comment comes amid long-standing geopolitical tensions between Washington and Tehran that have escalated into open military conflict in recent years, drawing global concern over regional stability and energy market disruptions across the Asia-Pacific and beyond. While Trump did not elaborate on specific timelines or terms for a potential end to the conflict, his remark has sparked immediate analysis from international policy circles over what a nearing conclusion to the conflict could mean for global geopolitics, energy security, and diplomatic relations across the Middle East. This development arrives alongside a raft of other shifting global political dynamics, from changing regional policy approaches in Southeast Asia to debates over multipolar global governance that are reshaping international order.

In a major legal shift aligned with former President Donald Trump’s 2024 campaign pledges, the U.S. Department of Justice has formally requested a federal appeals court to dismiss the seditious conspiracy convictions of 12 individuals connected to the January 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol riot.

When Trump took office for his second term, he moved quickly to grant clemency to hundreds of people charged or convicted over their roles in the insurrection, issuing full pardons or sentence commutations to more than 1,500 individuals on his first day in office. Though Trump issued over 1,000 full pardons to January 6 rioters, he opted only to commute the sentences of the 12 rioters—most of whom are affiliated with the far-right militia groups the Oath Keepers and Proud Boys. This commutation allowed the defendants to secure early release from prison, but left their felony convictions intact on their official criminal records.

In a court filing submitted to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on Tuesday, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia stated that “The United States has determined in its prosecutorial discretion that dismissal of this criminal case is in the interests of justice.”

Among the 12 individuals seeking full expungement of their convictions is Stewart Rhodes, the founder of the Oath Keepers militia. A former U.S. Army paratrooper and Yale-trained lawyer, Rhodes led a contingent of Oath Keepers members to Washington, D.C., on the day of the riot, where the group plotted to disrupt Congress’s formal certification of Joe Biden’s 2020 presidential election victory over Trump. Prosecutors proved during Rhodes’ 2023 trial that the group stored weapons in a Virginia hotel room across the Potomac River, and that while Rhodes never entered the Capitol building himself, he directed his followers’ actions from outside the building during the melee. He was originally sentenced to 18 years in federal prison after a jury found him guilty of seditious conspiracy, the charge of attempting to overthrow the lawful U.S. government. The D.C. Circuit has set an April 17 deadline for all parties to submit formal filings in the expungement cases. If the court grants the DOJ’s request to throw out the convictions, it will eliminate the need for the Trump administration’s DOJ to defend the original convictions in ongoing expungement proceedings.

Notably, former Proud Boys national chairman Enrique “Henry” Tarrio, who was also convicted of seditious conspiracy over his role in organizing the riot and was originally sentenced to 22 years in prison, received a full pardon from Trump rather than a commutation, so he is not included in this latest request.

A successful ruling dismissing the convictions would mark a key symbolic victory for Trump, who centered a major campaign promise on supporting and pardoning rioters who participated in the insurrection aimed at overturning his 2020 election loss.

In a striking fusion of athletic competition and high-level diplomacy, Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney and Finland’s President Alexander Stubb took to the ice together for a friendly hockey game during Carney’s first official bilateral visit to Canada’s capital. The unlikely pairing of two heads of state on a hockey rink, with both leaders suiting up to join the Ottawa Charge amateur team, turned a routine diplomatic meeting into a memorable display of cross-national connection.

Diplomatic summits and formal bilateral talks often rely on carefully staged photo opportunities and rigid policy discussions, but this event broke with tradition. Carney, a Canadian leader with longstanding ties to the country’s beloved national sport, joined Stubb – an avid hockey enthusiast – for the casual game, showcasing the shared cultural love of hockey that unites both Nordic and North American nations.

The visit marks Carney’s first formal one-on-one bilateral engagement with a European head of state since taking office, making the informal athletic interlude more than just a recreational activity. Analysts view the moment as a deliberate, approachable gesture to strengthen people-to-people ties between Canada and Finland, two nations that already cooperate closely on Arctic security, climate action, and trade. By meeting on the ice rather than just in a cabinet room, the leaders signaled a willingness to build a more personal, open working relationship ahead of formal policy negotiations scheduled during the visit.

