MERNIZ

Amazon, earlier this week, made an announcement to allow customers to exchange their Rs. 2,000 notes. The statement came after the Reserve Bank of India on May 19 decided to withdraw all the Rs. 2,000 currency notes from circulation under its Clean Note Policy. The central bank of India has announced that the existing notes circulation can be deposited in bank accounts or can be exchanged by September 30. As many people struggle to get their notes exchanged or deposited in the bank, Amazon has rolled out an initiative to exchange the notes for their customers. According to the official statement by Amazon, the company will let customers top up their Amazon Pay balances using Rs. 2,000 notes during cash-on-delivery orders. The leftover change can be loaded to the Amazon Pay wallet. The e-commerce giant has specified that customers can deposit a maximum amount of Rs. 50,000 per month, including notes of Rs. 2,000 denomination. Step 1: To begin with, customers need to complete video KYC on the Amazon app Step 2: Once the KYC process is done, customers can place a cash on delivery order Step 3: Next, customers can hand over the cash to delivery agent on their order Step 4: The delivery agent will update the remaining balance on the customer's Amazon Pay balance instantly The amount updated on the Amazon Pay wallet can be used for online shopping, or paying using QRs, doing recharges, sending money to friends and family or digital payments on apps like Swiggy and Zomato. The facility to exchange or update Amazon Pay balance with Rs. 2,000 note is only available for KYCed customers. Hence, it is important for the customers to get the KYC process done before initiating the exchange. https://www.gadgets360.com/apps/news/amazon-pay-wallet-rs-2000-note-currency-note-exchange-rbi-4151429

YouTube is going to help its creators reach an international audience as the platform plans on introducing a new AI-powered dubbing tool for translating videos into other languages. Announced at VidCon 2023, the goal of this latest endeavor is to provide a quick and easy way for creators to translate “at no cost” their content into languages they don’t speak. This can help out smaller channels as they may not have the resources to hire a human translator. To make this all possible, Amjad Hanif, vice president of Creator Products at YouTube, revealed the tool will utilize the Google-created Aloud plus the platform will be bringing over the team behind the AI from Area 120, a division of the parent company that frequently works on experimental tech. Easy translation The way the translation system works, according to the official Aloud website, is the AI will first transcribe a video into a script. You then edit the transcription to get rid of any errors, make clarifications, or highlight text “where timing is critical.” From there, you give the edited script back to Aloud where it will automatically translate your video into the language of your choice. Once done, you can publish the newly dubbed content by uploading any new audio tracks onto their original video. A Google representative told us “creators do not have to [actually] understand any of the languages that they are dubbing into.” Aloud will handle all of the heavy lifting surrounding complex tasks like “translation, timing, and speech synthesis.” Again, all you have to do is double-check the transcription. Future changes It’s unknown when the Aloud update will launch. However, YouTube is already working on expanding the AI beyond what it’s currently possible. Right now, Aloud can only translate English content to either Spanish or Portuguese. But there are plans to expand into other languages from Hindi to Indonesian plus support for different dialects. Later down the line, the platform will introduce a variety of features such as “voice preservation, better emotion transfer, and even lip reanimation” to improve enunciation. Additionally, YouTube is going to build in some safeguards ensuring only the creators can “dub their own content”. The same Google representative from earlier also told us the platform is testing the Aloud AI with “hundreds of [YouTube] creators” with plans to add more over time. As of June 2023, over 10,000 videos have been dubbed in over 70 languages. You can join the early access program by filling out the official Google Docs form. If you want to know what an Aloud dub sounds like, go watch the channel trailer for the Amoeba Sisters channel on YouTube. Click the gear icon, go to Audio Track, then select Spanish. The robotic voice you’ll hear is what the AI will create. https://www.techradar.com/computing/software/youtube-video-translation-is-getting-an-ai-powered-dubbing-tool-upgrade

AMD's Zen 4 processors may compete with the best CPUs. Nevertheless, the chipmaker hasn't moved on from Zen 3. As VideoCardz spotted, Gigabyte has listed an unannounced Zen 3 chip from the Ryzen 5000G (Cezanne) days. The Ryzen 7 5700 first popped up last year, but this is the first time it's been part of an official listing. The Ryzen 7 5700 is an octa-core processor with 16 threads, a familiar configuration we've seen on the Ryzen 7 5700X (Vermeer) and Ryzen 7 5700G (Cezanne). However, according to Gigabyte's CPU support list, the Ryzen 7 5700 is more related to the latter, essentially turning it into a Ryzen 7 5700G without integrated graphics. The Ryzen 7 5700 has a 3.7 GHz base clock and a 4.6 GHz boost clock. The chip's base clock is 100 MHz under the Ryzen 7 5700G. It shares the same 4MB L2 and 16MB L3 cache. Like the Ryzen 7 5700G, the non-G variant has a 65W TDP. Therefore, the unreleased processor is faster than the Ryzen 7 5700GE, the 35W more energy-efficient version of the Ryzen 7 5700G. The Ryzen 7 5700 slots into the AM4 socket. Interestingly, the octa-core processor doesn't require new motherboard board firmware. It relies on the same firmware as the Ryzen 7 5700G and Ryzen 7 5700GE; however, AMD never announced the Ryzen 7 5700. It's uncertain when Gigabyte added the SKU to the list. Other motherboard manufacturers haven't listed the Ryzen 7 5700. The Ryzen 7 5700 probably isn't a retail product. Nevertheless, OEM parts often appear on platforms like eBay but lack warranty. Given the specifications, we suspect it may be an SKU that's exclusive for OEMs to use in their pre-built systems. We've found a few PCs online that leverage the Ryzen 7 5700, such as this one from an Argentine retailer. With AMD fleshing its product portfolio with new Zen 4 parts, the chipmaker is likely getting rid of leftover Zen 3 silicon, and what better way to do so than to release another Ryzen chip, even if it lacks an iGPU? https://www.tomshardware.com/news/cezanne-lives-on-ryzen-7-5700-surfaces-without-integrated-graphics

