AP, Tehran
A top Iranian general says his forces are ready if President Donald Trump follows through on his warning that Iran will “suffer consequences” if Tehran threatens the United States.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said Wednesday there was no need for him to “respond to any nonsensical comment” but Gen. Qassem Soleimani, who heads the elite Quds Force of Iran’s hard-line paramilitary Revolutionary Guard said on Thursday it was his duty as a soldier to reply.
Japan to resolve territorial issue with Russia
Tass, Tokyo
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has reiterated his commitment to resolving the territorial issue with Russia.
“I want to continue an intense and active negotiation process, which will lead to solving [the problem],” Kyodo News quotes the Japanese premier as saying at a meeting with schoolchildren, grandchildren and great-grandchildren of former residents of the Kuril Islands, which Japan calls the “Northern Territories.”
Hamas vows revenge after Israeli raid kills 3
AFP, Gaza City
The military wing of Gaza’s rulers Hamas on Thursday vowed revenge after Israeli strikes killed three in the latest flare-up of violence. Israel said the artillery fire late Wednesday was in retaliation for shots fired at troops along the border which injured one soldier.
“We announce the raising of the preparedness level to the highest and alert all of our soldiers and forces in every location,” said a statement from the al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas.
US homelessness is on the decline
Christian Science Monitor
Homelessness has steadily decreased in the United States over the past decade. And one demographic particularly susceptible to homelessness – US veterans – has seen a particularly strong turnaround.
Since 2007, the overall number of homeless individuals decreased by 15 percent, while the number of homeless veterans decreased by more than 50 percent. The number of both unsheltered and sheltered homeless vets decreased sharply over the past nine years, with declines of more than 38 percent and 33 percent, respectively.
29 killed in Vietnam’s flooding
Xinhua, Hanoi
At least 29 people have been killed and five others are missing after Typhoon Son Tinh triggered flooding in Vietnam’s northern and central regions, local media reported on Thursday.
Of the dead, 15 were in the northern mountainous province of Yen Bai, six in the northern mountainous province of Son La, three in the northern midland province of Phu Tho, three in the central province of Thanh Hoa, and the others in the northern mountainous provinces of Lao Cai and Hoa Binh, online newspaper VietnamPlus under Vietnam News Agency reported.
