Strait of Hormuz; N. Korean females; World Bee Day; biodegradable alternative to plastics

north side of Strait Hormuz is Iran, southeast side is Saudi  Arabia--

part of Persian Gulf region 

5-20-19   "Tehran has a history of targeting civilian vessels transiting the Gulf and threatening to close the Strait of Hormuz, through which approximately one fifth of the world's seaborne oil passes," Foundation for Defense of Democracies stated in a policy briefing issued by veteran military intelligence experts Andrew Gabel and Bradley Bowman.  "During the last two years of the Iran-Iraq War, Iran conducted 143 attacks against shipping in the Gulf.  Last month Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy (IRGCN) Commander Rear Admiral Alireza Tangsiri threatened to close the strait."

Iran has a history of using its terror proxies to conduct attacks in order to shield the regime from responsibility and avoid sparking a large-scale war that would surely end in the Islamic Republic's destruction.   https://freebeacon.com/national-security/u-s-intel-warns-iran-plotting-tactical-surprise-attacks-in-gulf/
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5-21-19    “Victims are prostituted for as little as 30 Chinese yuan [US$4.30], sold as wives for just 1,000 yuan and trafficked into cybersex dens for exploitation by a global online audience,” said Yoon Hee-soon, the report’s author.  “Many are sold more than once and are forced into at least one form of sexual slavery within a year of leaving their homeland.”

  An estimated 60 percent of North Korean girls and women in China are trafficked into the sex trade, according to the report, which was to be released at an event at Britain’s parliament later in the day.  Nearly half are pressed into prostitution, about a third sold into marriage and most others pushed into cybersex, researchers said.Trafficking survivors said prostitutes in Shanghai were branded with tattoos such as lions and butterflies to show ownership and deter abductions by rivals.

 Interviewees told of women dying from sexually transmitted diseases and abuse.Girls and women enslaved in cybersex dens are usually aged between 12 and 29 but sometimes younger, the report said.  They are forced to perform sex acts or sexually assaulted in front of webcams.  A live-stream featuring a young girl can cost US$110, researchers said, adding that many subscribers appeared to be South Korean. http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/world/archives/2019/05/21/2003715531

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1-18-19   Chile-based designer Margarita Talep has created a sustainable, biodegradable alternative to single-use packaging, using raw material extracted from algae.    https://www.dezeen.com/2019/01/18/margarita-talep-algae-bioplastic-packaging-design/

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5-20-19  Turkey, the world's second largest beekeeping country after China, is marking World Bee Day on Monday...."Turkey is one of few self-sufficient countries in beekeeping," Selçuk Solmaz, head of Ankara Beekeepers Association (ABA), said in an interview with Anadolu Agency.  "It's also beneficial for organic and clean agriculture."

  Solmaz said bees are directly related to food safety, sustainable agriculture and biodiversity.  "According to a research carried out by Science And Policy For People And Nature (IPBES) in 2016, food production by means of pollination and insemination costs around $235-$577 billion annually," he noted.  https://www.dailysabah.com/business/2019/05/20/turkey-one-of-worlds-few-self-sufficient-beekeepers-official

    great blue heron
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5-20-19   Montes, 56, came to the United States at the age of 13, was educated in California, and served in the U.S. Navy.  He moved back to Nicaragua in 2006 and studied medicine and law, obtaining a Nicaraguan law degree in 2018.

  Activists said Montes brought food, medicine, and other supplies to student protesters. After his arrest and imprisonment, young fellow prisoners began calling him “pastor” and “father” because of his age and his leadership at religious gatherings.   Human rights activists who knew Montes said he claimed to have witnessed a murder by government agents and was prepared to testify against them.

  An attorney who represents Nicaraguan political prisoners said over the weekend there is “proof” Montes was shot in the back by prison guards.  The official story is that he was among several prisoners who rushed the guards and tried to take their guns during a visit to the facility by the International Red Cross.   https://www.breitbart.com/national-security/2019/05/20/u-s-navy-veteran-killed-nicaragua-prison-riot/

  Human rights activists who knew Montes said he claimed to have witnessed a murder by government agents and was prepared to testify against them.An attorney who represents Nicaraguan political prisoners said over the weekend there is “proof” Montes was shot in the back by prison guards.  https://www.breitbart.com/national-security/2019/05/20/u-s-navy-veteran-killed-nicaragua-prison-riot/