The Know Daily - Friday 18 July 2025

_{Read in 5m 14s ∙ Listening to Justin Bieber ∙}

Happy Friday!

It’s really starting to feel like the summer hols. I can’t wait to get started on my towering TBR pile and to put all my highly-researched SPF choices to good use (side note: our explainer is genuinely handy, if you’re in the market).

Before we dive in, a quick but heartfelt shoutout to everyone who’s donated to support The Know in the past few months. We’ve seen a lot of new names and we want you to know that your generosity truly makes a difference – it’s what allows us to bring you the news without the overwhelm (and without a paywall). It’s also just a huge boost to know how much our fab readers value their 5-minute digest. Thank you 💞

Here’s this week’s round-up of news, culture recs and bits worth bookmarking.

Lynn
Co-founder

P.S. We’ll also be announcing the winner of our Bolthole Retreats giveaway, so keep scrolling!

UK NEWS

🗳️ Labour has pledged to lower the voting age in the UK to 16 in time for the next general election – and bank cards will qualify as ID.

👩‍🔬 Children at risk of being born with certain genetic disorders could be helped by using DNA from three parents, a landmark study by British researchers has found.

💷 Chancellor Rachel Reeves has shelved reported plans to lower current ISA limits to £4k but will consider further changes to encourage more people to invest in stocks rather than cash.

GLOBAL AFFAIRS

🇪🇺 The European Commission has proposed a central EU budget of almost €2 trillion for the seven-year period from 2028 after internal negotiations.

👩‍💻 Meta has removed around 10 million Facebook profiles impersonating content creators so far in 2025, aiming to reduce spam.

🌍 Cyprus is the latest country to join the Schengen Area – the world’s largest visa-free zone. Check which others are on the list.

CULTURE

🎷 World famous jazz bar Ronnie Scott’s is hosting an al fresco street party that is free to attend and no tickets are needed. We’re dusting off our dancing shoes already 💃

⚡ ️HBO has started production on its Harry Potter TV series and released the first photo of Dominic McLaughlin in costume as the young wizard.

👗 Topshop is returning to the catwalk with its first fashion show in 7 years as fans hope for the high street store’s revival.

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WORK & INNOVATION

👩‍💻 Four in five employees who do hybrid work say it has a positive effect on their overall wellbeing, according to a recent survey.

🎨 A portrait of King Charles has been painted by an artistic humanoid using AI algorithms and a robotic arm. Check it out here.

🥕 Plans to grow fruit and vegetables using "cleaned" carbon dioxide in greenhouses above a landfill have been revealed.

UPLIFTING STUFF

🎧 A sound artist has created an audio tour of hundreds of UNESCO heritage sites via a virtual library, all free to listen to online.

🪸 10,000 young corals have been successfully grown in a portable spawning lab in the Maldives, in an effort to support restoration projects.

🐧 Remember Oona the Puffin? Well, on Wednesday she was successfully released back into the wild to reunite with her suspected colony.

🗞 Read: It can be so tricky to keep on top of all the admin that comes with modern life, particularly when the sun is permanently shining and the last thing you want to do when clocking off work is tackle all your personal emails. This piece on productivity hacks is a really handy guide to regaining control and has inspired me to just “eat the frog” (if you know, you know).

🎧 Listen: Any Beliebers with us today? Justin has released a surprise album this week called SWAG. Despite being a brand new album, it’s a surprisingly nostalgic listen. Let us know what your favourite track is!

📺 Watch: Untamed (Netflix), The Institute (MGM+), Ladies in Black (U) and I Know What You Did Last Summer is out now in cinemas.

🧑‍🍳 Cook: If girl dinner met summer suppers it would probably come up with this – snack boards. They are delicious, varied and so fun to create. You can take inspo from creators on what to include but really just grab a board and fill it with your favourites!

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