Sport

Britain's Andy Murray today was defeated by Rafael Nadal, who is ranked as the second best tennis player in the world, in the quarter finals of the Wimbledon Championships. Nadal won by three sets to none. As the winner, Nadal will face Rainer Schuettler or Arnaud Clement in the final. Except for in the Australian Open, neither Schuettler or Clement have got past the quarter final of a major tournament, while Nadal has won several international competitions. Reaching the quarter finals is Murray's most successful run. Murray was born in Sco

Spain has won its first UEFA European Football Championship since 1964 by defeating Germany in the final match. Fernando Torres scored the lone goal of the match in the 33rd minute. The match started at 19:45 UTC, and although the score was only 1-0, BBC Sport has reported that Spain dominated the match. Germany got close to scoring at some points in the game, one shot by German captain Michael Ballack missed the goal by a narrow margin.

Football legend Sir Bobby Charlton has launched a new campaign he calls "There Must be a Better Way" to find a faster method to clear anti-personnel landmines. The initiative which comes under his "Laureus Sport for Good Foundation" and involves physicists, mathematicians and electronic engineers from the University of Manchester and Lancaster University. In addition the Mines Advisory Group, a mine clearance charity, and the security systems company Rapiscan are involved. Charlton first became interested in the problem of clearing anti-perso

Two days before the actual slug out between US-born fighter "Dangerous" David Díaz (34-1-1, 17 KOs) and challenger, a three title holder Filipino boxing champion, Emmanuel "Pacman" Pacquiao (46-3-2, 34 KOs) occurs in Las Vegas, Nevada on June 28, 2008 the two trades verbal punches at each other during a meeting with members of sports media. The camp of Manny Pacquiao led by manager Freddie Roach claimed that Diaz will need a "fucking miracle" to stop 'The Pacman' from moving up to the 135 lbs. weight class where Diaz is top brass. The side of

Animal rights activists have complained after officials from the Wimbledon tennis tournament shot down pigeons, allegedly because they were an inconvenience to players. This move was possibly illegal under Animal Welfare Act 2006, which prevents using lethal force unless it is used as a last resort. Wikinews spoke to Bruce Friedrich, Vice President of PETA, which has campaigned against the move. He said that "killing animals so quickly and for such frivolous reasons is cruel, illegal, and won’t work." Wikinews has also been told by Friedrich

Paul Ince has succeeded Mark Hughes as new Blackburn Rovers Manager after signing a 3-year contract with the club. He becomes the first black manager to manage in the Premier League and top-flight football. Ince was unveiled at a press conference at Ewood Park on Tuesday 24th of June. Ince moved into management with Maccesfield Town, keeping them in the Football League in the 2006-07 season. He moved to the MK Dons in June 2007, leading them to the League 2 title and he Johnstone Paint Trophy.

The Netherlands lost to the Russia national football team in a quarter-final match of UEFA Euro 2008. Roman Pavlyuchenko opened the scoring in main play, a goal that was matched by Ruud van Nistelrooy after only 30 minutes. Then it was a hardy play-off for both teams, especially the Dutch, but Torbinsky and Arshavin scored goals, effectively put an end to the match. Arshavin was declared the Man of the Match. Now it will be the first major semi final for Russia since the break up of the USSR.

A Chinese Long March 3B carrier rocket has launched the Chinasat-9 satellite. The rocket lifted off from pad 2 at the Xichang Satellite Launch Centre at 12:15 GMT this afternoon. Chinasat-9, also known as Zhongxing-9 and ZX-9, is a communications satellite, which will initially be used to relay coverage of the 2008 Olympic Games. The launch was conducted by the China Great Wall Industrial Corporation. Around twenty minutes after the rocket lifted off, the satellite separated from the third stage, into a geosynchronous transfer orbit. It will r

Trevor Wilkinson, who founded the UK performance car manufacturer TVR has died at his home in Minorca, Spain. He was 85. Wilkinson, from Blackpool, left education at 14, getting an apprenticeship at a local garage. In 1946 he bought a local wheelwright's business, which he renamed Trevcar Motors, which sold and repaired cars, as well as undertaking light engineering work. He built his first car the following year. It was a two-seater based on an Alvis Firebird chassis for his own use. He then formed TVR Engineering, the name derived from his

The Polish national team's right winger Jakub Błaszczykowski was ruled out of the Euro 2008 soccer championships late on June 5, less than three days before Poland is to take on Germany in its tournament opener. Błaszczykowski, who in his club career plays for Borussia Dortmund, renewed a hamstring strain he suffered in mid-season. His withdrawal leaves Poland's coach Leo Beenhakker with a serious selection headache to solve. So far he has not said how he would patch the resulting hole in his right wing.

England and Australia are set to showdown for the 2018 FIFA World Cup. Other interested countries are China, Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands, Qatar and Russia. FIFA President has encourage Spain to bid for the 2018 World Cup. The final decision to decide the host nation(s) will be in 2011. There will be stiff competition from Australia and England. Football Federation Australia Chairman Frank Lowy made it clear how his country definitely intends to make a bid with a strong attempt to win the right to host the event in 2018 while FIFA Vice Presi

Gianluca Zambrotta returns to Serie A after agreeing to a contract with AC Milan. He played for FC Barcelona for the past 2 seasons after Juventus FC were demoted after their part of the 2006 Serie A scandal. According to ESPNSoccernet, AC Milan were looking to bring in Zambrotta for a while. Zambrotta will miss out on Champions League football for at least 1 season because AC Milan finished in 5th place in Serie A while Barcelona will be in UEFA Champions League in the 3rd qualifying round. No transfer fee or length of contract was announce