Company Space Pioneer says first stage of its Tianlong-3 launched during test after ‘structural failure’ and crashed in hills near city of Gongyi

The space rocket of a Chinese private company crashed and exploded into flames near a city on Sunday, after it accidentally launched during a test.

The first stage of the Tianlong-3 rocket left its launch pad due to a structural failure at the connection between the rocket and the test stand, said company Beijing Tianbing, also known as Space Pioneer, in a statement on its official WeChat account. The rocket landed in a hilly area of the city of Gongyi in central China, it said.

• Canadians progress to last-eight in tournament debut
• Lautaro Martínez scores two for world champions

Canada played out a dour goalless Copa América draw with 10-man Chile on Saturday to claim second place in Group A and progress to the quarter-finals of the tournament.

The draw meant Canada finished with four points in Group A on their Copa América debut, behind leaders Argentina, who had already qualified for the quarter-finals. Chile finished third in the group, and exited the tournament without a goal to their name, prolonging a scoring drought in which they have netted only three goals in their first six 2026 World Cup qualifiers.

Pyongyang calls ‘Freedom Edge’ drills involving fighter jets and nuclear-powered US aircraft carrier ‘provocative’

North Korea has criticised a joint military exercise by South Korea, Japan and the US held this month, state media have said, saying such drills show the relationship among the three countries has developed into “the Asian version of Nato”.

On Thursday, the three countries began the large-scale joint military drills called “Freedom Edge”, involving navy destroyers, fighter jets and the nuclear-powered US aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt, aimed at boosting defences against missiles, submarines and air attacks.

• Vinicius’ pace and trickery leads Brazil to emphatic 4-1 comeback victory
• Colombia top Group D with six points, with Brazil now second on four

Brazil’s Vinicius Junior scored twice in his side’s 4-1 Copa America victory over Paraguay in a Group D clash in Nevada on Friday, bouncing back from a lacklustre display in his first game of the tournament.

Colombia, who have qualified for the quarter-finals, top Group D with six points after two matches, with Brazil in second on four points. Costa Rica are third with one point and Paraguay, who are bottom with zero after two defeats, have been eliminated from the competition.

• World No 1 pulls out of next week’s Aramco Team Series
• Korda says she is recovering after being bitten in Seattle

Nelly Korda has withdrawn from an upcoming Ladies European Tour golf tournament in England after being bitten by a dog in Seattle.

The world No 1 golfer announced Friday that she will be unable to compete in next week’s Aramco Team Series tournament at the Centurion Club, near Hemel Hempstead on London’s outskirts, where she was set to defend her title.

The six US astronauts aboard International Space Station rush to their spacecrafts in case of emergency departure

A defunct Russian satellite has broken up into nearly 200 pieces of debris in orbit, forcing astronauts on the International Space Station to take shelter for about an hour and adding to the mass of space junk already in orbit, US space agencies said.

There were no immediate details on what caused the breakup of the Resurs-P1 Russian Earth observation satellite, which Russia declared dead in 2022.

Company says in court filing Musk is entitled to vast payout because shareholders voted in his favor earlier this month

Tesla is claiming Elon Musk won his legal battle over his $56bn pay package because shareholders voted for the compensation, despite a judge rescinding it earlier this year, according to court filing made public on Friday.

The company’s filing comes two weeks after Tesla shareholders voted to ratify the 2018 package of stock options. Tesla held the vote following a January ruling by a Delaware judge to void the compensation because Musk improperly controlled the negotiation process and the company misled shareholders about key details.

• 57-year-old Australian left Argentina role in December
• Previous jobs include Leinster, Waratahs and Wallabies

Leicester Tigers have appointed Michael Cheika as their head coach ahead, the Premiership Rugby club said on Thursday. The 57-year-old is taking over from his fellow Australian Dan McKellar, who parted ways with the club last week.

Cheika was previously head coach of Argentina for two years before stepping down in December. He led the team to fourth place at last year’s Rugby World Cup.

• Jamaican has withdrawn from trials due to achilles tear
• 31-year-old had defended 100m and 200m titles in Tokyo

The five-time Olympic sprint champion Elaine Thompson-Herah has withdrawn from the Jamaican trials due to an achilles injury and will not defend her 100m and 200m titles at the Paris Games in August.

The Jamaican, who will celebrate her 32nd birthday on Friday, is one of the greatest sprinters of all time and was the first woman to win a back-to-back Olympic sprint double when she retained both titles in Tokyo three years ago. She also won gold with the relay 4x100m squad.

Skull anatomy shows the boy or girl would have been severely disabled, yet survived until the age of six

A Neanderthal child with Down’s syndrome survived until at least the age of six, according to a new study whose findings hint at compassionate caregiving among the extinct, archaic human species.

Recent examination of a human fossil unearthed at the Cova Negra archaeological site in the Spanish province of Valencia found traits in the inner-ear anatomy which indicated Down syndrome, in the earliest-known evidence of the genetic condition.

Chess players from Goma in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo are introducing children traumatised by violence to the joys of playing the board game