Iraq’s prime minister on Tuesday, angered by a vote on independence by his nation’s Kurdish minority, gave the country’s Kurdish region until Friday to surrender control of its two international airports or face a shutdown of international flights. Kurdish leaders in northern Iraq had antagonized Iraq, Turkey and Iran by holding the referendum on Monday . The results have not yet been announced, but the Kurdish Regional Government said on Tuesday that the vote had gone overwhelmingly in favor of independence from Iraq. A “yes” vote would not lead to immediate independence for the semi-autonomous region, but it would direct the regional government to begin the process of creating an independent state, including negotiating a separation with Baghdad. Iraqi officials have called the referendum unconstitutional and have refused to negotiate with the Kurdish leadership. The […]