STATUS UPDATES
A week in which robots were warned, a tennis pro lost his cool and a guru kept his
RESTRICTED What civil servants can wear in Uganda. Guidelines tell female staff to avoid bright-coloured nails, hair extensions, sleeveless blouses, and of course cleavage. Not to be excluded, men are required to wear long-sleeved shirts, jackets and ties, and not-too-tight trousers, the BBC reports. Offenders would be cautioned at first, but discipline could await repeat offenders.
FOUND Unexploded bombs from Kuwait’s “Highway of Death.” A military bomb squad was called in to defuse explosives found along Hwy. 80, which during the 1991 Persian Gulf War was given its morbid nickname. In that conflict, aircraft pounded a convoy of fleeing Iraqi forces, killing hundreds. The bombs were found by a crew working on a massive housing project.
MOCKED An umpire at Wimbledon, by player Daniil Medvedev. After he lost to Ruben Bemelmans in the second round, he pelted the umpire’s chair with coins, following some controversial decisions. He took out his wallet and threw coins at the bottom of the umpire’s chair. Medvedev later denied that he was suggesting the ump had been bribed. “I was just very disappointed.”
ADMITTED The guilty pleasure of gothic novels, by Jane Austen. A letter by the English author from 1812, sent to her niece, will be auctioned July 11 by Sotheby’s. The letter was not unknown, but hadn’t been seen by scholars, the Guardian reported. Comments in the letter make clear Austen was a reader of Lady Maclairn author Rachel Hunter.
BANNED Sex robots that resemble children, if a professor’s report is heeded. Prof. Noel Sharkey argues for a prohibition on importing such robots, after a look into the matter by his Foundation for Responsible Robotics. While it may not be a top-ofmind issue for the average person or automaton, the rise of robotics has sparked thinking about what the future of sex robots should look like.
KEPT A long-dead spiritual guru, in the freezer. An Indian court granted permission for the followers of Ashutosh Maharaj, founder of the sect Divya Jyoti Jagriti Sansthan (Divine Light Awakening Mission), to preserve his body. The guru died in 2014, but his followers say he is only meditating deeply, and will one day return to life. He’s in a commercial freezer in his ashram in Punjab.
MOCKED UP New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, by sand sculptors. Artistic types at Seaside Heights created a sculpture of the governor, showing him leaning back in a chair, wearing shorts and a hat. A plaque at the sculpture’s feet read “IBSP” for Island Beach State Park, where Christie was caught Sunday sunning with his family as the beach was closed to the public amid a budget impasse.
DENIED A group of French winemakers, seeking a drink at one of Australia’s top bars. The visitors at The Gresham in Brisbane did not have passports and weren’t allowed in, following last weekend’s introduction of strict ID scanning laws in Queensland state. The Sydney Morning Herald reports the general manager was “embarrassed.”