1. 160 killed in Nigerian church collapse

    Mortuaries* were overflowed with bodies on Sunday from a church collapse in southern Nigeria that killed at least 160 people, and worshippers said construction of the building had been rushed.

    Hundreds had been inside the Reigners Bible Church International in the city of Uyo on Saturday for the consecration* of founder Akan Weeks as its bishop when the metal girders* fell and the corrugated* iron roof caved in.

    Officials feared the death toll could rise. Weeks and Akwa Ibom state Gov. Udom Emmanuel were among the survivors.

    2. English sworn in as New Zealand PM

    New Zealand’s socially conservative finance chief Bill English was sworn in as the country’s new prime minister on Monday following last week’s shock resignation of his popular predecessor* John Key.

    The center-right National Party caucus unanimously* backed English at a meeting on Monday morning and he traveled to Government House in Wellington a few hours later to officially take over.

    English, 54, said he was “excited and humbled” to take the top job after eight years as Key’s deputy and finance minister.

    3. Istanbul soccer stadium blasts kill 38

    Turkey said on Sunday that Kurdish militants may be responsible for the two bombs that killed 38 people and wounded 155 in what looked to be a coordinated* attack on police outside a soccer stadium in Istanbul after a match between two top teams.

    The blasts on Saturday night — a car bomb outside the Vodafone Arena, home to Istanbul’s Besiktas soccer team, followed by a suicide bomb attack in an adjacent park less than a minute later — shook a nation still trying to recover from a series of deadly bombings this year in cities including Istanbul and the capital Ankara.

    4. Italy’s new PM asked to form new govt.

    In the wake of the political chaos rocking Italy following the resignation of Matteo Renzi last week, President Sergio Mattarella asked Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni on Sunday to form a new government as the nation’s new prime minister.

    The swift creation of the government will likely help to quell* uncertainty after Italians voted “no” to a referendum* on constitutional reform championed by Renzi, the former prime minister who fulfilled his promise to resign if the referendum did not pass. Sixty percent of Italians voted against the changes, an unexpectedly large margin of victory.

    5. Pakistan air crash kills 48

    Rescue teams have retrieved* all 48 bodies from the wreckage* of a Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) plane, which crashed in the country’s northern mountainous area on December 7, officials said on Thursday.

    Azam Saigol, chairman of the PIA airline, said the plane was carrying 48 people, including 42 passengers, five crew members and one ground engineer.

    According to the PIA’s website, two Austrians and one Chinese national were on board the ill-fated* plane.

    6. Trump picks US ambassador to China

    U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has nominated Iowa Governor Terry Branstad, who boasts* a 30-year relationship with China, to be the next U.S. ambassador in Beijing, a spokesman for Trump said on December 7.

    “The governor has a lot of experience and a great grasp of trade issues and agriculture issues,” spokesman Jason Miller told reporters.

    Branstad, an early supporter of Trump, met with the president-elect in New York on December 6. He has accepted the offer, according to media reports.

    (SD-Agencies)