My television schedule has taken me to the Algarve this week for the Portugal Masters, but, like a lot of other people in golf, I find my thoughts drifting across the border to Spain.
The news from a Madrid hospital that Seve Ballesteros has been diagnosed with a brain tumour affected millions who have known, watched, admired and idolised the great man since he burst on to the scene in the 1970s.
He suffered a complication following surgery yesterday, but was said to be in a stable condition.
The biggest comfort for us all is that Seve is one of the greatest battlers the game has ever seen.
Looking back over his five victories in the majors, 87 tournament wins overall, and wonderful Ryder Cup record, we're now trusting him to win his toughest fight following a 12-hour operation.
I had the great fortune to play, practice and talk golf with him on many occasions over the years, and for every round, session or chat, there's a good Seve story.
My first encounter with him came at Royal Birkdale in 1983 when I was playing in my first British Open Championship as the new British Amateur champion.
During a practice round with two other amateurs, I quickly became aware of the legendary Seve magic.
He was playing right behind us, towing his own audience around Birkdale, and entertaining them in his inimitable way.
It was obvious from the roars and screams of delight ringing out across the course that they were all having a wonderful time, Seve, his caddie, and the crowd.
When he caught up with us on the 12th tee, I was expecting to let him through. Instead, he joined us to make up a fourball, and it was my first of many encounters with the generous side of Seve.
I don't know many top pros who would have shared an Open practice round with three amateurs, and been happy to offer advice and give tips.
But over the years I saw many other examples of this. Seve gave so much time to other players. He enjoyed interacting, and passing on his great golfing knowledge.
My most unforgettable encounter with him came at the 1984 US Masters, where he caught up with me on the 10th green during another practice round, and we played the last eight holes together. On the par five 13th I hit a nice drive around the corner on the dog leg. Seve told me to hit a one iron to the green. So I did, and hit it perfectly, but it fell short into the creek.
Seve laughed and said: "I knew you'd do that." Then, before I had a chance to complain, he said: "I wanted you to make that mistake now, not in the tournament, like I've done in previous years."
Two holes later, Seve hit a three wood second across the lake to within 15ft of the hole. Not satisfied, he hit another three wood, his ball finishing six inches from the pin. Then another, almost exactly the same result.
Having finished me off in our little friendly contest, it was time for some fun on the par three 16th. Seve said: "I'm going to hit a three iron, bounce it on the water three times, and run it up on to the green." He did, and the ball finished 15ft from the hole.
Then on the 17th he challenged me to get closest to the hole from the front greenside bunker, after we'd stamped on our balls to virtually bury them in the sand. I managed to keep my ball on the green, and was satisfied. To this day, I don't know how Seve's ball managed to come out of that awful lie, land gently on the green and roll up to within a few feet of the hole.
Seve resented the tag of "car park champion", awarded following some adventurous driving en route to his British Open victory in 1979. But he often was a wayward genius who could escape miraculously from trouble.
I remember playing behind him during the German Masters, and on this day he was all over the place, often in the trees, never, it seemed, on the fairway.
At the end of our round, before handing in our cards, myself and my two playing partners tried to guess Seve's score. One of the guys said he must have shot at least an 85. The other said, because it was Seve, he could possibly have got away with an 80. I went for a 76, and my two playing partners thought I was crazy. Then we found out Seve had shot a 69. It seemed impossible, but there it was on the scoreboard.
As they say in Ireland, pure genius. Severiano Ballesteros. Golf's greatest fighter, we're fighting with you.
Philip Parkin, a former Tour player in Europe and the US, is a world-class golf coach now based in Florida, and a member of the golf commentary team for the BBC, European Tour Productions, Setanta Sports and The Golf Channel.
THE SPECS
Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
Transmission: seven-speed dual clutch
Power: 710bhp
Torque: 770Nm
Speed: 0-100km/h 2.9 seconds
Top Speed: 340km/h
Price: Dh1,000,885
On sale: now
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Indoor cricket in a nutshell
Indoor Cricket World Cup – Sep 16-20, Insportz, Dubai
16 Indoor cricket matches are 16 overs per side
8 There are eight players per team
9 There have been nine Indoor Cricket World Cups for men. Australia have won every one.
5 Five runs are deducted from the score when a wickets falls
4 Batsmen bat in pairs, facing four overs per partnership
Scoring In indoor cricket, runs are scored by way of both physical and bonus runs. Physical runs are scored by both batsmen completing a run from one crease to the other. Bonus runs are scored when the ball hits a net in different zones, but only when at least one physical run is score.
