El Máster Edwin

Request Rejected! you do not meet the requirements T/C.

Accepted! T/C.

Request Rejected! you do not meet the requirements T/C.

George Ford will continue to lead England's attack from fly-half against Wales England have named an unchanged starting XV for Saturday's Six Nations match against Wales at Twickenham. It is the first time England have fielded an unchanged starting team since the World Cup final in 2019. In the one change to the squad from the win in Italy, vice-captain Ellis Genge returns from injury to make the bench. "We're delighted to be back playing in front of a sold-out Twickenham Stadium this Saturday," said head coach Steve Borthwick. "The visit of the Wales team is always a fixture that creates a special atmosphere." Borthwick named a fresh-looking side for the Six Nations opener against Italy last weekend, with five players making their international debuts in the 27-24 win. The England boss has therefore opted for continuity as his side look to build on the win in Rome. "With a new player group and a number of new caps, we have tried to develop our game on both sides of the ball," Borthwick added. "Such changes take time, and I was pleased how quickly the players settled and adapted last weekend against Italy." Prop Genge was a late withdrawal from the squad to face the Azzurri but has recovered from a foot injury and replaces Beno Obano. Experienced fly-half George Ford keeps his starting place after guiding England to victory in Rome, with Fin Smith among the replacements. "It was a good start, you always want to start the Six Nations with a win," vice-captain Ford, who shares the role with Genge, told BBC 5 Live Breakfast. "There are many positives in it for me: the way it felt on the field, the way we had the endeavour to play with the ball and the way we responded to a few setbacks. "But having said that, we need to be a lot better at the same time, we need to maybe be a bit more consistent in all areas to build the game better and score more points. "That's what we are going after this week." Meanwhile, Wales were dominated for 45 minutes by Scotland in Cardiff, before scoring a remarkable 26 unanswered points in the second half and narrowly losing 27-26. Ford says he expects Wales to fix the issues that were so prevalent before half-time and believes Warren Gatland's side will produce a markedly improved display from the start this weekend. "We'll be preparing for the best version of the Wales team, 100%. You saw how dangerous they were in the second half," Ford added. "The probability of them fixing up what happened in the first half is high, of course it is. "So we have to prepare for the best version of Wales from the very start of the game, and we understand they are a team that never go away, they never stop, they fight and fight and fight. "So we need a full-80 minute performance this weekend." Wing Immanuel Feyi-Waboso could win his second Test cap if he comes off the England bench against the country of his birth. Cardiff-born Feyi-Waboso played age-grade rugby for Wales but chose to make himself available for England at senior level. "He came on and did really well against Italy. He has been an incredibly calm, composed and mature character," Borthwick said. "He's trained very well and in the little time I've known him he doesn't seem to get fazed. I only have good things to say about him." England: Steward; Freeman, Slade, Dingwall, Daly; Ford, Mitchell; Marler, George (capt), Stuart, Itoje, Chessum, Roots, Underhill, Earl. Replacements: Dan, Genge, Cole, Coles, Cunningham-South, Care, F Smith, Feyi-Waboso Link

A selection of in-your-face skirts and wings have been thrown on, dramatising the 240bhp all-electric powertrain Here we go, ladies and gentlemen. After teasing the 600e back in early January, Abarth has now pulled the covers on the real thing ahead of its forthcoming public debut. And let’s not mess about here, it looks proper. In the sole image provided, plenty of motorsport-inspired design traits can be spotted including darkened skirt plates attached to each bumper section, a protruding rear wing, and more Abarth logos than you can count. Sharper whirlwind-like alloys can also be seen merging both silver and black spokes. The model pictured is the ‘Scorpionissima’ launch version, which will be limited to just 1,949 examples and perhaps your ability to accurately spell 'Scorpionissima'. Apparently, it invokes the ‘evil’ lurking within. Way to make it sound like a low-budget spin-off to Anaconda, Abarth. No word on exactly what additions the Scorpionissima will carry, but we expect them to remain purely cosmetic. Mechanically, the all-electric mini SUV’s 240bhp will be produced through a combination of its 115kW electric motor and 54kWh lithium-ion battery pack. We also expect the base car’s 1,520kg kerbweight to take a cut, but the top speed will likely remain below 100mph. Interested? Pricing is yet to be revealed, but given its little brother, the 500e, starts at £34,195, expect the 600e to touch worryingly close to £40k. With Abarth’s introduction of artificial exhaust sounds, let’s hope you get an unlimited supply of pre-recorded concerts incorporated into the exhaust for that price. Link

