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Bill and Melinda Gates’s divorce could rock the world of charity

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Bill and Melinda Gates, the leaders of the world’s most venerated and powerful philanthropy, said on Monday that they were getting a divorce — an earthquake moment in the nonprofit sector.
The billionaire couple sets the strategic vision for the $50 billion Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which they co-founded and which spends more than $5 billion a year on causes like US education and worldwide disease eradication. Their divorce potentially has enormous implications for their work.
The Gateses are America’s most famous billionaire philanthropists, with the power and profile to corral foreign governments, lobby for policy change, and <a href="https://www.vox.com/recode/2020/5/13/21254870/bill-gates-coronavirus-giving-pledge-billionaires-gates-foundation">inspire other billionaires</a> to donate their money to charity. During the coronavirus pandemic, Bill Gates in particular has been one of the nation’s leading public health experts, appearing seemingly everywhere in the media and encouraging people to take the virus seriously.
The couple made the surprise announcement in concurrent posts on their personal Twitter pages. Upon posting the announcement, Melinda Gates added her maiden name, French, to her Twitter profile, suggesting that she may use the full name “Melinda French Gates” going forward.
In their <a href="https://twitter.com/BillGates/status/1389316412259270657">statement</a>, the Gateses said they would “continue our work together at the foundation.”
“But we no longer believe we can grow together as a couple in this next phase of our lives.”
A Gates Foundation spokesperson said that the philanthropy did not anticipate changes to its work. Both Bill Gates and Melinda Gates will remain co-chairs and trustees of the foundation in their name, a spokesman said.
“They will continue to work together to shape and approve foundation strategies, advocate for the foundation’s issues, and set the organization’s overall direction,” a Foundation spokesman said.
Bill Gates founded Microsoft decades ago but has increasingly turned more and more to his charitable work, resigning from Microsoft’s board last year. Melinda Gates was an early employee at Microsoft herself and has been a hands-on presence for years at their foundation; she also has her own interest in women’s issues that she coordinates through a separate outfit called Pivotal Ventures.
Disentangling a fortune of this size — the Gates family, for instance, is <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/apr/05/bill-gates-climate-crisis-farmland#:~:text=Gates'%20achievement%2C%20according%20to%20the,helped%20him%20get%20that%20title.">the country’s largest private owner of farmland</a> — is sure to be complicated. The Gates family has a net worth over $100 billion, and their separation could set records for the largest divorce settlement to date. The largest settlement ever was recorded a few years ago when Jeff Bezos, the world’s wealthiest man, <a href="https://www.vox.com/2019/1/9/18175344/jeff-bezos-divorce-mackenzie-amazon-ceo">finalized a divorce</a> from MacKenzie Scott for about $36 billion.
While a divorce proceeding is typically a private affair, given how important Bill and Melinda Gates are to the world, this separation could have massive consequences for public life.
 
 
source <a href="https://www.vox.com/recode/22418060/bill-melinda-gates-divorce-foundation-charity">https://www.vox.com/recode/22418060/bill-melinda-gates-divorce-foundation-charity</a>

vox Bill and Melinda Gates’s divorce could rock the world of charity

Bill and Melinda Gates, the leaders of the world’s most venerated and powerful philanthropy, said on Monday that they were getting a divorc...

A majority of voters see an urgent need for police reform following the Chauvin verdict

