Iran says no to talks with US; Ukraine urges Russia to release 24 detained sailors

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps says it will not negotiate with the US

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said on May 10 that it would not negotiate with the United States. It also said that the United States would not dare to take military action against it.

The semi-official Tasnim news agency quoted Yadollah Javani, the organization's head of political affairs, as saying that Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps will make every effort to respond if any force wants to harm the nation's national interests.

US considers speeding up tariffs on $325 billion worth of Chinese goods

The Trump administration plans to accelerate the imposition of additional tariffs on $325 billion worth of Chinese goods after the trade talks between the US and China on May 9 showed no positive signs, Fox News reported.

From 00:01 US time on May 10 (11:01 Vietnam time), the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) began collecting a 25% tax on $200 billion worth of imported goods from China. To date, the US has imposed taxes on $250 billion worth of imported goods from China. In response, China has applied a similar policy on $110 billion worth of US goods. The world's two largest economies have been locked in a trade war for the past 10 months.

Ukraine urges Russia to release 24 sailors detained near Kerch Strait

Ships passing through the Kerch Strait on November 26, 2018. Photo: THX/TTXVN

Ukraine on May 10 called on Russia to release sailors detained near the Kerch Strait on charges that Ukrainian ships violated its territorial waters in November 2018. Speaking at the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea in Hamburg, Ukrainian Deputy Foreign Minister Olena Zerkal called on Moscow to release the 24 sailors. Russia did not send a representative to the trial in Hamburg because it does not recognize the court's jurisdiction.

Relations between Russia and Ukraine have been tense since 2014 when Moscow annexed the Crimean Peninsula, and the situation has escalated to a new level of seriousness after Russia seized three Ukrainian naval vessels and their crews in the Black Sea near the Kerch Strait, accusing them of violating Russian territorial waters. According to lawyers, the Ukrainian sailors face up to six years in prison for illegally entering Russian territorial waters.

Nigeria discharges nearly 900 anti-Boko Haram militants child soldiers

Nigerian child soldiers. Photo: The Guardian Nigeria

On May 10, the head of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) in Nigeria, Mr. Mohamed Fall, said that nearly 900 children who joined the ranks of a group of pro-government gunmen fighting the Boko Haram rebel group have been released in the northern region of the country.

894 children, including 106 girls, who were members of the Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF), a local militia supporting the fight against Boko Haram, were released in a ceremony in Maiduguri city, as part of the CJTF’s commitment to end the recruitment and use of child soldiers. This brings the total number of children released from the force to 1,727.

South Korea remains unchanged on humanitarian aid to North Korea

South Korea said on May 10 that it has not changed its stance on humanitarian aid to North Korea, despite the North's recent launches of projectiles, including a "tactical guided weapon" that Pyongyang claimed it had recently developed. The government will push ahead with the food aid plan while gathering public opinions, according to the South Korean Unification Ministry.

The last time South Korea provided humanitarian aid to North Korea was in 2010 when Seoul shipped 5,000 tons of rice to Pyongyang.