The decision caps off a yearlong saga and means Donald Trump remains the only president in history to face criminal charges.The decision caps off a yearlong saga and means Donald Trump remains the only president in history to face criminal charges. WASHINGTON — Special counsel Robert Hur has declined to prosecute President Joe Biden for his handling of classified documents but said in a report released Thursday that Biden’s practices “present serious risks to national security” and added that part of the reason he wouldn't charge Biden was that the president could portray himself as an "elderly man with a poor memory" who would be sympathetic to a jury. “Our investigation uncovered evidence that President Biden willfully retained and disclosed classified materials after his vice presidency when he was a private citizen,” the report said, but added that the evidence “does not establish Mr. Biden’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.” The report from Hur — who previously appointed by former President Donald Trump as one of the country's top federal prosecutors — also made clear the "material distinctions" between a theoretical case against Biden and the pending case against Trump for his handling of classified documents, noting the "serious aggravating facts" in Trump's case. Biden said in a statement after the report became public that he was “pleased to see they reached the conclusion I believed all along they would reach — that there would be no charges brought in this case and the matter is now closed,” adding that he “cooperated completely, threw up no roadblocks, and sought no delays.” Hur’s report included several shocking lines about Biden’s memory, which the report said “was significantly limited” during his 2023 interviews with the special counsel. Biden’s age and presentation would make it more difficult to convince a jury beyond a reasonable doubt that the now-81-year-old was guilty of willfully committing a crime. “We have also considered that, at trial, Mr. Biden would likely present himself to a jury, as he did during our interview of him, as a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory,” it said. “Based on our direct interactions with and observations of him, he is someone for whom many jurors will want to identify reasonable doubt. It would be difficult to convince a jury that they should convict him — by then a former president well into his eighties — of a serious felony that requires a mental state of willfulness.” Later in the report, the special counsel said that the president’s memory was “worse” during an interview with him than it was in recorded conversations from 2017. “He did not remember when he was vice president, forgetting on the first day of the interview when his term ended (‘if it was 2013 — when did I stop being Vice President?’), and forgetting on the second day of the interview when his term began (‘in 2009, am I still Vice President?’),” the report said. Biden also had difficulty remembering the timing of his son Beau’s death, as well as a debate about Afghanistan, the report said. “He did not remember, even within several years, when his son Beau died,” the report said. Defenders of the president quickly pointed out that he sat for the interview in the days after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel. Biden, giving previously scheduled remarks on Thursday, appeared to nod to that, saying, “I was in the middle of handling an international crisis.” He also added that he was “especially pleased” that the special counsel “made clear the stark differences between this case and Donald Trump.” Andrew Weissman, who served on special counsel Robert Mueller’s team, said on MSNBC on Thursday that Hur’s decision to lodge criticisms of Biden’s memory problems was “gratuitous” and reminded him of when former FBI Director James Comey held a press conference criticizing Hillary Clinton in the months before the 2016 election. “This is not being charged. And yet a person goes out and gives their opinion with adjectives and adverbs about what they think, entirely inappropriate,” he said. “I think a really fair criticism of this is unfortunately, we’re seeing a redux of what we saw with respect to James Comey at the FBI with respect to Hillary Clinton in terms of really not adhering to what I think are the highest ideals of the Department of Justice.” "Facts First" folder found in a box in a Wilmington, Del., garage that contained documents with classified markings inside. In a Monday letter to Hur and his deputy