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A LUXURY superyacht ‘sea hotel’ has completed its sea trials ahead of its first voyage this summer.

The Luminara – the third The Ritz-Carlton superyacht to take to the seas – is set to embark on its maiden voyage on 3 July.

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The 452-passenger vessel will sail from Monte Carlo to the port of Rome, in a glamorous trip which will cost as much as $78,377 (£58,120) for a seven-night trip, according to booking site Clean Cruising.

But that’s in the best room in the house, of course.

The Luminara Suite boasts “magnificent” ocean views with floor to ceiling windows, according to The Ritz-Carlton.

It has a private terrace decked out with a hot tub where the superyacht’s wealthiest passengers can lounge in style.

The namesake room boasts a large living and dining area, as well as a king bed and double vanity bathroom.

It even has 24-hour in-suite dining, so passengers won’t have to venture into one of the five fine dining restaurants or seven bars on board – if they don’t feel like dressing up.

The Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection currently operates three yachts: Evrima, lma and Luminara, which launched in 2020, 2024 and 2025 respectively.

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It is the largest superyacht from the luxury hotel franchise, spread across 10 decks.

It has two swimming pools – an infinity pool on deck five and a main pool on the top deck.

The Luminara will also include an expansive marina, marina terrace, and marina beach, all anchored by a dynamic floating lounge platform with a central pool where guests can swim directly in the sea.

“With Luminara, we’ve raised the bar once again, uniting legendary service, elevated design, and an extraordinary onboard experience to further define our distinct approach to ultra-luxury travel at sea,” President of The Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection, Ernesto Fara, said in a statement.

“This remarkable super-yacht opens the door to new destinations and deeper guest experiences, reinforcing our commitment to thoughtful exploration and continuous innovation across the fleet.”

An increasing number of luxury hotel chains are taking to the high seas.

There are eight to 10 ships planned for the next five to 10 years for multiple Marriott brands, including the The Ritz-Carlton franchise.

The Four Seasons will also launch its first superyacht hotel in January 2026, where seven nights will cost your north of $25,000 (£18,500).

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XBOX owners are being handed access to free games worth £200 as part of a special weekend event.

Gamers using the Microsoft platform will be able to get their hands on a slew of games during the event this weekend.

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The games will be free to access and play for Xbox owners between May 29 and June 1 as part of the Free Play Days event.

It will include access to the latest Call of Duty and Football Manager 2024 as well as several other top rated titles.

An Xbox game pass membership will be required to get access to most of the titles.

Both the latest Call of Duty and Tom Clancy’s The Division 2 will be available until June 3.

Football Manager 2024, Killer Klowns From outer Space: The Game and ARK: Survival Ascended will all be available until June 1.

Gamers can get access to the titles by hunting them down in the Xbox store.

Installing them onto your device will require you to be signed in, from their you can install the titles with your Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, Standard and Core membership.

Downloading the titles on console will require gamers to click on the subscriptions tab in the Xbox Store and navigating to the Free Play Days collection.

Each of the titles available during the Free Play Days event will be available at a discounted price during the event.

To keep the fun going gamers can purchase the titles at discounted rates and keep their achievements and Gamerscore earned during the free play event.

Xbox has warned though that discounts, percentages and title availability may vary by region.

Both the Xbox One and Xbox Series XS will have access to the Free Play Days event.

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ARK: Survival Ascended, Football Manager 2024 and Killer Klowns from Outer Space are available this weekend for Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, Standard and Core members

These titles will be available from Thursday May 29 until Sunday, June 1.

Call of Duty Black Ops 6 is free for all Xbox members to try from May 30 until June 3

Xbox Game Pass Game Pass Ultimate, Standard and Core membership not required for this title.

Tom Clancy’s The Division 2 is free for all Xbox members to try from May 29 until June 3

Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, Standard and Core membership not required for this title either.

All points that are earned and downloadable content (DLC) that you bought during the event carries over if you buy the full game at the end of the free period.

A TOP-SECRET Xbox console that was potentially due out in just two years has been shelved.

New reports suggest the unannounced Microsoft machine has been paused indefinitely – with its planned launch cancelled entirely.

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Rumours of a handheld Xbox console have been circulating for years..

And in 2024, Microsoft’s Xbox gaming boss Phil Spencer confirmed that the company was prototyping the machine.

It would’ve lived alongside the plug-in-to-your-telly Xbox Series X as a more portable option for gamers.

