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Rafael Nadal and Justine Henin have won in the first round on Tuesday and are now on course to winning their fifth Roland Garros titles; however, two-time finalist Dinara Safina loses to a player turning 40 this coming September.

Nadal, the world number two from Spain, eased past teenager Gianni Mina of France 6-2, 6-2, 6-2, while Henin, who was appearing in her first French Open tournament since 2007 after a stint of retirement, beat Tsvetana Pironkova of Bulgaria 6-4, 6-3.

However, ninth-seed Safina of Russia had a match to forget as she fell 3-6, 6-4, 7-5 to veteran Kimiko Date Drumm of Japan – the oldest female match winner of the event since 1985.

The 22nd-seed Henin, 27, is attempting to win her fifth French Open title after retiring from tennis in 2008. The Belgian star, who cut her retirement short at the start of this year, will be facing Czech Klara Zakopalova in the next round.

“I never expected to be back here again on this court”, Henin said after stepping on Court Philippe Chartier for the first time since she defeated Ana Ivanovic during the finals in 2007.

Four-time champ Nadal warded off nine break points to beat 18-year-old wildcard Mina in his Grand Slam debut. He will next face Horacio Zaballos of Argentina in the second round.

“My goal is always to play my best tennis. I would love to come back here every year as defending champion but that’s impossible”, stated the Spanish star, who lost the title to Roger Federer in 2009 after losing to Robin Soderling in the fourth round.

Meanwhile, men’s sixth-seed Andy Roddick survived a five-setter to defeat Jarkko Nieminen of Finland 6-2, 4-6, 4-6, 7-6 (7/4), 6-3. Australia’s Lleyton Hewitt, as well as Spanish seeds Juan Carlos Ferrero and David Ferrer, also advanced to the second round.

France revealed Tuesday that it had convinced former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra to cancel a speech in Paris regarding the political crisis in Thailand. However, the organisers of the event insisted that it would not abandon the event.

“Thaksin Shinawatra assured us he would do what was asked”, said French Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bernard Valero to reporters. He was referring to demands made by French authorities last week about not speaking in Paris on 31 May.

Valero mentioned that the address to journalists, which was set up by an unpopular think-tank called the Centre of Political and Foreign Affairs, “was no longer planned”, and that Thaksin “told us he would not come back” to France.

However, Fabien Baussart–the leader of the group that organised the speech, told AFP: “This event is still scheduled and it will take place whether the foreign ministry wants it to or not”.

“It is an invitation to a private place which the foreign ministry is not in charge of”, he continued. “The ministry is going after him and I’d really like to know why”.

France said Thursday it had advised the deposed Thai prime minister to refrain from making public speeches during his private travel to France in consideration of the political situation in Thailand.

A court in Thailand issued on Tuesday a warrant of arrest for Thaksin. The former Thai minister faces terrorism charges, which is punishable by death. Thaksin allegedly bankrolled the protests and incited unrest in Thailand.

Valero mentioned that France wasn’t bound by the warrant as of the present. After the statements on Thursday, the organisers behind the event said Thaksin temporarily went to London.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy will seek to reduce France’s retirement age, according to aides, as workers set up a protest day against the proposal which is part of his unannounced austerity programme.

Facing the woes of sovereign debt crisis, several of France’s neighbours in Europe have declared massive cuts on spending in an attempt to lessen their piling deficits as well as restore the region’s stability.

Sarkozy has exercised more caution, insisting that the three-year freeze on spending isn’t an austerity measure. However, any threat to France’s traditional 60-year retirement age will have to overcome tough opposition.

The reduction of the minimum age to receive full-state pension from 65 years to 60 was among the key reforms made by Socialist president Francois Mitterrand’s government in 1984.

“This time, it’s war”, said the financial daily La Tribune after a series of leaks verified the long-suspected plan of Sarkozy to make later retirement among the key goals of his term’s second half.

Labour unions as well as left-wing opposition are gearing up with their response. France will be able to gauge their strength on Thursday, as they are set to hold large-scale rallies in the streets nationwide.

The right-wing governments’ attempts in the past decade to revamp state finance and lessen entitlements have been derailed most of the time by large-scale protests. However, Sarkozy’s backers insist that changes in pension are necessary.

The son of a popular right-wing French member of the EU parliament has been required to attend a court hearing on rape charges filed by his brother, according to judicial sources on Tuesday.

