There will, as sure as night follows day, be a film made about how Tom Daley brought his life to its ultimate fulfilment at a deserted Tokyo diving pool.
Given that his husband, Dustin Lance Black, is an Oscar-winning writer, he has a ready-made candidate to produce the screenplay.
From childhood bullying to coming out on YouTube, Chief Sports Writer Oliver Brown in Tokyo tells the remarkable Daley story.
PS: For more of the day’s most important Olympics stories – plus highlights from our features and interviews – try our free Olympics Briefing newsletter.
Covid cases drop again – but UK ‘not out of woods yet’
New Covid cases reported in the UK have fallen for the sixth day in a row. Despite the “encouraging” drop, Prime Minister Boris Johnson has warned the UK is “not out of the woods yet”. One expert suggested the decrease could be due to the fact schools are closed. Ross Clark argues that vaccines have enabled us to stop obsessing about case numbers altogether, but that Prof Neil Ferguson’s critics are missing the point. It came as commuters this morning squeezed onto reduced services due to rail staff self-isolating. Operators have been forced to slash the number of trains on the tracks because drivers and guards are stuck at home due to the so-called “pingdemic”. Meanwhile, Downing Street did not deny reports university students would need “Beijing-style” vaccine passports.
On the continent, the delta variant has set back hopes of a German recovery as Europe’s economic powerhouse faces the prospect of new restrictions and a “massive slowdown”. Corporate jitters over a shortage of supplies and rising Covid cases triggered a surprise fall in business confidence across Germany this month, according to a closely watched index. But some possible good news for European holidaymakers: France could be moved back to the amber list next week, meaning double-jabbed travellers would be exempt from quarantine when they return to the UK. View other countries on the amber list.
Hospital patients evacuated as rain causes power cut
Flash floods in London forced a hospital to evacuate a ward of 100 patients after water flooded its basement, causing a power outage. Ambulances were diverted to “relieve pressure” on Whipp’s Cross as a month’s worth of rain fell on the capital in a matter of hours. View extraordinary video and pictures of deluged railway stations and stranded motorists. The Environment Agency has six flood warnings in place across the country’s south east this evening. Meanwhile, BBC journalists in China have been sent death threats while covering severe flooding from heavy rains. It came after “apocalyptic” wildfires ravaged 50,000 acres of forest in “a disaster without precedent” on Sardinia.
Also in the news: Today’s other headlines
Military | Russia is on track to build two new “Doomsday planes” designed to serve as a Kremlin war room in case of a nuclear attack. The new plane model, named for its ability to withstand a nuclear blast, would work as a potential aerial command post for top officials. Nataliya Vasilyeva reports from Moscow that the planes will be fitted with technology to manage Russia’s nuclear arsenal – including submarines, strategic bombers and missile launchers based 3,700 miles away.
Around the world: ‘Coup’ in Tunisia
The speaker of Tunisia’s parliament called on citizens to take to the streets to resist what he claimed was a “coup”, after the president sacked the prime minister. The call to action came as the country faced its biggest political crisis in a decade, with the president having suspended parliament for 30 days. Read the latest from our team in the Middle East.
Monday long-read: ‘Life is impossible when you are a family with six children’
“If you want something done,” the maxim goes, “ask a busy person to do it.” As untruthful sayings go, this is up there with “it’s better to give than to receive,” says Ashley Blaker. From bank-breaking days out to too-small cars, he explains why society is not set up for large families like his. Read the full article.
