China, Russia, Iran To Conduct Naval Exercise Amid Rising Tensions With US
Several reports of naval activity from the Taiwan Strait to the Sea of Oman have heightened geopolitical tensions in the Indo-Pacific region, heading into the late year, reported Reuters.
China has just transited its new aircraft carrier through the Taiwan Strait on Thursday, according to a statement via Taiwan’s defense ministry.
More naval activity is expected on Friday when China, Iran, and Russia conduct a naval war drill in the Sea of Oman.
The joint Naval Drill of #Iran, #China & #Russia, Named Maritime Safety Belt, aimed at promoting regional security, will be started on 27 December 2019 in waters of Sea of Oman & northern Indian Ocean for 4 days:
China’s defense ministry spokesman Wu Qian told journalists on Thursday that China will send a guided-missile destroyer for the exercise.
The exercise is expected to last through the weekend and into early next week.
“The drill, which is to start on Saturday, will be the first such trilateral exercise as Tehran seeks to boost military cooperation with Beijing and Moscow amid unprecedented economic sanctions from Washington. Visits to Iran by Russian and Chinese naval representatives have also stepped up in recent years.
Iranian military spokesman Gen. Abolfazl Shekarchi said the joint maneuvers, which are aimed at promoting regional security, will extend as far as the Sea of Oman. The drill is seen as a response to recent US maneuvers with its regional ally Saudi Arabia, in which China also participated,” AP said.
Wu said the exercise is a “normal military exchange” between the three countries and follows all international protocols.
The exercise will be held in the Sea of Oman, a body of water that borders the Strait of Hormuz, where 20% of the world’s oil transits through, on chemical tankers.
The Strait is one of the world’s most significant chokepoints because of the large amount of shipping volume that transits through the passage. If the waterway were closed because of threats of ongoing attacks, then it would paralyze the world’s economy in a very short period.
The exercise allows China, Iran, and Russia to display their increasing naval power to Washington.
The drill is also occurring at a time when Washington and Tehran have had a breakdown in communication, and tensions soared in Sept. when Iran supposedly attacked a Saudi Aramco oil-processing facility at Abqaiq and Khurais in eastern Saudi Arabia with cruise missiles and drones.
A power struggle is underway in the Indo-Pacific region where China, Iran, and Russia have possibly formed an alliance as a rising power to challenge the status quo power, which is the US.
Canadian state-funded broadcaster CBC deleted the scene featuring Donald Trump from their Christmas broadcast of Home Alone 2.
The scene from the 1992 movie features Trump telling Macaulay Culkin’s character how to find the lobby in the Trump Hotel.
The reason behind the deletion of the scene is not known, with many on Twitter claiming it was a political decision.
“CBC TV in Canada has cut Donald Trump’s Home Alone 2 cameo out of their broadcast,” tweeted Ryan Fournier. “They’re so triggered by him that they had to edit him out of the film. Absolutely pathetic.”
CBC TV in Canada has cut Donald Trump’s Home Alone 2 cameo out of their broadcast.
They’re so triggered by him that they had to edit him out of the film.
However, the broadcaster asserted that it was edited out due to time constraints.
“As is often the case with features adapted for television, Home Alone 2 was edited to allow for commercial time within the format,” CBC told ComicBook.com.
The fact that the scene is only 24 seconds long means many are treating this explanation with a hefty dose of skepticism.
Hong Kong Malls Rocked By Third Day Of Protests As Lam Blames “Rioters” For “Ruining” Christmas
Hong Kong police are moving to shut down an important source of funding for the city’s pro-Democracy movement that has kept protesters on the front lines out of bondage. The crackdown has led to doubts about the future of the protest movement, since organizers’ ability to match funds, food and shelter with “professional” protesters who require all of those things to remain on the front lines, has been critical to the movement’s longevity.
But on the streets, a dedicated core of demonstrators continue to disrupt daily life in Hong Kong’s centers of industry and commerce.
Bloomberg reports that crowds of protesters flooded the city’s shopping malls on Thursday for the Boxing Day holiday in a third-straight day of protests.
Pro-democracy protesters gathered in the afternoon of Boxing Day at shopping centers. Dozens of black-clad demonstrators were roaming around at Sogo department store in Causeway Bay chanting slogans while riot police stopped and searched people in Mong Kok and Tsim Sha Tsui, according to Radio Television Hong Kong. The protesters are hoping to attract attention to their cause by forcing malls and stores to close.