The 31-year-old Guillaume de Villiers is charged of raping Laurent, his younger brother who is now 25 years old. The rape allegedly occurred sometime between January 1995 and December 1996 when both men were just minors.

Guillaume and Laurent are sons of 61-year-old Viscount Philippe Le Jolis de Villiers de Saintignon, who is a known eurosceptic leading the Movement for France. He is also the Euro-MP of western France’s Vendee region.

Working as a global development consultant, the now-married and father of three children Guillaume has long since denied the accusations made by his brother. The issue first became known to the public after the filing of a formal complaint back in 2006.

He is now facing trial on the allegations before an Yvelines criminal court. On Friday, a probing magistrate in Versailles decided that the case needed answers.

The senior De Villiers, who fathered a total of seven children, has stood twice for France’s president riding on a conservative-nationalist ticket. However, he was also dropped twice on the first round.

Outside the French nation, he is popularly know for his connection to the Libertas movement, which is against further European integration.

Established by Irish businessman Declan Ganley, Libertas started a campaign for a no-vote back in the Lisbon Treaty’s 2008 Irish referendum. It also backed a network of known eurosceptic candidates in the European election in 2009.

Eurotunnel, which controls the tunnel link between France and Britain, received criticism on Wednesday for an ad that claims its services continues despite any weather condition. The criticism stemmed from last year’s delay in operations, which was caused by heavy snow.

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) of Britain, ruled out that an e-mail promo with the title “France in just 35 minutes” which states “whatever the weather” was no doubt misleading, hence it will not be shown again.

The advertisement was questioned by one customer who got stranded at the Eurotunnel check-in for a couple of hours last December. The delay was due to the malfunction of five Eurostar passenger trains inside the tunnel which forced the suspension of the entire cross-Channel services.

Eurotunnel argued that the malfunction, which caused a three-day shutdown of operations and left thousands of people stranded in the Christmas holiday, was never their fault.

Eurostar was a separate company and Eurotunnel trains continued to be functional, the firm insisted, based on ASA documents.

The company further added that the weather conditions that time were “very unusual, in the same way that a hurricane or tsunami was”. They also believe that their ad campaigns don’t have to take into consideration such “exceptional circumstances”.

Despite the firm’s defence, the ruling said, “We considered that the conditions of December 2009 could not be placed in the same bracket of exceptional weather as a hurricane or tsunami and it could not be assumed that they would never be repeated”.

Carla Bruni-Sarkozy was embarrassed yesterday over an online film that features some vulgar comments she said about love and sex during her years as a young model.

Running for 27 minutes, the film has been uploaded to the popular video-sharing internet site YouTube. It contains interview excerpts of the young First Lady that pits her outgoing past with her refined present – as the First Lady of France.

In one segment, the Italian-born First Lady grabs a book entitled, “Hot International Love and Sex Guides,” from her handbag. The guide translates erotic key phrases into a total of seven languages.

“We need these kind of books because we’re travelling all around the world, we’re meeting new people and we want to know what to tell them in case we get into bed with them”, she said to interviewers on Channel 4’s Eurotrash show.

The then-28 Ms. Bruni in 1996 went on to cite four different translations of the statement “You get me very hot”. She ended with the Italian translation “Mi eccite tanto”. She also cited other explicit phrases, soliciting an “oh no!” from one of the interviewers. Producer Thomas Cazals, who gathered the portrait entitled “In the Tube with Carla Bruni,” mentioned he did it “starting with the naive idea of better getting to know this character”.

Swift action was taken by The Elysee Palace regarding the film, which was removed last night from the blog of Mr. Cazal.

Even though the film pays tributes from fashion personalities who have high regard for the beauty, intelligence, and wit of Ms. Bruni-Sarkozy, it won’t receive a warm welcome. The former model has been making efforts to keep her brazen past in the past after tying the knot with Nicolas Sarkozy in 2008. The couple were seen yesterday at a farming event in Paris

French coach Raymond Domenech on Monday opted to stick to his squad of 23 players for the World Cup in South Africa next month and not to get a replacement for Lassana Diarra after the star midfielder pulled out because of illness.

Domenech stated on the website of the French Football Federation (FFF) that he is confident that his 23-man squad will perform well in the month-long tournament, scheduled on 11 June-11 July.

“We though about it (calling up a replacement for Diarra) for a long time”, explained the French coach, who initially had 24 players in the camp until the midfielder fell ill. “However, we are placing our confidence in the 23 players here at Tignes, who are really hungry to go to the World Cup finals, and show us that every day”.