The whiplash-inducing events in Russia on Saturday have U.S. officials scurrying to understand what the Wagner Group’s now-stalled advance on Moscow means for Ukraine’s chances in its war against Russia. Yevgeny Prigozhin’s Wagner Group mercenaries had taken the command center of Russia’s war in Ukraine in Rostov-on-Don while a column made its way northward toward the Kremlin. But Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko seemingly brokered an agreement that has the contractors heading back to unspecified “field camps” instead of seeking the overthrow of Russia’s military leadership. “The moment has come when blood may spill. That’s why, understanding the responsibility for spilling Russian blood on one of the sides, we are turning back our convoys and going back to field camps according to the plan,” Prigozhin said in a Saturday statement. In the hours before the dramatic turnaround, when it seemed the mercenaries were planning for urban combat in Moscow, U.S. officials engaged in multiple interagency meetings Friday night and Saturday morning to assess its potential impact. They arrived at a preliminary consensus that the Wagner mercenary group’s insurrection would occupy the Kremlin’s attention. That would provide Ukraine with a much-needed opportunity to reverse the fortunes of its sputtering counteroffensive. The Biden administration had yet to draw up a formal assessment and officials then cautioned it was too early for definitive conclusions. “I don’t see how it could hurt them,” said one of the senior administration officials. Others said it was likely to help, especially since Wagner overtook the Southern Military District headquarters, the epicenter of Russia’s operational management for the invasion. The officials, granted permission to speak anonymously about the greatest challenge to Vladimir Putin in more than 20 years, said they were tracking Wagner forces into Rostov and now as they make their way northward toward the Russian capital. The local governor of the Lipetsk region, roughly six hours from Moscow, said Wagner troops drove through the oblast with armored vehicles Saturday morning. Russian military bloggers indicated that a Wagner advance reached the Moscow region. Even Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy conceded his country’s counteroffensive hasn’t gone to plan as Russian airpower and dormant mines stalled Kyiv’s advances on multiple fronts. The Biden administration feared that a lack of clear success heading into next month’s NATO summit would erode alliance unity and complicate the politics of continued support for Ukraine. But Prigozhin’s play could change the calculus. President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris were briefed Saturday by Cabinet-level officials — including Secretary of State Antony Blinken, national security adviser Jake Sullivan and Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines — about the Wagner Group’s advances before Prigozhin’s stand down. Gen. Mark Milley, chair of the Joint Chiefs, spoke with his Ukrainian counterpart, Gen. Valery Zaluzhnyy Saturday. “I told him about the offensive and offensive actions of our units,” Zaluzhnyy said, according to a readout of the conversation. “I informed him that the operation is going in accordance with the plan.” Biden also spoke Saturday about the situation in Russia with President Emmanuel Macron of France, Chancellor Olaf Scholz of Germany and Prime Minister Rishi Sunak of the United Kingdom. Further, Blinken chatted with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba. “Ukraine remains focused on achieving the goals of its counteroffensive in the territory of Ukraine with the steadfast support of our American allies,” Kuleba said in a Saturday tweet. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin plans to speak to Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov later on Saturday. A U.S. official said phone calls to European counterparts are focused on the effort to “reassure them” and also reinforce the need to message neutrality. “No one should be spiking the football.” The general agreement on the calls between the U.S. and its European allies is that Kyiv now has an unprecedented opportunity to advance while a key mercenary force shifts its attention from holding Ukrainian positions to attacking points inside Russia. Biden was scheduled to travel Saturday to Camp David — which is equipped with resources with which he could monitor the unfolding situation — but his departure for the presidential retreat in the Maryland woods was delayed until early Saturday afternoon. Even if Putin quashes the rebellion, it could occupy the resources of the Russian military and would likely eliminate the use of the Wagner Group at the front, where it had proven successful against Ukrainian forces. “Cracks in the Putin regime are wide and bright now. The Kremlin has to put the Prigozhin rebellion down with force to avoid it from threatening regime legitimacy,” said Alina Polyakova, president and CEO of the Washington-based Center for European Policy Analysis. MOST READ supreme-court-abortion-california-refuge-54670.jpg Florida provided far more abortions than California and New York post-Dobbs. Here’s why. Biden administration releases intelligence on Wuhan lab ‘I Underestimated the Depth of Outrage’: A Year in Post-Roe America U.S. evaluating what Wagner Group rebellion means for Ukraine war California strikes huge deal unlocking billions for health care NATO spokesperson Oana Lungescu said the military bloc is “monitoring the situation.” One early complication for NATO is that Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the president of Turkey, a NATO ally, already pledged his “full support” in a call with Putin Saturday. But the open rebellion — and the ease with which Wagner took the military command center in Rostov, where the Kremlin controls its war on Ukraine — also vividly displayed the weakness of Russia’s military. Officials cautioned that events over the next few hours and days were difficult to predict, as evidenced by the Lukashenko-brokered arrangement, from Putin swiftly putting down the insurrection to his grip on power slipping, as the myth of his total control over Russia shatters in real time. Administration figures said they couldn’t confirm Putin’s whereabouts. And while U.S. officials currently believe Putin will remain in charge, there’s quiet fear inside the administration that the Russian leader could reach for the most catastrophic options available to him if he sniffs a challenge to his power. No one in the White House would miss Putin, but there’s no evidence that Prigozhin — or at least someone aligned with him — would be any less dangerous. Any sort of tumult or coup in the country with the world’s largest nuclear arsenal would be an inherently deep concern, the officials said. https://www.politico.com/news/2023/06/24/u-s-officials-russian-warlords-rebellion-could-be-just-what-ukraine-needs-00103540

The owner of a llama is being sought after it was seen wandering in an Aberdeenshire field. The Scottish SPCA said the llama was spotted near the new Pitsligo area. The animal charity said it went out to investigate and found the llama but it was difficult to catch. "Llamas are herd animals so it will likely be quite stressed out by being in the field alone," Scottish SPCA animal rescue officer Debbie Gibson said. More from NE Scotland, Orkney & Shetland - BBC News "We have been in touch with the locals in the area to try and identify the owner but we have had no luck so far. "We would like to try and find their owner in the hope they can assist us with catching. "If anyone recognises this llama, they should call our helpline on 03000 999 999." https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-north-east-orkney-shetland-65996860

