Thursday, August 5, 2010

A criminal investigation has begun in Edinburgh after three children were killed in a fire at a three storey house just before 3pm yesterday.

Firefighters were called to the house on Slateford Road in Scotland’s capital city, for a reported gas explosion, and they put out a small fire in an upstairs room. However, there was no evidence of an explosion and none of the surrounding houses were damaged. Three young children, two boys and a girl, were found to have died at the scene. Police are treating the deaths as suspicious.

A woman, believed to be the children’s mother, was found injured on the ground in front of the house and there are reports that witnesses saw her jump from a third floor balcony. She was taken for treatment at the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary.

In a statement the Lothian and Borders Police said: “The investigation into the cause of this tragedy is in its early stages.” However, the police have also said that there was no fault with the gas supply.

Post-mortem examinations are due to be carried out on the children’s bodies. Police said no identities would be released until these were completed.

A police spokesperson said: “A criminal investigation is currently under way and nothing more can be said at this time into the circumstances which led to their deaths.”

The mother of the three children, now named as eight year olds Gianluca and Augustino and five year old Cecilia Riggi, is to be questioned by police after details emerged that suggest it is unlikely the children died in the fire.

Neighbours have reported that they heard screaming from inside the house and one source said that when they found the victims lying dead in the living room it was “a horrific scene.” However reports that the children died before the fire broke out have not been confirmed by official sources and only reports by neighbours and others at the scene have indicated this.

Police refused to confirm reports that the children had died before the fire broke out, and say that the results of the post-mortems would help them decide whether to launch a murder inquiry into the incident.

According to Detective Superintendent Allan Jones the mother, Theresa Riggi, and her three children had been living in Edinburgh for little over a month since they were reported missing from their home in Skene, Aberdeenshire last month. Mrs Riggi is currently in a stable condition in hospital and Det Supt Jones said they are hoping to speak to her on Thursday. He said: “She’s not in a position to speak to us at the moment.”

The children were reportedly at the centre of a custody battle between Mrs Riggi and the children’s father, Pasquale Riggi. He has been informed and is helping police to determine the last movements of the family. He is not a suspect in the investigation. Det Supt Jones reported: “He’s heartbroken but he’s very composed. He realizes he holds a lot of central information that we need. We’re conscious of the trauma he’s gone through.”

Theresa Riggi and her husband were going through divorce proceedings and she was due to appear at the Court of Session in Edinburgh on Tuesday. She apparently did not attend the hearing. At that time the judge was told that her whereabouts were once again unknown.

The Judge, Lady Clark, granted a search warrant for Mrs Riggi and said that social workers should supervise the children, applying for child protection orders if necessary, after Mr Riggi’s counsel asked for an order to safeguard the children’s interests.

The children were allegedly educated at home so the Social Work Department had had no contact with the family since they moved to Scotland from the US.

It is believed that Mrs Riggi may have turned on the gas, and that a neighbour smelled the fumes and called the emergency services, which may have led to the original report of a gas explosion.

Tributes of flowers have been left close to the scene with cards of sympathy and condolences.

Lothian and Borders Police have released a statement confirming that the post mortems of Gianluca, Augustino and Cecilia have been concluded. Following this statement a warrant was issued and Theresa Riggi was charged with murder.

A spokesman for Lothian and Borders Police said: “A 46-year-old woman has been arrested and charged with murder in connection with the petition warrant which was granted earlier today,”

“Due to the medical condition of the accused, it is not at this time known when she will appear in court.”

In an earlier statement Mr. Riggi released a statement saying: “Our family is struggling to come to terms with the immense and tragic loss of three beautiful children.

‘Thanks to all who have offered such great comfort and support.

‘We request that the media respect our privacy at this difficult time.”

Monday, March 28, 2005

Chinese media and former ROC President and spiritual leader of the pro-independence TSU Lee Teng-hui (???) responded on Monday to the massive rally held Saturday in Taipei.

In mainland China, the China Daily published an editorial under the headline, “March sets stage for secessionist scheming” in which it labeled the rally as “secessionist scheming” and a “misuse of people power”.

