Briefly

JAPAN

Yen hits 34-year low against dollar

The Japanese yen hit a 34-year low against the dollar on Wednesday, just over a week after the Bank of Japan announced a much-anticipated interest rate hike in a shift away from years of ultraloose monetary policy. The unit weakened to 151.97 per dollar, its softest since 1990. The drop comes after a top bank official suggested it would continue to pursue an accommodative policy for the time being and has raised speculation that authorities will intervene in markets to prop up the currency. Earlier in the day, Bank of Japan board member Naoki Tamura said officials would not embark on a speedy program of monetary tightening.

SYRIA

US strikes kill soldiers, state media reports

US forces bombed eastern Syria in a dawn raid, killing at least seven soldiers, including a member of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards and one civilian, Syrian and Iranian state media said on Tuesday. At least 19 other soldiers and 13 civilians were wounded in the strikes that targeted residential areas and military sites in Deir al-Zour Province and caused significant damage to public and private properties, Syrian state media said. Iranian state media said an Iranian Revolutionary Guards adviser was killed in the US airstrikes. A rights group said the strikes in Syria killed 17, including a WHO worker. The US on Tuesday denied any involvement in the attack.

BELGIUM

Clashes force EU to review farm policy

EU member states on Tuesday agreed to unpick more eco-friendly requirements under the bloc's common agricultural policy in a new bid to pacify monthslong protests by farmers who faced off with riot police in Brussels for the third time in two months. Police said they used tear gas and water cannons against farmers who targeted them with eggs and Molotov cocktails, with two officers injured, resulting in one arrest. The review was approved by a special committee as agriculture ministers met under tight security in the city's European quarter, which farmers thronged with 250 tractors, setting fire to tires and bales of hay.

Agencies via Xinhua