Last week, a group of about 40 Amish and Mennonite volunteers worked together to repair water-damaged roofs on nine buildings at the Aspen Camp for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing in Colorado, United States of America (USA). Organized through the West Slope Mennonite Fellowship and an Amish group called Restore Our Community Colorado, the volunteers came mostly from three Amish communities near Westcliffe, Colorado. Aaron “Beuford” Aeschliman from the Mennonite Disaster Service praised the volunteers for their motivation and hard work. In addition to roof repairs, the volunteers helped with fire mitigation, painting, and landscaping. The project, sponsored by the Mennonite Disaster Service, included an in-kind donation of about $100,000 from the West Slope Mennonite Fellowship.

In the United Kingdom (UK), a British media company, ITV, has agreed to add a British Sign Language (BSL) version of an election debate to its on-demand platform after pressure from a Deaf campaigner, Katherine Rowley. The debate between Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer aired with subtitles but without a live BSL translation. Rowley expressed her disappointment about this, and her lawyer, Chris Fry, said that there was a real need to update equality laws to ensure key public content is accessible to all. Although ITV acknowledged the importance of accessibility, it explained that live signing requires extensive planning and resources. In response to a legal letter from Mr. Fry, ITV stated that a BSL version of the debate would be available within 24 hours on its on-demand platform and all election content would include subtitles.

A 53-year-old Deaf woman was arrested following a sting operation targeting narcotic gangs in Bangkok, Thailand. The woman, identified as Prayoon, was allegedly using mute individuals to deliver drugs, believing this would prevent her from being involved if they were caught. The sting took place on May 10, when undercover officers ordered crystal meth via the Line application, arranging a drop-off at a Deaf community in Bang Kapi. A Thai man, who was mute but could hear and communicate through sign language, was arrested at the scene carrying a bag of drugs.

In St. Petersburg, the final competition of concert programs among Deaf participants took place in May. More than 250 people were accepted. Qualifying rounds were held over 2 years. The best of the best met again on stage and emerged victorious in different directions: gesture song, VV, dance, magic trick, clowning, storytelling.

From May 30 - June 1, the European Men's Football Championship was held in Turkey. 13 teams from different countries took part in this championship, including, Serbia, Denmark, Italy, Ukraine, Great Britain, Belgium, Germany, Scotland, Greece, Wales, Poland, Turkey and France. Everything went smoothly under the scorching sun. In the end, France won. Ukraine came second and Italy, third.