Till now, visually impaired people accessed the world of books through e-books, Internet sites offering electronic version of books. Now, a website development and graphics design company in U.S. helps visually impaired people not only read, but also publish their own books.

Jamaica defeated hosts Barbados to win the first ever ‘Regional Blind Cricket Championship’, recently.

In the finals, played at the Carlton Sports Club, Jamaica made 196 for five wickets from 27.1 overs in reply to the Barbados total of 192 for seven from their allotted 35 overs. "It was worked out, it was planned, we just did to Barbados what had to be done to make us champions," said the winning coach Vivalyn Lattie-Scott.

Key to preventing the spread of H.I.V/A.I.D.S disease is information. A book in Braille has been launched in Namibia that gives all the essential information on H.I.V./A.I.D.S. to visually impaired people. <br><br>Over 2,30,000 Namibians are affected with H.I.V. /A.I.D.S. Lack of awareness material in suitable format has only meant no access to information, discrimination in general, resulting in a lack of access to services. This book is being seen as an answer to them. <br><br>Titled ‘H.I.V. and A.I.D.S.

The world’s first photography exhibition for blind people began in Florence (Italy) in October 2006, as part of the inauguration of the ‘Museo Nazionale Alinari della Fotografia’ or the National museum Alinari of Photography.

The photo (tactile) exhibition has showcased the works of pioneers, the Alinari brothers. Leopoldo, Giuseppe and Romualdo Alinari founded their photography business in Florence (Italy) in 1852, making it the oldest firm in the world working in the field of photography.

40 mountaineers from Taiwan, China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan, Korea and Malaysia, will climb the tallest (12,966 feet) peak in Southeast Asia – Mt. Yushan. They are being led by David Chang.

Chang and his fellow climbers are blind, but that isn’t stopping them from scaling Southeast Asia’s highest mountain.

Through this adventure, Chang hopes to put Taiwan on the map by showcasing his determination in ascending Yushan by foot.

The apartment seems like any other model home at first. Then you hear the microwave and the bathroom scale talk.The new apartment, built inside the American Foundation for the Blind, Dallas, (U.S.), offices is filled with gadgets and design features to help visually impaired people live as independently as possible.

The model home includes a living room, dining area, kitchen, bedroom, closet and bathroom. It offers ideas on how to make daily life more manageable for visually impaired people.

Twenty visually impaired players engaged the reigning world junior rapid chess champion in simultaneous chess, recently in Hyderabad. “Initially I thought it would be pretty easy. But I was taken aback by their wonderful aptitude for the game," said Pendyala Harikrishna. He was in for some real surprise as they lay some `traps' on their specially designed chessboards.

Amruta Bhople is 21 years old, a gold medalist graduate in English literature who has overcome the obstacles of bias and doubt that so often limit the capabilities of visually impaired people.

With an immense interest and determination, she applied for an audition and screen test, organised by BCN, a local news channel in Nagpur. Right from the first test onwards she realised that she could not only make it to the top but be better than the most. Such was her confidence.

N.L.B., based in Stockport(U.K.), is the main provider of leisure reading material for blind and partially sighted people.

It is also one of the few organisations dedicated towards producing books in formats of Braille, audio and giant print, for people with visual impairments.