Infiniti has revealed a redesigned, three-dimensional logo. According to the manufacturer, the new logo puts more emphasis on the "infinite road" and "horizon line" aspects of the logo. The newest version marks the fourth iteration of the Infiniti logo since the brand's inception in 1989. In the grand scheme of automotive brands, Infiniti hasn't been around all that long. Despite its young age, in the 34 years since its inception, the Infiniti logo has changed three times. As of this week, the logo enters its fourth generation. According to the manufacturer, the newest design for the logo puts more emphasis on the infinite road and horizon aspects of the logo. "Adding greater emphasis to the point where the infinite road intersects with the horizon, we are showcasing our steadfast commitment to always look forward to the future and to new horizons," said Sam Xin, global divisional general manager for Infiniti. Where older versions of the logo end in a sharp point, the new version joins two flat lines extending into the background. The new, three-dimensional logo was created to adorn production vehicles in the future. Infiniti wasn't clear about which vehicles the new logo would appear on, or when, but with a host of new vehicles planned for next summer, the logo probably won't debut until then. According to the brand, the new 3-D aspect of the logo expresses dynamism, motion, and power. The new logo will be illuminated on the hood of new Infiniti models. On top of the redesigned infinite road section of the logo, Infiniti also increased the spacing of the lettering. According to the manufacturer, the change helps to visually accentuate the horizon. Like most automotive logo redesigns, the changes are subtle, and most who pass by the new logo won't spot the difference. But a new logo can also signify the start of a new era for a brand, and we're always here for that.

Former Coventry and Wolves striker Cedric Roussel has died aged 45. Roussel, capped three times by Belgium, partnered Robbie Keane after joining Coventry from Gent in October 1999. He moved to fellow Midlands club Wolves in February 2001 and spent 18 months at Molineux before returning to Belgian side Mons, where he enjoyed the most success over two spells. "Our legend and ambassador Cedric Roussel passed away this Saturday," Mons said in a statement on Twitter. "The RAEC Mons family is devastated by this news and offers its most sincere condolences to Cedric's family and loved ones. You marked our history." Roussel played for several Belgian clubs and also had spells in Russia, the Netherlands, Italy and Cyprus. Coventry said the club was "deeply saddened to learn of the death of our former striker Cedric Roussel" while Wolves said: "Our hearts go out to the family and friends of Cedric Roussel." https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/66010300