China Daily said of President Chen that, “his participation in the protest added to his record as a man of bad faith. Only one month ago, Chen solemnly pledged to develop cross-Straits relations during his meeting with PFP chairman James Soong. Unfortunately he has failed to honour his word.”

In Taiwan, former President Lee Teng-hui (???) asked for the ROC government to follow up on the large turnout with concrete measures.

The Taipei Times quoted Lee, “The March 26 march ended perfectly, yet it wasn’t just the close of a political carnival.” Lee continued, “It was a new starting point for consolidating people’s identification with Taiwan and declaring the Taiwanese people’s strong will to defend their right of self-determination.””That 1 million Taiwanese people came out was a display of the mainstream of Taiwanese public opinion, and officials should respond to that with practical actions and policies,” Lee told a symposium. “Otherwise the march will just have been emotional venting, which won’t solve the current [cross-strait] problems.”

Lee made his remarks at the Taiwan Advocates symposium.

Thursday, August 17, 2006

David Witt, father-in-law of Floyd Landis, the winner of the 2006 Tour De France, has died. Witt was found dead in his car in a parking garage on August 16. He died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head, San Diego Police said. He was 57.

Witt who was married to Rose, the mother of Amber, Floyd Landis’ wife, introduced Amber to Landis. Witt was an amateur cyclist who became friends with Landis after having the same coach. At one time, they were even roommates.

Witt and his wife co-own the “Hawthorn’s” restaurant in San Diego and it is adorned with Landis memorabilia, including his jerseys and magazine covers. The two had also attended the Tour de France where they witnessed Floyd’s victory.

Floyd Landis did win the 2006 Tour de France, but the result is contested after he tested positive in a doping test. He is widely expected to be stripped of the title.

Saturday, May 31, 2008

In the town of Kasuya, Fukuoka, Japan, a 58-year-old woman was arrested after surveillance tape from inside an unnamed man’s home showed her living in his closet.

According to police, Tatsuko Horikawa had been living in his closet for over one year. One day when the man left, she walked through his front door which had been left unlocked. From then on, she would take small amounts of food from the kitchen and even take showers. When the man noticed food missing, he set up cameras to catch what he thought was someone robbing him.

The woman had placed a small bed mattress into a enclosed shelf area inside the closet to sleep on and when police searched the apartment, they found her curled up in the closet.

“We searched the house … checking everywhere someone could possibly hide. When we slid open the shelf closet, there she was, nervously curled up on her side,” said Hiroki Itakura, a police spokesman.

The woman, who was described by police as “neat and clean”, will be charged with trespassing.

Wednesday, November 28, 2007

Scientists at NASA have recently released the most detailed map of Antarctica ever. NASA’s Landsat 7 satellite took 10,000 photographs of the continent over a period of two years, from 1999 to 2001. 1,100 pictures were chosen to form the mosaic map. Officially titled the Landsat Image Mosaic of Antarctica (LIMA), the map reveals Antarctica’s geography in high definition and with accurate colors. Details as small as half the size of a basketball court are visible.

NASA created the map to coincide with the International Polar Year of 2007-2008. Robert Bindschadler, chief scientist of the Hydrospheric and Biospheric Sciences Laboratory at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, remarked, “This innovation is like watching high-definition TV in living color versus watching the picture on a grainy black-and-white television.” The map represents a tenfold improvement over previous Antarctic imagery databases.

Landsat 7 managed to capture 80% of the continent in high definition. While the satellite was not able to take photographs of the South Pole due to its orbit path, lower-resolution images helped fill in the gap.

The map will help scientists plan and carry out expeditions on the notoriously difficult terrain. The new, intensely detailed information will also facilitate the tracking of environmental changes such as the calving of ice shelves. Researchers will be able to use such data to better understand phenomena like global warming in such amazing detail that even relatively small changes will be visible. Geologists, on the other hand, will be able to use the maps to study Antarctic rock formations.

The LIMA images are available to the public via the internet. The National Science Foundation contributed nearly US$1 million to create the website.

The Landsat 7 satellite will continue to document Antarctica from space through to 2011. Subsequently, NASA will launch the Landsat Data Continuity Mission. Information from both projects will update the map.