Li Linlin cried for days after losing her AI boyfriend.

She had exchanged about 700,000 words in messages over two years, and never got to say goodbye.

Li, 24, wasn’t the only left mourning the loss of a virtual companion when major Chinese tech companies recently pulled the plug on their popular AI companion services to comply with new government restrictions.

“It was like we were forced to be separated by our parents, but I still miss him,” Li said.

AI companions in China range from romantic partners to virtual recreations of deceased loved ones.

The new regulation, which took effect July 15, bans AI platforms from generating content that could lead users to make questionable decisions due to manipulation of their feelings or that might trigger extreme emotions or unhealthy habits in children and teens.

ByteDance, developer of TikTok, is among the companies shutting down their AI companion services. Others include e-commerce giant Alibaba and Tencent, owner of the popular WeChat social media app.

U.S. suicides may have worried Chinese regulators

The new rules require AI platforms to deliver risk warnings against relying excessively on such apps. For example, “replacing social interaction,” or serving as a substitute for talking to people in person or speaking with them by phone, cannot be one of the objectives of an online service.

China has a tradition of paternalistic government regulations meant to pre-empt potential problems, said Yolanda Ma, an expert on AI governance. As an example, she referred to a few cases of suicides in the U.S. by young people after interacting with AI companions.

“This regulation tried to strike a balance between the AI service providers, the users, as well as guardians of minors using the services,” said Ma, a fellow with ERA, a non-profit talent and research program based in Britain.

The People’s Daily, the official newspaper of China’s ruling Communist Party, indicated concern over the issue when it reported in April about harms to people’s mental health and real-life relationships from such services.

“The Chinese government has a strong incentive to tighten regulations on AI companion chatbots, especially considering the psychological risks we’ve observed in the U.S.,” said Angela Zhang, a professor of law at the University of Southern California.

Zhang doubts the move will derail development of AI companion services substantially, though, since tech companies are working on alternatives.

The UK has experienced repeated heatwaves this summer, with both Jersey and Guernsey seeing their warmest Julys since their records began – this has impact fridges and freezers

A UK supermarket chain is working on plans to help its stores cope amid a sweltering UK summer after a “small number” of its fridges and freezers experienced issues this season.

The Channel Islands’ Co-op said the issue was due to “exceptionally hot weather”. It chief executive Mark Cox has said the challenges have not been unique.

Mr Cox said on BBC Radio Jersey that about 10 of its frozen food and refrigeration units in stores across Jersey and Guernsey had broken down in the heat in recent weeks.

The UK has experienced repeated heatwaves this summer, with both Jersey and Guernsey seeing their warmest Julys since their records began.

Mr Cox said whenever issues had arisen, Co-op’s “priority has been to act quickly to protect food safety and minimise disruption”. All issues have now been resolved.

“Certainly through our infrastructure, with refrigeration and frozen food, that heat has meant that equipment has been working really hard over that period,” he said.

“I think we’ve probably had across our store estate 10 units out of action, whether that be frozen food case or a refrigeration case – as we stand today we don’t have any issues.”

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Product loss had been “very small” as a result of the break downs and staff have worked working quickly to avoid food waste.

Mr Cox expects to see “an improving situation” as temperatures start to cool in the coming weeks.

Co-op is developing plans to ensure its infrastructure could cope with high temperatures in the future.

The Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is in hot water for a second comment he made during the same podcast recording he suggested he would sleep with Kylie Minogue

Australia’s Prime Minister is in hot water for another ‘ungracious’ comment — this time about his Japanese counterpart.

Weeks after apologising for suggesting he would ‘sh*g’ Aussie pop icon Kylie Minogue while appearing on a podcast, Anthony Albanese was forced to deny he made a ‘sexist’ comment about Japanese leader Sanae Takaichi on Monday (August 10) during the same recording.

During the Bush Deep episode, Labor PM Albanese was asked what the ‘most crap’ gift he had received while in office. He replied with a ‘pretty strange’ present from Takaichi, who is Japan’s first female Prime Minister.

