A manhunt is underway between Naples and Salerno, Italy after a shooting at the Deaf International Festival held at the Ariston Hotel in Capaccio Paestum, Italy. The incident happened in the outdoor area of the hotel and involved a violent argument between two brothers and members of the biker group Deaf Bones Motorcycles. During the altercation, one of the brothers pulled out a gun and fired 13 shots, seriously injuring three bikers. One of the injured is in critical condition, and all three were hospitalized. The Italian military police, “Carabinieri” are investigating the case. The brothers reportedly fled the scene in a van after the shooting.

Stephanie Awheto was New Zealand’s first and only trilingual interpreter, fluent in te reo Māori, New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL) and English. She recently passed away from cancer, leaving her family and the Māori Deaf community in mourning. Awheto devoted her 30-year career to making sure the Māori Deaf community were included in the wider Māori community. She taught Māori Deaf about traditional rules, customs, and processes that many missed out on due to communication barriers. In 2021, Awheto was diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer and used social media to share her struggles and milestones, all while continuing her advocacy for the lack of trilingual interpreters in New Zealand. Her passion for developing and normalizing Māori concepts in sign language also led her to invent some signs. Her influence extended to TikTok, where she gained over 7,000 followers. Despite her challenges, Awheto's determination saw her urging the community to make real progress in increasing the number of trilingual interpreters.

The chair of the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry (SCAI), Lady Smith, has made an appeal for assistance in investigating two residential schools for Deaf children. The inquiry is focusing on Donaldson’s School for Deaf Children in Edinburgh, which moved to Linlithgow in 2008, and St Vincent’s School for the Deaf and Blind in Glasgow. These schools are part of the SCAI's broader examination of residential care establishments for children with long-term healthcare needs, additional support needs, and disabilities, up to the end of 2014. Lady Smith released a video with BSL interpretation reaching out to former residents, their families, and staff, and urged them to come forward with any information about their experiences. She explained that it was important to understand what happened to children in these schools, investigate any abuse they may have suffered, and set up protective measures to prevent similar experiences in the future.

For the first time in the University of Louisiana at Lafayette's history, a minor in American Sign Language (ASL) is being introduced to the curriculum starting this fall. This inclusive addition will offer students the chance to be able to study and one day master the language. The program is already off to a great start - once the announcement was made that ASL would be offered as a minor, classes quickly filled up. It was offered as a modern language requirement elective, but this will allow students to actually minor in it. The hope of the department is to educate and inspire those who do decide to minor, to have more individuals in the community proficient in ASL. 

Celebrating National Mexican Sign Language Day! Every year, on June 10, we commemorate National Mexican Sign Language Day (LSM) in Mexico. A date to celebrate the linguistic diversity of the country and recognize the importance of this language as a means of communication, expression and identity for the deaf community. What is Mexican Sign Language? LSM is a natural and complete language that uses gestures, facial expressions and body movements to convey ideas, emotions and experiences. Like spoken languages, it has its own grammar, syntax and vocabulary, which makes it a complex and sophisticated linguistic system. An invaluable linguistic heritage. In Mexico, it is estimated that around 400,000 people use LSM as their native or main language. Its official recognition as a national language in 2005 marked a milestone in the fight for inclusion and linguistic rights of the deaf community.