special counsel, Richard Sauber and Bob Bauer, Biden’s personal counsel, disputed how the report characterized the president’s memory. “We do not believe that the report’s treatment of President Biden’s memory is accurate or appropriate,” Sauber and Bauer wrote in the letter, which was also released on Thursday. “The report uses highly prejudicial language to describe a commonplace occurrence among witnesses: a lack of recall of years-old events.” Separately, Sauber responded to the report by saying the White House is “pleased” it has concluded and that there were no criminal charges. “As the Special Counsel report recognizes, the President fully cooperated from day one,” he said in a statement. “His team promptly self-reported the classified documents that were found to ensure that these documents were immediately returned to the government because the President knows that’s where they belong.” Sauber went on to appear to criticize the report but raised no specific points. “We disagree with a number of inaccurate and inappropriate comments in the Special Counsel’s report,” Sauber said in his statement. “Nonetheless, the most important decision the Special Counsel made — that no charges are warranted — is firmly based on the facts and evidence.” Hur’s report said there were “clear” material distinctions between a potential case against Biden and the pending case against Trump, noting that unlike “the evidence involving Mr. Biden, the allegations set forth in the indictment of Mr. Trump, if proven, would present serious aggravating facts.” The top photo shows a damaged box recovered from President Joe Biden's garage. The bottom photo shows the contents from the top photo in a new box. Most notably, the report said, “after being given multiple chances to return classified documents and avoid prosecution, Mr. Trump allegedly did the opposite.” In contrast, it said, “Mr. Biden turned in classified documents to the National Archives and the Department of Justice, consented to the search of multiple locations including his homes, sat for a voluntary interview, and in other ways cooperated with the investigation.” Some of the report focuses on documents about Afghanistan, from early in Barack Obama’s presidency. About a month after Biden left office as vice president, in a recorded conversation with his ghostwriter in February 2017, Biden remarked that he “just found all this classified stuff downstairs,” the report said. He told him, “Some of this may be classified, so be careful," in one recording. Biden was believed to have been referring to classified documents about the Afghanistan troop surge in 2009, which Biden opposed. The announcement tops off a lengthy saga that began in November 2022, after one of Biden’s personal attorneys found classified documents that appeared to be from the Obama administration at the Penn Biden Center for Diplomacy and Global Engagement, which Biden had used as a personal office after his vice presidential term concluded. Classified documents were later also found at Biden’s Delaware home. The existence of classified documents at Biden’s home and former office were first reported in January 2023. CBS News first reported the existence of the documents at the Penn Biden Center. Attorney General Merrick Garland in January 2023 announced that he would appoint Hur as special counsel to oversee the investigation into Biden, saying the appointment authorized him “to investigate whether any person or entity violated the law in connection with this matter.” Biden was interviewed in October as part of the investigation, the White House said. The interview was voluntary, according to White House spokesman Ian Sams. “As we have said from the beginning, the President and the White House are cooperating with this investigation, and as it has been appropriate, we have provided relevant updates publicly, being as transparent as we can consistent with protecting and preserving the integrity of the investigation,” Sams said at the time. NBC News has also previously reported that the special counsel had interviewed Hunter Biden as well, according to a source familiar with the matter. With Hur’s announcement, Donald Trump remains the only president in history to face criminal charges, which include seven criminal charges in connection with mishandling classified documents found at Mar-a-Lago. According to the indictment in that case, Trump had more than 100 classified documents at his Florida home, including documents with “Top Secret” classification markings. Link

