Kurds seize Iraq oilfields, ministers pull out of Baghdad government

``Kurdish forces seized two oilfields in northern Iraq and took over operations from a state-run oil company on Friday, while Kurdish politicians formally suspended their participation in Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's government. The moves escalated a feud between the Shi'ite-led central government and the autonomous Kurdish region... Regional Kurdish President Massoud Barzani told his parliament in Arbil last week to prepare a referendum on independence, infuriating Maliki.