But a new report from Windows Central warns that Microsoft has “shifted priorities” and is pausing work on the gadget entirely.

Instead, the report notes, Microsoft will pour its efforts into boosting Windows 11 gaming performance.

That will help Microsoft boost the Asus partner gadget Project Kennan, which is a handheld gaming machine instead built by the Taiwanese tech giant.

It notes that Microsoft would still like to produce a gaming handheld in the futurebut is going to spend its time

RIVAL MACHINES

Microsoft will be feeling the pressure from gamers to compete with its industry rivals.

Back in November 2023, Sony released the handheld PlayStation Portal.

This portable gadget device streams video games from your PS5 over the internet – and has a built-in controller.

Japanese gaming giant Nintendo is also nearly ready to debut its next big handheld.

The new Nintendo Switch 2 is expected to land in stores on June 5.

It’ll plug into televisions – but can also work undocked as a portable gaming device for when you’re out and about.

And Nintendo saw runaway success with its original Switch console, which launched back in 2017.

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Also worrying Microsoft will be the Steam Deck, which is a handheld gaming device built by Valve.

The gaming giant is responsible for the virtual Steam store, which is one of the main ways PC gamers buy and play titles on their computers.

Valve’s Steam Deck lets players enjoy PC games on the go, and has been available since 2022.

To fend off these rivals, Microsoft has partnered with Asus to help with its upcoming Project Kennan portable device.

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This will be an official Xbox partnership, but it’s not an in-house Microsoft product like the paused handheld machine would’ve been.

Microsoft is still expected to release a major new at-home console in the next few years.

This will be a sequel to the Xbox Series X, and could land in 2027 or 2028 – as a direct rival to the rumoured Sony PlayStation 6.

The Sun has asked Microsoft for comment and will update this story with any response.

In 2019, before most of the world had heard of the company, the technology journalist Karen Hao spent three days embedded in the offices of OpenAI.

What she saw, she tells Michael Safiwas a company vastly at odds with its public image: that of a transparent non-profit developing artificial intelligence technology purely for the benefit of humanity. “They said that they were transparent. They said that they were collaborative. They were actually very secretive.”

Hao spent the next five years following the growth of OpenAI, as it shifted to pursue – in her words – a growth-at-all-costs model. On the one hand, it has been spectacularly successful, with OpenAI now one of the largest companies in the world. On the other, she argues, it has come at a severe cost – to the people whose labour it relies on to operate, and to the planet.

In fact, as she describes in her new book, Empire of AI: Inside the reckless race for total domination, it makes sense to think of OpenAI not as a company, but more akin to empires of old.

A BIZARRE enlarged alien-like skull has been unearthed by shocked construction workers.

Experts confirmed the skull is genuine but are divided on how the deformed discovery came to be after it was unearthed in Argentina.

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But one strong theory links it to a barbaric method that dates back as far as 300,000 years ago.

If true, it’s a type of artificial cranial deformation process where the skull of a child is deliberately flattened to elongate the shape.

The disturbing ritual involved putting pressure on the infant’s head with splints or bandages when their bones are still flexible.

This causes the skull to appear wider, as well as creating a flat or curved line along the back of it.

The ancient practice was commonplace among some groups, like the Ciénaga and Aguada people, who roamed lived around the 3rd and 12th centuries AD.

Unsuspecting construction workers in the town of San Fernando, Belén, stumbled across it, according to local media.

They found funerary urns containing human remains, one containing the deformed skull.

“We’ve contacted the provincial Anthropology Department and the police so they can conduct the necessary studies and find out what generation he belongs to and any mysteries this may hold,” said Clara Ríos, the town’s director of culture told papers.

Some have likened the skull to that of the antmen – or the Myrmidons – an ancient tribe in Greek mythology.

“Interpreting these findings offers an opportunity to deepen our connection with our ancestry,” the Archaeological Studies Group (GEA) said, according to Heritage Daily.

“By respecting and valuing these cultural practices and their meanings, we honour the memory of our ancestors and connect with them through our shared human experience.”

There are a number of reasons why groups used to deform skulls like this.

Experts say it was done as a sign of social status, to show which group you were part of or for spiritual beliefs.

GOOGLE is creating a clever button that could slash energy bills for millions of TV owners.

Telly sleuths have spotted early signs of the feature on Google TV – one of the most popular systems that powers televisions around the world.

