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GUADALAJARA, Mexico (AFP) — A Mexican activist and mother of an autistic child has died after being set on fire, authorities said, sparking protests, condemnation and demands for justice on Thursday. Luz Raquel Padilla, 35, was doused in alcohol by three men and a woman and set alight in a park in Zapopan in Jalisco state, prosecutor Luis Joaquin Mendez said, citing witnesses. Padilla, part of the caregivers’ rights group “I take care of Mexico,” […]
SINGAPORE, Singapore (AFP) — A Singapore court Tuesday postponed the imminent execution of a Malaysian man whom campaigners say is mentally disabled after he tested positive for Covid-19, meaning a last-ditch appeal could not proceed. Nagaenthran K. Dharmalingam was arrested in 2009 for trafficking a small amount of heroin into the city-state, which has some of the world’s toughest drugs laws. He was sentenced to death the following year. He was scheduled to be hanged […]
SINGAPORE, Singapore (AFP) — Singapore faced calls Friday not to hang a mentally disabled Malaysian man for trafficking a small amount of heroin into the city-state, with campaigners criticizing the planned execution as “despicable”. Nagaenthran K. Dharmalingam was arrested in 2009 for transporting 43 grams — equivalent to about three tablespoons — of the drug into Singapore, and sentenced to death the following year. After exhausting a series of legal challenges in the city-state, which […]
by Glenn CHAPMAN SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP) — Using a raised eyebrow or smile, people with speech or physical disabilities can now operate their Android-powered smartphones hands-free, Google said Thursday. Two new tools put machine learning and front-facing cameras on smartphones to work detecting face and eye movements. Users can scan their phone screen and select a task by smiling, raising eyebrows, opening their mouth, or looking to the left, right or up. “To […]
by Shingo ITO TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — At a Tokyo cafe, Michio Imai greets a customer, but not in person. He’s hundreds of kilometres away, operating a robot waiter as part of an experiment in inclusive employment. Dawn cafe’s robots are intended to be more than a gimmick, offering job opportunities to people who find it hard to work outside the home. “Hello. How are you?” a sleek white robot shaped like a baby penguin […]
UNITED NATIONS, United States (AFP) — UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday called on governments around the world to specifically take into account the billions of people with disabilities in their response to the COVID-19 pandemic. “Even under normal circumstances, persons with disabilities are less likely to access education, healthcare and income opportunities or participate in the community,” Guterres said in a statement released in support of a UN study on people with disabilities. “The […]
by Miwa SUZUKI TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Japanese lawmaker Yasuhiko Funago has a neurological disease that means he cannot speak and communicates by blinking to his carer or operating a computer system with his mouth. But he is demanding to be heard as he fights to improve the lives of people with disabilities in Japan, where many in the community complain of feeling “invisible”. “I was a corporate soldier before I had amyotrophic lateral sclerosis […]
by Antoine Pollez Agence France Presse LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — Whether in a wheelchair, on crutches or without any disability at all, performers from the Candoco company are giving London audiences a fresh twist on contemporary dance. “It makes you very aware of your own body, as well as others, and how extraordinary that can be on the stage,” said David Clarke, a London silversmith who has come to Sadler’s Wells Theatre for a […]
by Pascale Juilliard and Fiachra Gibbons Agence France Presse PARIS, France (AFP) — It is a hip-looking cafe like any other in central Paris, thronged with lunchtime dinners. Except that Joyeux has a little something extra — many of its cooks and waiters have one more chromosome. The coffee shop is the latest in a chain of lunch joints springing up across France staffed by people with Down syndrome, autism and other cognitive disabilities. “Joyeux” […]
by Peter Stebbings Agence France-Presse SHANGHAI, China (AFP) — A one-legged footballer has captured the hearts of millions of Chinese fans after a widely circulated video showed him holding his own against able-bodied opponents and scoring a rasping right-footed drive. The exploits of 21-year-old He Yiyi, who lost his leg to childhood cancer and uses crutches to support himself when playing, have earned him several endearing nicknames including “Angel with Broken Wings”, “Ball King with […]
South Korean researchers have developed a machine that could read the minds of the disabled and transform their lives. When used in combination with an exoskeleton that enables movement, the brainwave interface measures EEG signals and decodes them into motion control orders. Professor Lee Seong-whan and his team at Korea University are behind the development. “The exoskeleton robot reads the brainwaves of the user and removes unnecessary external noise through the signal processing system. Then, […]
