Two a penny

.Barely three years after saying “au revoir” to the Brisbane Broncos, Casey McGuire has been named in the French squad for the Four Nations rugby league tournament.
Qualifying under the residency clause, the ex-Broncos utility joins fellow Australian-born player Clint Greenshields in the 23-man squad.
McGuire – whose six-year, 115-game Broncos stint concluded with the 2006 NRL premiership – and ex-St George Illawarra full-back Greenshields both play for France-based Catalans Dragons in the Super League.
They would have missed out by one month if the international federation had decided they could only play for France if they had been in the country for three years.
They were recently cleared by the international federation to play for France, after meeting the criteria of playing three seasons in France.
France’s Australian contingent could have been boosted to three if not for ex-Queensland Origin flyer Adam Mogg’s decision to pull out because his partner is expecting a baby. .
France – to be captained by Catalans Dragons forward Olivier Elima – kicks off its tournament against England at Doncaster on October 23.
McGuire is set to face former Broncos team-mates Darren Lockyer, Justin Hodges and Sam Thaiday when France lines up against Australia on November 7.
It then hosts New Zealand in Toulouse and Australia in Paris.
France squad: Jean-Philippe Baile, Kane Bentley, Thomas Bosc, Remi Casty, Vincent Duport, Olivier Elima (c), Jamal Fakir, David Ferriol, Mathieu Griffi, Romain Gagliazzo, Cyril Gossard, Clint Greenshields, Maxime Greseque, Casey McGuire, Sebastien Martins, Christophe Moly, Dimitri Pelo, Sebastien Raguin, Teddy Saddaoui, Cyril Stacul, Julien Touxagas, Frederic Vaccari, Constant Villegas.
France has been looking to bolster its ranks with Australian-bred players after being thrashed 66-12 by England at Paris in June in a worrying sign ahead of the Four Nations.
– AAP

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The Clearstream trial that has held France in its grip the past few weeks came to a head Wednesday as former French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin and General Philippe Rondot, a former top intelligence official, faced off in the courtroom. Details of the exchange are not expected until later in the evening.

&raquo Special Report on France&#039s trial of the decade
&raquo Who&#039s who in the trial
&raquo How a finance trial turned into a major political scandal
&raquo A glossary of terms in the Clearstream saga
&raquo From Ben Barka to Elf, justice turns a blind eye to political elites
De Villepin, who served as France’s interior minister between March 2004 and May 2005, stands accused of seeking to derail Nicolas Sarkozy’s presidential campaign by linking him to a corruption scandal.

On Monday, key witness General Rondot appeared in court to discuss his notes , which claim that de Villepin clearly mentioned Sarkozy — then vying for the Elys&eacutee — in connection to Clearstream at a meeting held on January 7, 2004. The trial, which began September 21, has been marked by contradictory testimony.

them correspondent Catherine Norris Trent reported that the two men were expected to stand side by side before judges aiming to iron these inconsistencies out. This, however, contradicts de Villepin statements last week, when he took the stand and flatly denied the notes were an accurate reflection of the conversation. Questions likely to be explored include when exactly de Villepin first heard Sarkozy name in connection with the affair and whether or not he said he was passing on orders from Chirac. .

The legal confrontation was called for by de Villepin lawyers, who Norris Trent says want to make sure that their client doesn&rsquot come out of this examining embarrassed because of these discrepancies between his evidence and that of General Rondot.

Clearstream trial – Dominique de Villepin – Nicolas Sarkozy
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The trial is scheduled to end on October 23 and judges are expected to take several months to render a verdict

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AFP – France served notice Sunday that it no longer supported Guinea leader Moussa Dadis Camara after scores of people were killed in an opposition rally in the capital Conakry last week.

Something terrible and savage happened.

It seems to me that we can no longer work with Dadis Camara and that there has to be an international intervention, he said, adding that France was pressing West African leaders from regional bloc ECOWAS to engage. We cannot accept it, Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said in an interview to RTL radio.

We can no longer work with Dadis Camara, international intervention is needed.

Dadis Camara said Sunday he bears no responsibility for the September 28 massacre in which the United Nations said more than 150 people were killed…

The junta says 56 civilians were killed, but the Guinean Human Rights Organisation has claimed that at least 157 people were killed and 1,253 wounded in the crackdown.French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner
The violence erupted after thousands of people had gathered at Conakry’s main stadium to protest against the prospect of Camara becoming a candidate in presidential elections set for January 31.

