jff super ace ultimate
None
Left-hander Max Fried agrees to $218 million, 8-year contract with Yankees, AP source says DALLAS (AP) — A person familiar with the negotiations tells The Associated Press that Max Fried and the New York Yankees have agreed to a $218 million, eight-year contract, the largest deal for a left-handed pitcher in baseball history. New York made the move two days after outfielder Juan Soto left for a pending $765 million, 15-year contract with the rival Mets. Fried, who turns 31 in January, gets the fourth-highest contract among pitchers behind the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Yoshinobu Yamamoto, the Yankees’ Gerrit Cole and Washington’s Stephen Strasburg. Fried broke the mark for lefties set by David Price at $217 million. Mbappe, Vinicius and Bellingham on target as Real Madrid beats Atalanta 3-2. Liverpool wins again Real Madrid’s big stars turned on the style to revive the Spanish giant’s faltering Champions League title defense. Galacticos Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Junior and Jude Bellingham all scored in a 3-2 win at Italian league leader Atalanta. It was only Madrid’s third win in the competition’s revamped league phase and leaves the 15-time champion in the unseeded playoff positions in 18th place. In contrast Liverpool leads the way after maintaining its perfect record in Europe this season after a 1-0 win against Girona. Mohamed Salah scored his 50th Champions League goal to seal it for Liverpool. Analysis: After Juan Soto's megadeal, could MLB see a $1 billion contract? Probably not soon For the second straight Major League Baseball offseason, a norm-shattering contract has been the talk of the winter, with Juan Soto agreeing with the New York Mets on a $765 million, 15-year deal that’s the richest in baseball history. It comes almost exactly one year after the Los Angeles Dodgers forked out a princely sum of $700 million on a 10-year, heavily deferred deal for two-way Japanese superstar Shohei Ohtani. The way it’s going, a contract approaching $1 billion doesn’t seem out of the question. But several factors are working against it — at least in the near future. Joe Burrow's home broken into during Monday Night Football in latest pro-athlete home invasion ANDERSON TOWNSHIP, Ohio (AP) — Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow’s home was broken into during Monday Night Football in the latest home invasion of a pro athlete in the U.S. Authorities said Tuesday no one was injured in the break-in, but the home was ransacked. Deputies weren’t immediately able to determine what items were stolen. Both the NFL and NBA issued alerts to players following prior break-ins, urging them to take precautions. The homes of Chiefs stars Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce were broken into in October. In the NBA, Milwaukee Bucks forward Bobby Portis and Minnesota Timberwolves guard Mike Conley Jr. had their homes broken into. Scottie Scheffler in a landslide to win PGA Tour player of the year for third straight time Scottie Scheffler is the PGA Tour player of the year in a vote that had about as much drama as some of his victories. Scheffler earned 91% of the vote in winning the Jack Nicklaus Award for the third straight season. He joins Tiger Woods as the only players to win three straight times. Woods won it five times in a row, and three straight times on another occasion. Scheffler won seven times on the PGA Tour against only the strongest fields. He also won the FedEx Cup. He also won the Masters green jacket and an Olympic gold medal. MLB investigated to ensure no early Sasaki deal in place, pitcher likely to pick team mid-January DALLAS (AP) — Major League Baseball investigated to ensure no team had an advance deal in place for Roki Sasaki, and the agent for the Japanese pitcher says picking a club will be “like the draft in reverse.” On the first day of Sasaki’s 45-day window to sign with an MLB team, agent Joel Wolfe says the 23-year-old right-hander likely will sign shortly after the 2025 international signing pool window opens on Jan. 15 and wouldn’t wait until the Jan. 23 deadline. Sasaki helped Japan win the 2023 World Baseball Classic and has a fastball clocked at 102.5 mph. Cubs Hall of Famer Ryne Sandberg says cancer has returned, spread CHICAGO (AP) — Hall of Fame second baseman Ryne Sandberg says the prostate cancer he thought had been eliminated by radiation has returned and spread. The Chicago Cubs great made the announcement on Instagram on Tuesday. Sandberg announced in January that he had metastatic prostate cancer and in August said he was cancer-free after chemotherapy and radiation treatments. Sandberg was the National League MVP in 1984 and a 10-time All-Star during 15 seasons for the Cubs from 1982 to 1997, with 282 home runs and 344 stolen bases. After his playing career, he served as manager of the Philadelphia Phillies from 2013 to 2015, going 119-159. Nolan Arenado open to switch from third base to first and leaving Cardinals for a team he approves DALLAS (AP) — Nolan Arenado is open to a trade from the St. Louis Cardinals, at age 33 wanting to be on a World Series contender. Agent Joel Wolfe says “it’s like his biological clock is ticking and if the team’s not winning