Kurdish President Barzani reconfirms holding referendum as planned

Iraq's Kurdish regional President Masoud Barzani attends a press conference in Erbil, Iraq, on Sept. 24, 2017. Iraq's Kurdish regional President Masoud Barzani on Sunday reconfirmed holding the referendum on the independence of the Kurdish semi-autonomous region as scheduled on Sept. 25. Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi on Sunday reiterated his rejection to the referendum. (Xinhua/Khalil Dawood)