quishy, fruity, sweet-tasting, chewable treats in adorable shapes, such as teddy bears, stars and berries. They’re not in plastic packets, but colourful tubs or beautifully designed subscription boxes. We’re not talking about children’s sweeties, but gummy supplements. We’re told these little morsels can give us thicker hair, healthier skin and stronger nails, they can improve our sleep and mood, and ease our digestion. Taken daily, they’ll even help us cope with the demands of modern life. And they are very big business. The UK vitamins and supplements market is currently worth £520m, with nearly one in four Brits popping vitamins, minerals or supplements daily and, increasingly, we are chewing rather than swallowing our way to healthier versions of ourselves. Gummies are the star of the industry. The global market in cute, chewable gummy vitamins is worth an estimated $7.3bn, displacing pills which, according to the Nutrition Business Journal, officially slipped behind non-pill format supplements in 2019. The appeal of gummies ties into a high demand for personalised supplements, according to market research agency Mintel, and “beauty from within”. Powerful marketing tells us that smearing creams on our faces is no longer enough – we need to ingest ingredients that are said to defy ageing as well. Beauty sites now sell tubs of gummies alongside makeup and cosmetics. Chewy supplement makers have jumped on the hyaluronic acid and collagen bandwagons – with gummies containing these wrinkle-reducing ingredients widespread. No wonder global demand for collagen supplements is now soaring, while the hyaluronic acid market is booming. In pharmaceuticals, or, in this case, “candyceuticals”, looks matter. Boots’s bestselling ibuprofen is Nurofen Express – a bright red liquid capsule, despite the fact it costs £4.20 and contains the same active ingredient as Boots’s own-brand ibuprofen for 55p. “Research shows that various pharmaceuticals work better when taken in colourful tablet, or multi-coloured capsule than when in standard white tablet form,” says Charles Spence, a professor of experimental psychology who specialises in sensory marketing. “Generally speaking, more/stronger colour is associated with stronger taste/greater efficacy.” We associate white, says Spence, with an absence of taste. “Ever wondered why Pepto-Bismol is pink?” he asks of the indigestion medicine. The owner’s intuition was that children would be more likely to drink it if it looked pink and thus sweet.” The texture is also key. “By explicitly selling supplements in gummy/chewy form, there is both a link to sweets, which people like, and also a very strong cue that this will not taste bad.” Looks may matter but, as far as nutritional benefits go, it’s what’s inside that counts. Dietitian Sophie Medlin says most gummies fail to offer any benefits beyond traditional pills. She adds that “it’s hard to get a meaningful amount of anything into a gummy because of all the other stuff you have to put in there to make it taste OK, to make the mouth feel OK, and to make it look cool.” According to Dr Federica Amati, a postdoctoral medical scientist and nutritionist: “Gummies are often high in sugar. There isn’t a particular benefit to this, unless you find traditional supplements difficult to take.” Valerie Stark, a neuroscientist and director at Novomins, a gummy company that prides itself on being founded by doctors, scientists and nutritionists, raises the use of the pigment, titanium dioxide. “Some gummy companies use it because it’s a convenient and cheap ingredient that creates a specific structure and taste, and adds this pastel coating on pills. But in 2022, the EU banned it. The UK was supposed to follow, but Brexit cancelled all those decisions. We’ve looked at the research, and it isn’t something we want to have in our gummies.” Medlin agrees on this point. “It’s considered too high risk to be added to anything for human consumption, but until we get our act together in terms of regulation, people will exploit these legal loopholes.” Sweetness is the gummy’s secret weapon. While traditional pills, washed down with a glass of water, are sugar-free, many multivitamin gummies list sugar as the first ingredient, followed by glucose syrup (another word for sugar). One particular pregnancy gummy lists the first two ingredients as glucose syrup and sucrose (sugar and sugar), while a hair, skin and nails gummy lists glucose syrup, sugar and glucose as the first three ingredients. It’s no wonder we like them. “If the first listed ingredient is sugar, that’s the main thing you’re getting,” says Medlin. “These companies use multiple forms of sugar to capitalise on the fact that consumers don’t know the names of all the different types.” The fact that some sugary gummies are promoted as a supplement for weight management is particularly galling. As a nation, we have one hell of a sweet tooth; candy sales in the UK increased by 6.9% just last year, with Haribo, the world’s first gummy candy, invented in 1922 in Germany, selling an extra 13m packs. Meanwhile, M&S says they shift 271 bags of Percy Pigs every minute. Gummy sweets don’t only appeal to kids, either. More than half a century ago the advertising slogan “Haribo macht Kinder froh” (Haribo makes children happy) was changed to include “und Erwachsene ebenso” (and adults, too). Gummy makers might argue that we’d be better off chewing a candyceutical or two than scoffing a packet of sweets. But public health tsars would counter we need to get a grip on our sugar cravings, not add more sugary offerings to the market, regardless of whether they purportedly provide a vitamin kicker. Stark argues that, in their gummies, at least, “The total sugar in a serving is less than in half a cherry.” Of course, cherries also provide fibre, potassium, vitamin C, phytochemicals and antioxidants – and 14 of them would count as one of your five-a-day. Sweeteners such as maltitol syrup, isomalt, xylitol, sorbitol and steviol glycosides frequently top gummy ingredients lists but, cautions Amati, “as recently outlined by the World Health Organization, artificial (non-nutritive) sweeteners are not healthy and should not be considered better than sugar.” Medlin adds that sweeteners are “not great for our microbiome and for our digestion overall”. Yet probiotic gummies that contain high levels of artificial sweeteners and/or sugar also claim they can “restore the balance of bacteria in your gut”. Amati points out that “sweeteners, thickeners and gelling agents are disruptive for the gut microbiome”. Gummies don’t simply supplement nutrients, they have entered three lucrative industries at the same time: beauty, health and wellness. There’s plenty of glossy hair being swished around on social media, promoting hair, skin and nail gummies that contain biotin, or vitamin B7. I ask Amati if there’s good evidence behind it. “Not that I’m aware of,” she replies. Indeed government regulation states that you can only claim that biotin “contributes to the maintenance of normal hair”. What about CBD? Can gummies deliver anything meaningful for anxiety or pain and the other strains and stressors of modern life? “Effective dose cannabidiol is not typically found in gummies,” says Amati. Though she adds, “we mustn’t negate the powerful impact of the placebo effect for pain reduction and mental health. There is lots of evidence to support that, so if a CBD gummy is helpful, then that’s what matters.” The act of chewing, according to Stark, is one gummy superpower. While a traditional pill is washed straight down to make its way to your gut, with gummies, Stark says, absorption starts in your mouth as you chew. “Vitamin sprays use intra-oral absorption and they can work, but they don’t always taste great. Gummies make use of both intra-oral absorption and the digestive tract for delivery.” For Medlin, though, this is a niche benefit. “For the vast majority of nutrients,” she says, “there isn’t an oral absorption mechanism.” Arguably, some in the gummy industry are using similar tactics to food manufacturers who overstate health claims (like “low fat” or “low calorie”), to give their products a “health halo”. On some gummy websites, we’re led to believe medics are “prescribing” the perfect options for us. Smiling doctors in lab coats invite us to fill out an online questionnaire, which generally includes your age bracket, gender, fertility status and main health goals, and you’re served up a customised suggestion. But it takes more than a lab coat to convince Medlin. “There are probably a handful of options [of suitable gummies]. You may just be funnelled down into those, when in reality [prescribing vitamins] is much more nuanced than that,” she says. The problem is that these supplement quizzes “are not regulated, so no one’s checking that [the recommendations are being made] in a way that’s evidence-based or medically sound.” Amati agrees, pointing out that the only company she knows of that creates truly personalised supplements is Bioniq, a business that provides customers with a blood test that is analysed by a GP or nutritionist, and from which supplements that address your personal needs are prescribed. But they then use capsules, not gummies. None of this deters influencers from cashing in on the gummy boom. US big players like the Kardashians promote gummies with impunity, though Kourtney Kardashian was recently slammed for producing her Lemme Purr range to improve vaginal health. Here in the UK, Love Island alumni clock up 30,000-plus likes per paid Instagram post. For gummy marketeers, pleasure is a major selling point. Trad supplements, they are at pains to tell us, are unenjoyable and a well-meant habit that we quickly ditch. Stark is on-message when it comes to gummies being both healthy and fun. “When you work long hours,” she tells me, “you have to be very health-conscious, almost a bit obsessed to plan [a healthy diet]. We offer a delicious and effective mechanism not only for achieving daily nutritional intake, but enjoying the process.” It is the same time-saving, feelgood message peddled by food delivery companies who tell us to stop faffing about cooking and embrace doing less. Stark points out that you can get all your daily iron in “two delicious gummies”, adding that “to obtain the equivalent from food you’d have to sit and eat a whole bag of spinach – not many people would do that.” Perhaps not, except you wouldn’t expect to get all your daily iron intake from one source, in one sitting. You also wouldn’t sprinkle sugar on your spinach. “There’s a market for almost demedicalising supplements and making them feel less like a pill and more fun, mainstream and Instagrammable,” says Medlin, “when we need to be taking this seriously because supplements aren’t benign – you can take too much and they can cause harm.” Research has found links between excess beta-carotene supplementation and increased risk of lung cancer, excess vitamin E and higher risk of prostate cancer, and high dose vitamin D has been found to reduce bone density. On Mumsnet, panicked mums regularly take to forums asking for advice when their kids have eaten entire tubs of gummies, and there’s been a reported rise in vitamin D overdoses among adults, which can cause symptoms ranging from drowsiness to high blood pressure and kidney abnormalities. Scientists are still grappling with whether taking supplements at all provides any significant health benefits. “There isn’t a huge amount of evidence to support supplementing,” says Amati, “unless we are addressing specific deficiencies. Pregnancy and supplementing a vegan diet are the biggest exceptions. Making sure we have a good diet and healthy lifestyle should be much more evidence-based than any gummy or pill.” Trends come and go, but this wellness craze shows no signs of slowing any time soon, despite health experts bemoaning the proliferation of ultra-processed foods (UPF). Gummies, often laden with sugar, sweeteners, glazing agents and colourings, are another, more insidious form of UPF. We’re being urged to read food labels more carefully and avoid lengthy lists of chemical-sounding words. We should perhaps apply the same logic to supplements. https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2023/jun/25/lets-chew-it-over-a-look-at-gummy-supplements

