Draft deal agreed on DR Congo crisis: mediators, govt

DR Congo opposition parties and the government reached agreement Saturday on a deal to defuse a political crisis over President Joseph Kabila's fate that has caused months of deadly unrest, a church mediator and officials said. Kabila's second and final mandate ended on December 20 with no sign of him stepping down and no election in sight, spurring the church to launch negotiations to avert more violence in Democratic Republic of Congo.