World Invitational and British Blind Golf Championships, 2006 is being held in Edinburgh (U.K.), from 3 to 9 September 2006 at the Ratho Park Golf Club.

Golfer Cameron McDiarmid, 18, will defend the title he won two years ago at Westerwood Golf Club in East Kilbride (Canada).

Visually impaired Minori Nakaoji, 33, riding in a unique wheelchair, completed the 42.195-kilometer New York City Marathon. She is the first athlete with multiple disabilities to complete a full marathon.

"The wind in New York was chilly, but I feel great," Nakaoji said after the competition.

Nakaoji lost her eyesight in her childhood because of an illness. She has been confined to a wheelchair for five years after her lower body became paralysed.

Following discussions with the country’s ‘National Commission for Persons with Disability’, Bank of Valletta (Malta) has introduced this new service for its visually impaired customers to have better access to their bank accounts.

"At Bank of Valletta we are supportive of our customers' needs and always seek to tailor our services to the specific requirements of our customers," said Igino Xuereb, Chief Officer Operations at Bank of Valletta. "Indeed, mutuality is a core value of Bank of Valletta's promise,” he added.

"It has been a challenge but I wanted to create the relaxed feeling you get when you are on holiday on a beach, and at the same time, recreate the sounds, textures, the scents and even the taste that you get in a seaside garden."

Garden designer Tracy Foster of Leeds (U.K.) has won a gold medal at the Gardeners' World show in Birmingham for her revolutionary £3,000 (approximately Rupees 2,37,000) seaside garden for blind people.

The England blind cricket team will enter the 2006 World Cup to be played in Pakistan in December. Well, that’s old news.

The English local cricket clubs too, are promoting cricket among the visually impaired people. Old Sharlston Cricket Club would like to hear from any visually impaired person who is interested in playing a blind cricket match at Sharlston on, July 23 2006. The event is aimed at popularising the sport in the country.

“I'm thrilled to have achieved this record, but it will take a while to sink in,” Mark Threadgold said. "I was a bit nervous beforehand but things couldn't have gone more smoothly."

British diver Mark Threadgold has set a new world record for the deepest dive attempted by a blind person after reaching 103 metres in the Egyptian Red Sea.

The 38-year-old former soldier from Brighton beat his previous record by more than 30 metres at the Blue Hole dive site of Dahab (Egypt) on June 16, 2006.

In a State policy and plan of action for differently abled persons submitted to the High Court recently, the Government has committed itself to work for the welfare of differently abled people. In the matter of jobs, the policy envisages equal opportunities apart from 3 per cent reservation provided against identified government jobs.

Blind and visually impaired students across the United States and Canada met in Los Angeles for the sixth ‘Annual National Braille Challenge’.

The aim of the event was to build enthusiasm among blind people and celebrate excellence in Braille literacy skills.

Here’s some good news for over 10,000 visually impaired people who use public transport everyday. Auto rickshaws in Delhi will soon have metal plates bearing the registration numbers in both Braille and embossed form on the sides. The step would enable blind passengers to lodge a complaint if the driver misbehaves or refuses to carry them and will also help friends and relatives track a particular auto.