Troops from Russia's Wagner mercenary group have reportedly started leaving the city of Rostov-on-Don, less than 24 hours after attempting a rebellion. Earlier, the group's chief said he had told his fighters to return to Ukraine to avoid bloodshed. Yevgeny Prigozhin will now move to neighbouring Belarus and charges against him and his troops will be dropped, Russian state media reports. It signals the end of a chaotic and extraordinary day in Russia. The Wagner Group is a private army of mercenaries that has been fighting alongside the regular Russian army in Ukraine. Tension had been growing between them over how the war has been fought, with Prigozhin launching vocal criticisms of Russia's military leadership in recent months. It came to a head on Saturday morning, when Wagner mercenaries crossed the border from their field camps in Ukraine and entered the southern city of Rostov-on-Don. In developments that were breathlessly fast, they reportedly took over the regional military command and seized military facilities in Voronezh, another city further north, towards Moscow. The fighters started to march toward the capital, prompting the Kremlin to introduced tighter security in many regions, including Moscow, where the mayor of the capital city had told residents to avoid travelling. There were also warnings that thousands of elite Chechen troops were heading to Moscow to fight off the Wagner soldiers, if needed. In response, President Vladimir Putin had pledged to punish those who had "betrayed" Russia. The agreement to suddenly de-escalate the situation came on Saturday evening, after Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko held talks with Prigozhin, according to Russian TV channel Rossiya 24. Hours later, video emerged purportedly showing Wagner troops leaving Rostov, and their leader being driven away to the cheers and handshakes of supporters. Commenting on the day's events, Ukraine's President, Volodymyr Zelensky said the situation was "complete chaos". "The man from the Kremlin is obviously very afraid and probably hiding somewhere, not showing himself. I am sure that he is no longer in Moscow," he said in a statement. "He knows what he is afraid of, because he himself created this threat. All evil, all losses, all hatred - it is he who spreads it." There were rumours that Mr Putin had fled Moscow, after flight tracking showed that two presidential planes had left the city on Saturday. However his press secretary, Dmitry Peskov, said the president was still in the Kremlin. Mr Peskov added that the arrest warrant for Prigozhin would be dropped and criminal case against him and his troops would be closed. Wagner mercenaries who wish to sign a contract with the Russian Ministry of Defence can still do so, the press secretary said. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-66006860

Ford Performance is set to enter the famed Dakar Rally for the first time ever, which takes place in Saudi Arabia in January 2024. Ford will join with partners M-Sport and Neil Woolridge Motorsport (NWM) to field a T1+-class modified Ford Ranger for 2024. According to Mark Rushbrook, global director of Ford Performance, Ford will use 2024 as a learning experience before bringing a Ranger Raptor–based truck and going for a win in 2025. The Ford Motor Company is going racing, and no, this time it isn't in response to a recent Ferrari victory at Le Mans. Instead, Ford Performance will be taking on the famous and physically demanding Dakar Rally. The Blue Oval will team up with longtime partners M-Sport and Neil Woolridge Motorsport (NWM) to field the required T1+-class truck for the competition. Mark Rushbrook, global director of Ford Performance, told Car and Driver some details about Ford's entry into the famed rally. When it enters the race for the first time in 2024, Ford will run a modified version of the fourth-generation Ranger, built to the Dakar's T1+ specifications. According to Rushbrook, the 2024 race will be a "finish and learn effort" for Ford, because racing the Dakar Rally is grueling on the truck and team alike. He plans to use the race as an opportunity for the team to learn the necessary logistics to mount a strong competition at the race. The team also plans to compete at Spain’s Baja España Aragón and Morocco’s Rally du Maroc rallies in July and October, using both races as a testbed before the Dakar Rally in January. Currently, the NWM-built competition trucks use the same twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V-6 EcoBoost engine as the F-150 Raptor. The harsh terrain of Saudi Arabia makes suspension a vital part of the truck. On the NWM Ranger, that means suspension making use of 3.0-inch-diameter single dampers on each corner, which provide up to 13.8 inches of wheel travel to cushion the landing when cresting desert dunes. Stopping power is handled through a set of 13.9-inch Brembo disc brakes, complete with water-cooled calipers to handle extreme heat. All-New Truck for the January 2025 Rally Using what they learn in the 2024 event, Ford and Rushbrook plan to mount the offensive in the following year. "We will prepare and build and test and develop an all new truck through 2024. That we will take back to race in January of 2025, with the intent of competing for the win," he told C/D. Not only will they be armed with the knowledge and experience of having actually competed in the event, but they also plan to bring a completely new truck. While the fourth-generation Ranger underpins the current NWM T1+ Ranger, the 2025 entry will be built on the newer Ranger Raptor platform. When we asked Rushbrook if that meant the new truck would utilize the Raptor's twin-turbo 3.0-liter V-6 rather than the current 3.5-liter, he instead pointed out that the FIA regulations allow for use of any engine from within the Ford family, but wouldn't give specifics yet. All this talk of M-Sport–developed vehicles and Ford Performance has us thinking of the 5.4-liter V-8 in the Mustang GT3 that was just revealed . . . perhaps that's a conversation for next time. https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a44189198/ford-ranger-truck-dakar-rally-race-announced/

