Air turbulence: When can it become dangerous?
Flight turbulence like that encountered by a Singapore Airlines flight on Tuesday is extremely common, but there's one aspect of severe turbulence an aviation expert says can lead to serious injury.
The opening next week of the Paralympic Games in Tokyo is being used as a stage to launch a human-rights movement aimed at the world's 1.2 billion people with disabilities.
The campaign is called "WeThe15"and gets its name from World Health Organization estimates that persons with disabilities represent 15% of the global population. The campaign is being spearheaded by the International Paralympic Committee, UN Human Rights, the International Disability Alliance, and others.
The IPC is also hooking up in the campaign with other sports bodies including the Special Olympics, the Invictus Games Foundation, and the International Committee of Sports for the Deaf.
Andrew Parsons, president of the IPC, told The Associated Press that "WeThe15" aims to put persons with disabilities on the inclusion agenda along with "ethnicity, gender, and sexual orientation."
"We have seen other movements like LBGTQ, Black Lives Matter, the Me Too movement, and we need a similar movement for persons with a disability," Parsons said.
"These movements have organized themselves in a way that they could advance their agenda, and we believe that so far -- even though the Paralympics has brought some change -- we need to bring together these other international organizations to make this change more effective. Not only every four years."
The launch Thursday features a 90-second campaign film that organizers say will be shown on television channels in 60 countries.
"It's understanding that 1.2 billion people -- 15% of the global population -- cannot be ignored," Parsons said. "They must be included in the society. That's the message we want to bring and highlight to the world."
The WHO estimates that of the 15% of the world's population living with some form of disability, between 110 million and 190 million adults have significant difficulties in functioning.
Organizers will accent the launch by lighting up more than 125 worldwide landmarks in the color purple. Advocates say purple is long associated with the disability community. Included in the lighting will be New York's Empire State Building, Tokyo's Skytree and Rainbow Bridge, Rome's Colosseum, the London Eye, and Niagara Falls spanning Canada and the United States.
"With WeThe15, I hope we unite people through creating understanding," said Heinrich Popow, a two-time Paralympic gold-medal winner at 100 meters and the long jump. Heinrich piled up seven medals overall in four Paralympics -- from 2004 in Athens through 2016 in Rio de Janeiro.
"We want to motivate through WeThe15 with stories," Popow added. "And create the understanding that we also love life."
The launch of WeThe15 comes a year after a documentary film on Paralympic athletes was released in almost 200 countries.
The film "Rising Phoenix" weaves the history of the Paralympic Games around athletes' lives and the financial ups and downs of the movement. It also includes segments about Dr. Ludwig Guttmann, a refugee from Nazi Germany who put together an athletic competition for the disabled in Britain in 1948 as way to help treat World War II veterans with spinal cord injuries.
The Tokyo Paralympics open on Aug. 24 in a ceremony at Tokyo's National Stadium. They will feature about 4,400 athletes, a much smaller contingent that the just-completed Olympics, which featured 11,000 athletes.
The Paralympics close on Sept. 5.
The Paralympics will be held without any fans, even fewer than the Olympics, which allowed some fans in outlying venues. The Paralympics come as new infections have accelerated in Tokyo, which may expose an athlete population that is more vulnerable to COVID-19.
New infections in Tokyo tripled during the 17 days of the Olympics, although medical experts said the surge was not directly linked the Tokyo Games. Rather, experts suggested an indirect effect as the public was distracted and lulled into a false sense of security that staging the Games offered.
Flight turbulence like that encountered by a Singapore Airlines flight on Tuesday is extremely common, but there's one aspect of severe turbulence an aviation expert says can lead to serious injury.
British Columbia serial killer Robert Pickton was attacked and sustained life-threatening injuries in a Quebec prison Sunday in what officials described as a 'major assault.'
As Prime Minister Justin Trudeau continues the 'Team Canada' charm offensive to U.S. lawmakers and business leaders, Canada's ambassador to the United States downplayed the effect of another Trump presidency on Canada.
New inflation data is 'welcome news' for consumers and an economist says it could signal the possibility for a interest rate cut as several core measures also continue to ease.
House of Commons Speaker Greg Fergus is facing fresh Conservative-led calls to resign, this time over "very partisan" and 'inflammatory' language used – the Liberals say mistakenly – to promote an upcoming event.
The Toronto Blue Jays have offered tickets and a signed baseball to a fan who says she was struck in the face by a 110 m.p.h (177 km/h) foul ball at Friday’s game.
Ontario Provincial Police continue to investigate a long weekend fatal boat collision on Bobs Lake, north of Kingston, Ont.
In his latest column for CTVNews.ca, former NDP leader Tom Mulcair argues that if there's an unofficial frontrunner in the eventual race to replace Justin Trudeau as Liberal leader, it has to be former Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney.
The organizers of a month-long boycott of Loblaw-owned stores say they've decided to extend the boycott past May.
Public libraries in Atlantic Canada are now lending a broader range of items.
Flashes of purple darting across the sky mixed with the serenading sound of songs will be noticed more with spring in full force in Manitoba.
Catching 'em all with impressive speed, a 7-year-old boy from Windsor, Ont. who only started his competitive Pokémon journey seven months ago has already levelled up to compete at a world championship level.
A sanctuary dedicated to animals with disabilities is celebrating the third birthday of one of its most popular residents.
2b Theatre recently moved into the old Video Difference building, seeking to transform it into an artistic hub, meeting space, and temporary housing unit for visiting performers in Halifax.
A B.C. woman says her service dog pulled her from a lake moments before she had a seizure, saving her life.
A Starbucks fan — whose name is Winter — is visiting Canada on a purposeful journey that began with a random idea at one of the coffee chain's stores in Texas.
Members of Piapot First Nation, students from the University of Winnipeg and various other professionals are learning new techniques that will hopefully be used for ground searches of potential unmarked grave sites in the future.
ALS patient Mathew Brown said he’s hopeful for future ALS patients after news this week of research at Western University of a potential cure for ALS.