Xinhua world news summary at 1600 GMT, July 28

U.S. Federal Reserve on Wednesday kept federal funds rate unchanged, reiterating that it continues to closely monitor inflation indicators and global economic and financial developments.

"Near-term risks to the economic outlook have diminished," said the Fed in a statement after concluding two-day monetary policy meeting. This new expression might indicate that conditions are getting more favorable for further interest rate hikes in the future. (US-Fed-Rate)

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UNITED NATIONS -- UN drug office said on Wednesday that it will step up efforts to stem financing of foreign fighters with a new project supporting states to specifically target funding of the Islamic State (IS), also known Da'esh, a UN spokesman said.

Executive Director of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Yury Fedotov made the remarks at a security conference in St. Petersburg, Russia, said Farhan Haq, the deputy UN spokesman, at a daily news briefing here. (UN-IS-Funding)

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PARIS -- The second young man who participated in the killing of a priest in a church earlier this week was known to intelligence services and police had had their eye on him for days ahead of the attack, local media reported on Thursday.

According to local reports, anti-terrorism investigators identified the second attacker as Abdel-Malik Nabil Petitjean, born in Saint-Die-des-Vosges, northeastern France. He had been on the "Fiche S" security watchlist since June 29 for becoming radicalized and for being a potential terrorist. (France-Church Attack)

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BERLIN -- German Chancellor Angela Merkel repeated her immigration mantra "We can do it" on Thursday after recent string of attacks shocked the country, while raising a nine-point plan to ensure security.

Germany was reeling after a spate of violent attacks which claimed over 10 lives in the past week. Three of the four attackers were refugees from the Middle East. (Germany-Merkel-Attacks) Endi