President Zelensky posted this picture with Gen Zaluzhnyi in announcing his replacement Ukraine's president has sacked the commander-in-chief of the country's armed forces, Valerii Zaluzhnyi. It follows speculation about a rift between the president and Gen Zaluzhnyi, who has led Ukraine's war effort since the conflict began. Battle-hardened Gen Oleksandr Syrskyi was announced as his replacement in a presidential decree. It is the biggest change to Ukraine's military leadership since Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022. President Volodymyr Zelensky said the high command needed to be "renewed" and that Gen Zaluzhnyi could "remain on the team". "Starting today, a new management team will take over the leadership of the Armed Forces of Ukraine," he said on Thursday. Gen Zaluzhnyi is a po[CENSORED]r general trusted by Ukrainian soldiers and the public, and has been something of a national hero. His recent approval ratings have been higher than those of Mr Zelensky. The president said he and Gen Zaluzhnyi had a "frank conversation" about the changes needed in the army, and that he thanked the general for defending Ukraine from Russia. The new army chief, Gen Syrskyi, has experience of both defensive and offensive warfare, Mr Zelensky said. He led the defence of Kyiv, Ukraine's capital, at the start of Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022. He then masterminded Ukraine's surprise and successful counter-attack in Kharkiv that summer, and has since been serving as the head of military operations in eastern Ukraine - one of the two main axes in Ukraine's counter-offensive. General Oleksandr Syrskyi will now lead Ukraine's war effort "We must make this year a crucial one," Mr Zelensky said. "Crucial for achieving Ukraine's goals in the war. Russia cannot simply accept the existence of an independent Ukraine - the very fact of our country's independent life." He said his "renewal" of the army's leadership was "not about surnames" or politics, but rather the management of Ukraine's armed forces and the experience of battlefield commanders. "The army's actions must become much more technologically advanced. The generalship must be reset," he added. Mr Zelensky said he expected a detailed plan for the armed forces this year, taking into account the reality of the war with Russia. He said there needed to be a different approach to frontline management, mobilisation and recruitment. Mykhailo Podolyak, who is the adviser to the head of the president's office, said the move was needed to revise the tactics used in Ukraine's counter-offensive last year. He echoed Mr Zelensky's comments about the need to prevent stagnation on the frontline and to find high-tech solutions. But there has been mixed reaction so far to the announcement, with opposition MPs the first to criticise the shake-up. Kyiv's mayor Vitali Klitschko thanked Gen Zaluzhnyi for his service to Ukraine, adding that he hoped the authorities would justify the changes. Oleksii Honcharenko, an MP from the opposition party led by former President Petro Poroshenko, said the move was "a huge mistake" by the president. He said it would carry risks for the country, adding: "We will all have to pay for this mistake." Another opposition MP, Valentyn Nalyvaichenko from the Batkivschina party, said the military leadership during the war "is something that we must preserve, support, not criticise, but help in every possible way". Ukraine's defence minister, Rustem Umerov, thanked Gen Zaluzhnyi in a statement, saying: "General Valerii Zaluzhnyi had one of the most difficult tasks - to lead the Armed Forces of Ukraine during the Great War with Russia. "But war does not remain the same. War changes and demands change. Battles 2022, 2023 and 2024 are three different realities. 2024 will bring new changes, for which we must be ready. New approaches, new strategies are needed. "Today, a decision was made on the need to change the leadership of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. "I am sincerely grateful to Valerii Fedorovych for all his achievements and victories." Link