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A majority of American voters think the need for police reform is even more urgent in the wake of <a href="https://www.vox.com/2021/4/20/22387556/derek-chauvin-verdict-guilty-murder-manslaughter">former police officer Derek Chauvin’s conviction</a> for the murder of George Floyd, according to a <a href="https://www.filesforprogress.org/datasets/2021/4/dfp-vox-chauvin-trial.pdf">new Vox/Data For Progress poll</a>.
In a survey fielded in the week after his conviction, 55 percent of likely voters said they felt this way, compared to 30 percent who said they believe there was no change in urgency, and 9 percent who said there was less urgency following the trial. The results differed significantly along partisan lines, with 77 percent of Democrats saying police reform was more urgent, and 50 percent of independents and 34 percent of Republicans saying the same.
<a href="https://www.axios.com/chauvin-verdict-congress-police-reform-1b0472bf-67c8-4b69-9d82-d9e18d62d3e3.html">Previously, Axios has reported</a> that congressional aides felt the verdict helped alleviate pressure on lawmakers to take more action in the near term, because it was the result that many activists and voters supported. “An acquittal or mistrial involving the former police officer would have unleashed violence and days more of protests — and added bipartisan pressure to act on criminal and police reform,” <a href="https://www.axios.com/chauvin-verdict-congress-police-reform-1b0472bf-67c8-4b69-9d82-d9e18d62d3e3.html">Axios’s Alayna Treene and Kadia Goba reported</a>. Large-scale demonstrations along those lines might have ramped up the public outcry even more. But as this poll indicates, even absent that, most people still view police reform as a vital issue that lawmakers need to address.
The poll was conducted as lawmakers in Congress continue negotiations on police reform, and was fielded in two parts, between <a href="https://www.filesforprogress.org/datasets/2021/4/dfp-vox-attitudes-towards-police-reform-toplines.pdf">April 21 and 23</a>, with 1,438 likely voters, and <a href="https://www.filesforprogress.org/datasets/2021/4/dfp-vox-chauvin-trial.pdf">April 23 and 25</a>, with 1,189 likely voters. Both surveys have a 3 percentage point margin of error.
<a href="https://www.vox.com/2021/5/2/22416155/tim-scott-optimistic-police-reform-senate">As Gabby Birenbaum wrote for Vox</a>, Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC), the lead Republican negotiator on police reform, signaled renewed optimism about a potential deal on the issue this Sunday. The main question now if a deal is reached, is how ambitious — or not — it actually is.
Congress has been here before. Just last year, Senate Democrats had rejected Republicans’ proposal for being too narrow, while GOP leaders argued that House Democrats’ legislation would unnecessarily curb police officers’ legal protections.
This year, Scott, along with Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Rep. Karen Bass (D-CA), are spearheading efforts to find a bipartisan agreement. President Joe Biden has urged Congress to “find a consensus” on police reform by May 25, the anniversary of Floyd’s death, a date Bass has cited as a loose deadline as well.
Although the existing Democratic and Republican proposals have a lot of differences, Scott has said that he hopes a potential compromise on qualified immunity, a legal shield that makes it tougher to sue police officers for wrongdoing, could lead to a deal. In his proposal, police departments, rather than individual officers, would bear the legal liability in incidents of wrongdoing, an attempt to deter such behavior that wouldn’t put all the risk on the individual.
“How do we change the culture of policing?” Scott said <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/transcript-sen-tim-scott-on-face-the-nation-may-2-2021/">during a Face the Nation appearance on Sunday</a>. “I think we do that by making the employer responsible for the actions of the employee. We do that with doctors. We do that with lawyers. We do that in most all of our industries. If we do that in law enforcement, the employer will change the culture. As opposed to having one officer change or not change, we’ll have all officers transforming because the departments are taking on more of that burden.”
That idea has already prompted some backlash from progressives, <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2021/04/21/politics/policing-reform-talks-congress-latest-negotiations/index.html">including Rep. Jamaal Bowman</a> (D-NY), though Scott is hoping he can eventually get both Democrats and Republicans on board.
<a href="https://www.vox.com/22372342/police-reform-derek-chauvin">As an earlier Vox/DFP poll found in April</a>, a majority of likely voters back police reforms including bans on chokeholds and no-knock warrants, grants for body cameras, and changes to qualified immunity, in some cases by large margins.
In <a href="https://www.filesforprogress.org/datasets/2021/4/dfp-vox-attitudes-towards-police-reform-toplines.pdf">the latest survey</a>, the support for curbing qualified immunity has stayed consistent, though far from overwhelming: 51 percent of those polled think people should be able to more easily sue police officers for actions they’ve taken while on duty.
The survey <a href="https://www.filesforprogress.org/datasets/2021/4/dfp-vox-chauvin-trial.pdf">also found</a> that 72 percent of people believed the Chauvin verdict was rightly decided, including 91 percent of Democrats, 72 percent of independents and 51 percent of Republicans. Polling conducted by other outlets following the trial also found strong support for some type of reform effort, though the questions were broader in scope: <a href="https://www.langerresearch.com/wp-content/uploads/1220a1PolicingandRacialJustice.pdf">In an ABC News/Washington Post survey</a>, 60 percent of people said lawmakers should hold the police accountable for the mistreatment of Black people, <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2021/04/27/politics/cnn-poll-chauvin-trial/index.html">and in a CNN survey</a>, 53 percent of people said policing needs major changes.
Ultimately, <a href="https://theappeal.org/the-lab/polling-memos/voters-support-broad-reforms-to-scope-of-police-work-and-accountability-after-chauvin-verdict/">as</a> these polls revealed, most people are looking to lawmakers to do more, after Congress has stalled on the issue in the past.
 