Local spectators at the Ottawa rink called the event a welcome break from typical stuffy political events, with many fans capturing photos of the two leaders skating alongside amateur teammates. The game itself remained low-stakes, focused on fun rather than competition, but the symbolic weight of the moment resonated far beyond the rink’s boards: it demonstrated how shared cultural passions can serve as a foundation for deeper diplomatic cooperation in an increasingly divided global political landscape.

In a seismic development that has sent shockwaves through Capitol Hill, two sitting U.S. congressmembers — one Republican and one Democrat — formally stepped down from their congressional seats this week, exiting office amid mounting ethical pressure and public allegations of sexual misconduct.

Texas Republican Representative Tony Gonzales was the second lawmaker to submit his resignation on Tuesday, capping weeks of growing controversy that began when he ultimately confirmed a years-long extramarital affair with a married congressional staffer, Regina Santos-Aviles. Santos-Aviles died by suicide in September 2025 near her Uvalde, Texas home after setting herself on fire, a finding confirmed by the local medical examiner and first reported by CBS News, the U.S. partner of the BBC.

The timeline of the scandal accelerated rapidly over the past month. Gonzales, who had initially dismissed the claims of an affair as a coordinated political blackmail campaign to force him out of office, had already announced he would not seek re-election in the November 2026 midterm vote. But as new details of his misconduct emerged and a formal congressional ethics probe was launched, pressure for an immediate departure grew overwhelming.

Parallel developments unfolded for California Democratic Representative Eric Swalwell, who faced a separate set of public allegations ranging from sexual harassment to assault against a former member of his own staff. After the allegations became public over the weekend, a groundswell of bipartisan criticism erupted, and congressional leadership moved quickly to open a formal ethics inquiry and debate holding full votes to expel both men from office. Maneuvering to avoid a humiliating forced expulsion — which would have cost both lawmakers their post-congressional pension benefits — both lawmakers opted to submit voluntary resignations, effective immediately this week.

Swalwell, who had been running for the Democratic nomination for California governor before the allegations broke, dropped his gubernatorial campaign Sunday and announced his resignation Monday, even as he and his legal team have forcefully denied all claims against him. “These accusations are false, fabricated, and deeply offensive – a calculated and transparent political hit job,” said Swalwell’s attorney Sara Azari. In his final resignation letter submitted Tuesday, however, Swalales offered a muted apology, writing: “I am deeply sorry to my family, staff, and constituents for mistakes in judgement I’ve made in my past.”

Gonzales, for his part, offered only a brief farewell in his own resignation letter, noting: “It has been my privilege to serve the residents of Texas’s 23rd congressional district.”

The dual resignations, one from each major political party, have little impact on the partisan balance of power in the U.S. House of Representatives, where Republicans hold a narrow but stable majority. Even with the two vacancies, Republicans will retain their controlling grip on the chamber for the remainder of the 119th Congress.

The scandal has already reignited broader conversations about congressional accountability, workplace culture on Capitol Hill, and the leniency of rules that allow members accused of misconduct to resign voluntarily and retain taxpayer-funded benefits, rather than face expulsion and lose those privileges.

In late April 2026, King Charles III and Queen Camilla of the United Kingdom will undertake a historic state visit to the United States, a trip crafted to mark the 250th anniversary of American independence. But even weeks before the royal party touches down in Washington D.C., the visit has been tangled in two overlapping sources of friction: growing public calls for a meeting with survivors of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, and unusually strained political relations between the UK and US governments.

Across the United States, ordinary drivers are already grappling with the tangible impact of skyrocketing gasoline prices, with many reporting they can already sense the heavy financial strain hitting their monthly budgets. As fuel costs continue to climb at pumps nationwide, the issue has moved rapidly to the forefront of national economic and political conversation.

Over the recent weekend, former President Donald Trump offered a sobering forecast for the months ahead. Speaking on the trajectory of oil and gasoline prices, Trump stated that current costs are likely to remain at their elevated levels, or could even climb higher in the coming months.

The prediction has amplified concerns among American households, which already face broader inflationary pressures across food, housing, and other essential goods. For millions of commuters who rely on personal vehicles to get to work, school, and daily errands, rising gas prices directly cut into disposable income, forcing many to adjust spending habits by cutting back on leisure activities, delaying major purchases, or carpooling to cut down on fuel use.

As the issue continues to develop, energy market analysts are closely watching global oil supply dynamics and domestic policy decisions that could shape future price movements, while American consumers wait to see whether Trump’s forecast will prove accurate.