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I enjoyed Sammy Gecsoyler’s article on using only cash for a week (My week of only using cash: could a return to notes and coins change my life?, 10 February), but he does not mention the joy of getting one of the specially designed £2 coins in change. My collection contains all the Shakespeare ones and Charles Dickens, but I lack the new George Orwell one. How will I get one now, with so little cash being spent?Manju GhoshBolton, Greater Manchester The Country Diary is a beacon in the chaos in the country. Susie White’s beautiful prose from Cullernose Point,…

Raymond van Barneveld recorded his lowest-ever average on the PDC ProTour in a 6-1 defeat to Owen Bates in the second round of Players Championship Two on Tuesday.The five-time world champion suffered a crushing defeat to Bates in round two, averaging a mere 69.39 in the process. The legendary Dutchman did average 65.86 in a match against Martin Adams back in 2020, but this is his lowest recorded on the PDC circuit. Nijman denies Price in epic final in Hildesheim Image: Wessel Nijman clinched his fourth PDC ranking title Wessel Nijman defied a heroic performance from Gerwyn Price to clinch…

Key events14m agoGOAL! Chelsea 2-2 Leeds (Okafor, 74)17m agoGOAL! Tottenham 1-2 Newcastle (Ramsey, 68)19m agoGOAL! Everton 1-2 Bournemouth (Adli, 64)21m agoGOAL! Tottenham 1-1 Newcastle (Gray, 64)21m agoGOAL! Chelsea 2-1 Leeds (Nmecha, pen, 66)26m agoGOAL! Everton 1-1 Bournemouth (Rayan, 61)30m agoGOAL! Chelsea 2-0 Leeds (Palmer, pen, 58)43m agoSecond half1h agoHalf time: Tottenham 0-1 Newcastle1h agoGOAL! Tottenham 0-1 Newcastle (Thiaw, 45+5)1h agoHalf time: Chelsea 1-0 Leeds1h agoHalf time: Everton 1-0 Bournemouth1h agoNO GOAL! Tottenham 0-0 Newcastle1h agoGOAL! Tottenham 0-1 Newcastle (Willock, 44)1h agoGOAL! Everton 1-0 Bournemouth (Ndiaye, pen, 42)1h agoGOAL! Chelsea 1-0 Leeds (Joao Pedro, 24)2h agoKick off3h agoStarting lineups: Everton v…

Brendon McCullum’s shades-on, feet-up, perpetually chilled persona as England coach, which has led to him being criticised for creating an unhealthily relaxed team culture, is carefully cultivated but entirely false, according to the former white-ball captain Jos Buttler. Buttler said that McCullum is actually “as sharp a coach as I’ve ever worked with”, and that “everyone in the dressing room knows the truth”.While McCullum has been sceptical about the overuse of data in cricket he has recently adopted the use of walkie-talkies to relay information from the team’s analysts to their support staff and on to the pitch during matches,…

Your editorial (8 February) is correct to highlight that a graduate levy by stealth is no way to fund the NHS and its potential consequences. This will include resident doctors, whose dissatisfaction with their pay and working conditions will be amplified by the chancellor’s statement that they now need to help pay for their own salaries.The anger that recent graduates feel will also be felt by their parents, many of whom benefited from free higher education and see as unfair the repayment/tax changes being imposed. The government should bear in mind the electoral near wipeout experienced by the Liberal Democrats…

Unlock the White House Watch newsletter for freeYour guide to what Trump’s second term means for Washington, business and the worldDonald Trump has threatened to block the opening of a new suspension bridge connecting the US and Canada, escalating tensions between the two neighbours following Ottawa’s threat to bring Chinese EV manufacturers into North America.The US president wrote on his Truth Social platform on Monday evening that the Gordie Howe International Bridge — which is set to open this year and connects the key auto hubs of Detroit, Michigan and Windsor, Ontario — had been built with “virtually no US…

Regarding your editorial (The Guardian view on high-street decline: a symbol of failure in a discontented nation, 3 February), saving high streets requires four things that the Treasury, the dead hand of government innovation, won’t like.First, it requires an overhaul of the business rates system, and second, a new tax for online business. Third, it requires compelling landlords to charge reasonable rents.Fourth, and finally, it requires local authorities the financial headroom to buy up vacant retail space. This ought to enable innovative community and business enterprises to flourish in what would otherwise be an overtaxed and overpriced rental market.None of…

The clearing of the decks continues apace at BP. The last chief executive, Murray Auchincloss, got the heave-ho in December. Last month brought news of hefty write-downs on the troublesome low-carbon energy assets in solar and biogas. Now comes an admission that the current debt-reduction measures aren’t enough to ease the strain on an over-extended balance sheet. Share buy-backs are being suspended.Buy-backs have become the essential symbol of financial virility in today’s oil industry. At the right price, they represent an efficient use of excess capital and are a way for managements to send obligatory signals about “financial discipline”, meaning…

When Lunos, an AI startup in New York City, was gearing up for launch, its founder and chief executive, Duncan Barrigan, and his team wanted to make a splash. So they shelled out $3,500 to do the unconventional: hire a horse and a cowboy to lasso the bull of Wall Street.On a sweltering evening in late September, the cowboy galloped toward the iconic sculpture in lower Manhattan. Wearing ranch gear and a western hat stamped with the Lunos logo, he lassoed the bull’s horns as invitees and curious passersby watched. He and the horse then circled the statue, handing out…

Online prediction market Kalshi hit a daily record on Super Bowl Sunday, surpassing $1bn in trading volume, the company announced on Tuesday.Kalshi’s CEO, Tarek Mansour, called it an “incredible weekend”, telling CNBC that “Kalshi was the biggest brand of the Super Bowl this year, without running a Super Bowl ad”.Kalshi trading volume during the game was up 2,700% year over year. More than $100m were bets on Bad Bunny’s opening song and $45m on which artists would perform with him on stage. In comparison, the platform saw $27m in total trading volume at last year’s Super Bowl.Prediction markets like Kalshi…