His Highness the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani held a telephone conversation on Tuesday with the Prime Minister of the Republic of India Narendra Modi. At the outset of the call, HH the Amir expressed his sincere condolences and sympathy to the Indian Prime Minister over the victims of the explosion at an industrial facility in Ras Laffan, which resulted in the deaths and injuries of a number of Indian nationals, wishing the injured a speedy recovery. For his part, the Indian Prime Minister expressed his deep thanks and appreciation to HH the Amir for his heartfelt sentiments, praising the support and medical care provided by the State of Qatar to the injured as well as the efforts of the relevant authorities in responding to the incident. Both sides expressed their solidarity with the families of the victims, affirming the two countries' firm commitment to ensuring the safety and well-being of their friendly peoples.The call discussed the friendly relations and cooperation between the two countries and ways to strengthen and develop them.

The PGA Tour on Tuesday unveiled a dramatic overhaul of professional golf in the United States that will see the circuit divided into two distinct structures.Under the new system, which will be launched in 2028, the tour will comprise a lucrative PGA Tour Championship Series of around 23-24 events which will include the majors and international events such as the Ryder Cup.A second tier of at least 20 events -- the PGA Tour Challenger Series -- will run alongside the Championship Series, offering golfers the chance to secure a pathway to the elite circuit.A system of player promotion and relegation between the two tiers will also be introduced. COMMITTEE CHAIRED BY WOODSThe shake-up is the result of a working group from the PGA Tour's Future Competition Committee, chaired by Tiger Woods, which has been studying ways of revitalising golf."From day one, the focus of the Future Competition Committee has been to build the best version of the PGA Tour, and to do so in a way that reflects the voice of our players and the expectations of our fans," PGA Tour chief executive Brian Rolapp said in a statement."The result is a new competitive model grounded in meritocracy, with clearer pathways, higher stakes and more consistency when the best players compete together."This model positions the PGA Tour for the future, and our focus now shifts to finalizing the details and preparing for implementation in 2028." A PURSE OF $20 MILLIONEach PGA Tour Championship Series event will boast a purse of at least $20 million with fields of 120 players, with a 36 hole cut to the top 65 and ties.The series, which will run in a season stretching from February to August, will also feature a new-look postseason with the introduction of match play and a new-look Tour Championship played across a rotation of courses.Leading players from the PGA Tour Championship Series will also be eligible for a limited series of "elevated international events" organised in conjunction with Europe's DP World Tour, the PGA Tour said.Challenger Series events will feature minimum purses of $4 million.The PGA Tour said the top 90 finishers out of 130 players in the Championship Series will be exempt for the following season, while those finishing outside the top 90 could face relegation to the Challenger Series.A minimum of 20 players from the Challenger Series will be promoted to the Championship Series the following season.

* American great said in 2022 she was evolving away from tennis* All eyes will be on who she will be drawn against on Friday* Playing doubles with sister Venus as well For a few days, the recipient of the final Wimbledon women's singles wildcard was unknown, but in reality it was always destined for ‌American great Serena Williams.Once the 44-year-old let it be known she wanted to return to the Centre Court she ​once owned, it was a no-brainer for ‌the All England Club committee who decide which players who do not qualify automatically receive a special ‌invite.At a stroke, the 23-time ⁠Grand Slam champion has become the ‌undisputed headline act at a tournament at which she ‌has won seven singles titles and six doubles crowns with sister Venus.World number one Aryna Sabalenka's quest for a first title on ⁠the hallowed turf, Iga Swiatek's defence of the crown, even the British obsession with Emma Raducanu will all take a back seat once Williams strolls through the gates.AURA OF THE AMERICANIt is four years since Williams lost in the Wimbledon first round to Harmony Tan and weeks later made an emotional exit at the U.S. Open, saying she was evolving away from tennis.The game has moved on since and new forces have established themselves, but no player boasts the aura of the American whose story, and that of Venus, who she will team up with in doubles, has transcended sport.Before re-appearing at Queen's Club this ​month, in the doubles alongside Victoria Mboko, Williams cited a desire to have her young daughters Olympia and Adira watch her play.She also rightly said she had nothing to prove. But no one should be in any doubt that Williams will return to Wimbledon believing she can still ‌mix it with the best.WIMBLEDON DRAW ON FRIDAYWhen ⁠the draw is made on ​Friday no one will want to see Williams in their vicinity.Legitimate questions will be asked about whether a ​singles return is a step too far for a player who ruled the women's game with an iron grip and who spent a joint-record 186 consecutive weeks as world number one.Looking leaner than in 2022, however, she impressed alongside Mboko at Queen's and insiders say she has been practising hard on the singles court for a Wimbledon return that was being planned as far back as the end of last year.Williams has used a GLP-1 weight-loss drug she says has helped her shed 34 pounds (15 kg) and feel "better than in years".While that has started a debate about whether they are performance enhancing and should be on a banned list, former world number one Andy Roddick said it was "exactly what she should have done"."It's avoiding injury while training the way you need to," he said on his podcast Serve. "That's easier when you have the option of ‌being 20 pounds lighter," he said.MOVEMENT WILL BE ‌KEY, RODDICK SAYSRoddick has no doubt that her weapons ⁠still remain."Serena is going to be able to serve forever," he said. "I'm never worried about Serena hitting a tennis ball. I'm never ⁠worried about her being powerful, I'm never worried about her ⁠being engaged when she's out there."When she knows where the ball is going, she is going to punish that ball. We need to see the movement. We still don't know what the side to side movement looks like."I'm curious about it all. I think she can go out and win singles matches. You see 120 mph serves on the radar gun (in the doubles at Queen's Club) and you left that match thinking I wanna see her play singles."Roddick likened the impact Williams can have on the psychology of opponents, especially ​inexperienced ones, merely by being on other side of the net as the "Tiger effect" -- referencing American golf great Tiger Woods.Tennis has been in something of a post golden-era with the likes of Roger Federer, Rafa Nadal and Andy Murray retired, and with Carlos Alcaraz injured, this year's Wimbledon was in danger of being relegated to a side-show to the soccer World Cup.BOX OFFICE RETURN TO TENNISThe return, therefore, of a true tennis titan is a huge boost for the organisers, fans and TV executives alike.Should Williams finally equal Margaret Court's record 24 Grand Slam singles titles, nine years after her last one, it would rival any sporting comeback in history.Whatever happens, it will be unmissable."It's pretty bold," former world number four Mary Joe Fernandez, who will be commentating for ESPN, said this ‌week. "I'm excited. I'm excited to see ​how she's playing, how she's moving, how the serve is firing."It's a remarkable testimony to her that she has that confidence that she can do it. If anybody can, it's Serena."