So here is where you come in, lovely people.

I do not actually know many parents of visually impaired children in the UK. So, I would be very appreciative if one of you kind souls would point me in the right direction to find someone who could make use of it.

The device usually retails for £1400, not including VAT and import fees, all of which shall be paid for.

If you do not know anyone, then boosts for reach would also be appreciated.
Thank you all for your assistance with keeping our young visually impaired children learning Braille.
#blind #fedi #mastodon #UK #disabled #donation #AT
2/

so, to the #UK #Disabled and #Blind communities on Fedi.

I ordered a device called a BT Speak about a week ago. It is a PDA-like device, with an 8-dot Perkins style Braille keyboard and speech output for the visually impaired.

When I got the device, it did not boot, and I contacted the company about it.

I was able to get the device working again by myself rather quickly, however here in lies the reason for my post.

The company were so quick to respond that a replacement unit is already on the way.

After some discussion, what has been decided is that I will be donating the replacement device, brand new, to a visually impaired child who may not be able to procure assistive technology via other means.
1/

Folks in the #UK, my old colleague Dr. Adrian Bowyer is running a petition:

"New rules for manufacturers of medical device implants

We believe it should be made illegal for manufacturers of medical devices implanted into patients to regularly charge the patient for upgrades or maintenance."

It also calls for "IP" to be released if a manufacturer fails. I feel this subject is important enough to ask you to disseminate the link. Thank you.

https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/656376

Petition: New rules for manufacturers of medical device implants

^{Petitions - UK Government and Parliament}

Thursday, January 25

Russia’s war against Ukraine

A woman stands near a crater left by a missile in the yard of an educational institution in Kharkiv on Jan. 24, 2024. Russian forces shelled Kharkiv three times in 24 hours on Jan. 23 as part of a mass missile strike against Ukraine. Mayor Ihor Terekhov declared Jan. 25 a day of mourning for the victims of the attack. (Ivan Samoilov for Gwara Media/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images)

Zelensky on Il-76 crash: Ukraine to demand international investigation, fate of POWs unknown. President Volodymyr Zelensky in his nightly address on Jan. 24 said Ukraine will insist on an international investigation into the crash of the Russian Il-76 transport plane in Belgorod Oblast.

RFE/RL Schemes project identifies crew members’ names of crashed IL-76, confirms 3 deaths. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty's investigation project Schemes identified the names of the crew members of the Russian Il-76 transport plane that crashed in Russia's Belgorod Oblast on Jan. 24 that was allegedly carrying Ukrainian prisoners of war.

White House cannot confirm claims that Ukrainian POWs were in Belgorod Oblast plane crash. U.S. National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said that the White House was aware of the reports and was "obviously doing the best we can to try to get more clarity and more information on it.”

Ukraine says it was not informed about need to ensure safety of airspace before plane crash in Belgorod Oblast. The Russian side did not notify Ukraine about the necessity to ensure the safety of the airspace around Belgorod, Ukraine's military intelligence said, which has been done "repeatedly" in the past.

Lavrov calls for emergency UN Security Council meeting over plane crash. Speaking at the UN, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov called the plane crash a "terrorist attack" and held Ukraine responsible.

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Kharkiv mayor declares day of mourning, proposes renaming Pushkinska Street following Russian missile attacks. January 25 will be a day of mourning for the victims of Russia's mass missile attacks against Kharkiv, Mayor Ihor Terekhov announced via Telegram. He also proposed renaming the city's Pushkinska Street in the wake of the Russian attack.

Military intelligence: Cyberattack on Russian scientific research center deals 'devastating' damage. Ukraine's military intelligence agency confirmed the media reports on the attack, saying that the hackers allegedly destroyed 280 servers and two petabytes of data.

Fire breaks out at oil depot in Russia's Krasnodar Krai. A fire broke out at an oil depot in the town of Tuapse in Russia's southern Krasnodar Krai the night of Jan. 25. According to preliminary information, there are no casualties.

Deputy minister: Foreign investors want to buy two Ukrainian state-owned banks. Foreign investors expressed interest in purchasing two Ukrainian state-owned banks, Ukrgasbank and Sense Bank, Deputy Finance Minister Yurii Drahanchuk told Ukrainska Pravda.

