The Know Daily - Thursday 17 July 2025

_{Read in 4m 22s ∙ Listening to Sarah Kinsley ∙}

Inspired by Thor, endurance athlete Ross Edgley has transformed a 1,000-mile swim around Iceland into a groundbreaking marine conservation project. By collecting daily samples of environmental DNA and microplastic levels, he will create a map of ocean biodiversity that has “never been seen before”.

🤝 NATO: an explainer

Amid a renewed global focus, the alliance has been making headlines recently – here’s a breakdown of what it is and why it matters today.

What is NATO?
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization, also known as NATO, is a military alliance that was founded in 1949 by a group of countries including the US, UK, France and Canada. Today, it includes 32 member countries who are all committed to working together on defence. Its core principle is collective defence – if one member is attacked, the others will respond as if they were attacked too.

NATO doesn’t just work on military defence. It also coordinates:

• Natural disaster relief and humanitarian emergencies

• Protecting against cyber threats and tackling disinformation

• Working with non-member countries to support peace and international cooperation

How does a country join?
Joining NATO isn’t usually a speedy process. Countries must meet a series of political and military standards, including:

• Being located in Europe or North America

• Committing to democracy and ensuring that elected leaders oversee the military

• Showing they can take part in and support NATO’s missions and responsibilities

Also, a country can only join if all existing member states agree. This process can move quickly – as in the case of Finland – or take years depending on domestic politics and alliance dynamics.

How is NATO funded?
NATO is funded in two main ways:

1. National Defence Spending: NATO members are currently expected to spend at least 2% of their GDP on defence. As of this year’s summit, alliance leaders agreed to aim for a broader target of 5% by 2035, including investment in cyber capabilities and critical infrastructure.

2. Common Funding: All members contribute to a shared budget that covers NATO’s command and communication systems, operational infrastructure and coordination of joint exercises and missions.

Why does NATO matter?
The alliance plays an important role in preventing conflict by acting as a deterrent against external threats. The strength of the alliance lies in its unity. Member countries can share intelligence, coordinate military planning and combine their resources. For smaller or more vulnerable members, that solidarity also offers the reassurance that they won’t be left to face an aggressor on their own.

💷 Savings shakeup: Chancellor Rachel Reeves is exploring updates to current ISA rules to encourage more people to invest in stocks rather than cash.

• The bigger story: The chancellor has said she recognises "differing views" over the tax-free savings accounts, in which savers can currently put up to £20k a year. She initially considered lowering the limit of cash ISAs to £4k but shelved the idea due to concerns from consumer groups. However, Reeves wants Britons to put more of their spare cash into shares to help them get better returns and support UK businesses.

✈️ Globetrotting governing: Japan has launched a new government body focussing on how to better manage overtourism and support residents.

🤖 Automated accents: A new AI voice tool has been trained to copy British regional accents amid concerns that languages and dialects are being lost in the digital era.

🇫🇷 Au revoir bank hol: France’s Prime Minister has proposed cutting two of the country’s 11 public holidays to save money in next year’s budget.

⚽️ Footie facilities: Tottenham Hotspur has been given the green light to build new training facilities in Enfield for its women’s team.

🦏 Rhino revelation: Researchers have extracted an ancient protein from a 24-million-year-old rhino fossil, opening new doors in evolutionary science.

🌈 Vibrant vacationing: This Italian island has been named the world’s most colourful destination (and left me feeling inspired to pick up a paintbrush 🎨).

Help your friends feel better about the news. Get them to sign up using your personalised code 👉 https://theknowmedia.beehiiv.com/subscribe?ref=PLACEHOLDER

⭐ Get clicking - this tells our partners that readers are interested in The Know. Let’s get started with this one!

⭐ Add us to your contacts or primary inbox - this makes sure we reach your inbox (and everyone else’s) each morning.

The Know is on a mission to help everyone start their day feeling informed and hopeful. We only recommend things we genuinely love but sometimes we make money from the links and content we share. This directly supports keeping our journalism free for all.

Trivia answer: C) 5% of Brits who can speak a foreign language say they’re fluent in French.

How did you find today’s email?
😍 Loved it! | 😕 Could be better…

Need fewer emails? Click here to hear from us once a week.