According to Reuters, the number of protesters who turned out on Thursday was lower than the previous two days.
In a reflection of the reason for the Christmas holiday season, protesters have been gathering at malls and shopping centers for the past few days, forcing numerous confrontations with police. Hundreds of protesters dressed in the traditional all-black uniform of the pro-democracy movement flooded the malls and shopping centers on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Some wore antlers in what appeared to be an ironic commentary.
Bloomberg blamed the unrest for capping off an “abysmal” six-month stretch for Hong Kong retailers, who have suffered through a double-digit drop in sales as the protests have scared off the tourists and visitors from the mainland.
Protests are expected to continue into the New Year, with no end in sight (unless Carrie Lam’s government bends to their five demands, which doesn’t seem likely). Lam has reportedly said she would resign if Beijing would allow it, but it seems President Xi is insistent that Lam clean up the mess she helped create.
For her part, Lam mostly whined about how the protesters “ruined” her holiday. But after the year she has had, we couldn’t think of anything more appropriate.
“Many members of the public and tourists coming to Hong Kong were naturally disappointed that their Christmas Eve celebrations have been ruined by a group of reckless and selfish rioters,” Lam said in a Facebook post on Christmas Day.
In a separate statement on Thursday, the government criticized “unprecedented violence” and vandalism committed by some protesters, and insisted that defending human rights remained a top priority.
Protesters, meanwhile, accused the police of unnecessary violence and brutality, and for conducting body searches without any legal cause. Police accused the protesters of “vandalism” and tried to disperse them using pepper spray and batons, as well as water cannons once the protesters had been forced out of the malls and back into the streets. Protesters blocked several roads in central Hong Kong, and have also been blamed for destroying a bank branch. Petrol bombs were thrown, and more than 100 people have been arrested already.
Unlike in mainland China, Christmas is celebrated as a public holiday, even though just 12% of the population identifies as Christian. Still, the influence of the city’s British colonial heritage is being celebrated now more than ever.
According to CNN, one protester was hospitalized with moderate injuries after falling several feet after a failed attempt at running from the cops.
Hong Kong Watch, a UK-based non- governmental organization, accused the force of committing “truly outrageous police brutality” on Christmas Eve.
If previous protest movements have shown us anything, it’s that the youth of Hong Kong won’t be easily pacified.
The movement began in June in response to the government’s attempt to fast-track an extradition bill that would have opened up Hong Kongers (and anybody just passing through) to prosecution in mainland courts. The bill was eventually scrapped, but the government was slow to act, and by the time the bill was abandoned, the movement had morphed into a broader pro-democracy coalition with a list of demands that Beijing would seemingly never accept.
The State of California’s Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) announced the new regulations last week, which allows companies with a permit to operate autonomous delivery vehicles that weigh up to 10,001 pounds (4.54 tons).
“This weight category includes “autonomous passenger cars, mid-sized pickup trucks and cargo vans carrying goods such as pizza or groceries”, the DMV said.
Companies will need to certify vehicles are equipped with an autonomous vehicle data recorder as well as technology to respond to roadway situations.
Vehicles must also be certified to industry standards for helping defend against and respond to “cyberattacks, unauthorized intrusions or false vehicle control commands.”
For companies testing driverless delivery vehicles, companies need to ensure they’re equipped with a “communication link between the vehicle and a remote operator and the ability to display or transfer vehicle owner or operator information in the event of a collision.”
I clipped that image from a video in the top link. The actual vehicle may look a lot different, or not.
The important point is not the vehicle, but rather this is 2019, for a while anyway, and such tests are underway.
Amusingly, every time I do a post like this readers tell me the technology is a decade away.
Prince Andrew just can’t catch a break. Ever since the Duke of York was accused of raping an underage girl and attempted to explain why he remained friends with convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein during a disastrous television interview, things haven’t exactly been going his way.
Not only did Prince Andrew “step back from public duties for the foreseeable future“ just days before his mother, Queen Elizabeth, cancelled his 60th birthday party back in November, but the Duke skipped his daughter’s engagement party earlier this month and was just banned from the traditional Christmas church service this year as a result of his numerous shortcomings as a member of the royal family.
The disgraced royal was ordered to not attend the traditional Christmas morning service at a small church on the Sandringham estate along with the rest of his family. Instead he was ordered to attend an earlier service, at 9am.
Andrew was photographed walking en route to the service along with his brother, Prince Charles.
