$1 million bounty for different reasons

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Global Recap
December 15, 2023 • Read in: 8 minutes

Hi Global Recap readers,

How was your day? As for me, it’s a bittersweet day.

  • For one, I love that it’s the weekend.

  • However, I just realized we are knocking on the door of 2024 already.

Making YouTube videos and writing Global Recap for you all every day, I seem to have lost track of time.

Time really does fly when you are having fun.

🙏 Thank you for tuning in every day.

🌐 Around the world:

  • 💰 Hong Kong is offering HK$1M for pro-democracy activists.

  • 💲 Israel is also putting a bounty on Hamas leaders’ heads.

  • 🇮🇷 Jihadists kill police officers in Iran.

  • 🫱🏻‍🫲🏼 Venezuela and Guyana shake hands (for now).

  • 💣 Report: Nearly half of bombs dropped on Gaza were “dumb bombs.”

Let’s get into today’s news.

💰 Hong Kong Offering HK$1M

Hong Kong’s police are on a hunt for five exiled pro-democracy activists.

  • How much? 1 million Hong Kong dollars ($128,000) on each.

  • Charges: Collusion with foreign forces and secession incitement.

This crackdown follows the 2019 pro-democracy protests and the controversial enactment of the 2020 national security law that is still clamping down on the city’s freedoms to this day.

💲 Bounty on Hamas

Do you think Hong Kong is the only one that can offer a bounty?

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) are dangling a hefty sum for information on Hamas leaders.

If you have intel on the people below, you could earn up to $1 million.

  • Yahya Sinwar ($400k): Hamas’ big boss.

  • Muhammed Sinwar ($300k): Yahya Sinwar’s brother and a senior commander.

  • Rafa’a Salameh ($200k): Khan Younis battalion’s chief.

  • Muhammed Deif ($100k): The architect of many terrorist attacks against Israel, including the October 7 invasion.

🇮🇷 Jihadist Terror Strikes Again

11 Iranian officers were killed by Jaish al-Adl terrorists in Sistan-Baluchestan - an Iranian province.

  • Who are they? The Sunni jihadist group claimed responsibility for the assault on a police station.

  • The group has a history of attacking Iranian security forces in the region.

🫱🏻‍🫲🏼 Diplomacy Triumphs (For Now)

Guyanese President Irfaan Ali (L) shakes hands with Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro (R). Maduro has been holding onto power since 201.

Guyana and Venezuela, in a diplomatic win, agreed to keep the peace over the Esequibo dispute. They’ll resolve conflicts by international law, despite Venezuela not recognizing the International Court of Justice.

  • Context: In a December 3 referendum, more than 95% of Venezuelans reportedly voted in favor of “claiming” a region known as Esequibo, where oil was discovered on its coast in 2015. This led to fears of an escalation.

🏷️ Your Choice Matters

Have you ever wondered: “Am I unwittingly supporting the CCP?”

Given that the CCP has control over companies in China, your purchases of Chinese products may be indirectly contributing to their power.

That’s why: We’ve created a simple browser extension called Shop Safe.

  • Instantly identify if a product is from China while you shop online.

  • We don't collect data, not even an email. No hidden agendas – just transparency for conscious choices.

  • It’s FREE.

Israel

Nearly Half of the Bombs Dropped in Gaza: Dumb Bombs

🚨 Indiscriminate Bombing Alert. A recent US intelligence assessment reveals a concerning trend in the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas.

🔖 Report. The assessment reportedly indicates that nearly half of the munitions used by Israel in Gaza since October have been unguided, raising alarms over potential civilian harm.

  • For this reason, they are often referred to as dumb bombs.

💥 The Precision Problem. While precision-guided munitions account for the rest, the use of so-called dumb bombs is significant. These unguided bombs are aircraft-dropped bombs that do not contain a guidance system and simply follow a ballistic trajectory.

  • They were the standard for all aircraft bombs until the latter half of World War II and remained prevalent until the late 1980s.

So Why Use Dumb Bombs?

🎯 Precision Comes at a Price. A guided bomb of a given weight must carry fewer explosives to accommodate the guidance mechanisms.

  • This means that for the same weight, a guided bomb will generally have a smaller explosive payload than an unguided bomb.

💰 Cost Considerations. Guided bombs are also more expensive than unguided bombs. The cost of the guidance systems can significantly increase the overall cost of the munition.

But…

🤔 Why It Matters. This wouldn’t be as much of an issue if Israel wasn’t facing international criticism about their brutality.

  • Although Israel tried to minimize casualties by dropping leaflets warning civilians to flee before bombings, they seemed to have been unsuccessful in their attempt.

  • Hamas, using civilians as shields, did not help either.

🛑 A Call for Accountability. Amidst the backdrop of soaring civilian deaths, President Joe Biden has criticized Israel for “indiscriminate bombing.”

  • The White House is navigating a delicate balance, supporting Israel’s right to self-defense while urging greater precision in military operations.

🌐 International Repercussions. The conflict’s escalating death toll and Israel’s military tactics are straining US-Israeli relations.

  • Biden warns that Israel risks losing international support.

  • The US faces isolation for not backing an immediate ceasefire in the recent United Nations Security Council resolution. The result was 13-1, with the US being the only one rejecting and the UK abstaining.