German parties enter ‘final day’ of coalition govt talks

Talks on a new German coalition government have entered what participants hope will be their final day, AP reported. Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservative Union bloc and the center-left Social Democrats originally hoped to finish the job on Sunday. Any possible agreement reached after an election in September will be put to a ballot of the Social Democrats’ membership for approval. Social Democrat leader Martin Schulz said on Tuesday that he had “good reason” to believe a deal would emerge “with a good result for our country.”