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will travel to Beijing this weekend, the State Department announced on Wednesday – a significant trip that comes as the Biden administration navigates its complicated relationship with China. The top US diplomat will travel to the Chinese capital as the United States works to rectify normal channels of communications amid ongoing tensions between the two nations, including two military-related incidents in recent weeks. Blinken was originally set to travel to Beijing in early February, but postponed his trip due to a Chinese spy balloon transiting the US. A top State Department official said Wednesday both the United States and China came “to the shared conclusion that now is the right time to engage at this level.” “When the Secretary postponed his travel in February, we made very clear the reasons why we were doing so and why the trip at that time simply would not have been productive and we said that we would look to reschedule the trip when conditions permitted,” said Daniel Kritenbrink, Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs. There have been a number of engagements between US and Chinese officials in the subsequent months, including National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and Kritenbrink himself, and based on those interactions, “I think there’s a realization on both sides that it is important to have these channels of communication,” the assistant secretary said. “Now is the precisely the time for intense diplomacy,” said Kurt Campbell, Deputy Assistant to the President and Coordinator for Indo-Pacific Affairs, who noted that this was “not a strategic shift or something new to American statecraft.” “We have decades of experience talking to an agent working with competitors when our interests call for it,” he said. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said that Blinken would meet with “senior PRC officials” while in Beijing. The US officials did not give details about who those officials are or whether that would include a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Campbell noted that “we expect a series of visits in both directions in the period ahead” following Blinken’s visit. Kritenbrink said he would not expect “a long list of deliverables” to come out of the visit, but described it as “a really critical series of engagements that we’ll have in Beijing at a crucial time in the relationship that we again hope will, at a minimum, reduce the risk of miscalculation so that we do not veer into potential conflict.” He said the agenda would focus on three main goals: establishing communication channels “that are open and empowered to discuss important challenges, address misperceptions and prevent miscalculation,” discussing US concerns “on a range of issues” as well as on “a host of regional and global security matters,” and “exploring potential cooperation on transnational challenges when it is in our interest in areas such as climate and global macroeconomic stability.” Blinken is also expected to raise concerns about China’s role in the fentanyl crisis, Taiwan and cross-Strait issues and the war in Ukraine. “I think it is undeniable that there are elements of China’s policy towards Ukraine and its engagement with Russia that we watch it carefully and that we have concerns over and that this will be a topic of conversation,” Campbell said. Campbell told reporters that Blinken will “advocate strongly” for the need for appropriate military to military communications. Beijing has rebuffed high-level military dialogue and turned down a formal meeting between China’s Minister of National Defense Li Shangfu and US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin while both were in Singapore. “We’ve advocated for these discussions consistently, and China has resisted some of those efforts,” Campbell said. “I believe Secretary Blinken will advocate strongly that these lines of communication are necessary, they’re how mature, strong militaries interact, and the stakes are just too high to avoid these critical lines of communication.” According to Kritenbrink, the top US diplomat is also expected to bring up the cases of wrongfully detained Americans in China. There are three Americans publicly known to be wrongfully detained there: Mark Swidan, Kai Li, and David Lin. https://edition.cnn.com/2023/06/14/politics/blinken-china-announcement/index.html

Name: Desk yoga. Age: Yoga is at least 5,000 years old. Desks are comparative youngsters; they’re probably medieval. Appearance: Stretchy. You’ve been hunched over that screen for hours. Fancy a coffee? No thanks. Vape down the alleyway? Trip to the vending machine? Therapeutic gossip about Alan’s shirt? No, I’m going to take my Y-break. Your what? I’m taking inspiration from India’s civil service, which is encouraging staff to take a “Y-break”, incorporating desk yoga into their day to “de-stress, refresh and refocus”. What would de-stress, refresh and refocus me is not being at work. Shhh … close your eyes, take a deep breath and exhale. This just sounds like another way for competitive office exercisers to show off. As if it wasn’t bad enough them parading around in sweaty Lycra and talking about CrossFit, now we’re endorsing crow poses on the photocopier? This isn’t for yoga show-offs. The Y-break protocol suggests four six-minute routines and they’re pretty sensible and low-key. Mostly it’s sitting or standing stretches, twists and breathing exercises, not one-legged planks. One of the breathing exercises does involve making a “steady humming sound”, though. Rachel already does that when she’s writing emails – it drives me mad. Sounds like you both need the “Yoga for Workaholics 2” video, which, sweetly, has two colleagues doing stretches and heel raises together. Absolutely not. Although it would also feel weird doing yoga while everyone else was beavering away. Are there ways of secretly exercising while you work? Personally, I favour the traditional “walking around while carrying some papers” approach: get your steps in and no one bothers you. But if you’re deskbound, try leg raises and ankle circles. How about cardio? You can buy under-the-desk bikes, treadmills and elliptical trainers, but the best way to raise your heart rate at work is still to press “reply” instead of “forward” when you’re making a sarky comment about your boss’s latest motivational email. Beats CrossFit any day. Do other employers support office arm-waving and alternate nostril breathing? Some go further: there are US companies that pay employees to attend exercise classes, or offer on-site workouts. Brrrr. Is there not an argument that employer-endorsed health and fitness initiatives are just about maintaining productivity? What, ensuring our broken bodies and spirits remain profit centres until we can be replaced by robots? Surely not. Namaste! Do say: “Join us for 6am energising flow with the CEO in conference room 3!” Don’t say: “Sorry, we can’t accommodate your flexible working request, but why not try two minutes of nourishing cat-cow stretches?” You've read 26 articles in the last year Article count on … there is a good reason why NOT to support the Guardian Not everyone can afford to pay for news right now. That is why we keep our journalism open for everyone to read, including in Algeria. If this is you, please continue to read for free. But if you are able to, then there are THREE good reasons to support us today. 1. Our quality, investigative journalism is a scrutinising force at a time when the rich and powerful are getting away with more and more 2. We are independent and have no billionaire owner pulling the strings, so your money directly powers our reporting 3. It doesn’t cost much, and takes less time than it took to read this message Help power the Guardian’s journalism for the years to come, whether with a small sum or a larger one. If you can, please support us on a monthly basis from just £2. It takes less than a minute to set up, and you can rest assured that you’re making a big impact every single month in support of open, independent journalism. https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2023/jun/14/desk-yoga-de-stress-office-india-y-break

James Milner will join Brighton on a one-year contract when the midfielder's Liverpool deal expires at the end of June. The 37-year-old won six major honours including the Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League during his eight years at Anfield. Brighton also completed the club record signing of Brazil forward Joao Pedro from Watford earlier on Wednesday. "I'm very glad to welcome James to Brighton," said coach Roberto De Zerbi. "He's an excellent addition for us and I'm sure he will help to bring us to an even higher level." The Seagulls will play in Europe for the first time next season after a sixth-placed league finish secured a Europa League spot. Brighton see Milner's experience as being potentially invaluable in their attempt to cement another finish in the top 10 of the Premier League after two superb seasons. Technical director David Weir said: "His experience speaks for itself with the amount of games he has played and the trophies he has won throughout a decorated career. "These games include European competition, which will be of huge value to us as we embark on our first season in Europe." Milner joined Liverpool in 2015, when the Reds were managed by Brendan Rodgers, and went on to help the club win their first Premier League title in 2020. After beginning his career at Leeds United, he went on to play for Newcastle United, Aston Villa and Manchester City. During his five years at City he helped the club land their first top-flight title for 44 years, in addition to winning the FA Cup, League Cup and Community Shield. Milner has made the third most appearances in Premier League history, with 619 in all, behind only Gareth Barry (652) and Ryan Giggs (632). He also won 61 caps for England, representing his country at the 2010 and 2014 World Cups. https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/65906011

