Tech Security Update

• The Uk announced plans on Thursday to reevaluate leftover laws from the European Union.
• The government said it will review the EU ban on imperial units and legislate "in due course."
• The EU-imposed metric system has "long been a flashpoint for anti-EU campaigners," i news said.
• See more stories on Insider's business page.

The UK is considering reverting back to the imperial system, the weight and measurement system that uses pounds and ounces, as part of it's efforts to "capitalise on the freedoms from Brexit," according to the British government.

In statement issued Thursday, the UK said thousands of European Union laws that the UK retained after Brexit "will be scrutinised by the Government to ensure they are helping the UK to thrive as a modern, dynamic, independent country and foster innovation across the British economy."

The announcement said the government will be considering laws that have an impact on technology, transportation, and agriculture. It also said it would be "reviewing the EU ban on markings and sales in imperial units and legislating in due course, none of which were possible within the EU."

Under the EU, supermarkets in the UK were required to list measurements for fruits and vegetables in the metric system, such as grams and kilograms, starting in 1994. However, the EU allowed Britain to use imperial measurements alongside metric, according to The New York Times.

Most of the world uses the metric system of weights and measurements. The US uses the imperial system.

UK newspaper i news said the EU-imposed metric system has "long been a flashpoint for anti-EU campaigners."

Prime Minister Boris Johnson campaigned on a promise of reverting to the imperial system, saying in 2019 the change would be part of "an era of generosity and tolerance towards traditional measurements," according to The Week.

With the announcement on Thursday, David Frost, the UK's Brexit chief, said "overbearing regulations were often conceived and agreed in Brussels with little consideration of the UK national interest," i news reported.

"We now have the opportunity to do things differently and ensure that Brexit freedoms are used to help businesses and citizens get on and succeed," Frost said.

Critics have said changes to such rules seem insignificant in light of the difficulties businesses are having filling positions, driven "in part because of the exodus of European Union immigrants since the vote to leave the bloc," The New York Times reported.

Other changes to back to pre-EU times have also been celebrated by the pro-Brexit crowd, including the UK reverting back to blue-colored passports last year, replacing the burgundy color used by EU countries.

Home Secretary Priti Patel said at the time the blue passport will "once again be entwined with our national identity," the BBC reported.

• The Taliban's "moral police" enforce its interpretation of Sharia law.
• Although it is still unclear if they will be allowed to work, women in Afghanistan can no longer work alongside men.
• Women can continue studying at universities in Islamic dress and segregated classrooms.
• See more stories on Insider's business page.

Women who were employed by Afghanistan's women's ministry were locked out of their former workplace in Kabul on Thursday. The next day its signs had been replaced with those of the Taliban's moral police: "Ministries of Prayer and Guidance and the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice," Reuters reported.

The new ministry enforces the Taliban's interpretation of Sharia law, which enforces a strict dress code, floggings, and public executions, according to Reuters. Although a senior Taliban figure said women shall not work alongside men on September 13, it is still unclear what capacity women will be able to work, if at all, Reuters reported.

Earlier in the week, Taliban officials said that women will be allowed to continue their studies at universities as long as they wear Islamic dress and classrooms are segregated by gender.

The group took control of the country in mid-August after taking over several major cities during the withdrawal of US military troops by President Joe Biden.

The Taliban's interim government is comprised entirely of men, including a prime minister on a United Nations blacklist and the head of a militant group wanted by the FBI.

• Two of California Gov. Gavin Newsom's children tested positive for COVID-19, a spokesperson said.
• Newsom, his partner, and two other kids tested negative.
• The kids who tested positive have mild symptoms and will quarantine, Politico reported.
• See more stories on Insider's business page.

Two of California Gov. Gavin Newsom's children tested positive for COVID-19 on Thursday, a spokesperson said.

The Governor, his partner, and his two other children have tested negative, Erin Mellon, spokesperson in the Governor's Office told Insider in a statement.

"The family is following all COVID protocols," Mellon said. "The Newsoms continue to support masking for unvaccinated individuals indoors to stop the spread and advocate for vaccinations as the most effective way to end this pandemic."

Politico reported that all of Newsom's children are under 12 and ineligible to get vaccinated.

The children don't appear to have been exposed to COVID-19 at their private school or at any campaign events, Politico reported.