“The Japanese Prime Minister brought a melon,” Albanese explained. “It was a royal melon.”

Host Nikki Osborne interjected: “Did she smuggle it [into the country]?”

Albanese replied, holding his hands in front of his chest: “Got a couple melons!”

When Osborne suggested Takaichi ‘came in looking like Pamela Anderson’, Albanese hit back: “She brought two. And they’re beautiful.”

The former Japanese ambassador to Australia, Shingo Yamagami, slammed the comments in a column on Monday, calling them ‘sexist’ and ‘ungracious’.

He wrote: “The last thing she expected was to be so casually mocked by the trusted leader of Japan’s special strategic partner.

“However lighthearted it was intended to be, the recent joke delivered by PM Anthony Albanese at the expense of Japanese PM Sanae Takaichi is how he might be remembered by Japanese who most value the friendship with Australia.”

Commentators in Japan have also criticised Albanese, but the government has yet to comment. In Canberra, Labor opponents said the remarks were ‘grubby’ and ‘inappropriate’, reports The Age.

Opposition leader Angus Taylor said in a press conference: “The comments were beneath the office of Prime Minister. They were insulting, and the Prime Minister should make a personal apology.

“The hypocrisy of Labor and the prime minister on this topic knows no bounds, no bounds whatsoever.”

Albanese’s office hit back at the opposition. A statement said: “This assertion is wrong.”

Last month, Albanese apologised after being roundly criticised for suggesting he would ‘sh*g’ Kylie on the same podcast.

Asked by Osborne who he would date, sleep with, or marry between Aussie celebrities Kylie, Nicole Kidman, and Rhonda Burchmore, he said ‘Kylie, clearly’ to ‘all of the above’, when pressed by Osborne.

He initially dodged the question by pointing out he had recently got married to Jodie Haydon, his second wife.

The next federal election will take place in 2028, with Labor holding a slim lead over populist far-right party One Nation and traditional centre-right opponents Liberal-National coalition.

Vanessa Feltz vented her fury at British Airways on Sunday after she and her grandchildren were stranded in Sardinia due to a system failure.

The broadcaster, 64, had flown to the Italian hotspot for a holiday with her family, but has shared on Instagram they were stuck in a ‘hellish’ queue waiting to see whether they could board their flight.

Vanessa shared a video ranting that she and her family had received no updates from British Airways on the status of their flight.

However, she managed to see the lighter side, with the single star joking that ‘maybe she would find a man’ while waiting in the queue.

She said: ‘British Airways in Sardinia, the whole system is down, we’re all standing in the queue, waiting and waiting and waiting. 

‘They’ve got no plan, there’s no alternative, I don’t know what they’re going to suggest, and we’re all just waiting, waiting. 

The broadcaster had flown to the Italian hotspot for a holiday (pictured), but has shared she was stuck in a ‘hellish’ queue due to the delays

‘I’ve got four little grandchildren, and we’re actually, we’re forming great relationships, and maybe I’ll find a man to marry me in the queue, I don’t know, but so far, nothing!’

In a second video, she added: ‘Still standing in this hellish queue that just doesn’t move at all because the whole British Airways system is down. 

‘No one is telling us anything, no one knows, everyone is thinking ”throw away our luggage, just throw it away. 

‘What’s in there anyway, a few old things from Matalan, a few old things from Dunnes Stores in Ireland in 1807, I don’t care if I never see my suitcase, I just want to go home!” that type of thing.

‘And no one’s caring, apparently they could possibly do it manually but they need authorisation, from who, God himself what the hell? What the heck?’

When she returns to the UK, Vanessa is set to launch her own YouTube series, after her daytime show on Channel 5 was axed.

It was revealed last month that bosses ‘blindsided’ the presenter, 64, when they made the decision to axe her chat show after just one year on air.

