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A brief history of Rugby World Cup matches between France and New Zealand before they meet again on Friday on the opening night of the 10th tournament at the Stade de France

SpaceX will not be cleared to launch its 400-foot-tall (121 metre) Starship rocket until a “mishap investigation” is completed, regulators have said. A statement from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) warned of a launch delay for the biggest rocket ever built, just hours after SpaceX boss Elon Musk said the craft was “ready to launch” on Wednesday. SpaceX made its first and only attempt at an orbital Starship launch in April, with the rocket exploding over the Gulf of Mexico just three minutes into the 90 minute flight. The crewless rocket broke up into pieces over an empty stretch of water, however the debris blast created by Starship’s huge engines at its launchpad drew heavy scrutiny from regulators. Concrete dust drifted more than 10 kilometres from the launch site, according to the Fish and Wildlife Service, while concrete chunks and metal shards were discovered within a 700-acre zone surrounding the pad. SpaceX claimed the mission was a success, as Starship and its Super Heavy booster were able to lift off on its maiden test flight, however the FAA launched an investigation soon afterwards. Following Mr Musk’s latest comments that the latest version of the rocket is ready to launch pending regulatory approval, the FAA warned SpaceX that it would need to wait for the investigation to conclude. “The SpaceX Starship mishap investigation remains open,” the FAA said in a statement. “The FAA will not authorise another Starship launch until SpaceX implements the corrective actions identified during the mishap investigation and demonstrates compliance with all the regulatory requirements of the licence modification process.” SpaceX has made numerous alterations and improvements to Starship and its launch pad, including remedial measures aimed at preventing launch debris and a new method for separating the upper stage from its booster rocket. Nasa has already awarded SpaceX a multi-billion dollar contract to develop Starship for its Artemis program, which aims to return humans to the surface of the Moon for the first time in more than 50 years. Mr Musk also plans to use the rockets for more ambitious longer term goals, including establishing a permanent human colony on Mars before 2050. “As the most powerful launch system ever developed, Starship will be able to carry up to 100 people on long-duration, interplanetary flights,” SpaceX notes on its website. “Starship will also help enable transport of many satellites, large space telescopes, and significant amounts of cargo to Earth orbit, the Moon, Mars and beyond.” Read More ‘It’s becoming like an airport’: How SpaceX normalised rocket launches SpaceX abandons YouTube for live streams of launches in favour of X/Twitter Starship ‘ready to launch’, Elon Musk says SpaceX crew streak across sky before splashing down off Florida coast SpaceX smashes rocket launch record as Musk eyes historic Starship mission

Britney Spears is reflecting on one of her most memorable performances.

Belgium midfielder Yannick Carrasco says he does not share the criticism of Saudi Arabia’s poor human rights record

Turkish and international cave rescue experts are working to save a 40-year-old American speleologist who became ill and is trapped more than 3,200 feet into a cave in southern Turkey

The 2023/24 Premier League season is just one month old, and we've already been treated to a number of save of the season contenders. Throughout the month, the

It began with 128 contenders, but now the women's draw at the US Open is down to just four.

The Champions League risks becoming a travelling circus if matches are taken outside Europe, according to the boss of one of the continent’s leading clubs. UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin hinted in April that a Champions League final could be played in the United States in the future, while sources close to the European Club Association have also spoken favourably about playing a revamped Super Cup in the US in the years ahead. However, the chief executive of Bayern Munich, Jan-Christian Dreesen, gave the idea short shrift at the ECA’s General Assembly in Berlin on Thursday. “For sure we have to develop our tournament, but on the other side my personal view is quite clear. We are not the Cirque du Soleil,” he said. “We have a European championship, and we have to play our matches in Europe.” Dreesen, one of the ECA vice-chairs, also insisted European football did not need to be “afraid” of the rising influence of the Saudi league, with its clubs having spent more than £700million on Europe-based players this summer. “I think we shouldn’t be worried about that,” he added. “We will have to see in the future if it’s sustainable and then we will handle it. And as Nasser (Al Khelaifi, ECA chairman) has said already, we have a fantastic competition, we have this tradition with the European clubs, so we don’t have to be afraid.” UEFA announced a new Memorandum of Understanding with the ECA on Wednesday which included an agreement on how money earned from European club competitions should be split. Solidarity payments to clubs not playing in European competitions will rise from four to seven per cent in the 2024-27 cycle, while there is also a combined 10 per cent uplift in the percentage of revenue set aside for participation and performance. The proportion allocated to clubs based on their historic coefficient and the size of their country’s television market pool will be reduced by the same amount. While the new distribution model has been widely welcomed, two bosses from mid-sized European clubs said the disparity in revenues between domestic leagues was the bigger issue affecting competitive balance across the continent. Celtic chief executive and ECA vice-chair Peter Lawwell said: “Celtic as the champions in Scotland receive just over £3m, if you are relegated from the EPL (English Premier League) you get £140m. “The main factor is the domestic competitions.” Dariusz Mioduski, the president of the management board at Polish club Legia Warsaw, added: “What has been done now with the (European) distribution….doesn’t fix the leagues. It will never fix the problem. “This is the challenge for Europe in the future to look at that because today what you have is an inherent issue in European football where clubs are limited in their revenues to the domestic markets but they have to compete across Europe for talent. “Unless you somehow fix that, or at least address it, the problem will be getting bigger and bigger and there is no way to fix it by sharing more and more money through European competitions, it has to be done through something else.” ECA chair Al Khelaifi was asked whether he expected the three clubs still outside the organisation following the 2021 Super League breakaway attempt – Barcelona, Juventus and Real Madrid – to have returned within a year’s time. Juventus have begun the process of leaving the Super League, but have not yet been readmitted to the ECA. “They (the three clubs) are most welcome back,” Al Khelaifi said. “(They were a group of) three, but now only two. So every six months there’s one less, which is good. They are going slowly, but in the right way.” Earlier in the day, Manchester City chief executive Ferran Soriano was elected as the Premier League’s sole representative on the ECA board. Lawwell and Arsenal chief executive Vinai Venkatesham were appointed to the separate ECA-UEFA Joint Venture board which manages commercial matters related to Europe’s club competitions. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Rory McIlroy: Late birdies glossed over a pretty average day at Irish Open France ready for ‘wonderful’ World Cup opener with New Zealand – Fabien Galthie Johnny Sexton to make Ireland return in World Cup opener with Romania

The CyHawk Game ratchets up the intensity of the Iowa and Iowa State fan bases every year

Coco Gauff was ruthless and totally dominant in her US Open quarterfinal against Jelena Ostapenko, dropping just two games in a match that could have really troubled the young American.

Koninklijke Philips NA officials have agreed to pay at least $479 million to resolve part of a sprawling

Top-ranked Ireland begins its bid to win the Rugby World Cup for the first time with flyhalf Jonathan Sexton back from suspension and star flanker Josh van der Flier given a rest for the team’s opening pool match against Romania on Saturday