 
source <a href="https://www.vox.com/2021/5/3/22406099/police-reform-chauvin-congress">https://www.vox.com/2021/5/3/22406099/police-reform-chauvin-congress</a>

vox A majority of voters see an urgent need for police reform following the Chauvin verdict

A majority of American voters think the need for police reform is even more urgent in the wake of former police officer Derek Chauvin’s con...

One Good Thing: Mare of Easttown is my new favorite murder story

“So Kate Winslet is a mayor?”
That’s one of the questions I occasionally get asked these days. It’s my fault. I mumble sometimes, which means I really need to enunciate when raving about Kate Winslet in the seven-episode HBO miniseries <a href="https://www.hbo.com/mare-of-easttown">Mare of Easttown</a> — one of my favorite new TV shows — so as not to give the wrong impression.
Alas, Kate Winslet is not a mayor.
Winslet is Mare Sheehan, a former high school basketball star turned bristly detective grandma of Easttown, Pennsylvania. Winslet, who spouts off a Delaware County (suburban Philadelphia) <a href="https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/tv/story/2021-04-29/mare-of-easttown-hbo-kate-winslet-accent-dialect-coach">accent</a> that turns “water” into wudur and “home” into hewam, is putting in a masterful performance as brittle and prickly Mare that’s reason enough to tune in.
But Mare isn’t just a Winslet acting exhibition, nor is it ever in danger of becoming a hollow A-list actor offensive like HBO’s last buzzy drama, The Undoing, was. It’s a riveting and messy family drama — bolstered by great performances from Jean Smart and Angourie Rice — that’s wrapped in a chewy and thrilling murder mystery. Setting it in blue collar, semi-rural Philadelphia heightens the mood, the fear, and even the show’s rare comedic moments. And that’s part of what makes it the most riveting show on television at the moment.
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<figcaption>Don’t lie to Kate Winslet, I mean, Mare of Easttown.</figcaption>
<cite>HBO</cite></figure>
What makes Mare of Easttown work is how different it is from HBO’s glamorous, prestige murder story offerings of late like The Undoing and <a href="https://www.vox.com/culture/2017/3/30/15129914/big-little-lies-hbo-reviews-recaps">Big Little Lies</a>. Nicole Kidman starred in both. But the shows also had more in common that just Kidman. They were both about the glamorous lives of very beautiful, very rich women beleaguered by sociopaths, awful marriages, and homicide. Their privileged lives complete with plush homes, beautiful <a href="https://www.vox.com/the-goods/22179459/statement-coats-quarantine-fashion">coats</a>, and perfect handbags were part of the shows’ appeal; the women’s well-appointed kitchens, gorgeous fashion, and lives full of surreal opulence matched their degree of emotional terror and turmoil.
Mare has plenty of terror and turmoil; not so much of the rest.
Mare herself peaked in high school and lives with her mother (Smart), daughter (Rice), and grandson. Her house isn’t terribly handsome, and seems a little drafty — her mom usually has a blanket nearby. Her coat is more sack than clothing, barely enough to keep her warm in what seems to be an interminable, gloomy winter in Easttown. Her job as the town’s detective is the best thing she has going for her because it’s her one way to escape the more humdrum truths of her existence. Detective-ing is one of the few things she enjoys doing and one of the few things that lets her have some power and control in Easttown.