A determined Vanessa told viewers in her final episode last month that she ‘is not going to hide under a rock’. 

Vanessa managed to see the lighter side, with the single star joking that ‘maybe she would find a man’ while waiting in the queue

And less than a week later, the star announced her new social media show which will be filmed at her home with her friends.  

She wrote: ‘Welcome to At Home with Vanessa a brand spanking new show coming to YouTube, Instagram, TikTok and the universe in mid-August. 

‘Filmed at Feltz Towers – my real house, with my real chums, bottomless bagels and cocktails on tap, I’m hoping you’ll pop over to Vanessa Feltz on YouTube, subscribe for free, get on board and thoroughly enjoy the ride.’

Her TV friends including Ruth Langsford and Charlotte Hawkins quickly took to the comments to show their support to Vanessa and even Holly commented: ‘Yay.’ 

The news comes days after the golden girl of daytime TV Holly dropped her new YouTube show, Together Together.

EXCLUSIVE: The MP for East Kilbride thanked Joe Fagan for standing by her after she voluntarily suspended her Labour membership.

Joani Reid has admitted facing a “rough few months” after her husband was arrested on suspicion of spying for China.

The MP for East Kilbride chose to voluntarily suspend her Labour membership in March after David Taylor was charged with assisting a foreign intelligence service.

Reid, who was never accused of wrongdoing, was readmitted to the party last month following an internal investigation.

She thanked Scottish Labour leadership hopeful Joe Fagan for standing by her during the ordeal.

“I’ve had a rough few months, and politics can go quiet around you when that happens,” she said in a column for the Record.

“But not Joe. He stood by me when there was nothing in it for him. Because he thought it was the right thing to do. That tells me something about his character. He is a decent man. And a kind man.”

Reid is now backing Fagan, a South Scotland MSP elected for the first time in May, to succeed Anas Sarwar as the next Scottish Labour leader.

The MP said: “People hear a great deal from the Scottish political class about language, identity and symbolism. They hear far less that convinces them Scottish Labour understands their lives, respects their values or is interested in where they live.

“Joe understands that because he has never been absorbed into the Holyrood bubble. His politics were formed in East Kilbride and local government. He listens properly, knows his own mind and is comfortable with people who don’t spend their lives talking about politics.

“Local government strips away much of the political theatre, and there is little glamour involved. A care package arrives or somebody goes without. A family gets the keys or stays in temporary accommodation. Folk know who is responsible when something goes wrong, and they’ll tell you between the tills and the car park.

“He takes the same approach to the North Sea. He is the first candidate to say he will fight for Rosebank and Jackdaw until the UK Government approves them. I agree with him, and I would sooner say it now than after more jobs are lost.

“He’ll have more to say on policy in the coming weeks. What I already know is that he understands what Labour should stand for and what it should be doing.”

Taylor was arrested in London in March and has since been released on bail.

Matthew Aplin, 43, and Steve Jones, 68, have also been bailed after being arrested in Wales.

Counter-terrorism police have searched properties where the men were arrested as well as others in Cardiff, East Kilbride and London.

Following Taylor’s arrest, Reid aid she had never been to China, nor spoken on any China-related matters in the House of Commons.

LAS VEGAS (AP) — The case of rap icon Tupac Shakur’s killing has been unresolved for decades; now the man charged in his 1996 killing in Las Vegas is going to trial.

Duane “Keffe D” Davis, 63, faces one charge of murder with a deadly weapon with the intent to promote, further or assist a criminal gang in Shakur’s death. Jury selection begins Monday, with the trial scheduled to last about a month.

The trial will bring to a head one of the biggest mysteries in the hip-hop world that gripped the public for decades. Shakur, who also went by the stage names 2Pac and Makaveli, is considered one of the most influential rappers of all time.