it’s driving him crazy every day.” An eight-time All-Star and 10-time Gold Glove third baseman, Arenado is open to a switch to first base. He hit .272 with 16 homers and 71 RBIs this year, his poorest season in a decade. St. Louis acquired Arenado from Colorado ahead of the 2021 season. Washington Nationals win lottery for No. 1 pick in next amateur baseball draft, Angels No. 2 DALLAS (AP) — The Washington Nationals will have the No. 1 overall pick in the amateur draft next summer. The Nationals won the draft lottery through a drawing of ping-pong balls at the winter meetings in Dallas. Unlike last year, when the Nationals were ineligible after initially coming out with the top spot, they will get to make the first pick in July in Atlanta during All-Star Game festivities. The Los Angeles Angels got the second overall pick for next summer. Seattle, Colorado, St. Louis and Pittsburgh round out the six lottery picks. Athletes in $2.8 billion college lawsuit tell judge they want to create a players' association The athletes whose lawsuit against the NCAA is primed to pave the way for schools to pay them directly also want a players’ association to represent them in the complex contract negotiations that have overtaken the industry. Grant House, Sedona Prince and Nya Harrison wrote to the judge overseeing what’s known as the House Settlement, saying that although they are generally happy with the terms of the proposed settlement “there still remains a critical need for structural changes to protect athletes and prevent the failures of the past.”
Abdur Rehman Pakistan, predominantly a Muslim country, has a rich history and heritage of many other religions, such as Hinduism, Sikhism, and Buddhism. Among these religions, Buddhism left a rich archaeological and civilisational heritage. Buddha was born in present-day southern Nepal. He travelled through the subcontinent and visited present-day Pakistan during his meditation journey. Consequently, Buddhism flourished in present-day Pakistan, spanning over a millennium. This period left a rich heritage in Pakistan, including philosophy, art, culture, architecture and stupas. This heritage spreads from northern Pakistan to southern Afghanistan. This insight explores how Pakistan’s Buddhist heritage can bridge peace and harmony between Pakistan and Buddhist nations. Buddhism thrived in the Gandhara region, which now encompasses modern-day Peshawar, Swat, and Taxila, from the 2nd century BC to the 8th century AD. This era saw the birth of a remarkable cultural legacy, evident in its architecture and a unique blend of Buddhist and Greek elements. The ruins of Takht-i-Bahi in Swat, dating back to the 1st century (Figure 1), and the Buddhist statues at the Lahore Fort, which contains Buddhist carvings and inscriptions, are a testament to this fascinating blend. The archaeological sites at Taxila further enrich this cultural tapestry. Buddhism is the fourth-largest religion and dominant religion in at least eight countries. Seven countries have more than fifty per cent Buddhist population, which include Cambodia (96%), Thailand (92%), Myanmar (79.8%), Bhutan (75%), Sri Lanka (70%), Laos (66.8%) and Mongolia (53%). According to a Gallup survey 2016, around 58 million Buddhist pilgrims want to visit religious sites. Out of these 58 million, five per cent want to visit Pakistan, which is almost 2.9 million people who want to visit Pakistan. However, according to the foreign ministry, only 1500 people visit Buddhist sites in Pakistan annually. The economic potential of these heritage sites is substantial. In 2022, the World Bank reported that Pakistan attracted US$16 billion in tourist spending, which can reach US$30 billion by 2033. It generated a revenue of US$3.7 billion in 2024, and US$5.533 billion in revenue is expected by 2029. According to Business Recorder, only these Buddhist pilgrims have the potential to generate US$900 million to US$1.3 billion annually. Figure 3 shows the annual expected revenue growth in the tourism industry in Pakistan (including religious tourism). Business Recorder has also claimed that Pakistan can almost double its revenue from tourism. Tourism contributes about 10% to the GDP and employs one in ten people worldwide. However, in 2022, the travel and tourism sector contributed 5.9% to Pakistan’s GDP. The restoration of damaged sites and infrastructure development are necessary to attract tourism. In this regard, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) Government has taken many initiatives, like the restoration of the Landi Kotal Stupa and a master plan to restore and preserve Takht-i-Bahi. The government is also working on digitally preserving these stupas and sites in 3D virtual form in collaboration with the Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS). However, these efforts only preserve the heritage; its marketing to attract tourists must be further enhanced. Promoting Pakistan’s religious tourism sites has remained absent from the country’s social and electronic media due to content creation on more commercially viable niches generating engagement and advertising revenue. It needs a comprehensive strategy. Uxi Mufti observes that religious tourism sites often fail to attract influencers’ attention despite