Ireland vs Manchester United updates for the international friendly match are desired by soccer fans.  This is an exciting game, and aired at 2:45 PM EDT on the 4th of August.  Many who did not get to watch the game are now looking for the results and updates as they become available.

The Manchester United team just returned from their North American tour.  They continued their pre-season winning streak beating the Irish 7-1 in Dublin.

It was a great game, and many in the UK argued over which team was better.  Surely, Manchester United has the biggest favor because they did really beat Ireland at today’s Friendly international match.

Were any of you at the game, or did you watch it on ESPN 3? If so, please let us know what you thought some of the highlights from this match were.

Was Bullfighting banned in Spain? If so, there will be a lot of disappointed tourists and citizens. However, it appears as if the rumors are true. The Spanish Parliament of Catalonia has made it official, no more bull fighting. It was a close vote it came down to the wire 68 voted against bullfighting while 55 votes were cast to keep the tradition alive.

Regions other than Catalonia will still be able to have bullfighting, unless they follow suit and institute a ban as well.

Bullfighting has long been a sport in Spain but with the ban in place it doesn’t look like there will be any fighting going on anytime soon in Catalonia.  Spain without bullfighting is like…America without baseball. What a sad day.

The Bullfighting ban will go into effect in January 2011. After that Spain’s long tradition of fighting of the bulls with just be a memory…in Catalonia.

Khmer Rouge war crimes landed a guilty verdict that came with a 19 year sentence.  The chief Khmer Rouge jailer Kaing Guek Eav aka “Duch” was sentenced to 35 years by a UN Tribunal, although considering time served and other factors will only be inside bars for a total of 19 years.

The “killing fields” in Cambodia meant that Duch oversaw the deaths of 16,000.  The regime is said to be responsible for the deaths of 1.7 million people from 1975-1979.

People burst out into tears over the verdict.  Kaing Guek Eav could actually walk free after serving his time.  He is, however, 67 years old so there’s also a good chance he could die in jail as well.

The Khmer Rouge regime was an ultra-communist regime that was trying to turn the land into an agrarian collective. They killed a quarter of Cambodia’s population during their rule.  So far, Duch is the only one to be brought to justice.  The ringleader of the group will never face justice as he has already passed on.

Several other senior members of the regime are also awaiting trial for their alleged roles in the starvation, neglect, abuse, and torture of Cambodians.

The last known female rhino in a South African Park has been killed by poachers. This means that the Rhino will be extinct in this particular park.  The death of the creature has spawned an outcry; the public wants stronger regulations and heftier fines against those that kill endangered species.

So why would poachers kill a rhino? There’s growing demand for the horns on the creature, and these people feel that the horns are worth more than the animal’s life.  This is tragic and sad, as this is a very unique animal and one that many people will likely never see in their lifetime.

The horns are used to make trinkets and decorations.  Perhaps a ban on items made out of this substance would help squelch the demand, in turn reducing the incidences in which the rhinos are killed.

The female animal was not alone; she was the 136th of the species to be killed this year alone.

The China oil spill may not be as large scale as the one in the Gulf of Mexico, but it’s still a big deal to those who are worried about its significance.  Workers are working tirelessly to repair a busted pipeline, while other efforts to contain the spill are going on at the same time.  It’s important to clean any oil from the water ASAP to minimize the environmental impact of such occurrences.

One worker drowned in crude during the week, and this is what the incident will be remembered by.  The scene of a human body covered in goo is far too much for some people to bear.

The oil covers an area of 165 square miles in the Yellow Sea, near China’s strategic oil reserves in the city of Dalian. Like the BP disaster, the leak was caused when a pipeline exploded. The cause of the explosion is still under investigation, and the leak has caused oil shipments throughout China to be delayed.

Similar to the Gulf, the seafood industries and tourist industries are going to take a big hit because of the incident.  Crude kills the creatures of the sea and makes it so that people cannot go swimming at the beach.

Something needs to be done to avoid these oil spills.  Ensuring that our environment is preserved is crucial to the continued sustainment of our planet.

A black couple has given birth to a white baby. Before getting too much into the details, it is worthwhile to note that the baby is not albino. This is a case where a dark-skinned African couple living in London has given birth to what appears to be a Caucasian baby.

The couple doesn’t have history of mixed races in either of their heritage.  This is truly a very rare event that left the baby’s father even joking about whether or not the fair skinned child is his.  He then told the world he was joking; he knows that the baby is his because his wife is “trustworthy.”

The baby’s name is Nmachi, and she was born to Nigerians Ben and Angela Ihegboro. There are three possibilities as to why the strange event could have occurred:

The baby could be albino. Although preliminary tests rule this out, it’s been noted that doctors have not confirmed that she is not albino.

Dormant Caucasian DNA: somewhere down the line there could have been a mixed race couple long forgotten. This could cause the baby to have light skin.

A genetic mutation: Sci-Fi followers may be curious to realize that there’s a possibility that this child has a gene mutation never seen before.

The black couple, white baby birth will go down as one of the most interesting scientific stories of the year.  Although white couples have given birth to darker skinned babies, it’s very rare for two extremely dark skinned individuals to give birth to someone with blond hair and blue eyes.

More Reading: CBS.com

Spain has won their first ever FIFA World Cup championship.

Spain defeated the Netherlands on Sunday in the  FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association or  International Federation of Association Football) World Cup 2010 (American soccer).  The final score was 1-0.  Andres Iniesta scored the goal for Spain.

Neither Spain nor the Netherlands had ever won the World Cup, adding to the excitement for fans on both sides.  The game also went into extra time.

Third place went to Germany, who played Uruguay on Saturday.

The 2010 FIFA World Cup was held in South Africa.

The  FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association or  International Federation of Association Football) World Cup 2010 (American soccer) is coming to a close in Johannesburg, South Africa, with the semi-finals and finals this week/weekend.

The final four teams are Netherlands, Uruguay, Germany, and Spain.  Here is the schedule and where to watch the games on TV or online:

Semi-Finals

Tuesday, July 6, 2010
2:30 p.m. ET
Uruguay vs. Netherlands
ESPN, ESPN3.com

Wednesday, July 7, 2010
2:30 p.m. ET
Germany vs. Spain
ESPN, ESPN3.com

Final Game

The FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association or  International Federation of Association Football) World Cup 2010 (American soccer) quarterfinals will be held this weekend in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Here is the schedule with the final eight teams, including where to watch the game on television or online:

Friday, July 2, 2010

10 a.m. ET:  Netherlands vs. Brazil (ESPN, ESPN3.com)

2:30 p.m. ET:  Uruguay vs. Ghana (ESPN, ESPN3.com)

Saturday, July 3, 2010

10 a.m. ET:  Argentina vs. Germany (ABC)

2:30 p.m. ET:  Paraguay vs. Spain (ABC)

The first day of summer is finally here!

Summer officially kicked off on Monday, June 21, 2010, at 7:28 a.m. ET, which means the beginning of the summer solstice and the longest day of the year, at least in the Northern Hemisphere.  According to National Geographic, the summer solstice is a result of the Earth’s north-south axis being tilted 23.5 degrees relative to the sun. The tilt causes different amounts of sunlight to reach different regions of the planet.

On the summer solstice, the Northern Hemisphere receives more sunlight than on any other day of the year, but that doesn’t mean the first day of summer is also the hottest day of summer.  To learn more about the science behind the summer solstice, click here.