New EU proposals would give Europol a sovereign cloud and a shared data space to fight cross-border crime.

The European Commission has proposed extensive new measures to strengthen Europol and Eurojust, aiming to give the EU’s law enforcement and judicial agencies sharper tools against crime that it said is increasingly sophisticated, international and digital.

The package includes two regulations reinforcing the mandates of Europol and Eurojust, a revision of the European Investigation Order, and changes to the Data Protection Regulation for EU institutions and bodies. The reforms are designed to target criminal networks and hostile actors operating across borders, online and, increasingly, through AI.

Technology is at the heart of the proposed Europol overhaul. The agency will build a secure, scalable and sovereign cloud infrastructure alongside a new Police Shared Data Space, allowing investigators in different member states to work jointly on the same cases in real time. Automated information sharing is intended to replace slower manual exchange between national authorities.

Europol will also set up a technology and innovation hub, giving the EU its first bloc-wide view of law enforcement capability gaps, and helping member states pool investment in joint research and development. Any tools that come out of the hub will be distributed to national authorities through the same shared data space.

On the ground, Europol Support Offices staffed by former Europol officers will be rolled out in member states, widening access to the agency’s forensics and data-analysis capabilities.

Eurojust gets its own tech upgrade: a new information system will let Eurojust and Europol flag cases and information relevant to both agencies, tightening the link between judicial and law enforcement cooperation. Eurojust’s mandate is also being widened into emerging crime areas, including cybercrime, breaches of EU restrictive measures, and gender-based violence, alongside greater power to open coordination on its own initiative.

Separately, the Commission wants to update the European Investigation Order, the standard mechanism for gathering evidence across borders in criminal cases, by clarifying procedures and removing operational snags. A new European Remote Participation Order would let suspects, accused persons and victims take part in criminal hearings remotely from another member state.

“Criminals are highly adept at exploiting the opportunities of the digital realm, operating effectively across borders without limitations,” said Henna Virkkunen, Executive Vice-President for Tech Sovereignty, Security and Democracy yesterday at the announcement.

“With today’s proposals, we are strengthening both Europol and Eurojust so that Europe can respond faster, including in the fight against online criminal activities, share information more effectively, and bring criminals to justice more efficiently.”

“Serious organised crime is becoming increasingly sophisticated, digital and transnational,” said Michael McGrath, Commissioner for Democracy, Justice, the Rule of Law and Consumer Protection. “Eurojust must be equipped to keep pace with these evolving threats. This reform strengthens the agency’s capacity to support national judicial authorities, coordinate complex cross-border investigations and enhance cooperation with partners across Europe and beyond.

“By modernising Eurojust’s mandate, we are reinforcing the rule of law and ensuring that justice can respond with the same speed and agility as the criminal networks it seeks to disrupt,”

The proposals now move to the European Parliament and member states for negotiation.

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Smart bulbs have really caught on in recent years, and it’s easy to see why. They are a breeze to use, work exactly as advertised and offer a simplified introduction into the world of smart home automation. Also, there’s just something fun about barking “turn the lights off” like a spoiled monarch and getting the bulb to do your bidding.

Smart bulbs tend to be filled with some nifty, albeit relatively simple, tech, leaving many to wonder if they use more energy than traditional LED bulbs. After all, they do contain more components to enable communication with your smartphone or Wi-Fi. So are these gadgets truly energy efficient or does the convenience come with a price? 

Do smart bulbs use more energy than standard LED bulbs?

The answer is yes. Smart bulbs do use a tad bit more energy than regular LED bulbs. This is due to the nature of the technology. The two types of bulbs use the same amount of energy when illuminating a space, but standard LEDs draw no power when turned off. Smart bulbs do draw a bit of power when not in use, so they can remain connected to Wi-Fi or a hub. 

According to a 2019 study published in ScienceDirect, “when a user turns off a smart LED bulb from a mobile device, the bulb stops emitting light; however it is constantly consuming power.” The study found that of the 30 smart LED bulbs tested, 21 had standby power consumption levels of less than 0.5 watts, which met the requirement set out by the Energy Star program.

How much more energy does a smart bulb use?