yes @King_of_dark™??

voted

Solved make a tag request (here) T/C.

No @NOVAXX??

Video title: UNUSUAL MEMES COMPILATION V251 Content creator ( Youtuber ) :UnusualVideos Official YT video:

"It is the number one." Former Wales captain Sam Warburton loved playing England. The rivalry provided the Welshman with some of his highest highs, but also some of the lowest lows. It is a game that always has so much on the line. From historic wins to championship deciders and World Cup crunch matches, the fixture has produced plenty of iconic moments. Warburton, who retired in 2018, joined the Rugby Union Daily podcast to reflect on his battles with England. 2012: Wales secure rare Twickenham win Scott Williams scored a late runway try to snatch victory at Twickenham for Wales Wales have only won twice at Twickenham in the Six Nations. One of those came in February 2012, when a 23-year-old Warburton had redemption in his mind just months after being red-carded in a narrow World Cup semi-final defeat by France. "Twickenham was an amazing stadium as the Welsh would travel down and it was a phenomenal atmosphere," he tells Rugby Union Daily. "Outside the Principality, it was my favourite place to play. "Walking through the crowd is quite daunting if you're young. I just got sent off four months before at the World Cup and got recognised a lot more for that. "As I got to the door, there was a little fire escape and some England fan shouted: 'Warburton it was a red card.' That was massive motivation for me. That one little moment." Warburton produced a man-of-the-match performance in a 19-12 victory including an iconic try-saving tackle on Manu Tuilagi. "It was my first win at Twickenham and not many of the lads, as a young team, had won there," he says. "When you played at Twickenham, you got a different energy from the boys on the field." 2013: Wales deny England to clinch championship England were on a roll in 2013, and one game away from a Grand Slam as they headed to Cardiff. But Wales had recovered from an opening-weekend defeat by Ireland to retain in the hunt for the title, needing to win by seven points. "There must have been 15 people deep on either side of the bus," Warburton remembers. "The pavement on each side was like parting the red sea to get the bus up to the stadium. "The whole street continued to be flooded with fans until the Prince of Wales pub. I literally could not believe what I was seeing. This was like the whole of Wales coming to Cardiff." Warren Gatland's side were 9-3 up at half-time, before two quickfire tries from Alex Cuthbert helped secured a 30-3 victory. "All that drama and emotion - it only happens as England are coming to town," says Warburton. "You will never get that playing Ireland, France, Scotland or New Zealand." Two years later, there was more drama. Waiting for Wales to appear from the Principality Stadium dressing room, England captain Chris Robshaw stood his ground in the tunnel. Warburton respected Robshaw's decision, and said Wales would not be rushed from their pre-match routine having initially been told they had three minutes remaining. He says: "They didn't say: 'Chris Robshaw is in the tunnel, so come out.' They just said: 'Come out.' I said: 'No, we will stick to our routines.' "I thought it was good leadership by Chris Robshaw. I thought it was great. I am really glad he did that as you have to stand on your own two feet." Robshaw's side were not rattled - and avenged their defeat in 2013 by winning 21-16. Wales were beaten by South Africa in the quarter-finals of the 2015 World Cup The Six Nations is undoubtedly big. But England against Wales in a World Cup match at Twickenham is something that may never happen again. Stuart Lancaster's England were seen as favourites against an injury-hit Wales in a fixture that was regarded as 'must-win' for both sides. Wales finished the match with scrum-half Lloyd Williams on the wing. He set up a second-half Gareth Davis try, before a long-range Dan Biggar penalty sealed a famous victory. "We were dealt a lot of bad cards heading into that England game, but when you are dealt that many bad cards it almost works for you," says Warburton. "Sometimes it is easier to be the underdog. I never liked it as I wanted to be number one but I do remember thinking in 2015 that we have nothing to lose. "I didn't enjoy that as much as 2013 as we were back on the hamster wheel trying to beat Australia the next week." Australia beat both England and Wales to progress as pool winners, with England exiting their home World Cup early. 2017: One of Wales' hardest defeats Elliot Daly started against Italy in England's opening game of the Six Nations This was Warburton's last Six Nations game against England, and his fourth loss in a row against them in the competition. A 76th-minute try from Elliot Daly sealed the victory for the away side. "That was one of the hardest defeats as to lose at home to England is crushing," says Warburton. "A lot of senior players can take that on the chin - if that was a younger group it could have been quite damaging. "The lads then won the Grand Slam two years later when they came home again." Link

Gloriously high mileage Supra comes up for sale in the US. We want it… We love high mileage cars here at TG. It’s infinitely more satisfying to see a proper performance car that’s been to the moon and back rather than something that’s been wrapped in cotton wool and has only moved under its own steam for a service once a year. And so, we arrive at this particular A80 Toyota Supra. Currently for sale on US auction site Bring a Trailer, it has a cool 388,199 miles on the clock. Sheesh. And at the time of writing the bidding is up to $42,000 with a couple of days still left to run. Seems we’re not alone in loving high mileage heroes. This is a rather wonderful example of the MkIV Supra, though. It’s a hard-topped, manual gearboxed, twin-turbo car that was apparently purchased new by the late owner’s home appraisal business in Florida in 1993. It then travelled the country (what a company car) before its title was transferred from the business to the late owner in the mid-2000s. It’s now being auctioned on behalf of the owner’s estate, and we’re told the 3.0-litre 2JZ straight-six was rebuilt at around the 250,000-mile mark. It’s not exactly standard either. That engine comes with a HKS Twin Power ignition module, HKS camshaft gears, a Greddy Profec B II boost controller and an aftermarket blow-off valve and intercooler. There’s also a Greddy exhaust system, and videos on the listing prove it sounds really rather special. Now, there probably would be a little bit of work to do if you did want to take a chance on this Supra. Apparently, the power steering system leaks, the radio doesn’t work, the electric motors to move the seating position are dead and there’s a neat section of rust on the bootlid, but clearly the A80 has been a reliable tool over its working life. That leather interior is looking a little crusty now too. But who wouldn’t want what must be the highest mileage MkIV Supra around? Link