The identity of the two children who tested positive was not released to protect their privacy. They currently have mild symptoms and are quarantining.

In July, Newsom pulled two of his kids out of a summer camp after the camp wasn't enforcing state policy to wear masks.

Earlier this week, Newsom held his position as the state's governor following a recall election.

• More than 6,000 individuals are either detained or jailed at Rikers.
• Ross MacDonald, chief medical officer for New York City's Correctional Health Services, said he has "witnessed the collapse of basic jail operations."
• Staffing shortages have created conditions that contributed to deaths in the jail.
• See more stories on Insider's business page.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul authorized the release of 191 detainees from the Rikers Island jail complex on September 17, The New York Times reported.

Earlier in the week, state and local officials went with public defenders to tour the facility, where they found a raging "humanitarian crisis" and even witnessed one inmate attempt suicide, state Assemblymember Jessica González-Rojas wrote.

Hochul said she would transfer another 200 individuals to state prisons in the coming days, citing staffing issues and a rise in COVID-19 transmission in recent weeks, according to the Times.

There are more than 6,000 individuals currently jailed at Rikers.

"Unfortunately, in 2021 we have witnessed the collapse of basic jail operations, such that today I do not believe the city is capable of safely managing the custody of those it is charged with incarcerating in its jails, nor maintaining the safety of those who work there," said Ross MacDonald, chief medical officer for the city's Correctional Health Services, according to a letter obtained by NY1. "The breakdown has resulted in an increase in deaths which we refer to as jail-attributable, where jail conditions meaningfully contributed to the death."

Guards have been forced to work consecutive shifts, staying on duty for 24 hours or longer, to compensate for the approximately 2,000 officers who are out sick or unable to work daily, the Times reported.

The staffing shortages have created conditions that contribute to jail-attributable deaths, including delays in processing and housing new admissions to the jail, fights over basic necessities like food and medication, and overcrowding resulting in detainees and inmates standing in their own excrement for days, MacDonald said in the letter.

COVID-19 transmission has also been exacerbated by the jail's crises. Data from the city's Correctional Health Facilities places the jail population's positivity rate at 5.32%, much higher than city's seven-day average of 2.96%.

"In the more than 12 years I've been coming to Rikers, I've never been as traumatized by what I witnessed as I was today. Hundreds sit in one Intake Pen with one toilet for weeks. Covid will kill them. This is barbaric. I plead w
[Hochul] to visit now & end this torture," New York City Councilmember Daniel Dromm tweeted following his tour of Rikers on September 16.

Insider has reached out to Hochul for comment.

• The World Health Organization refused to say how many of its staff have received a COVID-19 vaccine.
• The agency told the Associated Press the information was "confidential."
• In April, the agency said it was against vaccine mandates.
• See more stories on Insider's business page.

The World Health Organization will not reveal the number of its own staff who are vaccinated against COVID-19, the Associated Press reported.

"We won't have that because it's confidential," Dr. Margaret Harris, a World Health Organization spokeswoman told the AP.

WHO has been pushing for greater vaccine access across the globe, and has encouraged people to get vaccinated as soon as they're able. The organization is a leader in COVAX, a program to help send vaccines to countries that need them the most.

The agency also keeps track of data published by countries on vaccination rates and reports on it but while some of WHO's leadership - like Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus - have said they've been vaccinated, medical privacy rules have made it difficult for the agency to release more data on how many employees have gotten their shots.

In November 2020, the agency disclosed that 65 staff members tested positive for COVID-19.

Earlier this month, President Joe Biden announced a plan to curb the spread of COVID-19 in the US by making vaccination mandatory for federal employees, contractors of federal agencies, and staff at all healthcare facilities that receive federal funding from Medicare or Medicaid.

Additionally, private companies with more than 100 employees have to require workers to be vaccinated or get tested weekly.

In April of this year, WHO said it does not support COVID-19 vaccine mandates.

WHO isn't the only organization not releasing data on internal vaccinations: A United Nations spokesperson also told the AP their agency was unable to release the number of its staff that have been vaccinated.

"We don't disclose this kind of information. It's something that is said to the medical service. So, no, unfortunately, we won't be able to give you these numbers," UN spokeswoman Alessandra Vellucci told the AP.