Burkina Faso President Blaise Compaore, tasked by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to act as a facilitator to ease tensions in Guinea, is to arrive in Conakry on Monday, his foreign minister Alain Bedouma Yoda told AFP. The United Nations has put the toll at more than 150. .

Kouchner said France was pressing for a role in Guinea for ECOWAS, whose current chairman is Nigerian President Umaru Yar’Adua.

Bernard Kouchner – France – Guinea Conakry – Moussa Dadis Camara

.Gilles Simon has become the second consecutive Frenchman to win the Bangkok Open title as he defeated Serb Viktor Troicki 7-5, 6-3 in the final.
Simon followed on from good friend and beaten Bangkok semi-finalist Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, the 2008 champion.
“I had a difficult match but I found a way to win.
It was Simon’s sixth career title. I really enjoyed myself today,” said world number 10 Simon, who is in the chase for one of the eight spots in November’s ATP World Tour Finals in London. “I had to fight for this win over Viktor.
“I’ve been feeling good and playing well all week,” said Simon, aged 24 and 6-2 in finals.”
The 23-year-old Troicki, ranked 32nd and now winless in two finals, said he was out-played in the 75-minute contest. But I’ve still had a good week.
“Gilles played great and never gave me many chance. Those are the kinds of wins that I need to build confidence.”
“My highlight was beating Tsonga in the semis, he’s a top-ten player.
Simon got a break back after losing his serve in the ninth game of the opening set before finishing with a second straight break of the Serb. Still, I’m very pleased to have reached the final,” said the fourth seed.
In the second set, the Frenchman lifted his game, taking the title on his second match point. . I’ve worked hard in the last few months, especially with my knee injury.
“It was prefect for me this week.”
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. It was tough to get ready for this event but I played really well

.Frenchman Gael Monfils has punished Martin Vassallo Arguello with 14 break points en route to a 6-4, 6-2 victory at the Malaysia Open, setting up a quarter-final with top seed Nikolay Davydenko.
The Argentine challenger managed to hold off ten of the Monfils opportunities but still went down in just over 90 minutes as the Frenchman earned his 30th victory this season.
The 23-year-old number 13, now 3-0 over Vassallo Arguello, stands 2-1 to the good against Davydenko, with their last meeting in 2007.
Monfils, who only arrived at the last minute after winning the Metz title at the weekend in France and then battling travel setbacks to finally reach Asia, has been dealing with jet-lag as he makes his start in Kuala Lumpur. .
Czech sixth seed Tomas Berdych also reached the last eight, but had to go the distance to overcome German Simon Greul 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 at the Putra stadium. “I hope I can bring this level or even better in the next round.
“I think I played better today than in the first round,” said the number 16 who holds the Munich title on clay.”
Berdych will face his next test against Sweden’s Roland Garros finalist Robin Soderling, the third seed.
“It’s important to keep the consistency in the first matches of the tournament. “I’ll look for chances to break his serve.
“I’ll try to play my best tennis and serve well,” said the Czech, who turned 24 a fortnight ago.
“Soderling’s a very good player, especially indoors, so I’ll have to play my best.”
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&raquo Special Report on France&#039s trial of the decade
&raquo Who&#039s who in the trial
&raquo How a finance trial turned into a major political scandal
&raquo A glossary of terms in the Clearstream saga
&raquo From Ben Barka to Elf, justice turns a blind eye to political elites
Former French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin appears in court on Wednesday to testify on his role in the Clearstream scandal.

I am happy to bring my contribution to the emergence of truth in a case where lies and manipulation have clouded the truth, Villepin told reporters before entering the courtroom. Sarkozy’s name was added to a forged list of people allegedly holding secret bank accounts at Luxembourg-based clearing house, Clearstream .

De Villepin faces charges charge of trying to undermine Nicolas Sarkozy’s campaign to win the presidency in 2007 by implicating him in a corruption scandal.

The crux of his innocence or guilt depends on whether he knew about the forgery, and whether he in fact gave the order to commit the forgery.

The former prime minister, whose testimony is the lynchpin in the whole case, had struck a defiant note on the first day of the trial, saying: I will emerge from this free and with my reputation cleared, in the name of the French people. . In a brief interrogation in the court Tuesday he repeated that he never had any idea of, nor held in [his] hands, any falsified lists. He will most likely get a ban on holding office, which would be a major blow since he still had political ambitions.

