IN BRIEF (Page 12)

Iran

Guardsmen killed in border attack

Three members of Iran's Revolutionary Guards Corps, who had been sent to reinforce border police, were killed in an attack in the southeast of Iran near Pakistan, according to Iranian media reports on Monday. Armed "bandits" killed the IRGC members late on Sunday near the city of Saravan in the Sistan-Baluchistan region, according to a Revolutionary Guards statement carried by the Fars News Agency.

Ukraine

Parliament backs austerity budget

Ukraine's parliament adopted on Monday an austerity budget that raises import prices and shrinks social spending in order to balance the books under a plan backed by the International Monetary Fund. The highly disputed 2015 plan was pushed through by the government-led coalition after a marathon debate that ended after 4 am.

Cameroon

Air force attacks Boko Haram

Cameroon's air force has bombed Boko Haram positions in the far north of the country for the first time after the jihadists seized a military camp, the government announced. President Paul Biya personally ordered Sunday's airstrike, which forced the Boko Haram insurgents from neighboring Nigeria to flee the camp at Assighasia, Cameroonian Communications Minister Issa Tchiroma Bakary said in a statement late on Sunday.

United States

Obama won't rule out Iran embassy

US President Barack Obama isn't ruling out the possibility the US could one day reopen an embassy in Iran. Obama was asked in an NPR interview whether he could envision opening an embassy there during his final two years in office. Obama replied, "I never say never," but said ties must be restored in steps. Obama said Iran is different from Cuba, where the US plans to open an embassy. He said Cuba is small and poses no major threat to the US, while Iran is large and has sought nuclear capabilities.

Former president remains in hospital

A spokesman for George H.W. Bush said that the former US president will remain in a Houston hospital for now but that news of a "possible discharge" could come soon. Family spokesman Jim McGrath said that the 90-year-old, the nation's chief executive from 1989 to 1993, will remain for now at Methodist Hospital for observation after experiencing shortness of breath.

Reuters - AFP - AP

(China Daily 12/30/2014 page12)