Shakur was shot in Las Vegas on Sept. 7, 1996. He was in a black BMW with music mogul Marion “Suge” Knight on their way to Club 662, where Shakur was scheduled to perform, when a white Cadillac pulled up beside them. Gunfire erupted. Shakur, who was in the passenger seat, was shot multiple times and died six days later, while Knight survived.

The case went cold until recent years, when public statements and a tell-all memoir from Davis revived the case. He was a leader of South Side Compton Crips at the time of Shakur’s death. Davis was arrested in 2023 and pleaded not guilty.

Here’s what to know about the trial.

When and where the trial will be held

It will take place in Clark County District Court in Las Vegas, with Judge Carli Kierny presiding over the case.

Jury selection starts Monday. That’s expected to take a few days. Then, the prosecution and defense will give opening statements and witness testimony will begin.

Inside the courtroom, seats for the public will be in short supply, with a daily lottery for a chance to get one. A room on the second floor of the court will be open to the public and will show a live feed of the trial.

The trial likely won’t answer ‘who pulled the trigger’

Prosecutors are not arguing that Davis is the one who pulled the trigger that night, and the trial likely won’t confirm who fired at Shakur. Instead, prosecutors plan to prove that Davis made the calls that led to Shakur’s death and provided the gun used to shoot Shakur.

Davis is the co-author of the memoir “Compton Street Legends,” which describes his exact role in the shooting. The book says that Davis obtained a handgun from an associate and tossed it into the back seat of the Cadillac but did not say who fired the fatal shots.

Orlando “Baby Lane” Anderson, Davis’ nephew, has long been considered the suspect who pulled the trigger, but charges were never brought against him in the killing. He died two years after Shakur’s death in an unrelated gang shootout in Compton, California.

Two others — Deandrae “Freaky” Smith and Terry “Bubble Up” Brown — were in the car with Davis and Anderson, but they have since died as well.

Who is expected to testify

Prosecutors expect to call between 35 and 45 witnesses during the trial, ranging from people who saw Shakur moments before he was shot to people who were in both Shakur and Davis’ orbits at the time.

Their witness list includes former Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman and members of Shakur’s family. However not everyone on the list will necessarily testify. Rather, attorneys may ask potential jurors if they’re familiar with certain names.

In grand jury testimony, Lee testified that rival gangs, the Crips and Mob Piru, were tied to dueling record labels Death Row Records and Bad Boy Records.

Though he wasn’t there that night, Lee also testified that Anderson didn’t have a clear shot, so Smith took the gun and did the shooting. He also said Davis was in charge and gave the gun to Anderson, who gave it to Smith.

The witness list includes others who previously testified to the grand jury, including Malcolm Greenidge, a friend of Shakur’s who was traveling in his entourage that night. Reggie Wright, who grew up in Compton and did security for Death Row Records, is also expected to testify.

But other witnesses will be new, including a former member of Death Row’s security team and a former member of Mob Piru who was at Club 662 the night Shakur was shot.

Witnesses also include former police officers and detectives, as well as gang experts.

Davis’ defense attorney is expected to call less than a handful of witnesses, including one expert in the area of false confessions and coercive interrogation techniques.

Celebrities could be at the trial

Prosecutors requested to have multiple out-of-state witnesses testify, and it’s unclear who those people are.

One of the witnesses is in prison in California, according to court records. Knight is serving a 28-year prison sentence in California for running over and killing a Compton businessman outside a burger stand in January 2015. He previously said he would not testify in Davis’ case.

As the only other living eyewitness who was in one of the two vehicles that night, Knight’s testimony could make or break the case.

Davis’ defense attorney Michael Sanft told The Associated Press that Knight would be a good witness for Davis’ defense if he did testify.

Fans have also speculated whether Sean “Diddy” Combs will testify. Combs is currently serving a four-year prison sentence in New Jersey following his conviction of prostitution-related charges.

In his book, Davis alleged Combs wanted Knight and Shakur dead and offered Davis money to kill them. Combs has long denied having any involvement in the shooting.

A spokesperson for Combs did not return emailed requests asking whether he plans to testify and his name does not appear on any witness list.