their cultural and historical significance due to their perceived limited monetary potential. To attract more tourists, Pakistan needs to follow a comprehensive strategy. *Pakistan can leverage social media influencers from Buddhist-majority countries to promote its Buddhist heritage by collaborating with content creators in their native languages, such as Chinese influencers sharing in Mandarin clips. *Pakistan can also collaborate with domestic and international television and film industries by incorporating Buddhist stories and showcasing archaeological sites and present-day locations. *The Government needs to develop modern accommodation facilities near these sites, install multilingual signage and information boards to cater to diverse tourists and train local guides. Pakistan can develop a comprehensive public-private partnership approach to promote Buddhist heritage tourism. By integrating government resources with private sector innovations like digital mapping, augmented reality, venture capital investments, cross-border tourism strategies, and multimedia storytelling, the country can transform historical sites into economically viable destinations that attract diverse audiences through sophisticated technological and marketing approaches. Writer can be reached at muhammadar3488@gmail.com
Up to 14 criminals killed in 168 encounters with police this year KP Police personnel patrol area after an attack in Swat. — AFP/File PESHAWAR: The Capital City Police has clashed with robbers and street criminals 168 times in the last one year, killing at least 14 alleged gangsters and injuring 180 others, a report disclosed. googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1700472799616-0'); }); The force in the provincial capital has adopted an aggressive policy against street criminals since last year after witnessing an increase in snatching, robberies and violence. An official said during the last 12 months, 168 cases were registered after encounters with street criminals. Apart from killing 14 street criminals and injuring 180 others, police arrested 257 criminals involved in violent attacks, snatching, robberies and other crimes. “We have adopted aggressive policing against street criminals. Over 120 encounters took place with robbers and snatchers in the last six months,” Capital City Police Officer(CCPO), Qasim Ali Khan, told The News. The CCPO added a number of measures had been taken at the police station level while the Ababeel Force was reshuffled to improve policing the streets. He continued the situation in urban, suburban and rural areas had improved in the last few months. For the last few years, incidents of snatching of phones and cash, lifting of bikes and cars and thefts from houses, shops and public places started happening daily in areas of almost all the police stations. Hardly a few of the cases were registered when the matter was brought to the notice of bosses. Apart from dozens of people losing lives in street crimes, a large number of people were robbed in different areas of Peshawar. The crime rate in the provincial capital and other districts recorded a significant increase in the last few years, mostly because of inflation, joblessness and an increase in the use of drugs. There were reports that a huge majority of the cases go unreported either because police avoid registration of FIR or roznamcha or the victims don’t approach the cops since they don’t have any hope from the force. Senior police officials claimed time and again that they have busted a large number of gangs and arrested hundreds of their members involved in street crimes. However, the incidents of robberies, snatching and lifting of cars and bikes continued. In many cases, robbers and snatchers went violent and opened fire without any provocation. Most of the cops at police stations don’t consider mobile snatching or theft from houses and shops even a crime anymore and that is why hundreds of cases go unreported. The situation for the last couple of years forced many people to take precautions mostly after sunset and avoid deserted streets and roads. According to the experts, one of the major factors behind an unprecedented increase in incidents of snatching, robberies, theft and acts of violence in the last few years is the growing number of ice addicts in the society. Apart from theft from houses and shops, hundreds of ice and heroin addicts daily uproot iron fences, benches, pipes and even cat-eyes from the road to sell it for a meager amount only to arrange money for ice. The ice or methamphetamine addicts are more violent compared to those consuming heroin, hashish, or other drugs. Police investigators say many of those involved in the street crimes were found to be ice addicts. These addicts become violent when they consume the drug and can kill anyone for offering little or even no resistance. Since it is more harmful to society and any individual, ice needs to be treated differently from other drugs. Many believe that effective fresh laws by the government against ice are needed. Also, instead of mere eyewash and actions only for the consumption of social media, more aggressive actions by police, ANF, the Excise Department and other relevant departments against the mafias are needed.