Headline News

KUALA Lumpur residents can look forward to a new community park on a 15ha site in Setapak, Setiawangsa MP Datuk Seri Zulhasnan Rafique said. Zulhasnan said the RM7.8mil park in Jalan Air Keroh, Air Panas Setapak, was initiated under the 10th Malaysia Plan and would take 32 weeks to complete.… Continue Reading »

On June 8, you won’t necessarily need vision or hearing to experience the musical “Catch Me If You Can”on Broadway. The Alliance for Inclusion in the Arts is spending $240,000 to outfit four Broadway theaters with two pieces of technology called I-Caption and D-Scriptive that will expand theater-going options for the deaf… Continue Reading »

The Commission for Equal Rights of Persons with Disabilities under the auspices of the Ministry of Justice has filed a criminal indictment against the bus companies “Egged” and “Kavim” for failing to make their buses accessible to blind people. The indictment against Eged was filed with the Haifa HaShalom Court… Continue Reading »

Auckland, New Zealand:  A new audio information system Auckland Transport is introducing on trains next week is expected to make a big difference for blind and vision impaired people. The automated announcements are part of on-going improvements to the quality of public transport information. They are also part of Auckland… Continue Reading »

SAN ANTONIO –  The carousel has chariots for wheelchairs. Braille games decorate side panels on the jungle gym. And table-high sandboxes allow just about any kid to build a castle. Morgan’s Wonderland aims to offer everything a special-needs guest might enjoy at a theme park — while appealing to non-disabled… Continue Reading »

THE Deputy Mayor of London has promised a “true legacy” of accessibility for disabled people in the capital after next year’s Olympic Games. Richard Barnes pledged to “make sure London is inclusive and embracing to all communities” as he, along with Mayor of London Boris Johnson, opened a new play… Continue Reading »

MOSCOW, Idaho — A University of Idaho (UI) professor has developed a system being installed in cities around the country that helps visually impaired pedestrians safely cross intersections. Professor Richard Wall tells KLEW-TV that the Advanced Accessible Pedestrian System provides audible signals as well as raised arrows that tell visually… Continue Reading »

MBNA Canada Bank (MBNA), Canada’s largest issuer of MasterCard credit cards, announced today a new alliance with eSSENTIAL Accessibility™ to feature assistive technology that extends the bank’s online services to Canadians with physical disabilities. It is part of a Disability Community Involvement initiative sponsored by March of Dimes Canada. eSSENTIAL… Continue Reading »

MAASIN CITY, Southern Leyte:  “A barrier-free environment will enable persons with disabilities to have access in any public buildings and establishments and such other places mentioned in Batas Pambansa bilang 344,” said Architect Noel Baleña from Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Regional Office-8 during the provincial forum for… Continue Reading »

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia: The Women, Family and Community Development Ministry wants all infrastructure, including public transport such as Light Rail Transit (LRT), bus, and taxi stations to be more disabled-friendly. Its minister Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil said the ministry would cooperate with the Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD) on… Continue Reading »

UK: Colour blind people will soon be able to navigate the countryside with special maps created by Ordnance Survey. The maps, made with help from the Royal National Institute for the Blind, have one palette with shades that sufferers can see. Once drawn, they were put to the test by… Continue Reading »

You may not be able to control it with your mind, but this robotic wheelchair from Sweden’s Luleå University of Technology can still offer something that only a few others can — “sight.” The chair uses a laser sensor to generate a 3D map of its surroundings, which is then… Continue Reading »

A deaf woman died in a house fire last month because she couldn’t hear her smoke alarm. Now thousands of hearing impaired people in the community are signing up to get emergency help. When fire and smoke filled Linda Mackey’s Woodbine home, she couldn’t hear her smoke alarms or her… Continue Reading »

ISTANBUL:  Turkish citizens with disabilities celebrating Disability Week from May 10-16 had difficulty attending the parade ground and the governor’s office in the eastern provinces of Erzurum and Sivas due to lack of disabled access. Wheelchair and battery powered car users were forced to wait on the sidelines, while those… Continue Reading »

CHINA GROVE: The Southern Piedmont Chapter of The Blinded Veterans Association held an informational meeting at South China Grove United Methodist Church on Thursday. Following a fellowship meal furnished by the church, three vendors of technical equipment for visually impaired people showed and demonstrated their technology in small groups. Visually… Continue Reading »

HOUSTON: It seems oh, so tempting. Parking spots meant for disabled people are often the closest and the most convenient. That’s why some able-bodied drivers take advantage of those spots. Starting Wednesday, if you are given a ticket, it will cost you more: more than double. We spent part of… Continue Reading »

The Federal Government has announced the start of new building accessibility standards, which will ensure all new and upgraded public buildings in Australia will be accessible to people with a disabilities. The Disability (Access to Buildings – Premises) Standards 2010 (Premises Standards), which commenced May 1, is an important milestone… Continue Reading »

Cinemark, one of the world’s largest motion picture exhibitors, today announced that it will provide a closed captioning option for people with hearing disabilities in all of its first-run theatres.  Cinemark is installing captioning systems on a rolling basis across its circuit in conjunction with the chain’s conversion to an… Continue Reading »

SHARJAH, UAE:  The Sharjah Housing Department, in coordination with the Public Works Department and Sharjah City for Humanitarian Services, is planning to make it mandatory during construction of buildings and houses as well as government facilities, to make arrangements that facilitate easy accessibility for people with disabilities. The three departments… Continue Reading »

Nearly a year after unveiling the world’s first robotic legs for wheelchair users, Auckland company Rex Bionics has sold it’s first pair to New Zealand paralympian. Dave MacCalman, who sustained a spinal cord injury diving into a river while in the United States on a basketball scholarship has taken his… Continue Reading »