Bythem Top Story aired on 30 September 2009
According to them Catherine Norris-Trent, who is covering the trial, No one believes de Villepin will be sentenced to prison. Even more important than the verdict, if it can be proved he is lying, his reputation is ruined.

But even if the court did not sentence him at all, says Norris-Trent, the maximum damage has already been done to de Villepin.

The courtroom has already seen much drama . People are saying that is what the prosecution is going for, she said.

Clearstream trial – Nicolas Sarkozy
. Monday proceedings included an uncontrollable screaming match between two key players in the case, Jean-Louis Gergorin (former executive VP of French corporation EADS) and Imad Lahoud, who worked under Gergorin as a mathematician and is accused of having committed the actual forgery

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AFP – French prosecutors said Tuesday they have called for judges to drop corruption charges against former president Jacques Chirac, who is accused of misusing city funds when he was Paris mayor.

A French judge wrapped up a probe in April into allegations that municipal funds were used to give fake ghost jobs to members of Chirac’s RPR party while he was mayor of the capital from 1977 to 1995, officials said.

The now 77-year-old Chirac was charged in November 2007 in the case along with five former city hall chiefs of staff and a dozen other people, becoming the first former French president to be put under judicial investigation.

Judge Xaviere Simeoni now has until the end of October to decide whether to send the case to trial.

But the Paris prosecutor’s office said Tuesday it has called for the case to be thrown out, arguing there was insufficient evidence of misuse of funds after 1992, and that the statute of limitations had expired for prior events.

Chirac stood down as mayor of Paris in 1995 when he became president. . He lost his presidential immunity from prosecution after President Nicolas Sarkozy’s election in May 2007.

corruption – France – Jacques Chirac
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Former aides to Chirac have defended him against allegations that he presided over a system of illegal money-raising for his party, the Rally for the Republic (RPR)

.Fifth seed Gael Monfils and fellow Frenchman Richard Gasquet have both overcome jetlag to bolt into the second round of the Malaysian Open.
Monfils, trying to back up the title he won last weekend in Metz, France before boarding a flight to Kuala Lumpur, dispatched Denis Istomin of Uzbekistan 7-6 (7-3), 7-6 (7-2).
The unseeded Gasquet was relentless against Romanian Victor Crivoi 6-1, 6-2.
Gasquet said he had to fight through his fatigue after the flight from Europe.
The number 47 moved into a struggle for the quarter-finals when he plays in the second round against Joacham Johansson after the Swede upset eighth seed Lleyton Hewitt.
“I haven’t adapted to the time change, but I hope tonight I can sleep better. “I played a good match despite waking up at 2:00 am (local time). .
Monfils, 23, fired nine aces in his victory over Istomin, breaking three times while losing his own serve in equal measure.
The French seed, ranked 13th, improved to 29-13 on the season as he next faces Argentine Martin Vassello Arguello.
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.Swimmer Ian Thorpe has dropped a defamation case against a French newspaper that claimed he was a drug cheat.
Thorpe was suing the daily sports paper L’Equipe, its publisher, and journalist Damien Ressiot over an article published in March 2007.
The paper claimed Thorpe gave a urine sample in May 2006 which showed abnormal levels of testosterone and a luteinising hormone.
The Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority and world swimming body FINA later found there was no evidence to support claims Thorpe had used performance enhancing drugs. .
– ABC/AAP

.Top seed Gael Monfils beat second seed Philipp Kohlschreiber 7-6, 3-6, 6-2 in the Metz ATP tournament final to win the second title of his career.
Frenchman Monfils, 23, had been chasing a title since his victory in 2005 in Sopot, Poland.
The gifted but erratic Monfils relied on his strong serve and held his nerve to seal victory in two hours and 13 minutes. He had lost six finals since.
Kohlschreiber fought back with a break in the sixth game of the second set to level the match but Monfils was back in control in the decisive set, taking his opponent’s serve with a forehand winner in the sixth game.
Both players held serve throughout a tight first set and a tiebreak was needed which Monfils won 7-1 thanks to two superb backhand passes. .
The German then collapsed, dropping serve again two games later to hand Monfils victory. “I’ll feel relieved the day I win the French Open.
“This is an encouragement but not a relief,” he added.”
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