Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega yesterday started talks with the opposition in a bid to quell a month of anti-government unrest that has seen more than 50 people killed. The Church-mediated dialogue got underway in the capital Managua and involved representatives from university students who are leading the protests against Ortega as well as from business groups and unions. The unrest was the worst faced by Ortega in his past 11 years as president. The protests were initially triggered by an aborted attempt to reform the near-bankrupt social security system, but quickly morphed into a street movement demanding Ortega’s ouster over a range of grievances.