The Know Daily - Friday 31 January 2025

_{Read in 5m 29s ∙ Listening to Japanese Breakfast ∙}

Happy Friday!

Hanna here – hope you’ve all had lovely weeks. I spent mine celebrating Lunar New Year with my mom. We ate our fave traditional Vietnamese snacks and donned our best red outfits 👯  Even if you don’t celebrate Lunar New Year, I hope you find some time to gather with loved ones over a delicious meal ❤️

Keep reading for your usual roundup of the week’s headlines, as well as plenty of culture recs to fill your weekends.

Love,
Hanna
Staff writer

UK NEWS

💰 Chancellor Rachel Reeves gave a speech announcing major infrastructure projects – here are the key takeaways.

🍻 Lidl was granted permission to open its first-ever pub in Northern Ireland.

♻️ The government is set to launch a deposit return scheme for drinks containers in an effort to clean up plastic pollution.

GLOBAL AFFAIRS

🐍 Lunar New Year was celebrated by millions across the world – check out the stunning festivities here.

🗺️ Google Maps could rename the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America for US users – but Mexico has asked them to reconsider.

⛰️ Taranaki Mounga – New Zealand’s 2nd highest mountain – was granted the same legal rights as a person.

CULTURE

🎨 HOME Arches – a £3.5m artist development hub – is opening in Manchester, in an effort to support local creatives.

👗 Haute Couture took over the streets of Paris this week with no shortage of dazzling outfits.

📸 The 2024 Travel Photographer of the Year winning images were released – check out the jaw-dropping snapshots here.

WORK & INNOVATION

🏢 200 UK companies have adopted a 4-day work week.

🐪 Camel milk could make for a healthier alternative milk option, according to a new study.

🩻 An injectable gel showed promising results in strengthening the bones of those with osteoporosis.

UPLIFTING STUFF

🥼 Bowel cancer was detected with 90% accuracy in a “groundbreaking” new test.

🏡 A Swiss data centre will use recycled energy to heat homes in Geneva.

🎵 FireAid – a star-studded benefit concert for Los Angeles wildfire relief – took place this week.

🗞 Read: This piece by Adrian Chiles on why he’s lost faith in zippers – it’ll have you in stitches 😆

🎧 Listen:  What a Devastating Turn of Events, Rachel Chinouriri’s debut album. This 2025 BRIT award nominated album full of indie pop bangers is an absolute delight.

📺 Watch: Mo (Netflix), Paradise (Disney+), School Spirits (Paramount+) and Saturday Night (out in cinemas now).

🥕 Cook: This tom yum soup – spicy, sour and packed with flavour, it’s the perfect winter warmer 🍲

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