NEWS OF THE DAY
1
Germany politics: The Social Democrats voted Sunday to enter coalition talks with Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservatives, a key step toward ending political gridlock and forming a new government. Delegates of the center-left party voted 362-279 in favor of opening the negotiations. Ahead of the vote in Bonn, party leader Martin Schulz told delegates he would push for more concessions from Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union on labor, health and migration policies. Merkel’s attempts to form a coalition with two smaller parties failed.
2
Avalanche deaths: An avalanche hit Turkish soldiers conducting military operations against Kurdish rebels in Turkey’s southeast on Sunday, killing five and injuring 12 others, officials said. The avalanche occurred near the town of Hizan in the mountainous Bitlis province, according to the governor’s office for the region. The soldiers were conducting operations against the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, a Kurdish rebel group, the governor’s office said. The private Dogan news agency said the troops were on a mission to locate and destroy shelters used by PKK fighters.
3
Venezuela burial: A rebel police officer who led a brazen helicopter attack on government buildings last year was buried Sunday by the military nearly a week after being killed in a shootout with security forces, relatives said. Just two of Oscar Perez’s relatives were allowed to attend the burial at a Caracas cemetery surrounded by National Guard officers. Authorities denied relatives’ demands that they hand over the body of Perez and six others killed. Perez and six in his rebel group died last Monday fighting against police and soldiers in a small mountain community outside Caracas, ending a manhunt for the former officer that began after he led a helicopter attack on government buildings in June and called for an uprising against President Nicolas Maduro.
4
Congo violence: Police in Congo used tear gas and gunfire to disperse thousands of antigovernment demonstrators across the nation Sunday, killing five people and injuring more than 33 others who marched after church services calling for President Joseph Kabila to step down, the United Nations said. Catholic churches and activists had called for peaceful demonstrations in Kinshasa, Goma, Lubumbashi and other cities. The protests turned violent as police tried to disperse the demonstrators. Security forces arrested 69 people countrywide, said the U.N. spokeswoman in Congo, Florence Marchal. Kabila, whose mandate ended in December 2016, had agreed to hold an election by the end of 2017. But Congo’s election commission later said the vote cannot be held until December 2018. Critics accuse Kabila of postponing elections to maintain his grip on power.
5
Yemen aid: The United Nations and its partners have appealed for nearly $3 billion in aid to Yemen, where a Saudi-led coalition is at war with Iran-allied rebels known as Houthis. Jamie McGoldrick, the U.N. humanitarian coordinator in Yemen, told reporters in Sanaa on Sunday that it was the largest such appeal ever launched for Yemen, and was aimed at providing the “only lifeline for millions.” He said the aid would be channeled to the most needy, including communities where “the risk of famine, disease outbreak, and protracted displacement converge.” The U.N. hopes to reach some 13 million people. Last year, donors covered 70 percent of a $2.34 billion appeal. Since 2015, the fighting has killed some 10,000 people and pushed millions to the brink of famine.