New York Democratic congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has revealed she has decided to freeze her eggs and has shared her first steps in the process on social media.

The 36-year-old posted the clips on Sunday, hours before telling ABC News This Week she had not “ruled out the possibility” of running for president.

In the clips, Ocasio-Cortez shows herself taking an injection and talks through tips she has learnt, before answering questions about costs, clinical procedures, storage and how fertility care works under what she calls the US’s “broken” medical system.

In an interview on ABC News she said she wanted to “normalise” conversations about the process.

She said it was important “especially in this political environment”.

“This administration is denying reproductive care to women across the country, from abortion rights to the ability to carry out a healthy pregnancy,” she said. “I think it’s important for us as leaders to have these conversations and share these processes,” she added.

In an earlier post on Instagram she said she wanted to share the information even though there was a “political risk” in doing so.

When asked if she would run for president in the 2028 elections after being shown polling reflecting her popularity as a potential candidate, Ocasio-Cortez chuckled and tried to sidestep a direct answer.

“I’m focused on winning the midterms, I’m running for Congress right now,” she said.

But when pushed as to whether she was open to it and whether it was a realistic prospect, she said: “I haven’t ruled out the possibility and I’m very humbled to the tremendous amount of support out there.”

“We have a responsibility to remain focused on the midterms and not on our individual aspirations or plans,” she said.

After she was asked about a possible Senate run against minority leader Chuck Schumer, the US Senate’s top Democrat, Ocasio-Cortez replied that “anything was possible”.

The midterms are held every two years and fall in the middle of the president’s four-year term of office.

They are due to be held in early November. Votes will be cast for all 435 seats in the US House of Representatives, and a third of the 100 seats in the Senate are up for grabs.

Local governments have urged people to avoid outdoor activities, while several top tourist attractions remain closed, including parts of Disneyland and Legoland, and several viewing platforms along the Bund in Shanghai.

Footage on state media show ground-floor businesses flooded in the former French Concession in Shanghai – an area popular with tourists – and people walking through ankle-deep waters.

Several state media outlets have reported that a nine-year-old boy from Wenling, Zhejiang is missing after being swept into the sea. Chinese officials have not reported any casualties.

Parts of Zhejiang could receive 250mm to 500mm of rain over the next few days, forecasters say.

Authorities in Hangzhou, Zhejiang’s capital city, have waived parking fees in all public spaces for drivers seeking shelter amid the strong winds and floodwaters.

Elsewhere in the province, Wenzhou authorities have relocated some 900,000 residents and opened more than 1,000 emergency shelters, while about 390,000 people have been evacuated from their homes in the city of Taizhou.

In the coastal province of Fujian, maritime authorities have suspended dozens of passenger ferry routes and halted more than 100 offshore construction projects.

The storm moved over a long distance of 6,000km before making landfall, suggesting a lifespan of more than three times that of an average typhoon, according to China’s state broadcaster CCTV.

It also has a massive cirulation size and intense rainfall capacity, CCTV reported.

Four fire engines from Bolton Central, Bolton North, and Farnworth responded to reports of a fire in Rawson Road, Halliwell.

The blaze began shortly after 2.19am on Saturday, August 8, and the fire was in the bathroom of a terraced house on the street.

Firefighters quickly extinguished the blaze using a hose reel and a ventilation fan.

Crews were at the scene for around an hour and twenty minutes in total.

The four individuals were treated at the scene and then taken into the care of North West Ambulance Service (NWAS).

A spokesperson for Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service (GMFRS) said: “Shortly after 2.19am yesterday (Saturday, August 8), four fire engines from Bolton Central, Bolton North and Farnworth fire stations were called to reports of a fire in the bathroom of a terraced house on Rawson Road in Halliwell, Bolton.

“Crews arrived quickly at the scene. Firefighters wearing breathing apparatus used a hose reel and a positive pressure ventilation fan to extinguish the fire.