Officials said they believe the 13 orcas, whose plight had raised concern from environmental groups, were able to free themselves from the drift ice as gaps between them grew. TOKYO — A pod of killer whales that was trapped in drift ice off Japan’s northern main island of Hokkaido, prompting concern from environmental groups, has apparently safely escaped, officials said Wednesday. The killer whales, also known as orcas, were initially spotted by a local fisherman who reported them to officials in the nearby town of Rausu on the northeastern coast of Hokkaido on Tuesday morning. Town officials traveled to the coast later Tuesday and saw about a dozen whales bobbing up and down in a tiny gap surrounded by drift ice, about half a mile offshore. After analyzing drone footage filmed by a conservationist group, officials counted 13 killer whales there. The officials returned to the coast Tuesday evening and saw the pod had moved to the north, and it was gone when they returned again Wednesday morning, Rausu official Masataka Shirayanagi said. Officials said they believe the killer whales were able to free themselves from the drift ice as gaps between them grew. “We believe they were able to escape safely,” Shirayanagi said. The footage, captured by a drone flown by a conservationist group and shown on NHK national television and on social media, prompted concern in and outside Japan about the whales’ conditions and pleas for the Japanese government to help. One group submitted a request to the Defense Ministry to mobilize an ice breaker to help free them. Although the trapped whales were in Japanese waters, they were not far from an island that is disputed by Japan and Russia. Japan marked the annual Northern Territory Day on Wednesday to renew its demand for the return of the Russian-held islands. The dispute over the islands, which the former Soviet Union seized from Japan at the end of World War II, has prevented the two countries from signing a peace treaty formally ending their war hostilities. Moscow announced it was cutting off negotiations with Tokyo over Japanese sanctions following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi told reporters on Wednesday that killer whales are not designated as an endangered species in Japan and that officials were monitoring the situation while Japan and Russia communicated over the issue. Link

The ruling comes after a New York jury reached a verdict last month awarding Carroll $83.3 million in damages. Former President Donald Trump; E. Jean Carroll. A federal judge on Wednesday rejected Donald Trump’s motion seeking a mistrial in the E. Jean Carroll case after a jury found last month that the former president must pay her more than $83 million. Trump’s attorneys had argued in their mistrial motion that Carroll deleted threatening messages, including death threats, which they said was cause for a mistrial. In a 30-page decision Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan said that while Carroll admitted she deleted some of the purported death threats, the details of the deletions remain unclear. He ruled that Trump’s team failed to demonstrate that any of the missing messages would have aided his defense, which would have been necessary to show that her deletions were prejudicial. Attorneys for Trump and Carroll did not immediately respond to requests for comment Wednesday. Kaplan said that Trump's attorneys knew as far back as January 2023 that Carroll had deleted some emails, and she repeated that testimony at her first trial last year. The judge pointed out that Trump’s team never followed up on those admissions by bringing them to the court’s attention or by seeking to recover those messages. "Mr. Trump has offered no evidence that he ever even attempted to recover any of these messages through discovery or otherwise," Kaplan said. "In fact, he does not even argue that the messages in question have been permanently lost and are now unrecoverable. This failure alone was sufficient basis to deny the alternative relief he sought." “Even if it is accurate, it is far from sufficient to warrant relief,” Kaplan said in the decision. Kaplan also noted that during the trial, the jury heard testimony about "the disposal of some electronic communications," noting that both sides argued what they believed to be the significance of Carroll's actions. "The Court gave an appropriate instruction on the subject. And the jury rendered its verdict," Kaplan said. "A mistrial at this point would be a bootless exercise." Kaplan’s decision comes after he denied previous motions for a mistrial during the trial. A New York jury last month reached a verdict that awarded Carroll $83.3 million in damages. Carroll had argued that Trump defamed her. Last year, a jury found the former president liable for sexually abusing Carroll in the 1990s. Link