Florida beachgoers have long been accustomed to the threats from sharks in their warm waters, but bathers at Destin recently got a surreal shock when they saw a black bear emerge from the surf and amble on to the beach. Local TV station WMBB reported that stunned onlookers saw the bear, which appeared to be a youngster, swimming in the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico and heading to shore. Pastel-coloured cupcakes Black bear takes 60 cupcakes from US bakery, scaring staff Read more The bear navigated the surf and hit the beach before running off – apparently spooked by the large crowd of onlookers that had gathered to watch it make landfall. The bear did not hurt anyone – or appear injured itself – and its fate is unknown as video posted on Facebook showed it running off into the sand dunes and buildings lining the beach. It is not known why the bear was in the Gulf of Mexico or how long it had been swimming at sea. Bears generally are good swimmers and polar bears especially so as they can swim many miles out to sea to hunt seals. But the frozen Arctic is a long way from the sunny tourist-packed sands of Florida. You've read 25 articles in the last year Article count on … there is a good reason why NOT to support the Guardian Not everyone can afford to pay for news right now. That is why we keep our journalism open for everyone to read, including in Algeria. If this is you, please continue to read for free. But if you are able to, then there are THREE good reasons to support us today. 1. Our quality, investigative journalism is a scrutinising force at a time when the rich and powerful are getting away with more and more 2. We are independent and have no billionaire owner pulling the strings, so your money directly powers our reporting 3. It doesn’t cost much, and takes less time than it took to read this message Help power the Guardian’s journalism for the years to come, whether with a small sum or a larger one. If you can, please support us on a monthly basis from just £2. It takes less than a minute to set up, and you can rest assured that you’re making a big impact every single month in support of open, independent journalism. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/jun/11/beach-bum-no-bear-florida-sunbathers-shocked-by-ursine-ocean-goer

At least three people have been killed in a relatively rare Russian strike on the Black Sea port city of Odesa, Ukrainian officials have said. Another 13 people were injured in the early morning attacks, which targeted a warehouse and damaged shops. The south-western city is vital to Ukraine's grain exports through the Black Sea and has come under infrequent missile fire during the war. The strikes come as Ukraine's counter-offensive continues to gain ground. Kyiv's much-anticipated advance has been long in the making, and Ukrainian officials have accused Russia of stepping up missile strikes in recent weeks to deflect attention from the offensive. Military commanders said Russia fired 10 missiles and 10 drones overnight, most of which were shot down by air defences. They added that three of four KH-22 missiles launched from a Russian warship in the Black Sea were shot down, with the final one managing to hit Odesa. Oleg Kiper, the head of the region's military administration, said the three dead were workers in the warehouse, which was being used as a food storage centre. "There may be people under the rubble," he added. More civilians were injured after the blast and "air combat" damaged shops, restaurants - including a McDonald's - and residential areas, Mr Kiper wrote on Telegram. As well as being one of Ukraine's biggest ports, Odesa is also known as the pearl of the Black Sea an isd home to a number of historical buildings. In January, the United Nations cultural agency Unesco designated the city centre as an endangered World Heritage site in light of Russian attacks. And the city has long been a prize target for Russian forces. Valery Zaluzhny, the man behind Ukraine's counter-offensive Inside one of the villages freed from Russian forces What will it take for military push to succeed? Elsewhere, strikes on the eastern cities of Kramatorsk and Kostiantynivka killed a further three people and destroyed dozens of residential houses, Ukrainian authorities said. And six people - including four forestry workers - were killed after Russia shelled a a van in north-eastern Ukraine on Tuesday. Ukrainian prosecutors said the attack occurred near the village of Seredyna-Buda, close to the Russian border. Russia has stepped up its bombing campaign in recent weeks, despite President Vladimir Putin admitting that his forces are suffering from a shortage of missiles and drones. The attacks - which have killed dozens of civilians this week - come as Ukraine's counter-offensive in the south and east gains momentum. The Ukrainians say their troops have recaptured seven settlements and at least 90 sq km (35 sq miles) since starting their counter-offensive. Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar wrote on Telegram that Ukrainian forces had also advanced around the city of Bakhmut, long the centre of a grinding and bloody street-by-street battle with Russian forces. Ms Maliar said soldiers advanced by some 200m to 500m towards Bakhmut, and 300m to 500m in the southern Zaporizhzhia province. The BBC cannot independently verify these claims. But she conceded that the counter-offensive had already led to some "extremely fierce battles", as Ukrainian forces try to break through Russian defensive lines. Fresh reports have also emerged of casualties among senior Russian commanders. In Kherson, the Russian-installed governor, Vladimir Saldo, wrote on Telegram that Maj Gen Sergei Goryachev was killed in action by Ukrainian forces. And pro-Russian military bloggers have also suggested that one of the top commanders of Russia's Chechen paramilitary forces fighting in Ukraine has been injured. Russia has lost a number of senior generals since the war began, a relatively unusual feature of modern warfare, where top commanders normally remain far behind their own lines. Some analysts have suggested Moscow's commanders have been forced further forward because of junior officers' reluctance to take serious operational decisions. But the story of the advance is not as clear-cut as the triumphant claims of liberation that came from Kyiv earlier this week. On Tuesday, the BBC was granted access to some of the first settlements in eastern Donetsk, where the Ukrainian flag is now flying. Many are deserted, and in some areas Russian forces are pushing back. Meanwhile, the director of the UN's nuclear watchdog has postponed a planned trip the the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant. Senior Ukrainian officials said Rafael Grossi had agreed to delay his trip until it was safer to travel. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief said on Tuesday that he was "very concerned" that the plant could be caught in the crossfire of Ukraine's counter-offensive. His officials have also stressed their need to access a site near the plant to check water levels, after the nearby reservoir supplying cooling pools for the plant was hit by the destruction of the Kakhovka dam. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-65905021

