Pope Francis ordered the removal of the bishop of Tyler, Joseph Strickland, who is a strong critic of the pontiff. He recently accused the pope's "program" of "undermining" ancient Catholic scriptures and traditions. Pope Francis ordered the removal of the bishop of Tyler, Texas, who is a fierce critic of thepontiff, on Saturday.  The Vatican said Francis had relieved Bishop Joseph Strickland of the pastoral governance of Tyler and appointed the bishop of Austin, Joe Vasquez as the temporary administrator. It was announced simultaneously by the Vatican and the U.S. Bishops Conference. It is extremely uncommon for a bishop to be relieved of his duties. Usually, they are asked to resign, and the resignation is accepted by the pope. The pope typically dismisses a bishop only if he refuses to resign.  Strong critic of the Pope Strickland, who was named to the diocese by the late Pope Benedict XVI in 2012, has emerged as strong critic of the pontiff, and had posted earlier this year that he rejected Pope Francis' "program undermining the Deposit of Faith," referring to the group of Catholic scriptures and traditions believed to have been around since roughly the time of Jesus' Apostles. Strickland has established himself as a voice of the ultra-conservative wing of the US Church, and has a national following. He is also a supporter of former US President Donald Trump. He has been particularly critical of Francis' recent meeting on the future of the Catholic Church which included discussions on ways to better welcome LGBTQ+ Catholics. He has also spoken against attempts by Francis to give lay people more responsibility in the Church and opposed the recent synod. Earlier this year, the Vatican had sent in investigators to look into his governance of the diocese, saying people in Tyler claimed he made unorthdox claims. However, no findings were released.  According to an interview in the conservative website LifeSiteNews, Strickland believed one of the reasons given for his ouster was his refusal to implement Francis' 2021 restrictions the use of traditional Latin Mass. Last year, when the Vatican defrocked ultra-conservative U.S. priest Frank Pavone for "blasphemous" social media posts and disobedience to bishops, Strickland had defended him publicly.

FBI agents seized New York mayor Eric Adams' phones and other devices, his campaign lawyer said on Friday. Authorities are investigating whether Adams' 2021 campaign conspired with the Turkish government to receive donations from foreign sources. The seizure comes four days after federal agents searched the Brooklyn home of Adams' top fundraiser, Brianna Suggs. What did Adams and his lawyer say? "On Monday night, the FBI approached the mayor after an event. The Mayor immediately complied with the FBI's request and provided them with electronic devices," Adams' attorney, Boyd Johnson said. "The mayor has not been accused of any wrongdoing and continues to cooperate with the investigation." Johnson said that they had "discovered that an individual had recently acted improperly." "After learning of the federal investigation, it was discovered that an individual had recently acted improperly. In the spirit of transparency and cooperation, this behavior was immediately and proactively reported to investigators," he said. New York mayor Eric AdamsNew York mayor Eric Adams Adams says his team will cooperate with law enforcement amid the probeImage: Mayoral Photography Office/Ed Reed/AP/picture alliance In a statement on Friday, Adams said he had "nothing to hide." "As a former member of law enforcement, I expect all members of my staff to follow the law and fully cooperate with any sort of investigation — and I will continue to do exactly that," he said. Earlier this week, Adams said that he was not aware of any wrongdoing by members of his campaign team. What is the investigation into New York's mayor? The focus of the investigation has not been publicly disclosed by prosecutors. The New York Times reported that it had acquired an arrest warrant that indicated authorities were examining whether the Adams campaign engaged in a scheme to receive foreign donations listed under false contributors. The paper said that the FBI was searching for evidence of conspiracy between the Adams campaign, the Turkish government and a Brooklyn-based developer whose owners are Turkish.