Everyone knows everyone in Easttown, which makes Mare captivating as its central protagonist. The people who ask her for help are friends of friends. The people doing crimes are also friends of friends. So Mare, by virtue of growing up in Easttown, already has an opinion about who seems suspicious. And even in spite of protecting her friends and the town she grew up in, she sometimes struggles to see people’s humanity beyond the scope of the law.
She knows how to use small-town gossip and politics in her favor. At one point, she embarrasses one of the town’s kids by arresting her at her waitressing job, knowing full well it’ll cause reverberations and rumors throughout the town.
The problem for Mare, though, is that her approach works both ways. Everyone in town knows Mare’s backstory, too.
When Mare of Easttown begins, someone’s murdered a local young woman named Erin McMenamin. Mare is on the case, and the longer it goes unsolved the more it dredges up the biggest question mark of Mare’s career to date: the abduction of Katie Bailey a year ago.
Mare never found Katie or her kidnapper, and everyone in Easttown knows it. The longer Mare’s investigation into Erin’s death goes on, the more people bring up that Mare couldn’t find Katie, and the more Mare feels like a failure. And Mare often seems more concerned about her ego and reputation than she is with Katie’s well-being. (“We’re never gonna find her. Never. She’s a needle in a thousand fucking haystacks,” Mare coldly tells a friend after said friend diplomatically explains that Katie’s mom has cancer and that when people mention the case, it’s not really about Katie going missing or animosity about Mare.)
Though the show could prove me wrong and become splashy and twisty in its final episodes (I’ve seen five of seven episodes, which were sent to critics to screen; three have aired so far) it doesn’t feel like Mare is particularly concerned with the depravity of its villain or villains, or like it’s gearing up to reveal an evil resident in Easttown’s midst. It could easily be that Katie’s and Erin’s cases were perpetrated by two different people and are simply two random and tragic crimes. And while the show has a few whodunit moments, it isn’t a thriller in that regard.
Instead, Mare of Easttown wraps itself around its title character’s complexities and struggles, and shows how this case eats away at the thin walls that separate Mare’s personal self from the public and professional selves she presents to the world. Winslet is mesmerizing as she allows us to see the ugliness Mare is capable of and how obsessive, perhaps even abusive, she can be when she’s threatened.
Suddenly Mare’s life becomes more ragged that it first seemed, and we first assumed.
Mare of Easttown is true to its name, unfurling into a history about a woman who has spent a lot of time avoiding her past and her obligation to the town that raised her. If I were Mare’s friend, I’d suggest moving away from Easttown, because opening up old wounds over and over again doesn’t seem healthy. But I don’t know if she’d actually be able to thrive beyond its borders, since so much of this Pennsylvania town is coded into her life. She doesn’t know any other way.
Hence, her desperation to solve this case is firmly, perhaps even selfishly, entrenched with the hope that if she succeeds, it’ll correct the other parts of her life. And though we all know better than that, it’s still enthralling to watch her try.
Mare of Easttown airs Sundays at 10 pm on HBO and is available to stream on HBO Max. For more recommendations from the world of culture, check out the <a href="https://www.vox.com/one-good-thing">One Good Thing</a> archives.
 