As it turns out, the pair’s mother—the 93-year-old queen—was also in attendance at the earlier service but avoided being photographed with Andrew, in what the Daily Beast calls “a graphic visual illustration of the ignominy into which he has been cast.”
Queen Elizabeth left the church after the early service, changed her clothes, and returned again to attend the 11am service with the remainder of the royal family.
Prince George and Princess Charlotte attended the traditional Christmas Day service for the first time this year, perhaps occupying the pew space vacated by their uncle.
Only days ago it was revealed that the Duke of York—along with his ex-wife Sarah, the Duchess of York, and their two daughters, and one son-in-law—sent out bizarre holiday cards to their family and friends.
It is being speculated that the reason for sending out a photograph of the backside of one of their Norfolk terriers was simply an attempt at communicating that Prince Andrew—and likely the rest of the bunch—are quite ready to see the end of 2019.
The caption accompanying the strange photo reads: “Say Goodbye to 2019.”
Another image shows a wandering path near the queen’s Balmoral estate along with the caption: “We Look to the Road Ahead.”
A note inside the unexpected card reads: “We are united with gratitude for your support and kindness, Thank you.”
Normally one might say things can only get better from here, but it isn’t exactly normal to be BFFs with a convicted pedophile, or to be a member of a royal family for that matter—so it seems safe to say normal doesn’t exactly apply here.
Hopefully the “road ahead” includes justice for the many victims of Jeffrey Epstein along with convictions for his friends and associates who were complicit in his heinous crimes—which may very well include disgraced royal Prince Andrew.
GOP Senators Predict Bipartisan Acquittal In Trump Impeachment
Several Senate Republicans believe at least one or two Democrats will vote against impeaching and removing President Trump once the House eventually hands over the two articles of impeachment which were passed last week, according to The Hill.
With 67 votes needed to convict the president and remove him from office, and the outcome of a Senate trial all but guaranteed, GOP senators are broadening their sights as they plot their strategy.
Senate Republicans think they’ll be able to pick up one or two Democrats on the final votes for each impeachment article. That would let them tout Trump’s acquittal as bipartisan — an angle they’ve already seized on when talking about the two House votes, in which a handful of Democrats crossed the aisle to join Republicans in opposing impeachment. –The Hill
“I think we might have a couple,” said Sen. David Perdue (R-GA), who declined to name names.
“I don’t want to speculate on who — obviously that puts too much pressure on them — but I really think we have people on both sides that are trying to get to a reasonable, nonpartisan answer.”
And in a recent interview with Fox News, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) similarly predicted that a few Democrats would break ranks, and that no GOP senators would vote to convict Trump over allegations that he abused his office by asking Ukraine to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter, as well as other matters related to the 2016 US election.
“It wouldn’t surprise me if we got one or two Democrats. It looks to me over in the House, the Republicans seem to be solid and the Democrats seem to be divided,” said McConnell.
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) told Fox News, “I think he will get every Republican’s vote for acquittal. And I think he will pick up some Democratic votes for acquittal.”
Democrats whose names are being floated for the flip include Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Doug Jones of Alabama.
Manchin, who was once considered for a Cabinet position in the Trump administration, comes from a deeply red state where Trump won in 2016 by roughly 42 percentage points. According to polling data website FiveThirtyEight, Manchin votes with Trump 53.1 percent of the time — the most of any Democratic senator currently in office.
He won reelection last year and has had high-profile breaks with his party, including being one of three Democrats to support Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch in 2017 and the only Democrat to support Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s successful nomination last year.
Manchin has described himself as “very much torn” on impeachment and stressed he won’t make a decision on whether to vote for conviction until he has “all of the facts.”
Jones, meanwhile, is viewed as the most vulnerable Democrat up for reelection next year as he tries to win a full term in Alabama, where Trump won in 2016 by nearly 28 points. Jones won his Senate seat in a December 2017 special election, where he ran against GOP nominee Roy Moore, the former Alabama chief justice who faced multiple accusations of sexual misconduct involving teenage girls from when he was in his 30s. –The Hill
Jones has advocated that his fellow Democrats be “impartial,” and has supported an effort to obtain the testimony of those with firsthand knowledge of Trump’s interactions with Ukraine.
“As a juror sworn to do impartial justice, I believe I should reserve judgment and let the process unfold without political interference — and I strongly encourage my colleagues to do the same,” said Jones following the House’s passage of the two articles of impeachment.