Military intelligence names fallen officer behind August sabotage of Russian bombers. A Ukrainian reconnaissance unit, led by fallen Colonel Oleh Babii, was responsible for the destruction or disabling of three Russian Tu-22M3 bombers in August 2023, Ukraine's military intelligence agency (HUR) revealed.

Read our exclusives

Ukraine war latest: Russia says Ukrainian POWs were in crashed II-76 aircraft, Kyiv calls for investigation

A Russian Il-76 transport aircraft allegedly carrying Ukrainian prisoners of war crashed in Russia's Belgorod Oblast on Jan. 24 at around 11 a.m. local time. Ukrainska Pravda initially claimed that Ukrainian forces downed the plane, but the information was later retracted.

The Russian Defense Ministry claimed that 65 Ukrainian POWs were aboard the fatally crashed plane on its way for a prisoner exchange, as well as six crew members and three accompanying people.

Photo: Sefa Karacan/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Russia's use of North Korean ballistic missiles not a sign of Moscow's depleted domestic capacity

Russia’s missile campaign against Ukraine’s cities and infrastructure is no longer limited by the rate of domestic production as North Korea becomes its top weapons supplier. Pyongyang has allegedly sent Moscow more than 1 million artillery rounds and the mass strikes on Dec. 30 and Jan. 2 provided the first direct evidence that Russia used North Korean missiles to attack a Ukrainian city, specifically Kharkiv. Experts say this will allow Russia to intensify its attacks on civilian targets.

Photo: Vladimir Smirnov / POOL / AFP via Getty Images

Human cost of war

Death toll of Russian Jan. 23 strike on Kharkiv rises to 10. The two Kharkiv residents found the ruins of a five-story building today were a 56-year-old woman and a 57-year-old man.

Police: 2 killed**, 9 wounded in Russian attack on Hirnyk, Donetsk Oblast.** Russian troops launched an attack against the town of Hirnyk in Donetsk Oblast, targeting a residential area, the Donetsk Oblast police said on Jan. 24.

Russian forces Kherson hospital, injure 3 medical workers. Russian forces launched an attack against Kherson on Jan. 24, hitting a hospital and injuring at least three medical workers, Governor Oleksandr Prokudin reported.

General Staff: Russia has lost 378,660 troops in Ukraine. Russia has lost 378,660 troops in Ukraine since the beginning of its full-scale invasion on Feb. 24, 2022, the General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces reported on Jan. 24. This number includes 840 casualties Russian forces suffered just over the past day.

International response

Shmyhal meets Fico in Uzhhorod, says Slovakia will not block EU aid for Ukraine. Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico arrived in Uzhhorod for a meeting to discuss bilateral relations between Ukraine and Slovakia, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal announced on Jan. 24.

Reuters: EU unlikely to confiscate Russian central bank assets. European officials believe it is unlikely that the EU will seize Russian central bank assets, partly due to the legal risks, Reuters reported on Jan. 23.

EU Commission wants to continue liberalization of food trade with Ukraine. "The European Commission will soon announce a proposal to extend liberalization measures for Ukraine. Member states hope to receive information about such an extension, as well as a vision of long-term trade relations," Belgian Deputy Prime Minister of Belgium David Clarinval said.

Pentagon: Lack of funding prevents US from meeting Ukraine's most urgent battlefield needs. The U.S. government has not provided any military aid to Ukraine for the first time since the Ramstein-format meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group (UDCG) was established in April 2022, Pentagon spokesperson Patrick Ryder said during the briefing on Jan. 23.

US Treasury Secretary reassures Ukrainian PM on $11.8 billion of budget support. U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen reiterated in a video call with Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal on Jan. 23 that the Biden administration is committed to securing $11.8 billion in direct budget support to Ukraine as part of the national security supplemental request before Congress.

Polish farmers begin protest against Ukrainian agricultural imports. The protests have occurred in over 200 places throughout Poland, the Polish media outlet RMF24 reported.

