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Xinhua world news summary at 1530 GMT, Oct. 2

Xinhua, October 2, 2016 Adjust font size:

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said Sunday that he would order a review of the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA), a defense pact that Washington and Manila signed in 2014.

Duterte made the remarks at a local festival in Bacolod City in the central Philippines. (Philippines-Duterte)

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LONDON -- British Prime Minister Theresa May says she will formally begin the Brexit process by the end of March 2017, in an interview with the BBC.

Speaking on the Andrew Marr Show, she did not give an exact date beyond saying "by the end of March" for triggering Article 50 in the Lisbon treaty of the EU needed by a member state to exit the bloc. (Britain-PM-Brexit)

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MADRID -- A total of 90 people were confirmed as injured, with five in a serious condition, following a gas explosion in a cafeteria in the town of Velez-Malaga, southern Spain, on Saturday night.

Spanish TV network RTVE reports the five people who were seriously injured were taken to hospital in Velez-Malaga and the city of Malaga. None of the lives of the injured are thought to be in danger. (Spain-Gas Explosion)

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CHICAGO -- Chinese Consul General in Chicago presented awards for students who have achieved excellence in their academic study in a ceremony held Saturday in the University of Chicago.

While addressing the ceremony, Chinese Consul General in Chicago Hong Lei spoke highly of the diligence and innovation of Chinese students and urged them to go on studying hard to attain higher achievements. (US-Chinese Students-Government Award)

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ADDIS ABABA -- Violence disrupted celebration of the annual Irecha (thanksgiving) festival on Sunday in Oromia Regional Sate of Ethiopia, local media reported on Sunday.

The Ethiopian Broadcasting Corporation (EBC), citing a statement from the Government Communication Affairs Office, reported that the celebration could not be completed as planned due to a pre-planned act of violence by 'forces of violence'. (Ethiopia-Stampede) Endi