Xinhua world news summary at 0930 GMT, Jan. 22

SANTIAGO -- China is willing to strengthen cooperation with Caribbean nations and jointly tackle challenges such as climate change in the future, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said here Sunday.

Wang made the remarks when meeting with foreign ministers of Grenada, Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Dominica, Guyana, Jamaica, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, as well as the representative of Bahamas, one day ahead of a ministerial meeting between China and the community of Latin American and Caribbean states. (Chile-China-CELAC Forum)

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TOKYO -- Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe urged political parties to advance debate on amending Japan's Constitution while calling for friendly ties with China, on the first day of a 150-day regular session convened Monday.

In his policy address on the first day of the session, the Japanese leader referred to the Constitution as narrating the future shape of the country. (Japan-Constitutional Amendment)

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ADDIS ABABA -- Clashes during a religious festival in Ethiopia's northern Amhara regional state has left seven people dead, a regional official said Sunday.

Amare Goshu, Head of North Wollo Zone Police Department at Amhara state, said the deaths happened on Saturday and Sunday in Woldiya city, as crowds shouting anti-government slogans clashed with security forces. (Ethiopia-Clashes)

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SEOUL -- An advance team of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) on Monday toured the performance facilities in the South Korean capital to prepare for concerts during the upcoming South Korea-hosted Winter Olympics.

The 7-member team came by land route to South Korea Sunday, visiting the performance facilities in the east city of Gangneung near the PyeongChang county, the host place for the 2018 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games in February and March. (S.Korea-DPRK-Visit) Enditem