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Google TV and Android TV are Google creations that serve as the “home” for your telly, serving up your apps and settings.

It regularly receives updates from Google adding new features to help improve your television – even after you’ve bought it.

Eagle-eyed gadget fans at Android Authority have dug into the test version for one of these updates, and uncovered a clever upgrade.

It lets you set up an advanced sleep timer for your telly so that it won’t keep playing all through the night.

Falling asleep while watching telly is very common – even if what you’re watching isn’t boring.

Currently Android TV does offer a very basic sleep timer, but it’s very hard to get to, buried deep inside your TV’s energy settings. One clever shortcut is to ask the built-in Google Assistant to “turn off TV in X minutes”.

But the new version will let you schedule sleep timers, add time to them, pause it, and even get notifications for when it’s about to run down.

There’s no word on exactly when the feature will arrive, but it would be very handy.

For a start, not having your TV running all night will save you money on energy bills.

It also means you’ll get a more restful night’s sleep.

And you don’t run the risk of something loud coming on the telly that wakes up your partner or other people at home too. So it may even help you dodge a few rows at home.

The Sun has asked Google for comment and will update this story with any response.

IPHONE SLEEP TIMERS

While you wait for that, there are some clever iPhone sleep timers to try too.

The first is built directly into the official Apple Podcasts app.

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Just go into it and start playing something.

Then look at the media playback screen in the app: you should see a small crescent moon icon in the bottom-right. It’ll have three “z”s next to it.

Tap it and you’ll be able to set up a sleep timer for that podcast.

You can choose times ranging from five minutes right up to an hour.

But the more useful option might be to choose When Episode Ends.

This will kill your podcast once the episode is over, which has the added benefit of meaning you won’t sleep through a load of episodes that you wanted to listen to.

There’s a very similar feature that works on music for your iPhone too.

It’s built into the default iPhone Clock app, and you may well have missed it entirely.

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This will let you shut off music after a certain amount of time.

So you could play peaceful rain sounds, for instance, and then have it shut off so it doesn’t run all night.

This will save energy and hope give you a bit of peace too.

First, begin playing some music.

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Then go to the Clock app and head into the Timers tab.

Set a timer for a length of time – for instance, you could choose one hour.

Then on the button for When Timer Ends, don’t choose a sound. Instead, scroll all the way to the very bottom.

Tap on the Stop Playing option and then start the timer.

Once it ends, the timer won’t make a noise. It’ll just switch your music off entirely. Handy.

While the One UI 7 update is still making its rounds, the Samsung One UI 8 beta is getting set to make some connections of its own. The Samsung beta enrollment program for 2025 has been formally announced, giving Galaxy S25 series users much to look forward to. The Android 16 release is right around the corner now that the Google I/O event is done, and there are some big changes expected with the new OS. Along with an updated design language for the interface, Android 16 is expected to change how we use and interact with our smartphones.

Pixel users will be the first to interact with this interface directly, but other smartphone makers have already hopped on to build their own operating systems based on its capabilities. Eager to avoid repeating the delay we witnessed with the One UI 7 rollout, Samsung’s One UI 8 beta program has already gone live, giving it a good start to perfecting the OS before a full release later this year.

Samsung One UI 8 Beta Program Announced—Are You Interested in Signing Up?

The Samsung One UI 8 beta program has already begun for Galaxy S25 users in South Korea, but some users in the US, UK, and Germany who are enrolled in the program have also seen its arrival. This Android 16-based One UI 8 build is 3.38 GB in size and can be downloaded over Wi-Fi only.

One UI 8 Beta Signup: How to Enroll in the Program?

If you’re interested in trying out the changes early and providing feedback on its capabilities, the One UI 8 beta signup is now open for Galaxy S25 series owners. You can use the Samsung Members app to sign up with your Samsung account, provided you’re in the US, UK, South Korea, or Germany, where the program is now live.

Once you log in, you should see the banner for the Beta program which you can use to sign up. After the registration is complete, you can check your software update page on your device the same as you would for a regular OS update, and the Samsung One UI 8 beta update will be available for you to download and explore.

When will Samsung One UI 8 Launch?

Unfortunately, we don’t have a set date for the official global release of One UI 8 just yet. Samsung will likely spend at least a few months testing and perfecting the features before it releases the first version of the software. Seeing as Google hasn’t provided a clear release date for Android 16 other than its potential arrival sometime in June, it’s very unlikely that we’ll see a One UI 8 announcement before July at the earliest.