The number of people globally who initially access news through a website or app has dropped by 10 points since 2018, and younger groups prefer to access news through social media, search or mobile aggregators, according to a report released on Tuesday. Audiences pay more attention to celebrities, influencers, and social media personalities than journalists on platforms such as TikTok, Instagram, and Snapchat, the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism said in its annual Digital News Report. TikTok is the fastest growing social network in the report, used by 20 percent of 18- to 24-year-olds for news, up five percentage points from last year. Fewer than half the survey respondents expressed much interest in news at all, down sharply from 6 out of 10 in 2017. “There are no reasonable grounds for expecting that those born in the 2000s will suddenly come to prefer old-fashioned websites, let alone broadcast and print, simply because they grow older,” Reuters Institute Director Rasmus Nielsen said in the report, which is based on an online survey of roughly 94,000 adults, conducted in 46 markets including the U.S. Less than a third of the survey's respondents said that having stories selected for them based on their previous consumption is a good way to get news, a 6-point decline from 2016, when the survey last asked the question. Yet people still slightly prefer to have their news chosen by algorithms than by editors or journalists. Trust in the news has fallen by 2 percentage points in the last year, reversing gains made in many countries at the peak of the coronavirus pandemic. On average, 40 percent of people say they trust most news most of the time. The United States has seen a 6-point increase in trust in news, to 32 percent, but remains among the lowest in the survey. Across markets, 56 percent of people say they worry about identifying the difference between real and fake news on the internet – up 2 percentage points from last year. The survey found that 48 percent of people say they are very or extremely interested in news, down from 63 percent in 2017. The Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism is funded by the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Thomson Reuters. https://www.gadgets360.com/internet/news/tiktok-trust-traditional-news-social-media-misinformation-influencers-4121330

Amazon has renewed its war on fake reviews by developing new AI-powered tools to help tackle the problem, but the retail giant admits they aren't enough to solve the issue on their own. In a new blog post, Dharmesh Mehta, who's Amazon's VP of Worldwide Selling Partner Services, writes "we must work together to stop the fake review brokers that are the source of most fake reviews", calling on "private sector, consumer groups, and governments" to work together to stop the brokers. What are these so-called 'fake review brokers'? Amazon says the brokers have become an industry in recent years, and have "evolved in an attempt to evade detection". They work by approaching average consumers though websites, social media or encrypted messaging services and getting to them write fake reviews "in exchange for money, free products, or other incentives". Amazon says it's using increasingly sophisticated AI tools and machine learning to stem the tide. These fraud-detection programs apparently analyze thousands of data points, including sign-in activity and review history, to help spot fake reviews. The figures involved are pretty staggering; Amazon says that last year it blocked over 200 million suspected fake reviews in 2022, and sued over 10,000 Facebook group administrators. But Amazon's financial might and its increasingly sophisticated AI tools seemingly aren't enough to stop fake reviews. The retail giant says that because much of the misconduct happens outside of Amazon’s store "it can be more challenging to detect, prevent, and enforce these bad actors if we are acting alone". So Amazon has made a three-point plan to get some extra help. Firstly, it wants there to be more cross-industry sharing about fake review brokers and their various tactics and techniques. Secondly, it wants governments and regulators to use their authority more to take action against bad actors. And lastly, in a veiled nudge at Meta and other social media giants, it's asked that "all sites that could be used to facilitate this illicit activity should have robust notice and takedown processes". Amazon wants to work with "these companies" (read Facebook, WhatsApp, Signal and more) to help improve their detection methods. Whether or not these three steps are realistic remains to be seen, but the message from Amazon is clear – it doesn't think it can stem the tide of fake reviews on its own, and that's a problem for all of us. Until that improves, it's more important than ever to follow advice on how to spot fake Amazon reviews during Prime Day and other big shopping events. We've been highlighting the problem of fake Amazon reviews for over a decade, and it's clear that the issue has become a game of whack-a-mole – while Amazon's tools have improved, the retail giant admits that the "tactics of fake review brokers have also evolved in an attempt to try to evade detection". This is a big problem for the average online shopper – in the UK, the consumer group Which? says that around one in seven reviews are fake. And that means you can be misled into buying poor-quality products. Mehta's blog post is a reminder than even the world's biggest tech giants, and the latest AI technology, aren't powerful enough to stop fake reviews. And that means we all need to be increasingly savvy when shopping online. As our in-depth guide to spotting fake Amazon reviews highlights, there are some simple red flags to look out for in product reviewers, including "overly promotional language, repeated reviews, and reviews for an entirely different product". But there are also handy third-party tools like ReviewMeta and FakeSpot (which was recently bought by the Firefox owner Mozilla) that can help you use AI to detect fake reviews and scams. These allow you paste in Amazon product URLs to get an analysis of the reviews or use Chrome extensions for a quick check. While Amazon's three-point call-out for outside help is understandable, recent history suggests that progress is going to be slow – which means we'll all need to remain on guard when doing our online shopping, particularly during big events like Amazon Prime Day 2023. https://www.techradar.com/news/amazon-says-even-ai-isnt-powerful-enough-to-stop-fake-reviews

When troubleshooting old computers, it helps to have the proper hardware. Mr. Green’s Workshop, a channel over at YouTube, recently delved into his experience troubleshooting an old X86 firewall motherboard. In the past, a POST code reader was used to help interpret BIOS POST codes that alert the user to errors when the machine first boots. In this case, he’s created a POST code reader using a Raspberry Pi Pico. This custom-made Pico-powered POST card doubles as an LPC (low pin count) bus sniffer. If you’re not familiar with what an LPC bus does, you can find more details about it in his Pico POST card video. In short, this communication bridge is necessary for the Pico to evaluate the BIOS Post codes produced when the machine first boots. The idea for the Pico POST card began when he got his hands on an old x86 firewall motherboard. He needed to troubleshoot the used board and saw this as a chance to create his own POST card and share details with his viewers about how I/O cycles operate and what the LPC bus is for. Recreating this project doesn’t take too much hardware, but you will need soldering experience. It also took a great deal of research on Mr. Green’s part to make sure he understood what pin was used for what on the x86 firewall motherboard. The Pico is attached to a breadboard and wired to the motherboard using jumper wires. If you decide to make this Raspberry Pi project at home, you’ll need to make adjustments to suit your hardware needs. However, you can look at the code he’s created on GitHub to get an idea of how the POST code output is read and processed by the Pico for LED output. Instead of listening for beeps, you can process the code into a string of LEDs for easy interpretation. We highly recommend checking out Mr. Green’s Workshop over on YouTube to watch the video of this Pico POST card reader in action. As always, we’re excited to see the Raspberry Pi bridge gaps between old and new hardware—especially when it’s well executed like this. https://www.tomshardware.com/news/raspberry-pi-pico-bios-post-card