Smart bulbs use very little electricity in standby mode. This varies depending on the manufacturer and model, but we’ve found devices like the TP-Link Tapo that are advertised as consuming about 0.2 watts in standby, while Philips Hue stated in a whitepaper that most of its “more modern products” consume less than 0.5 watts while in standby mode. 

A single bulb’s standby power consumption will increase your energy bill by $0.35 to $1.30 per year, though this will vary depending on local utility costs. For many, this difference in consumption will be negligible and won’t impede smart bulb adoption.

The US Department of Energy notes that devices left in standby mode make up around 5 to 10 percent of a home’s total electricity use. The biggest standby power thieves are things like microwaves, televisions, routers and computers, though.

Can you still save money in the long run?

Absolutely. The additional power draw of a smart bulb is so small that the various benefits offered could offset the cost and even reverse it. One of the primary functions of a smart bulb is the ability to turn it on or off at will via an app or smart assistant. Another primary function is the ability to create schedules. Taken together, this can drastically reduce the amount of time the bulb is being used. Many models even allow for dimming, which further lowers the energy load.

Are there any other hidden costs with smart bulbs?

There is one other fairly significant cost factor, but it’s not hidden at all. That’s the price of the actual bulbs. Smart bulbs tend to be more expensive to purchase when compared to regular bulbs. Traditional LEDs cost anywhere from $1.50 to $4 per bulb, and combo packs can lower the price even further. Smart bulbs start at around $6, in the case of IKEA’s latest offering, and shoot all the way up to around $90. However, the average price sits at around $8 to $15 per bulb. Combo packs can help keep costs down.

Do smart bulbs last longer than traditional LEDs?

No, but it’s a bit more complicated than that. Smart bulbs are typically rated slightly under traditional LED bulbs when it comes to lifespan. This is primarily because of the additional components involved with a smart bulb, which can wear down as the years go on. On paper, regular LEDs last for 20 to 40 years and smart bulb LEDs last anywhere from 15 to 25 years.

Once again, this can be offset by the nature of the technology. Smart bulbs won’t stay powered on as long as old-school light bulbs, but the added control options will likely translate to a more economical usage schedule.

• Swaptopus plans battery hubs capable of supporting 300,000 electric trucks
• CATL and Octopus want truck batteries swapped within minutes
• Europe’s freight sector could avoid lengthy charging delays through swapping

Octopus Energy has outlined plans for large-scale battery projects aimed at accelerating the shift towards electric freight transport across Europe.

The company is working with battery giant CATL on battery technologies for freight transport, energy storage, and grid services.

Ice cream for breakfast? Well, sure, why not, especially when it’s a wholesome and nutritious high-protein ice cream you make in your Ninja Creami. It might even be healthier than the breakfast you had this morning.

There are several different models of the Ninja Creami, including the Swirl, which I used. You can read my Ninja Creami Swirl review here. Any model will do for making delicious and healthy breakfast ‘ice cream’, the Swirl can just make it into soft serve if you like. You must freeze your ingredients in the provided container for 24 hours, so be sure to plan a day ahead.

Protein shakes

Trustpilot has struck a partnership with Shopify that will let the platform’s merchants display and manage Trustpilot reviews directly inside their online stores. The integration goes live on June 29 and is the Danish review company’s first native tie-up with a major ecommerce platform. Financial terms were not disclosed.

The deal arrives at a moment when AI is rewriting how shoppers discover products. Trustpilot said click-throughs from AI-powered search engines rose 1,490 percent during its most recent financial year, which ended in March. A study by analytics firm Promptwatch ranked Trustpilot as the fifth most-cited domain globally on ChatGPT, behind only Wikipedia, YouTube, Reddit, and LinkedIn.

That surge is what makes the Shopify tie-up more than a distribution deal. As AI assistants start recommending products and handling purchases on a shopper’s behalf, the data those assistants rely on to form an opinion becomes critical infrastructure. Trustpilot’s argument is that verified human reviews are the trust layer AI needs to make good recommendations.

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“The rise of AI is transforming how consumers discover, evaluate and purchase products,” CEO Adrian Blair said. “Shopify merchants will now be able to build trust with customers at the point of decision.”