“Four people were treated at the scene for smoke inhalation and taken into the care of North West Ambulance Service.

“Crews were in attendance for around one hour and 20 minutes, and worked with colleagues at Greater Manchester Police to make the area safe.”

The fire service worked alongside Greater Manchester Police (GMP) to ensure the area was safe.

Both NWAS and GMP have been contacted by the Bolton News for comment.

GMP confirmed officers attended but said no offences were identified.

We will bring you any updates as they come.

Jose Mourinho’s new Netflix documentary delivered a bombshell regarding one awkward conversation with Manchester United legend Sir Alex Ferguson

Sir Alex Ferguson has revealed how Jose Mourinho cried on the phone to him after confirming he wouldn’t be able to replace him as Manchester United manager. ‘The Special One’ had initially agreed to take the Old Trafford gig when Ferguson retired in 2013 before a sudden U-turn.

At the time, Mourinho was on his way out of Real Madrid following a calamitous third season at the club. Five years after leaving Chelsea for the first time, the Portuguese tactician was suddenly back on the market just as his old Premier League rival was calling time on his 27-year stay at United.

Speaking on Netflix’s new ‘Mourinho’ documentary, which airs on Tuesday (August 11), Ferguson addressed Mourinho’s emotional call after reneging on their agreement.

“He was offered the job, yes,” said the United great. “I sat him down and explained the situation and, as far as I was concerned, he was accepting. And then, within hours, had changed.”

Mourinho was long tipped as a potential candidate to succeed Ferguson when his time at United was up. However, after feeling ‘betrayed’ by certain players at Real and hounded out of the Bernabeu, he felt his needs were better met with a return to Stamford Bridge.

“I was, of course, very flattered, because Man United has an incredible appeal,” said Mourinho. “When I say Real Madrid is the biggest club in the world, I have to say that Man United is very, very close.

“But one thing is love for football, and another thing is love for a certain club. I think this is more powerful than love for football. And fundamentally, after Real Madrid, I needed to feel I am loved.”

Despite previously falling out with then-Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich, The Special One was convinced his immediate future lay back at Stamford Bridge. However, that didn’t make it any easier to break the news to a man he holds in the highest regard.

Ferguson said: “Early evening, he phoned me and he was crying. And he says, ‘Alex, I can’t take it. I’ve given my word to Chelsea and I’m not gonna break my word’. The reason he gave to me, I could understand. But I was disappointed.”

United ended up hiring David Moyes as Ferguson’s heir in what turned out to be a dismal 10-month tenure. Louis van Gaal then picked up the reins and won the FA Cup in the second half of his two-season stint before Mourinho finally came aboard.

“For me to lose the chance to be the coach to succeed Sir Alex Ferguson was…dramatic,” Mourinho continued. “But I don’t regret [it], because it was a decision I made with my heart.

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“I think it’s [philosopher Friedrich] Nietzsche [who said] that when you do something for something you love, it is never wrong.”

Mourinho rejoined Chelsea just two weeks after it was announced he was leaving Real by mutual consent. It wasn’t the same success story as his first stint in west London, though he did win a Premier League and EFL Cup double with the Blues in 2015.

By the time he arrived at Old Trafford in 2016, the wheels of motion Sir Alex had put in place at United had already come loose. Yet despite the shortcomings of the new regime, Mourinho went on to win both the Europa League and a League Cup with United in his first season.

The dreaded ‘third-season curse’ unfortunately struck yet again as Mourinho was relieved of his duties in December 2018. Many fans may wonder if the club’s recent history might have turned out differently had he taken the reins as agreed when Ferguson left in 2013, rather than attempting to glue back together the pieces of a puzzle that was already falling apart.

The Special One opens yet another exciting new chapter in his history as he returns to Real 13 years after his acrimonious departure. The move could put him on a collision course with United in this season’s Champions League, where Michael Carrick would be tasked with overcoming his old mentor.