Barzani: Iraqi Kurds to vote on independence in September

Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region has called a referendum on independence to be held on September 25, an official said on Wednesday, moving ahead with a plan for full statehood that is likely to be opposed by Baghdad. Wednesday's announcement comes just two months after Iraqi Kurdistan released a roadmap for a referendum, with Kurdish leaders stating at the time that a vote is a " natural right of the nation of Kurdistan to decide on its political and administrative path in a referendum and an entity of an independent state ".

IS attacks Iraq city of Kirkuk, power plant amid Mosul fight

Iraqi special forces charged into the Mosul battle Thursday with a pre-dawn advance on a nearby town held by the Islamic State group, a ... Two months after he jumped into the presidential race as a political unknown on the fringe, independent candidate Evan McMullin is surging in the polls in Utah and drawing large crowds at rallies as he becomes the... Two months after he jumped into the presidential race as a political unknown on the fringe, independent candidate Evan McMullin is surging in the polls in Utah and drawing large crowds at rallies as he becomes the conduit... There have long been complaints about the lack of women in the tech industry.

The US helped clinch an oil deal for Iraqi Kurds to keep the Mosul battle on track

The oil revenue-sharing deal sealed in August was critical to getting the central and regional governments to coordinate planning for a push on the Islamic State stronghold Mosul, which Kurdish peshmerga forces surround on three sides, as soon as this month, the sources said. Brett McGurk shuttled from Iraqi Kurdistan capital Erbil to Baghdad and back again from the first half of April, culminating in a June 19 meeting in Erbil with Kurdistan Regional Government leader Massoud Barzani and Iraqi National Security Advisor Falah Fayad.