As The Hill notes, two House Democrats voted against the first article of impeachment, while three voted against the second. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI) voted “present” for each.
Another Potential Senate Democrat speculated to vote against impeachment is Sen. Krysten Sinema of Arizona – a moderate freshman who has voted with Trump 52.9% of the time, according to FiveThirtyEight.
Sinema is known around the Capitol for being tight-lipped and does not do hallway interviews with reporters. But Sinema told KNXV, a TV station in Arizona, that she will go into the trial unbiased.
“As our juror it will be my constitutional duty to approach it with no bias,” she said. “And to listen to the arguments presented by both sides.”
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), meanwhile, is pushing for at least three or four Republicans needed to force the Senate to call witnesses in Trump’s trial, including former national security adviser John Bolton and acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney.
Scams are all too common in the cryptocurrency world, with our internal research suggesting bad actors bilked billions of dollars’ worth of funds from millions of victims in 2019. In addition to the monetary losses sustained by affected individuals, scams paint a negative picture of the industry and may scare off potential participants.
But in the case of one notable 2019 scam, the consequences may go beyond the direct victims. We believe that the criminals behind the PlusToken Ponzi scheme could be driving down the price of Bitcoin when they liquidate their stolen funds via OTC brokers.
What is PlusToken?
Based in China, PlusToken presented itself as a cryptocurrency wallet that would reward users with high rates of return if they purchased the wallet’s associated PLUS cryptocurrency tokens with Bitcoin or Ethereum. The scammers claimed those returns would be generated by “exchange profit, mining income, and referral benefits.” PlusToken would go on to be listed on several Chinese exchanges and hit a peak price of $350 USD, raking in “investments” from millions of people.
Chinese media reports that the scam attracted over $3 billion worth of cryptocurrency. We tracked a total of 180,000 BTC, 6,400,000 ETH, 111,000 USDT, and 53 OMG (OmiseGo) that went from scam victims to PlusToken wallets, equating to roughly $2 billion. Either figure would make PlusToken one of the largest Ponzi schemes ever.
While six individuals connected to PlusToken were arrested in June, the stolen funds have continued to move through wallets and be cashed out through independent OTC brokers operating mostly on the Huobi platform, showing that one or more of the scammers are still at large.
How the PlusToken scammers utilize mixers, OTC brokers, and more to launder and cash out funds
While we tracked $2 billion worth of various cryptocurrencies that victims sent to the PlusToken scammers, some of that money was paid out to early investors, presumably to maintain the illusion of high returns while PlusToken presented itself as a legitimate company. In many cases, it’s difficult to tell whether transfers made by the PlusToken scammers were going to those early investors or to addresses under their own control. Nonetheless, we’ve tracked roughly 800,000 ETH and 45,000 BTC we can definitively say the scammers transferred to their own addresses to launder. They’ve cashed out at least 10,000 of that initial 800,000 ETH, while the other 790,000 has been sitting untouched in a single Ethereum wallet for months.
The flow of the 45,000 stolen Bitcoin is more complicated. So far, roughly 25,000 of it has been cashed out. The other 20,000 is currently spread out across more than 8,700 cryptocurrency addresses, which speaks to the high level of effort the scammers put into obfuscating the movement of funds. The scammers have transferred the Bitcoin more than 24,000 times, using more than 71,000 different addresses — and that’s not even counting cash outs or transfers to off-ramps such as exchanges.
Many of those transactions were conducted through mixers like Wasabi Wallet, which utilizes the CoinJoin protocol to make it more difficult to trace the path of funds. You can see an example in the Chainalysis Reactor graph below.
Here, we see that the funds are split off into large groups of new unique addresses, and re-consolidated later, which is activity typical of a mixer.
At other points, the scammers utilized peel chains and other complex movements to obfuscate the path of funds. Peel chains are strings of transactions commonly used for money laundering, in which entities send funds through several wallets in quick succession, usually breaking off small amounts to cash out at each step and sending the majority on to the next wallet.
The graph above is a great example of the PlusToken scammers’ obfuscation attempts. The funds start in the wallet in the upper left hand corner, and move to the right. Diagonal movements represent a change in address type, while vertical movements represent the use of a mixer.
In the end, the funds moved to the address of an OTC broker operating on Huobi to be liquidated — that’s how nearly all of the funds so far have been cashed out. For reference, OTC (Over The Counter) brokers facilitate trades between individual buyers and sellers who can’t or don’t want to transact on an open exchange. OTC brokers are typically associated with an exchange but operate independently. Traders often use OTC brokers if they want to liquidate a large amount of cryptocurrency for a set, negotiated price.
