The Know Daily - Tuesday 28 January 2025

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Zero-emissions zones have been implemented in 14 Dutch cities, with 4 more cities expected to introduce them by the end of the year. Vans and trucks with commercial deliveries aren’t allowed to enter the areas, in an effort to reduce CO2 emissions.

🇬🇧 Soft power

The UK government has launched a soft power council.

Hold up. What’s soft power?
Soft power is when a country utilises economic or cultural influences to achieve foreign policy objectives. Avenues for soft power include news media, foreign assistance – sending other countries goods or services – and pop culture.

Tell me more about the council.
The new council – chaired by foreign secretary David Lammy and culture secretary Lisa Nandy –  will investigate how soft power areas such as music, sport and science can help “revive the economy and improve security”, reported The Guardian. In order to achieve this, the council will advise the UK government on a new soft power strategy, provide guidance on soft power campaigns globally and create a more systematic approach for major cultural and sporting events in the calendar.   

It’ll bring together foreign policy experts and leaders in soft power sectors four times a year to discuss the UK’s strategy and impact. Some notable members include former ITV chair Sir Peter Bazalgette, Victoria & Albert Museum director Tristram Hunt and UK Sport chair and former Olympic champion Dame Katherine Grainger.

Why is it needed?
Soft power is fundamental to the UK’s impact and reputation across the world, according to Lammy. When soft power is effectively utilised, it can also help build relationships with other nations and deepen trust and enhance the UK’s role on the world stage, he added. Plus, building up the UK’s sporting events, performing arts and creative industries will pull in international investors and drive growth in these sectors, said Nandy.

Anything else I should know?
Alongside the creation of the council, the government also announced a £60m fund to help cultural organisations and creative businesses across the UK scale up and grow.

⚙️ AI advancement: Chinese start-up DeepSeek launched its latest AI models which are on par or better than leading US models from the likes of Google and Meta, and available at a lower cost.

• The bigger story: After DeepSeek unveiled its new chatbot, stocks in US tech firms dropped, calling into question the competitiveness of US companies in the AI sector, which has been a leading country in AI development until now.

🍽️ Wine and dine: These are the UK’s top 100 restaurants for 2025, which ones will you try?

🗞️ Court reporting: A "watershed change” will now allow journalists to report from family courts in England and Wales.

🎵 Streaming agreement: Universal Music Group and Spotify have struck a multi-year deal that’ll see “new paid subscription tiers” and “a richer audio and visual content catalog”.

📦 Prime air: Amazon drone deliveries in the UK are being rolled out in this northern city.

🇳🇿 Working remotely: New Zealand is relaxing rules for its digital nomad visa, in an effort to boost tourism.

🐶 Dogs with jobs: China’s first-ever corgi police dog was honoured for his “exceptional service”.

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Trivia answer: A) Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport took the top spot with this many travellers passing through. 

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