Yearly Archives: 2014

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Last night her Belfast-based solicitor Kevin Winters said her family were relieved to receive confirmation of the transfer. “It has been a hugely stressful time for Michaella and her family. They are anxious now to move to the next stage.”

Dungannon’s Michaella McCollum is due to be repatriated to HMP Hydebank, Belfast after a transfer request was approved by Peruvian authorities.

Peru approves Tyrone drug’s mules move to home-soil jail (Brendan Hughes, Irish News) (not currently available online)

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A Nigerian man hounded from his new home after it was covered in ‘Locals only’ banners has suffered more racial abuse. Michael Abiona (34) abandoned plans to move into a bungalow in East Belfast after finding protestors outside and banners that read ‘Local houses for local people’.

Now the charity worker has been subjected to racist abuse at a second Housing Executive property in the area. He was showing a Nigerian friend his new home on Holywood Road when a woman got out of a taxi and repeatedly shouted “black bastard” and told them to leave the area.

Mr Abiona said “The way things are, you are watching your back whenever you’re walking the street. You’re scared that people will come and attack you. But I’m not going to allow it affect me.”


Victim of locals-only protest rehoused but suffers yet more racist abuse (Brendan Hughes, Irish News) (not currently available online)

Previously: Orange Diss The New Black

Haters Gonna Hat

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Seven cops from the Garda Traffic Unit have been transferred after being caught drinking tea on the job. The motorbike officers got caught up in “tea-gate” a fortnight ago when they stopped off for a cuppa at Dublin Port down by the Docks. It was alleged a member of the public rang up and complained about the seven motorbikes being parked up while the officers were on duty. But it’s understood there are trackers on the bikes and that’s ultimately how the officers were caught.


Teapotty: Seven gardai disciplined for having a cuppa while on duty (Alana Fearon, Irish Mirror)

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People around the world produce an estimated 6.4 trillion litres of urine every year. BRL, a collaboration between the University of Bristol and the University of the West of England, want to make the most of this abundant resource. At the core of urine-tricity are microbial fuel cells (MFCs), which contain live microbes. When urine flows through an MFC the microbes consume it as part of their normal metabolic process. This, in turn, frees electrons. Electrodes within the cell gather these electrons and when they are connected to an external circuit a current is generated.

It is early days, but the work—which is being supported by a number of organisations, including the Gates Foundation—shows that urine could have the potential to make a significant contribution to renewable energy. It might also provide a commercial incentive to build more toilets—over 2.5 billion people around the world have no access to proper sanitation.

There’s money in them thar ‘nals.

Pee power (The Economist)