The US said the air strike was designed to take out supplies, weapons and ammunition used in attacks on coalition troops in Iraq and Syria. The United States military carried out airstrikes against an eastern Syrian facility used by Iranian-backed militias late on Wednesday. The Pentagon said it was in retaliation for a growing number of attacks on bases housing US troops in the region for the past several weeks. "The President has no higher priority than the safety of US personnel, and he directed today's action to make clear that the United States will defend itself, its personnel, and its interests," Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in a statement. It marks the second time in recent weeks that the US has taken such action. Iran's Revolutionary Guard targeted The London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights told the French news agency AFP that nine people "working for Tehran-backed groups" were killed in the attack. Austin said two F-15 fighter jets carried out the strike against a weapons storage facility linked to Iran's Revolutionary Guard. Since the start of October, US and coalition troops have been attacked at least 40 times in Iraq and Syria by Iran-backed forces. Austin warned the US was "fully prepared to take further necessary measures to protect our people and our facilities." The US has 900 troops in Syria and 2,500 in Iraq to assist local forces in preventing an resurgence of the so-called "Islamic State" group. The strikes come amid heightened tensions in the region due to the war between Israel and Hamas.

US Ambassador in Dhaka Peter Haas has said that Washington wants to accompany Bangladesh on its journey to becoming a developed country by 2041, anchored on democracy, free speech, and transparency. He said it in the Independence Day reception at Hotel Sheraton in Banani on Sunday.   The ambassador said the ideals of independence of both countries were the same – nationalism, democracy, secularism, and socialism, the four principles of Bangladesh. Bangladesh had made "amazing" progress from a poor country to a middle-income country.  "The United States and Bangladesh share similar ideals that motivated our struggles for independence. Almost two centuries after 1776, Bangladesh fought the Liberation War based on four similar principles:  nationalism, socialism, democracy, and secularism."  He also said that, in the next 50 years things would be "different" since Bangladesh had set a target to become a developed country by 2041.   "To be a developed country lies in developing institutions, educating your people, improving infrastructure, and making it easy for both Bangladeshis and foreigners to invest here," he said. "To me, the story of Bangladeshis in the United States exemplifies something important:  the strength of our democracy is in our people, and the strength of our people gets full expression in our democracy", he added.   However, the United States celebrated the 247th anniversary of its independence on July 4 this year. The day commemorates the country's declaration of independence from British rule on July 4, 1776.    

Temperatures are nearing record-breaking levels in Italy, Spain and Greece, as well as parts of the United States and Japan. Weather experts warn scorching weather will likely continue into next week. Dozens of cities across southern Europe were under heat wave warnings Saturday, as officials warn of extreme temperatures persisting over the coming days. In Italy, at least 16 cities were under "red" alerts for heat, including Rome, Florence and Bologna. In the southern Italian islands of Sicily and Sardinia, temperatures were set to soar to 48 degrees Celsius (118 degrees Fahrenheit). That would make it the hottest temperature ever recorded in Europe, according to the European Space Agency, whose satellites monitor land and sea temperatures. The temperature was expected to hit 40 degrees Celsius in Rome on Monday and perhaps climb higher on Tuesday, smashing the 2017 records of 40.5 degrees Celsius in Italy's capital. In Greece, the Acropolis was partially closed for a second day, with the national weather service warning that "parts of the country could see highs as much as 44 degrees Celsius on Saturday." The service said the heat wave warnings would continue into next week. In Spain, the national meteorological service said temperatures in the eastern Iberian Peninsula and the Balearic Islands would rise to between 40 and 42 degrees Celsius. US, Japan also face scorching weather Japan has also been experiencing extreme heat, with temperatures expected to rise to 39 degrees Celsius on Sunday and Monday. In the US, over 90 million Americans were under extreme heat advisories, watches and warnings. Experts warned that the heat would get worse this weekend for the states of Nevada, Arizona and California, where temperatures were predicted to soar above 120 Fahrenheit (48.8 degrees Celsius) in some desert locations. In Las Vegas, Nevada, an intense heat wave was threatening to break the city's all-time record high of 47.2 degrees Celsius this weekend. Phoenix, the capital city of Arizona, was set to record temperatures above 43 degrees Celsius for the 15th straight day. Meanwhile, a series of blazes erupted across California earlier this week. In Europe, a forest fire on the Spanish island of La Palma on Saturday also forced the evacuation of at least 500 people, authorities said. With some countries suffering from dangerous heat, others like South Korea and China have reported deadly floods due to unusually heavy rains, leaving several people dead. Scientists have warned that the frequency and severity of heat waves has increased steadily due to the effects of climate change.  