WHO did not respond to Insider's request for comment.

Ubtech Robotics launches quarantine hotel anti-epidemic solution Chinese humanoid robot maker Ubtech Robotics recently launched a scientific and technological anti-epidemic solution for quarantine hotels. According to Xiong Youjun, CTO of Ubtech, the solution uses intelligent robots such as temperature measurement, ultraviolet and spray disinfection, delivery and logistics, and integrates large-screen display and control systems, mobile […]

China Tech Digest: Ubtech Robotics Launches Quarantine Hotel Anti-Epidemic Solution; Beijing To Advance Deployment of 6G Network comes from China Money Network: Primary Data for China's Primary Markets! All Rights Reserved.

DeepWay, a Baidu-backed company, today unveiled Xingtu, a smart new energy heavy-duty truck with a computing power of more than 500 TOPS and ultra-long-distance sensing capabilities of more than 1 kilometer. This announcement marks Baidu’s entry into the USD multi-trillion global freight market. Powered by Baidu’s globally recognized AI technology stack and the Baidu Apollo […]

Baidu-Backed DeepWay Unveils Smart New Energy Heavy-Duty Truck to Automate Road Freight comes from China Money Network: Primary Data for China's Primary Markets! All Rights Reserved.

• SpaceX's first tourist crew brought a plush puppy wearing a spacesuit to orbit with them.
• The space pup is based on two service dogs, Puggle and Huckleberry, at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.
• The plush dog is sold out, but it's part of the mission's fundraising for childhood-cancer research.
• See more stories on Insider's business page.

When SpaceX's first tourist crew rocketed into Earth's orbit, they brought a fluffy stowaway with them.

The Inspiration4 mission blasted off from Cape Canaveral, Florida on Wednesday. SpaceX's live broadcast from a camera inside the spaceship showed four amateurs pressed into their seats by the rocket's force: billionaire businessman Jared Isaacman, geoscientist and science communicator Dr. Sian Proctor, physician-assistant Hayley Arceneaux, and engineer Chris Sembroski.

They would soon become the first people to reach Earth's orbit without a single professional astronaut on board.

As the Crew Dragon spaceship settled into its path around Earth, a plush doll started floating around the cabin. It was a golden retriever. In later footage, it was wearing a spacesuit, quite similar to the SpaceX pressure suits that the human passengers wore.

It turns out that toy is based on two real-life dogs - Puggle and Huckleberry - that work for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. The golden retriever and goldendoodle help comfort children who are undergoing cancer treatment. They came to the hospital from service-dog school in 2019.

-St. Jude (@StJude) September 16, 2021

Puggle and Huckleberry "sit with the kids when they're scared, they climb up in bed with the kids," Arceneaux said on a video broadcast from the Crew Dragon. "They'll even go through the MRI machine or the CAT scan machine before the kids do, to show them that it's not so scary. And so we wanted to bring one of these really sweet dogs to space."

Today, Arceneaux works at St. Jude as a physician-assistant. But she first got familiar with the hospital as a child, when she received treatment for bone cancer. As a result, she has a rod in her leg and is now the first person in space with a prosthetic.

"Because of my cancer, knowing that I'm sitting here today and getting to represent all these other kids, this is the biggest honor of my life," Arceneaux said in a press conference on Tuesday.

The plush pup is on sale to raise money for St. Jude

Isaacman aims to raise $200 million for St. Jude's pediatric-cancer research by asking for donations online and auctioning items related to the flight. That's in addition to $100 million he's already donated himself.

As of Friday evening, the Inspiration4 mission had raised nearly $52 million.

The machine-washable polyester pup, named Jude, is available to purchase on the St. Jude website for $24, with all proceeds going to the hospital. As of Friday evening, the service-dog plush was out of stock.

It's a tradition that astronauts bring a cute plush toy to space with them as a "zero-gravity indicator." When it starts floating, they know they're in orbit. It's also tradition that these toys sell out after making their orbital appearances. Previous SpaceX astronaut missions have carried a sparkly dinosaur, a Baby Yoda doll, and a penguin named Guin Guin.

Jude the plush dog and his human crewmates are scheduled to return to Earth on Saturday, splashing down off the coast of Florida at 7:06 p.m. ET.