The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7 smartphones are expected to launch in July, so these could be the first phones to feature the One UI 8 update out of the box. The software will then roll out to Galaxy S25 phones and later arrive on older models. We’re confident that the majority of One UI 8-supported devices will see the software by the end of the year, but there’s not much more that can be confirmed.

Samsung One UI 8 Beta Changelog—What Are Some New Features Being Tested?

The Samsung beta program details have been listed in the changelog provided with the One UI 8 beta launch, and there are quite a few features the company is testing out. Samsung is improving its Quick Share system to support easier file transfer, while also updating the on-device search function to locate files downloaded to the device. The split screen view—a feature we find ourselves using constantly—is being improved to better focus on one app, and the reminder interface is also being redesigned.

Along with a multitude of improvements to the reminder function, it will also offer an easier way to add reminders or events to the calendar or create new routines to keep your life on track. The Samsung Health app is also exploring improvements and so is the camera app. Samsung is also using its One UI 8 beta launch to test a range of accessibility features to see how they can be used to improve the experience of using its smartphones.

These features are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the details mentioned in the One UI 8 announcement, so it is evident that Samsung is looking beyond a redesign to fully enhance the capabilities of the smartphone. While we have not been a fan of the Now Bar feature or some of the design changes introduced with One UI 7, we’re hoping that the next update will do more than just mess with the transparency of the clock widget on Samsung smartphones.

Subscribe to Technowize for more updates on all things technology and gaming.

Reform UK will accept donations through bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, Nigel Farage has announced.

During an appearance at the Bitcoin Conference in Las Vegas, where he was introduced as a “UK presidential candidate”, Farage said: “As of now, provided you are an eligible UK donor … we are the first political party in Britain that can accept donations in bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.”

He said Reform was planning to introduce a cryptoassets and digital finance bill. This would cut capital gains tax on cryptoassets from 24% to 10%, turning the UK into a “crypto powerhouse”, he said. Farage added that the crypto legislation that his party had drawn up would include a “bitcoin digital reserve in the Bank of England”.

Farage said the bill would make it illegal for banks to debank customers who use and trade in cryptocurrency.

On Thursday the Reform website was updated to accept cryptocurrency donations. There was a disclaimer stating that all donations were subject to Electoral Commission rules and that anonymous donations were not permissible.

At the conference, Farage called the acceptance of political donations “innovative”, before commending America for being “ahead” with their stance on digital assets.

“My message to the British public, and my message particularly to young people, is to help us to help you bring our country properly into the 21st century,” he said. “Let’s recognise that crypto and digital assets are here to stay.”

During his talk, Farage criticised the current Labour government and the previous Conservative regime’s lack of action in the cryptocurrency world. He said: “Rishi Sunak, when he was briefly prime minister, made one speech about crypto … and how London used to be a global financial centre. One speech and nothing else. Labour, well we have 25 men and women in cabinet and not a single one of them has worked in private business.”

A Reform UK spokesperson said cryptocurrency donations would be accepted by the party and details were expected to be announced on Friday.

Reform UK is listed on Companies House as a private company majority controlled by the leader, not a members’ association like other parties. The company that owns Reform UK is listed as Reform 2025, a not-for-profit company that has just two members and two directors: Farage and Zia Yusuf.

Doctors have developed an artificial intelligence tool that can predict which men with prostate cancer will benefit from a drug that halves the risk of dying.

Abiraterone has been described as a “gamechanger” treatment for the disease, which is the most common form of cancer in men in more than 100 countries. It has already helped hundreds of thousands with advanced prostate cancer to live longer.

But some countries, including England, have stopped short of offering the “spectacular” drug more widely to men whose disease has not spread.

Now a team from the US, UK and Switzerland have built an AI test that shows which men would most likely benefit from abiraterone. The “exciting” breakthrough will enable healthcare systems to roll out the drug to more men, and spare others unnecessary treatment.

The AI test is being unveiled in Chicago at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, the world’s largest cancer conference.

Nick James, professor of prostate and bladder cancer research at the Institute of Cancer Research in London and a consultant clinical oncologist at the Royal Marsden NHS foundation trust, co-led the team that built it.

“Abiraterone has already hugely improved the outlook for hundreds of thousands of men with advanced prostate cancer,” said James. “We know that for many men with cancer that has not yet spread, it can also have spectacular results.

