Japan eyes AI robots in class to boost English

Tokyo: English-speaking AI robots will be helping out in some 500 Japanese classrooms from next year as the country seeks to improve its English skills among both children and teachers. The education ministry plans a pilot project costing around $227,000 to improve Japanese students’ notoriously weak oral and written English. The move comes ahead of a change in the national curriculum in two years that will require children from the age of 10 to learn English. AFP

Ben Affleck and Lindsay Shookus split

Los Angeles: Hollywood star Ben Affleck and “Saturday Night Live” producer Lindsay Shookus have parted ways after one year of dating. Affleck, 46, and Shookus, 38, split two to three weeks ago, reported E! online. “They are still very amicable. They both tried to make it work, but the distance just proved to be too much for them right now,” a source said.  The news comes days after Affleck and Playboy model and Shauna Sexton went on a date. PTI