The Lao national athletes with disabilities have set a target of winning 1 gold, 3 silver, and 5 bronze medals at the 13th ASEAN Para Games, to be held in Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand, from January 20–26, 2026.

Laos: Paralympic Team Sets Medal Target for 13th ASEAN Para Games! (28.1.2028)

Laos will send a total delegation of 164 members, including 62 women, comprising athletes, coaches, and officials. The Lao team will compete in 12 out of the 19 sports on the official competition program: athletics, swimming, powerlifting, goalball, wheelchair basketball, boccia, football, cycling, shooting, fencing, badminton, and tennis.

An official send-off ceremony for the delegation was held on January 9, 2026, at the Lao National Olympic Committee Club. The event was attended by Ms. Dalavone Kittiphan, Deputy Minister of Education and Sports and Vice President of the National Paralympic Committee of Laos (NPCL), and Ms. Khanthaly Siriphongphanh, President of the NPCL, along with relevant officials.

This report sets out the nature of poverty in the UK, and evaluates changes under the last Conservative-led Government. It also sets out the scale of action necessary for the current Government to deliver the change it has promised.

Joseph Rowntree Foundation: UK Poverty 2026: The Essential Guide to Understanding “Deep” Poverty in the UK! (27.1.2026)

Disabled people face a higher risk of poverty. This is driven partly by the additional costs associated with disability and ill-health, and partly by the barriers to work that disabled people face. However, the proportion of disabled working-age adults in work increased from 42% in 2010/11 to 53% in 2023/24, while poverty rates remained steady over that period. In the latest data, there were 17 million disabled people in the UK — that is, 1 in 4 people (24%) — and almost 4 in 10 families contained at least 1 person who was disabled. The poverty rate for disabled people was 28%, 8 percentage points higher than the rate for people who were not disabled. Half of all people who were disabled and living in poverty in the latest data had a long-term, limiting mental condition — around 2.4 million people. The poverty rate for this group was 34%, compared with 28% for people with a physical disability.

Brain-Matter Interface!

China: Socialist Science Breaks Brain-Computer-Matter Interface! (24.12.2025)

A patient suffering from tetraplegia steered a smart wheelchair through the neighbourhood with only his thoughts and directed a robotic dog to fetch a food delivery. These scenes were achieved during a recent clinical trial of a brain-computer interface conducted by a team from the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS).

This shattered the conventional boundaries of rehabilitation, carrying the brain’s command from a two-dimensional cursor on a screen into full-bodied, three-dimensional interaction with the physical world.

Brain-computer interfaces are designed to create a direct communication channel between the brain and external devices. Around the world, research groups have already demonstrated the laboratory feats, including “mind typing” and robotic-arm control. The enduring challenge is to make those systems reliable enough to vanish into a patient’s daily life.

Technology has become an invaluable partner for athletes and individuals with disabilities at China's 12th National Games for Persons with Disabilities and the 9th National Special Olympic Games

China: CPC Empowers People with Disabilities Using New Technology! (14.12.2025)

Zheng Qihao, a Games official from Guangzhou, said smart, barrier-free modules were installed across various venues. These include emergency help buttons, accessible query platforms, smart service pillars and online sign language translation machines, all connected to the venue’s central control system.

A technology exhibition at the main media centre showcased products such as AI-powered accessibility systems, guide dog robots and advanced all-terrain wheelchairs, all of which generated significant interest from visitors.

“These products are equipped with advanced balance control algorithms and reliable mechanical structures, ensuring stability and user safety on various terrains,” said Liu Yi’an, an employee from a smart wheelchair manufacturer.

A visitor learns about a BCI system designed for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis patients at an industry - research cooperation conference at Nanjing International Exhibition Center, Jiangsu province, on Sept 12. (Photo / China Daily)

China: Brain-Computer-Interface Gives Hope to Paralyzed People! (12.12.2025)

“For example, if a patient sees a flame and wants to move away, that ‘wanting’ signal is captured by the chip and converted into a command to move the hand,” he added.

While the foundational BCI research began decades ago in the West, Chinese teams are now rapidly advancing the technology.

In July 2025, Nature reported that “China is rising swiftly in the field of brain-computer interfaces”, with devices that even outperform Elon Musk’s Neuralink project in certain aspects.

“Although China does not have as long a research history in the field as the United States, development is extremely fast,” Qu said, noting China’s advantages in medical infrastructure and its population scale for testing.

Patients’ hopes lifted

The BCI device developed by Shanghai StairMed is particularly remarkable. With 64 electrodes — each only 1 percent of the width of a human hair — it is one of the smallest and least invasive implantable BCIs in the world. The first male recipient has already used it to play chess and video racing games.

New Labour Continues Its Attack Upon the Disabled!

UK: New Labour Attack on Disabled Continues! (5.12.2025)

Meanwhile, DWP’s controversial new anti-fraud bill – now to be known as the Public Authorities (Fraud, Error, and Recovery) Act – has become law after receiving royal assent on Tuesday.

Last month, cross-party MPs warned that ministers’ refusal to introduce a key protection into the bill could see a repeat of the countless deaths caused by the austerity measures of past governments.

And they warned that future “authoritarian” governments could misuse the powers the Labour government has claimed through the bill, which applies to England, Scotland and Wales.

One of those powers will allow DWP to force banks to examine the accounts of claimants of means-tested benefits and then provide details of any accounts where there have been potential breaches of benefit eligibility rules.

Disability Rights UK said it was “deeply concerned” at the “bank spying bill” becoming law.

1 2 3 19