The partnership is not exclusive. Trustpilot said in March that it was pursuing integrations across banking, insurance, utilities, and other ecommerce platforms. The Shopify deal is the first to be announced, and the company has framed it as a template for what comes next.

Shopify merchants have long been able to display third-party reviews through apps, but native integrations carry more weight with both AI engines that scan product pages and with shoppers who are learning to distrust unverified ratings. A Recomaze study earlier this month found that AI assistants ignored 60 percent of online stores entirely, often because the product data was not structured in a way the engine could read.

The timing also reflects a broader anxiety about review integrity. AI-generated fake reviews have become a growing concern across the industry, and Trustpilot has positioned its verification systems as a defence against them. The company reported removing more than four million fake reviews in its last fiscal year, using its own machine-learning detection tools.

Trustpilot’s shares have climbed sharply this year on the back of its AI-search tailwind, with Bloomberg reporting a 46 percent gain year-to-date. The company reported $16 million in operating profit for FY25, its first full year in the black after years of losses. Revenue grew 19 percent to $211 million.

Whether the AI-search boom is durable remains an open question. The 1,490 percent click-through increase is measured from a small base, and the company has not disclosed what share of its total traffic now comes from AI engines. What is clear is that Trustpilot is betting its next phase of growth on being the source AI turns to when it needs to know whether a product or a merchant can be trusted.

Matthew Trahan has turned his workshop into a testing ground for unusual ideas. Past projects included full-size musical instruments, bedroom furniture, and even a life-size copy of himself. Each build pushed what desktop machines could handle. His newest effort went further still. He set out to create every single piece of clothing he would wear, starting from rolls of plastic filament and ending with something he could actually put on.

At first, the notion appeared to be as simple as checking off a list: make a shirt, shorts, shoes, socks, hat, belt, wallet, bow tie, glasses, watch, and bag without ever going to a store or cutting any fabric. Most of the files for the pieces were available online from public model sites, but before the printer began laying down the first layer, the owner spent 33 hours fine-tuning the drawings on his computer to meet his measurements. The actual job began with printing, which took weeks. His trusty Prusa Core 1L handled the larger portions, such as the shorts. Smaller printers took care of the rest. The overall print time came to 560 hours, which included a lot of waiting about. The project used more than 8,000 grams of filament. That’s about 8 kg, and the filament used was as different as the products themselves. Flexible TPU was employed for shoes, socks, and hats because, well, you need material that bends and cushions in a foot-related application. Stiffer PLA and PETG were utilized for the outfit’s more structural components, such as the shirt and shorts. As for the cost, it came out to a nice figure of $25 to $30, but don’t forget to factor in the cost of the printers themselves, which was not included.

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The shirt was the true highlight of the outfit, with interlocking hexagonal shapes giving it a distinct look and feel. Small gaps and flexible connectors allowed for some give, and magnets were utilized to hold the modular portions together. Finally, everything was put together! You get a stiff-looking garment that really retains its shape, giving it the appearance of costume armor rather than something you’d wear on a daily basis. The sleeves proved to be a bit of a problem, and the general fit was a little loose in some spots and tight in others.

The shorts, while a little big and boxy, had a Minecraft-likeness about them that made you look twice. Belt loops and suspender holes provided several alternatives for securing them, but let’s be honest: the wide cut and firm plastic made them difficult to wear in practice. Still, the extra room inside had one redeeming feature: storage space, and while they looked cool, they did require some suspenders to keep them up.

Shoes and socks, on the other hand, were completely unexpected, since the soft, spongy TPU utilized in the shoes resulted in a sort of barefoot shoe that worked out rather nicely. The socks, which were made of the same flexible material, felt bouncy to the touch instead of abrasive. Trahan tested the entire costume, laced everything up tight, and ran a mile in 8 minutes and 20 seconds. His feet did protest a little at the end, but credit to the shoes for holding up well and providing enough protection to complete the task.