Some OTC brokers have significantly lower KYC requirements than most exchanges, which can make them attractive for criminals like the PlusToken scammers. Compliant exchanges monitor transactions and keep customer information on file so that they can report suspicious activity and comply with subpoenas from law enforcement. But OTC brokers play by different rules. While many are legitimate, others take advantage of lower KYC requirements to offer service to users with illicit funds. Some even specialize in the movement and laundering of criminal money.
And in this case, as we’ll examine below, these cashouts via OTC brokers may be driving down the market price of Bitcoin.
Are PlusToken scam liquidations driving down the price of Bitcoin?
So far, the PlusToken scammers have cashed out at least $185,000,000 worth of stolen Bitcoin via OTC brokers. Those who analyze cryptocurrency markets know that large liquidations generally tend to depress the price of Bitcoin, and others have asked if PlusToken-related cashouts are dragging down Bitcoin. We decided to run our own study of Bitcoin’s price in relation to PlusToken cashouts via Huobi OTC brokers to try and answer that question.
For this analysis, we started by plotting Bitcoin’s price listing on Huobi against two measures of PlusToken’s Bitcoin transfers:
On-chain volume.On-chain volume is the amount of Bitcoin moving from wallets controlled by the PlusToken scammers to any of 26 prominent OTC brokers on Huobi that we’ve previously identified as dealing with illicit funds.
Trade volume. Off-chain volume refers to the amount of Bitcoin for Tether traded on Huobi. We chose this metric because we know from our analysis that PlusToken scammers have consistently exchanged their stolen Bitcoin for Tether, possibly converting it to fiat currency later. However, because these transfers are recorded only in Huobi’s order books rather than on the blockchain, we have no way of knowing which of them are coming from the sale of Bitcoin from the PlusToken scammers as opposed to other users of the exchange.
Our hypothesis consists of two parts:
We expect that any uptick in on-chain volume would be followed by an uptick in trade volume, as OTC traders receive Bitcoin from PlusToken wallets and subsequently exchange it for Tether.
We expect Bitcoin’s price to fall soon after those upticks in on-chain and trade volume, as more Bitcoin is being unloaded onto the market.
Both parts of our hypothesis were proven true.
Our results
Figure 1
Above, we see that PlusToken wallets sent a steady flow of Bitcoin starting in mid-April and spiking just before the arrests in late June. After that, we see no movement until a few spikes in August, before transfers spike again and remain high throughout September. Then, we see a few more spikes in October. As we hypothesized, spikes in on-chain flow to OTC brokers correlate with drops in Bitcoin’s price. There can be a lag, as Bitcoin that is moved on-chain to an exchange is not immediately traded. We see the best example on September 20th, when PlusToken scammers made a large cash out of roughly $34 million worth of Bitcoin. Following that transfer, Bitcoin’s price drops steadily between September 24th and 26th, falling from just over $10,000 to about $8,000 and remaining there for roughly a month.
But what about trade volume? Check out the graph below.
Figure 2
Our hypothesis is proven correct here as well. As we expected, we see a rise in trades of Bitcoin for Tether starting on September 23rd, a few days after the PlusToken wallets sent a large volume of Bitcoin to Huobi OTC brokers. Shortly after on September 24th, the price of Bitcoin begins to drop.
From this analysis, we can conclude that PlusToken cashouts correlate with drops in Bitcoin’s price.
Can we prove causation?
We can’t say for sure that Bitcoin price drops are caused by PlusToken cashouts. It’s possible that price drops follow the cashouts by coincidence but are in fact caused by something else. In an attempt to settle the question of causation, we ran a regression analysis to test how the increase in trade volume between September 23rd and 28th impacted Bitcoin’s price volatility. Ordinarily, we’d test how trade volume impacts the price itself, but there’s only one large change in Bitcoin price for the time period we’re measuring (on September 24th). We need a measure with more variation to look for statistical causality and ensure results aren’t driven by outliers. Volatility, which measures the deviation from the average Bitcoin price at a given time, has enough variation to do that, while also giving us a sense of how the PlusToken cashouts impact Bitcoin’s price.
Figure 3
Our regression analysis shows a positive, albeit small, statistically significant relationship between PlusToken transfers to Huobi OTC brokers and Bitcoin price volatility for the period of time between September 23rd and 28th.
