Over 36 lakh Iraqi Kurds vote in independence referendum
Over 36 lakh Iraqi Kurds on Monday cast their vote in a referendum proposing independence for Iraq's Kurdistan region, officials said. However, Iraqi PM Haider al-Abadi has termed the vote "unconstitutional" and has refused to discuss its result which is due on Wednesday. Kurds are the fourth-largest ethnic group in the Middle East but don't have a permanent nation state.