Compared to the main outfit, the accessories were a breeze. The hat fit slightly larger than normal without requiring much tweaking. The belt, wallet, bow tie, and watch all performed their basic functions without difficulty. Glasses, on the other hand, looked great at first but quickly started to rub on the ears. Overall, these were the easier parts, as none of them required as much sacrifice as the major garments. When everything was put together, the overall look was unlike anything you’d find in a store, as the colors on the shirt stood out, the shorts dominated the lower half with their sheer size, the soft shoes and socks kept the feet happy for a while, and the upper body was a little restricted due to all the stiff sections.
[Source]

China now has the world’s fastest supercomputer, overtaking the United States. The system, known as LineShine and installed at the National Supercomputing Center in Shenzhen, displaced the US system El Capitan from the top spot in the TOP500 ranking in terms of computing power.

The breakthrough comes amid an intense competition between Beijing and Washington for technological supremacy, marked by high tariffs and restrictions on a wide range of hardware components and software.

Since 1993, the TOP500 ranking has identified the world’s most powerful supercomputers every six months through a series of standardized benchmarks that evaluate each system’s performance, taking into account both its theoretical speed and its real-world performance, as well as its energy efficiency.

Historically, the ranking has been dominated by US-developed systems. However, LineShine has returned China to the top after nearly a decade out of first place.

El Capitan, located in Livermore, California, had held the top position since 2024. Now, benchmark results have confirmed that LineShine exceeds the US system’s processing capacity by more than 20 percent.

With a power consumption of approximately 42.2 megawatts, the Chinese supercomputer delivers 2,198 exaflops, meaning it can perform more than 2 quintillion operations per second.

One of LineShine’s most striking features is that, unlike most next-generation supercomputers, it does not use graphics processing units (GPUs). Instead, it relies exclusively on central processing units (CPUs), components widely used in smartphones, desktop computers, and laptops but rarely found in large-scale scientific computing systems.

Another notable feature is that its entire infrastructure is built with hardware and software developed in China. LineShine’s architecture is based on the LingKun platform and consists of roughly 45,000 LX2 processors. Each processor has 304 cores and operates at a clock speed of 1.55 GHz.

The nodes are connected through a high-speed network called LingQi, designed to minimize latency and accelerate data exchange. The entire system runs on Kylin OS, a Linux-based operating system widely used in China’s scientific and government computing infrastructure.

A Clear Message From China to the US

China’s return to the top of the TOP500 ranking has been interpreted as an achievement that goes beyond simply possessing the world’s fastest supercomputer, as the country is eager to show the world its tech industry can thrive despite lacking access to key US technologies.

During Donald Trump’s first administration and throughout Joe Biden’s presidency, the United States imposed strict export controls on components, software, and platforms related to advanced computing in an effort to slow China’s technological progress. In response, Beijing adopted similar measures.

Those restrictions have intensified during Trump’s current administration, particularly through tariffs and limits on imports of GPUs, advanced chips, and other components related to artificial intelligence (AI), a technology that now underpins a significant share of the world’s most powerful supercomputers.

These restrictions have forced China to invest in developing new architectures and technologies capable of building supercomputers that can compete with the highest-performing US systems despite lacking access to certain state-of-the-art resources.

This story originally appeared in WIRED en Español and has been translated from Spanish.

The best Apple Watch overall has every feature you could want in a smartwatch (aside from satellite messaging, but I presume that isn’t a dealbreaker for most of you). There’s blood oxygen sensing, sleep tracking, electrocardiogram reading capabilities, and high blood pressure notifications. Best of all, the battery lasts for a full 24 hours, and it’ll get watchOS 27. And at $279, it’s the cheapest it’s been sold out for the past few months.

This is the best-value Apple Watch. It’s compatible with the latest watchOS and has several basic fitness features, though it lacks the extended battery life and some of the more high-tech tracking capabilities of the more-expensive Watch 11. But if you don’t need blood oxygen or ECG readings, and you don’t need a super-bright display, this affordable smartwatch is a smart buy. And now’s a good time to buy, as it’s $20 cheaper than it’s typically sold out, even when on sale.

Best MagSafe and Accessory Deals

Photograph: Julian Chokkattu

Not everyone needs a stylus to work with the iPad, but for artists or avid notetakers, there’s no better option than the Apple Pencil Pro. It supports all sorts of gestures and magnetically attaches, pairs and charges.