Diarra was ruled out from the finals last Saturday after he was diagnosed to have an intestinal disease. The midfielder left Portsmouth for Real Madrid in January last year, having played previously for Arsenal and Chelsea.

With Jeremy Toulalan of Lyon, he formed Domenech’s first choice defensive midfield pair. Diarra played in 10 of the 12 matches of France during their qualification campaign for the 2010 World Cup.

Abou Diaby of Arsenal played in his position during the squad’s training session last Saturday afternoon.

France’s Les Bleus will begin their campaign in the World Cup against Uruguay on 11 June in Cape Town.

Poland has sent Russia an invite to join a “group of friends” of the EU’s Eastern Partnership with the ex-soviet nations, said Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski Monday.

“Poland has proposed to create a group of friends for the Eastern Partnership, bringing together countries like Russia that want to participate in programmes related to the Partnership and be informed about them”, Sikorski said to reporters right after an EU ministerial summit Monday regarding the Eastern Partnership in Sopot, the Polish Baltic Sea port.

Unveiled by the 27-nation European Union in Prague in May 2009, the Eastern Partnership includes six former Soviet nations: Ukraine, Moldova, Belarus, Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia.

The partnership aims to facilitate multi-lateral summits, the establishment of a free-trade zone, the developmental liberalisation of EU visa regimes, and use of EU budgets for different projects within the region

The partnership is “everything except a ‘cordon sanitaire’ against Russia”, said French European Affairs Minister Pierre Lellouche to AFP after the talks.

“For us Russia is a friend and partner of Europe and of France and we absolutely believe that Ukraine should and must have good relations with all of its neighbours be they in the east or west”, he added.

“Naturally we are keen to see democratic life in Ukraine (…) continue”. We also would like to ensure “transparency” within the natural gas industry “as the European economy is linked to the stability of the transit of natural gas (from Russia) via Ukraine”.

A Mauritanian prosecutor asked Monday the Nouakchott criminal court to give the three young males suspected of killing four French nationals in 2007 a death sentence.

Defendants Sidi Ould Sidna (22), Maarouf Ould Haiba (28), and Mohamed Ould Chabarnou (29), are the primary suspects in the shooting of five French nationals in Aleg. Four of the five victims died on 24 December 2007.

During the trial’s opening last Sunday, the three suspects claimed to be “soldiers of Al-Qaeda” and admitted receiving training in the organisation’s camps. However, they deny shooting the French tourists.

“I am a soldier of Al-Qaeda, I say it with pride. I have been trained in their camps”, said Ould Sidna, one of the three suspects, during the trial at the capital of Mauritania.

The three suspects are charged with criminal association, belonging to an armed gang that performed terrorist attacks against foreign nationals and murders.

The court is doing the trial of 12 Mauritanian men connected to the murders. Two are tried despite remaining at large.

Since the French tourists’ murders, the usually peaceful Mauritania has been the subject of several attacks, kidnappings, and murders acknowledged by Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM).

Ould Chabarnou and Ould Sidna were both taken into custody in January 2008. They were captured in Guinea-Bissau, a west African nation, through the assistance of French intelligence.

Ould Haiba was captured later in Nouakchott, the capital of Mauritania. Early on Sunday, the same court also sentenced a male suspect to 10 years in jail for links to the north African wing of Al-Qaeda.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy and French First Lady Carla Bruni took a walk Monday on the Champs Elysees, the avenue in Paris that became a large farm as part of an event to draw focus on the agriculture crisis in France.

The first couple petted cows, shook hands, and offered farmers assurances that their plight on high costs of production as well as dropping prices of food was seriously taken. The young farmers’ association of France brought many trees, plants, flowers, as well as livestock, to the most famous boulevard in France on Saturday to start the two-day campaign called, “Nature Capital.”

More than 800,000 visitors went to the Champs Elysees during the first day of the event, said organisers and police. The people behind the event are hoping for a turnout of more than 2 million visitors.

On Monday, Sarkozy was greeted with “Bravo” and “we need” you chants from farmers who traditionally comprise part of the voter base of his right-wing party.

“Look he’s Aquarius like me”, Sarkozy mentioned when a farmer gave him a calf born in January.

The president also said to another farmer “I’m with you”, during his 30-minute visit.

Meanwhile, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy was given a crash-course on cattle feeds.

“The president has come to hear what people have to say”, stated Young Farmers’ Association President William Villeneuve, who personally gave the first couple a tour on the Champs Elysees gardens.