Iraq orders Kurdistan to give up control of airports or face flight ban

By Susannah George @ the A.P. via ArabNews.com, Sept. 26

IRBIL, Iraq: Iraq’s prime minister on Tuesday ordered the northern Kurdish region to hand over control of its airports to federal authorities or face a flight ban, signaling a tough response to a landmark Kurdish independence referendum held the day before.
The Iraqi Kurdish leadership billed Monday’s vote as an exercise in self-determination, but the Iraqi government is strongly opposed to any redrawing of its borders, and Turkey and Iran fear the move will embolden their own Kurdish populations.
Prime Minister Haider Al-Abadi’s ultimatum came the day after the vote and ahead of the release of official results. He said the ban would exclude humanitarian and other “urgent” flights [....]

Erdogan: Kurdish vote risks 'ethnic and sectarian war'

@ AlJazeera.com, 12 minute ago

Turkey's president has warned of an "ethnic and sectarian" war in response to the Iraqi Kurdistan referendum, while the Iraqi prime minister has ruled out talks with the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) over the outcome of the controversial vote. 

In a televised speech from Ankara on Tuesday, Recept Tayyip Erdogan threatened to impose sanctions against the semi-autonomous Kurdish region, saying it "will be left in a lurch" and its people would go hungry [....]