Jabs for over-16s are coming soon. The government is set to perform another U-turn after weeks of debate over conflicting scientific advice about giving Covid vaccines to teenagers. Boris Johnson is “missing in action” over the climate crisis, says Keir Starmer. “When the issues at stake are so large, it really is irresponsible for the response to be so small,” the Labour leader tells The Guardian. The PM has declined a meeting with Nicola Sturgeon as he begins a visit to Scotland. Starmer is also in Scotland today. Cyclist Jason Kenny has become Britain’s most decorated Olympian. He won a silver medal yesterday, his eighth in total.
Joe Biden’s plans to tackle climate change are being “hampered by a brain drain”, says The New York Times. Hundreds of scientists and other experts in the field quit or were fired by the US government during the Trump years. Six months into the new administration, many of these posts remain vacant. One problem is that “money from Congress to replenish the ranks could be years away”. Another is that scientists are wary of returning to jobs “no longer viewed as insulated from politics”.
Noted
Celebrities are the ultimate saleswomen, says The Sun. When Killing Eve’s Jodie Comer wore a Diane von Furstenberg jumpsuit, it took just one hour to sell out. Love Island star Molly-Mae Hague’s fans are even quicker off the mark – a yellow dress she wore on the show sold out in 10 minutes. But no one can beat Kim Kardashian, whose lingerie range flew off the shelves in less than 60 seconds. “Everything they touch turns to sold.”
Gone viral
When teenager Olita Tetsu visited the orangutan enclosure at an Indonesian safari park, she dropped her sunglasses into the pen. One female ape took quite a shine to them – at least temporarily.
Quoted
Quoted 04-08
“Even a fool can make a million dollars. But it takes a sage to keep it.”
Andrew Carnegie
Snapshot answer
It’s the world’s first underwater sculpture park, off the coast of Cyprus. British artist Jason deCaires Taylor has created 70 statues that have been submerged near Ayia Napa at a depth of up to 10 metres for divers to explore. Over time they will attract marine life, forming a reef.