 
source <a href="https://www.vox.com/22412340/mare-of-easttown-review-recap-kate-winslet">https://www.vox.com/22412340/mare-of-easttown-review-recap-kate-winslet</a>

vox One Good Thing: Mare of Easttown is my new favorite murder story

“So Kate Winslet is a mayor?” That’s one of the questions I occasionally get asked these days. It’s my fault. I mumble sometimes, which mea...

Republicans feared Democrats’ voting protections bill polls well. A new poll says they’re right.

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Back in March, the New Yorker’s Jane Mayer <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/inside-the-koch-backed-effort-to-block-the-largest-election-reform-bill-in-half-a-century">obtained a recording</a> of an adviser to Mitch McConnell privately bemoaning, on a call with conservative group leaders, that Democrats’ big voting rights bill, the <a href="https://www.vox.com/22346812/voting-rights-bill-hr1-for-the-people-act">For the People Act</a>, polled quite well. “When presented with a very neutral description” of it, “people were generally supportive,” the adviser said.
A new <a href="https://www.filesforprogress.org/datasets/2021/4/dfp-vox-hr-1.pdf">Data for Progress poll</a> conducted as part of a partnership with Vox backs up that assessment. The poll surveyed 1,138 likely voters nationally between April 16 and April 19, and it finds that much of what the 800-page bill claims to do is overwhelmingly popular.
More than 80 percent of respondents said they supported preventing foreign interference in elections, limiting the influence of money in politics, and modernizing election infrastructure to increase election security. More than 60 percent of respondents supported requiring nonpartisan redistricting commissions, a 15-day early voting period for all federal elections, same-day registration for all eligible voters, automatic voter registration for all eligible voters, and giving every voter the option to vote by mail.
There are, of course, a few caveats. The poll presented these questions without partisan cues about which party supports which proposal. Indeed, the one question that mentioned the parties — about whether Democrats should change Senate rules so they could pass redistricting reform without Republican support — was much more closely divided. (Forty-seven percent of respondents said they supported doing this, and 42 percent said they opposed it.)
The questions also didn’t spotlight Republicans’ preferred arguments — for instance, Republicans would stress concerns that same-day and automatic registration could allow ineligible people to vote, which would likely make some respondents more concerned about these proposals.
And other parts of the bill, like its limits to voter ID laws (it would allow voters without ID to submit a sworn statement vouching for their identity) and its creation of a public financing system to match small donations, may be more controversial. Voter ID requirements <a href="https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/americans-oppose-many-voting-restrictions-but-not-voter-id-laws/">generally poll quite well</a> and support for public financing <a href="https://twitter.com/EchelonInsights/status/1374755869322321924">can vary</a> <a href="https://equalcitizens.us/hr1-facts/">greatly</a> based on question wording. (In polling for a separate client, Data for Progress <a href="https://equalcitizens.us/hr1-facts/">found 56 percent support</a> for one detailed description of the For the People Act’s matching program, but the conservative polling firm <a href="https://twitter.com/EchelonInsights/status/1374755869322321924/photo/1">Echelon Insights found</a> very little support for the general concept of “using government dollars to match donations to political campaigns.”)
The poll also asked about a competing redistricting reform proposal not currently in the For the People Act — setting proportional standards such that, if a party wins about half of votes in a state, it should win about half the seats. (I <a href="https://www.vox.com/22346812/voting-rights-bill-hr1-for-the-people-act">recently wrote about</a> the debate among Democrats over this idea.) This got less support than any of the other provisions above but still was backed by 51 percent of poll respondents, with 34 percent saying they opposed this.
In any case, Democrats’ problem when it comes to enacting the For the People Act isn’t the polls — it’s the Senate filibuster. The bill that already passed in a near party-line vote in the House will require a 60-vote supermajority to pass in the Senate. Since no Republican support appears to be in the offing, activists have argued that the Senate should change its rules to let the bill pass. But moderate Democratic senators don’t want to do this.
One key holdout, Joe Manchin, told me <a href="https://www.vox.com/22339531/manchin-filibuster-bipartisanship-senate-west-virginia">in a recent profile</a> that he fears passing a major voting bill on party lines would only further divide the country. He argued that 20 to 25 percent of the public already doesn’t trust the system and that a party-line overhaul would “guarantee” that number would increase, leading to more “anarchy” like that at the Capitol on January 6. He added, “I just believe with all my heart and soul that’s what would happen, and I’m not going to be part of it.”
Unless he changes his mind, the For the People Act can’t pass the Senate.
Update: This piece was updated to add polling on the For the People Act’s public financing provision that Data for Progress conducted for a separate client.
 
 
source <a href="https://www.vox.com/2021/5/3/22406391/hr1-poll-for-the-people-act">https://www.vox.com/2021/5/3/22406391/hr1-poll-for-the-people-act</a>

vox Republicans feared Democrats’ voting protections bill polls well. A new poll says they’re right.

Back in March, the New Yorker’s Jane Mayer obtained a recording of an adviser to Mitch McConnell privately bemoaning, on a call with conse...