“But it does come with side-effects and requires additional monitoring for potential issues with high blood pressure or liver abnormalities. It can also slightly increase the risk of diabetes and heart attacks, so knowing who is most likely to benefit is very valuable.

“This research shows that we can pick out the people who will respond best to abiraterone, and those who will do well from standard treatment alone – hormone therapy and radiotherapy.”

The test uses AI to study images of tumours and pick out features invisible to the human eye. The team, funded by Prostate Cancer UK, the Medical Research Council and Artera, trialled the test on biopsy images from more than 1,000 men with high-risk prostate cancer that had not spread.

The AI test identified the 25% of men in the group most likely to benefit from the abiraterone – for these men, the drug halves the risk of death.

In the trial, patients received a score – biomarker-positive or -negative – which was compared with their outcomes. For those with biomarker-positive tumours, one in four of the men, abiraterone cut their risk of death after five years from 17% to 9%.

For those with biomarker-negative tumours, abiraterone cut the risk of death from 7% to 4% – a difference that was not statistically or clinically significant, the team said. These men would benefit from standard therapy alone and be spared unnecessary treatment.

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The study co-leader Prof Gert Attard, of the UCL Cancer Institute, said: “This study shows, in a very large cohort of patients, that novel algorithms can be used to extract information from routinely available pathology slides to tailor these treatments to specific patients and minimise over treatment whilst maximising the chance of cure.”

James said that because fewer men than previously thought would need the drug, healthcare systems should consider giving it to men whose cancer had not spread.

It is approved for NHS use in England for advanced prostate cancer, but not for newly diagnosed high-risk disease that has not spread. However, it has been available for men with this indication in Scotland and Wales for two years.

“Abiraterone costs just £77 per pack, compared with the thousands of pounds that new drugs cost,” said James. “I truly hope that this new research – showing precisely who needs the drug to live well for longer – will lead to NHS England reviewing their decision not to fund abiraterone for high-risk prostate cancer that has not spread.”

Dr Matthew Hobbs, director of research at Prostate Cancer UK, described the AI test as “exciting”. He added: “We therefore echo the researchers’ urgent call for abiraterone to be made available to those men whose lives it can save – men who, thanks to this research, we can now identify more precisely than ever before.”

An NHS spokesperson said: “Following a full evidence-based assessment, expanding access to this drug for non-metastatic prostate cancer has been identified as one of the top priorities for investment once the necessary recurrent funding is available to support its use.

“Abiraterone continues to be routinely funded by the NHS in England for several forms of advanced prostate cancer in line clinical guidance, and we are keeping this position under close review in light of emerging evidence, including recent research that may help better target the treatment to those most likely to benefit.”

SKY has revealed telly customers are getting a major refresh in just a few days – revamping TV guides for millions.

Previously secret changes to five major channels were revealed by a Sky employee in an official post to the company’s Community pages.

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Each of the channels will be renamed as part of the service shake up that is expected to affect every customer.

From Monday, June 2, the changes will start coming into effect with the final expected on Saturday June 7.

According to the Sky employee four channels will have their names changed on Monday.

A further two channels will have their names temporarily changed on Friday and Saturday.

Sky Fairytale on channels 306/850 is due to be renamed to Sky Family on Monday June 2, reverting back from a temporary change.

Sky Karate Kid will also have its name changed on Monday June 2, again the channel will be reverting from a temporary change.

Found on channels 307/851 it will now be called Sky Action.

Sky Pride on channel 310 will be reverting its name from a temporary change as well.

This will come into effect on Monday June 2 and it will now be called Sky Drama HD.

That’s Pride, on channel 360, will be renamed to That’s Dance on Monday June 2.

Further changes are expected later in the week with Sky Romance, channel 302, being renamed to SuperheroHD on Friday June 6.

This is a temporary change and the channel will have its name reverted at some point.

On Saturday June 7 Sky Comedy HD, channel 308, will be renamed to PitchPerfectHD.

This again is a temporary change and the channel will have its name reverted at some point in the future.

The upcoming changes will be implemented for all Sky customers.

Sky+, Sky Q and Sky Glass/Stream will all be affected by the changes to channel names.

The list of upcoming changes was revealed by a Sky employee with the first of the coming changes expected in just a few days.

Changes to channel names are made for a variety of reasons including for new arrivals, theme changes and rebranding efforts.

Changes to channel names are often temporary but some remain permanent.

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