The very first French Championships were in 1891, and the tournament has since evolved into one of the four Grand Slams. However, the competition did not become an international event until 1925. And in 1928, the tournament was moved to its current home, Roland Garros. The Early Years of the French Open The first competition was a one-day national championship, which strangely enough had an English winner in the men’s tournament. Without the participation of the world’s best, the competition remained obscure until it became fully international 24 years later. After the First World War, French tennis was on the crest of a wave, with Suzanne Lenglen winning six times between…

After studying ancient rocks, a Japanese geologist warned that a disaster was imminent—to no avail By PETER LANDERS The giant tsunami that assaulted northern Japan’s coast surprised just about everyone. But Masanobu Shishikura was expecting it. The thought that came to mind, he says, was “yappari,” a Japanese word meaning roughly, “Sure enough, it happened.”

17 May 2011 Last updated at 12:45 ET By Conor SpackmanBBC News Travelling into Dublin on Tuesday morning, it was clear that the Irish police were leaving nothing to chance. As far as 10 miles from anywhere the Queen was due to visit, police cars were parked on unusual corners of suburban avenues.