Zones
A Front net, behind the striker and wicketkeeper: 0 runs
B Side nets, between the striker and halfway down the pitch: 1 run
C Side nets between halfway and the bowlers end: 2 runs
D Back net: 4 runs on the bounce, 6 runs on the full
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
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The Perfect Couple
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, Jack Reynor
Creator: Jenna Lamia
Rating: 3/5
The biog
Hometown: Cairo
Age: 37
Favourite TV series: The Handmaid’s Tale, Black Mirror
Favourite anime series: Death Note, One Piece and Hellsing
Favourite book: Designing Brand Identity, Fifth Edition
RESULTS
5pm: Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan Racing Festival Purebred Arabian Cup Conditions (PA) Dh 200,000 (Turf) 1,600m
Winner: Hameem, Adrie de Vries (jockey), Abdallah Al Hammadi (trainer)
5.30pm: Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak Cup Conditions (PA) Dh 200,000 (T) 1,600m
Winner: Winked, Connor Beasley, Abdallah Al Hammadi
6pm: Sheikh Sultan bin Zayed Al Nahyan National Day Cup Listed (TB) Dh 380,000 (T) 1,600m
Winner: Boerhan, Ryan Curatolo, Nicholas Bachalard
6.30pm: Sheikh Sultan bin Zayed Al Nahyan National Day Group 3 (PA) Dh 500,000 (T) 1,600m
Winner: AF Alwajel, Tadhg O’Shea, Ernst Oertel
7pm: Sheikh Sultan bin Zayed Al Nahyan National Day Jewel Crown Group 1 (PA) Dh 5,000,000 (T) 2,200m
Winner: Messi, Pat Dobbs, Timo Keersmaekers
7.30pm: Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan Racing Festival Handicap (PA) Dh 150,000 (T) 1,400m
Winner: Harrab, Ryan Curatolo, Jean de Roualle
8pm: Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap (PA) Dh 100,000 (T) 1,400m
Winner: AF Alareeq, Connor Beasley, Ahmed Al Mehairbi
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NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
You Were Never Really Here
Director: Lynne Ramsay
Starring: Joaquim Phoenix, Ekaterina Samsonov
Four stars
The figures behind the event
1) More than 300 in-house cleaning crew
2) 165 staff assigned to sanitise public areas throughout the show
3) 1,000 social distancing stickers
4) 809 hand sanitiser dispensers placed throughout the venue
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
Tuesday's fixtures
Kyrgyzstan v Qatar, 5.45pm
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
MIDWAY
Produced: Lionsgate Films, Shanghai Ryui Entertainment, Street Light Entertainment
Directed: Roland Emmerich
Cast: Ed Skrein, Woody Harrelson, Dennis Quaid, Aaron Eckhart, Luke Evans, Nick Jonas, Mandy Moore, Darren Criss
Rating: 3.5/5 stars
'The worst thing you can eat'
Trans fat is typically found in fried and baked goods, but you may be consuming more than you think.
Powdered coffee creamer, microwave popcorn and virtually anything processed with a crust is likely to contain it, as this guide from Mayo Clinic outlines:
Baked goods - Most cakes, cookies, pie crusts and crackers contain shortening, which is usually made from partially hydrogenated vegetable oil. Ready-made frosting is another source of trans fat.
Snacks - Potato, corn and tortilla chips often contain trans fat. And while popcorn can be a healthy snack, many types of packaged or microwave popcorn use trans fat to help cook or flavour the popcorn.
Fried food - Foods that require deep frying — french fries, doughnuts and fried chicken — can contain trans fat from the oil used in the cooking process.
Refrigerator dough - Products such as canned biscuits and cinnamon rolls often contain trans fat, as do frozen pizza crusts.
Creamer and margarine - Nondairy coffee creamer and stick margarines also may contain partially hydrogenated vegetable oils.
Scoreline
Arsenal 0 Manchester City 3
- Agüero 18'
- Kompany 58'
- Silva 65'
The major Hashd factions linked to Iran:
Badr Organisation: Seen as the most militarily capable faction in the Hashd. Iraqi Shiite exiles opposed to Saddam Hussein set up the group in Tehran in the early 1980s as the Badr Corps under the supervision of the Iran Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC). The militia exalts Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei but intermittently cooperated with the US military.
Saraya Al Salam (Peace Brigade): Comprised of former members of the officially defunct Mahdi Army, a militia that was commanded by Iraqi cleric Moqtada Al Sadr and fought US and Iraqi government and other forces between 2004 and 2008. As part of a political overhaul aimed as casting Mr Al Sadr as a more nationalist and less sectarian figure, the cleric formed Saraya Al Salam in 2014. The group’s relations with Iran has been volatile.
Kataeb Hezbollah: The group, which is fighting on behalf of the Bashar Al Assad government in Syria, traces its origins to attacks on US forces in Iraq in 2004 and adopts a tough stance against Washington, calling the United States “the enemy of humanity”.
Asaeb Ahl Al Haq: An offshoot of the Mahdi Army active in Syria. Asaeb Ahl Al Haq’s leader Qais al Khazali was a student of Mr Al Moqtada’s late father Mohammed Sadeq Al Sadr, a prominent Shiite cleric who was killed during Saddam Hussein’s rule.
Harakat Hezbollah Al Nujaba: Formed in 2013 to fight alongside Mr Al Assad’s loyalists in Syria before joining the Hashd. The group is seen as among the most ideological and sectarian-driven Hashd militias in Syria and is the major recruiter of foreign fighters to Syria.
Saraya Al Khorasani: The ICRG formed Saraya Al Khorasani in the mid-1990s and the group is seen as the most ideologically attached to Iran among Tehran’s satellites in Iraq.
(Source: The Wilson Centre, the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation)
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Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Sarfira
Director: Sudha Kongara Prasad
Starring: Akshay Kumar, Radhika Madan, Paresh Rawal
Rating: 2/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5