The cashouts likely caused increased volatility in one of two ways. They either cause it directly by increasing the supply of Bitcoin and changing market dynamics, or indirectly by affecting traders’ perception of the market. Keep in mind that PlusToken cashouts are just one of many potential influences on Bitcoin’s price. Media stories, concerted market manipulation efforts, algorithmic trading errors, or any number of other factors may have contributed to volatility as well. But none of those components on their own provides a compelling explanation for the large spike in volatility in the time period we studied absent the influence of PlusToken.
Unfortunately, because it’s not possible to distinguish between trades made by OTC brokers in possession of PlusToken funds and all other trades made on Huobi, we can’t say for sure that PlusToken cashouts caused Bitcoin’s price to drop. However, we can say that those cashouts cause increased volatility in Bitcoin’s price, and that they correlate significantly with Bitcoin price drops.
More reasons to fight fraud
As of now, at least 20,000 Bitcoin — nearly $150,000,000 USD worth — has yet to be cashed out. It’ll be interesting to observe whether the relationship between those cashouts and Bitcoin’s price continues. Given this analysis and the effects we’ve observed so far, liquidations of large amounts of illicitly obtained funds are likely to drive down the price of cryptocurrencies.
The PlusToken scam is a powerful example of how cryptocurrency scams harm the public, and should alarm exchanges, law enforcement, and regulators alike. In this case, millions of fraud victims will most likely never recover the funds they were tricked into giving up. Allowing OTC brokers to operate without scrutiny gives criminals a simple, obvious way to launder their ill-gotten funds, and exchanges should conduct KYC and monitor activity. Regulators around the world should recognize this as a consumer protection issue, and consider how they might apply anti-money laundering regulations to prevent scams like this from happening in the future.
Our 2020 Crypto Crime Report is full of more insights and case studies just like this. Sign up now and we’ll email it to you as soon as it’s released in January 2020!
Brutal Christmas Eve Murder Cements 2019 As London’s Most Violent Year In A Decade
In a year that saw a flurry of stabbings, terror attacks and an overall surge in violent crime to levels not seen in more than ten years, the residents of London are on alert.
And yet, last night, another gruesome crime unfolded, as a father was murdered in cold blood in front of his wife and child on Christmas Eve.
A man shot dead on Christmas Eve was killed in front of his family as they returned home from a night out, police have said.
Metropolitan police detectives are continuing to appeal for information after the 36-year-old was fatally shot close to his home in Battersea, south-west London.
Police were called to reports of shots being fired in Battersea Church Road at about 9pm and found a man with gunshot wounds.
He was pronounced dead at the scene, Scotland Yard said.
A representative for the Metropolitan Police told the Guardian that the investigation is still in the very stages:
“Our investigation is in the very early stages and we are still working to establish what the motive could be that has led to a man losing his life in such a horrific way, on Christmas Eve, in front of his family.”
Police said the assailant fled on foot after the attack, fleeing in the direction of Battersea Bridge Road.
“They have been devastated by this horrible event and are being supported by specialist officers.”
“We know that the victim was returning home with his wife and young child following an evening out, when he was shot just yards from his home.”
“The assailant then fled on foot in the direction of Battersea Bridge Road.”
The murder is believed to be the 142nd killing in London this year – the highest number of homicides in one calendar year since 2008.
What does Mayor Sadiq Khan have to say about that?
Well, there was nothing on his twitter feed, aside from this link about the city’s initiative to combat domestic violence.
In our mission to combat crime we’re also tackling its root causes, from poverty and school exclusions to domestic violence.
Several neighbors told police they heard “between eight and ten” gunshots, followed by the sounds of the victim’s wife screaming for help.
Vittoria Amati, 60, said she heard “eight to 10” gunshots fired in quick succession.
She said: “I then heard the screams of the wife. I came out and realised it was one of my neighbours.”
“He was lying in front of his doorway in a pool of blood. He was still alive. We were really hoping he would make it.”
“You have no idea how desperate she [his wife] sounded.”
Amati said a young woman who identified herself as a nurse helped the victim and applied pressure to his wounds.
A 24-year-old man, who also lives nearby and did not want to be named, said at one point there were about 10 people gathered outside trying to call 999.
Police said there was no evidence to suggest that the community is at risk. Though police also have no leads on the suspect, and the are urging anybody with any information about the attack to come forward.