New York To Resume 24-Hour Subway Services Halted A Year Back Over Covid

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<div class="ins_instory_dv_cont"><img alt="New York To Resume 24-Hour Subway Services Halted A Year Back Over Covid" src="https://c.ndtvimg.com/2019-02/ji5bat0k_new-york-subway-train-generic-istock_625x300_21_February_19.jpg" title="New York To Resume 24-Hour Subway Services Halted A Year Back Over Covid" /></div>
The New York subway services were halted overnight in May 2020 due to the Covid outbreak (File)
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New York:
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced a major easing of coronavirus restrictions Monday, including the imminent resumption of 24-hour operations on the city subway.
In May 2020, when New York was the epicenter of the United States' Covid-19 outbreak, services were halted overnight to allow for trains to be disinfected.
From May 19, many business and cultural venues in the city -- including shops, restaurants, cinemas and museums -- will also no longer be subject to percentage limits on occupancy.
These limits currently vary between 33 and 75 percent capacity.
Businesses will be allowed to welcome as many people as they want provided six feet of social distancing is maintained, as recommended by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
"It's fully open, subject to six feet," Cuomo told reporters. The six-feet rule does not apply if all customers provide proof of vaccination or a negative test.
"All the arrows are pointing in the right direction," he added, pointing to declining Covid-19 positivity rates and hospitalizations, which are at their lowest since November, and rising vaccination levels.
Outdoor gathering limits will double from 250 to 500 people, while 250 people will be able to get together indoors, up from 100.
Indoor event venues will be able to operate at 30 percent capacity, up from 10 percent currently, while outdoor sports stadia will operate at 33 percent.
Cuomo said underground trains services in the Big Apple will resume around the clock on May 17.
Monday's announcement, made in coordination with the neighboring states of New Jersey and Connecticut, came as 80,000 city government workers returned to offices, according to Mayor Bill de Blasio.
De Blasio has said he hopes New York City can "fully reopen" by July 1.
Many private employers have yet to set a return date though, and the business districts in Midtown and Wall Street remain deserted with many staff still working from home.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
 
 
source <a href="https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/new-york-to-resume-24-hour-subway-services-halted-a-year-back-over-covid-2427492">https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/new-york-to-resume-24-hour-subway-services-halted-a-year-back-over-covid-2427492</a>

news world New York To Resume 24-Hour Subway Services Halted A Year Back Over Covid

The New York subway services were halted overnight in May 2020 due to the Covid outbreak (File) New York: New York Governor Andrew Cuom...

Six Rockets Target Iraq Airbase Hosting US Contractors North Of Baghdad

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There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack (Representational)
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Baghdad:
Six rockets were fired Monday evening towards Iraq's Balad airbase north of Baghdad, lightly wounding a foreign contractor working for a US company, an Iraqi security official told AFP.
Three rockets initially fell in an area where US company Sallyport -- the contractor that maintains F-16 aircraft purchased by Iraq from the US -- is located, the security source said, requesting anonymity.
A foreign employee of Sallyport was lightly wounded, according to this source.
Three other rockets were fired around 15 minutes later, the source added, saying they fell near the base without hitting it.
Pentagon spokesperson Commander Jessica McNulty said no US or coalition troops were assigned at Balad, but noted that US citizen contractors worked there.
Citing initial reports, McNulty said there were no US casualties or damage.
It is the second attack targeting US interests in under 24 hours, after two rockets Sunday targeted an airbase at Baghdad airport housing US-led coalition troops. Sunday's attack did not cause casualties.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for either attack.
Around 30 rocket or bomb attacks have targeted American interests in Iraq -- including troops, the embassy or Iraqi supply convoys to foreign forces -- since President Joe Biden took office in January.
Two foreign contractors, one Iraqi contractor and eight Iraqi civilians have been killed in the attacks.
Washington routinely blames Iran-linked Iraqi factions for such attacks on its troops and diplomats.
In early April, two rockets hit near Balad, without causing casualties or property damage.
Also last month, an explosives-packed drone slammed into Iraq's Arbil airport in the first reported use of such a weapon against a base used by US-led coalition troops in the country, according to officials.
Dozens of other attacks were carried out in Iraq from autumn 2019 during the administration of Biden's predecessor Donald Trump.
The operations are sometimes claimed by obscure groups that experts say are smokescreens for Iran-backed organisations long present in Iraq.
The strikes come at a sensitive time as Tehran is engaged in talks with world powers aimed at bringing the US back into a 2015 nuclear deal.
The agreement, which curbs Iran's nuclear programme in exchange for sanctions relief, has been on life support since Trump withdrew in 2018.
Pro-Iran Iraqi groups have vowed to ramp up attacks to force out the "occupying" US forces in recent months, sometimes against Tehran's wishes, according to some experts.
Baghdad last month reportedly hosted a secret meeting of senior officials from Tehran and US-ally Saudi Arabia.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
 
 
source <a href="https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/six-rockets-target-iraqs-balad-airbase-hosting-us-contractors-north-of-baghdad-2427491">https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/six-rockets-target-iraqs-balad-airbase-hosting-us-contractors-north-of-baghdad-2427491</a>

news world Six Rockets Target Iraq Airbase Hosting US Contractors North Of Baghdad

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack (Representational) Baghdad: Six rockets were fired Monday evening towards...