Estonia joins UK-led training operation for Ukrainian soldiers. According to Estonia’s Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur, the Estonian instructors will train Ukrainian volunteers at the U.K.’s military bases and continue cooperating with Ukrainian soldiers under the EU’s EUMAM training mission in Estonia.

Bank of Cyprus leaves Russia. The Bank of Cyprus, the biggest Cypriot bank, closed its representative offices in Moscow and St. Petersburg on Jan. 22, the data posted by the Central Bank of Russia revealed.

In other news

Ukraine's Yastremska reaches Grand Slam semifinals, repeating national record. Dayana Yastremska ousted Linda Noskova in two sets, 6-3 and 6-4, to reach the Grand Slam semifinal for the first time.

Orban: Hungary supports Sweden's NATO accession. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said that he "will continue to urge" Hungary's parliament to "to vote in favor of Sweden’s accession and conclude the ratification at the first possible opportunity."

General: UK must train 'civilian army,' prepare for land war. Britain's recent cuts to its army indicate it is not taking the threat from Russia and other countries seriously enough, said the U.K.'s Chief of the General Staff, General Patrick Sanders.

Want to get the news faster? Follow our website: kyivindependent.com.

Today’s Ukraine Daily was brought to you by Nate Ostiller, Martin Fornusek, Dinara Khalilova, Kateryna Hodunova, Elsa Court, Vladyslav Kudryk, Oleksiy Sorokin, Lili Bivings, Katya Denisova, Abbey Fenbert, and Olena Goncharova.

If you’re enjoying this newsletter, consider joining our membership program_**. Start supporting independent journalism today.**_

https://mastodon.scot/deck/@radiojammor/111443466063539946

Radio Jammor is on the air...

Broadcasting from #Scotland to the #UK, #US & #Canada

https://radiojammor.com/
#ScottishIndependence
#YouYesYet
#music

mastodon.scot

A server intended for (but not limited to) users in Scotland or who identify as Scottish.

^{Mastodon hosted on mastodon.scot}

Last night in the small village we're staying in here in the #uk we went for an epic walk and not only caught a stunning #sunset , the sight of multiple scampering bunnies and small cobbled roads near Tudor houses threatened by rampaging topiary... we also finally got to put eyes on the village legend, Mary, care of the "NO COMPLAINTS ABOUT SERVICE THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH MARY" sign at the local tea shop.

She was standing in a very mossy churchyard complaining to the vicar that the Victoria sponge at the last Women's Institute meeting was dry and demanding the vicar make someone called Linda fix the situation.

Meanwhile, the vicar looked like she wanted to put the Asda shopping bag she was carrying over her head and pretend she wasn't there.

How did we learn this was the true Mary of legend and not an impersonator? Her seven-year-old grandson was pretending to be a part of a holly hedge and earnestly informed us that he loves his gran but that his dad calls her a "mithering pain in the arse." He then showed us a pretty cool trick he can do with his scooter. It was very cool.

We then went home to our temporary housesitting #cat overlords Madame Harriet and Miss Smudge, who informed us loudly that they required their 2nd, 3rd and 4th dinners immediately!

It was truly an eventful and rather delightful little adventure.

While everyone is distracted by a billionnaire in a submarine, the #UK Parliament is voting on the final stages of the #MininumServiceLevelsBill. This will effectively make it illegal for anyone in what ministers consider "essential services" to strike. It removes a basic human right and is one of the most draconian laws of its kind in the world.
Below is the #TUC take on it after the Lords kicked it out the first time.
#Strikes #HumanRights

https://www.tuc.org.uk/blogs/governments-anti-strikes-bill-defeated-house-lords

Government’s anti-strikes bill defeated in the House of Lords

Last week saw a string of defeats for the government's Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Bill in the House of Lords.

^{www.tuc.org.uk}

BREAKING NEWS!

❗️The US and its allies plan to provide Ukraine with F-16 fighter jets as part of long-term efforts to strengthen Kyiv's security, — a senior White House official commented to NBC News
#Ukraine️ #Russia #Russian #Putin #EU #NATO #Zelensky #war #news #Moscow #USA #UK #Germany #Poland #France #Turkey #Finland