US President Joe Biden began his three-nation Europe trip after arriving in London on Sunday. He is set to meet with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak at 10 Downing Street on Monday, after which he will visit King Charles at Windsor Castle. The talks with King Charles are expected to include climate initiatives. On Monday night, Biden will travel to Lithuanian capital Vilnius ahead of talks with NATO leaders slated for June 11 and 12. Expected to be on the agenda are NATO's support for Kyiv, as well as Sweden's bid to join the alliance, which has so far been blocked by Turkey. After his trip to Lithuania, Biden will head to Finland, which is the newest member of the NATO alliance.  Ukraine not 'ready' for NATO membership, Biden says The US president had cast doubt on the likelihood of Ukraine being offered NATO membership in comments to the CNN broadcaster. "I don't think it's ready for membership in NATO," Biden told CNN in an interview aired Sunday.  Biden said that while he hoped that NATO leaders would "lay out a rational path for Ukraine to be able to qualify to be able to get into NATO." He said that in order to join the military alliance countries must "meet all the qualifications, from democratization to a whole range of other issues." He added that bringing Ukraine into the alliance now would mean "war with Russia." "I don't think there is unanimity in NATO about whether or not to bring Ukraine into the NATO family now, at this moment, in the middle of a war," he said. Biden added that it will "take a while" for Ukraine to become a member of NATO. However, Biden said that Washington could provide Kyiv with support similar to that it gives to Israel until Ukraine joins NATO. "The United States would be ready to provide...security a la the security we provide for Israel." He said this involves "providing the weaponry they need, the capacity to defend themselves." According to a recent report by the US Congressional Research Service, no other country in the world has received more US support than Israel since World War II. Biden calls for Sweden in NATO during Erdogan call Also on Sunday, the White House said that Biden expressed a desire for Sweden to join NATO "as soon as possible" in a phone call with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan. Sweden's NATO bid requires unanimous approval from all member states, including Turkey. On Thursday, Stockholm failed to convince Ankara to ratify Swedish accession to NATO in a foreign minister-level meeting. Erdogan told Biden that Sweden had taken steps in the right direction for Turkey to support the bid, the Turkish presidency's communications directorate said in a separate statement on Sunday. However, it said that the steps were not useful as Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) supporters continued to hold demonstrations in Sweden.  

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, who was finishing up a visit to Beijing, said progress was made in stabilizing relations between the two countries. Tech, trade, Taiwan and other issues have complicated US-China ties. US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said Sunday that ties between the US and China are "on surer footing" as she concluded a 4-day visit to Beijing. "We believe that the world is big enough for both of our countries to thrive," Yellen said during a media briefing at the US Embassy in Beijing.  "My bilateral meetings — which totaled about 10 hours over two days — served as a step forward in our effort to put the US-China relationship on surer footing," she added.  What was discussed? The objective of Yellen's visit was to deepen ties with China's new economic team and avoid any misunderstandings in the two superpowers' economic rivalry. Yellen said Chinese officials raised concerns about an expected executive order that would restrict outbound investment. She told Chinese officials that any such measure would be narrow in scope and would be enacted in a transparent way, through a rule-making process that would allow public input.   Yellen also said Beijing could raise concerns about US actions, so that Washington could explain, and "possibly in some situations, respond to unintended consequences of our actions if they're not carefully targeted." China's state-run Xinhua news agency said on Saturday that Yellen's meeting with Vice Premier He Lifeng yielded an agreement to "strengthen communication and cooperation on addressing global challenges." Strengthening communication channels Yellen's visit is part of a push by the US to open a dialogue with the Chinese leadership on economic disputes. Last month, Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited Beijing and Biden himself could meet with Chinese President Xi Xinping at the upcoming G20 summit in New Delhi or the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation gathering in San Francisco. But both sides have played down the idea that Yellen's trip alone would lead to a breakthrough. "No one visit will solve our challenges overnight. But I expect that this trip will help build a resilient and productive channel of communication," she said.