Two bomb explosions near candidates' offices in the Pakistani province of Balochistan killed at least 28 people and wounded dozens on the eve of general elections, officials said. The first blast killed 16 people in Pishin district, north of Quetta city. A second explosion left 12 people dead in Qila Saifullah to the east. There was no immediate claim for the attacks. The vote has been marred by violence and claims of poll-rigging. Former PM Imran Khan is barred from contesting. Police are still trying to determine the cause of the two blasts. Resource-rich Balochistan - Pakistan's largest, and poorest, province - has a history of violence. It has seen a decades-long struggle for greater autonomy by various groups, some of them armed. Islamist militants, including the Pakistani Taliban (TTP), operate along the border with Afghanistan. The bomb in Pishin, a town about 100km (62 miles) south-east of the Afghan border, went off in front of an independent candidate's party office. The provincial authorities said 25 people were also wounded. Images on social media showed cars and motorbikes blown apart by the force of the explosion. Officials told the BBC the candidate was meeting his polling agent at the time. The second blast targeted the election office of the JUI-F party. A senior police official told AFP news agency it took place in the main bazaar of Qila Saifullah, about 190km (120 miles) east of Quetta. Twenty people were wounded in the incident and the number of casualties in the two attacks could rise, officials said. There have been violent incidents in both Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces in the week before Thursday's vote, and the violence in Pishin and Qila Saifullah was not unexpected. In mid-January, Baloch Liberation Army-Azad (BLA) insurgents released a pamphlet after claiming responsibility for bombing an election training office. The pamphlet urged people to boycott the elections. Soon after, reports of hand grenade attacks on political party offices were reported from various cities in the province. Many voters in Balochistan feel neglected by the country's political parties, given the province has so few seats in parliament. They often feel candidates are foisted on them, with few if any links to Balochistan. And many feel the vote is unfair. "It is a selection," numerous people told BBC Urdu in the city of Turbat last month. Once seen as the Pakistan army's golden boy, Imran Khan was ousted in a no-confidence vote widely seen as orchestrated by the armed forces Following Wednesday's attacks, the Balochistan government said Thursday's vote would proceed as planned. "Rest assured, we will not allow terrorists to undermine or sabotage this crucial democratic process," provincial information minister Jan Achakzai posted on X, formerly Twitter. More than 128 million voters are eligible to cast ballots in the election. In Pakistan's first-past-the-post system, 266 of 336 National Assembly seats are directly elected. But many people are questioning the credibility of the vote as Khan and his party, the PTI, have been sidelined. The PTI won the largest number of seats in the last general election but Khan was jailed on corruption charges last year and disqualified from running for public office. Last week he was convicted in three other cases and faces years in prison - he says all the charges are politically motivated. The authorities deny carrying out a crackdown, but many PTI leaders are behind bars, in hiding or have defected. Thousands of the party's supporters were rounded up after protests - at times violent - when Khan was taken into custody last year. Nawaz Sharif, who was ousted five years ago, is now the front-runner in Pakistan's elections PTI candidates are having to run as independents following the electoral commission's decision to strip the party of its cricket bat symbol. Electoral symbols are vital in helping voters mark their ballots in a country with high rates of illiteracy. The man tipped to win Thursday's election is three-time former PM Nawaz Sharif, who himself was behind bars at the last election. Analysts say it appears he has done a deal with the military to facilitate his return to politics. A high turnout will be key to the PTI's chances, many analysts say. How to tackle, and who to blame for, the country's economic crisis will be high in voters' minds. Results must be announced within 14 days of the election. Link

voted

Rejected! I don't see that the admin has put a map that was in lastmap and if the other players wanted a change, it's fine in the first minutes T/C.