The preliminary results of Iraq’s nationwide population census will be announced within two days, an Iraqi planning ministry official told Rudaw, as the country enters the second day of the process.

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan denied on Wednesday the existence of any disagreements or tensions with his ultranationalist government ally Devlet Bahceli, as the latter persistently proposes allowing jailed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Ocalan to speak at the parliament.

Iraq on Tuesday reacted to an Israeli letter to the UN Security Council holding Iraq responsible for the activities of pro-Iran groups in the Middle East. Baghdad deemed this a “pretext to justify aggression” and said it seeks peace in the region.