Japan's core consumer inflation accelerated for the fourth straight month in August and tracked comfortably above the central bank's 2% target, data showed on Friday, keeping alive expectations for further interest rate hikes.

Japan’s key inflation gauge accelerated in August for a fourth consecutive month, hours before the Bank of Japan is scheduled to wrap up its latest policy decision meeting.

Japanese inflation rose slightly in August, with prices up 2.8 percent year-on-year, official data showed Friday, hours before the Bank of Japan was widely expected to leave interest rates unchanged.

A Japanese handheld radio manufacturer has distanced itself from walkie-talkies bearing its logo that exploded in Lebanon, saying it discontinued production of the devices a decade ago. At least 20 people were killed and 450 injured after hundreds of walkie-talkies, some used by the armed group Hezbollah, exploded across Lebanon on Wednesday.

The explosions linked to the electronic devices killed at least 20 people and injured more than 450 across Lebanon on Wednesday, a day after 12 people were killed and thousands wo

Lebanon was hit with a fresh wave of exploding telecommunications devices including walkie-talkies a day after 12 people were killed and thousands injured in a series of similar blasts.