Xinhua world news summary at 1540 GMT, Nov. 8

WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Federal Reserve on Thursday slashed interest rates by 25 basis points amid cooling inflation and a weakening labor market, marking the second rate cut in this easing cycle.

"Since earlier in the year, labor market conditions have generally eased, and the unemployment rate has moved up but remains low. Inflation has made progress toward the Committee's 2 percent objective but remains somewh