After a reckless shopping spree, I ditched contactless payments and bank cards to see how far £200 cash in hand would get me – and if I could improve my spending habits

If I’m lucky, I can just about squeeze a £20 note into the back of my phone case, which holds the device I reflexively tap to pay for almost everything. But this week was different. After a reckless coffee-and-clothing spending spree made a mighty dent in my bank account, I decided I needed to take action. Self-control was one option, but another more drastic route was blunt-force restriction. I would ditch contactless payments, along with debit and credit cards. Instead, I would spend a week relying solely on cash.

After subtracting the lavish lattes and Asos deliveries that had massively inflated my average weekly spend, I allowed myself £180 for the basics, including food and travel. For safety, I gave myself an extra £20. The first task was to take out £200 in cash from the ATM. But what the hell was my pin number? Thanks to contactless capabilities, I hadn’t used this all-important combination of digits in more than a year. Googling how to find it, I discovered I’d have to wait three to five working days to get a letter reminding me of it in the post. This wouldn’t do. I decided to head to my local bank to explain my predicament.

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Celestial spectacle will be at its most impressive on 28 February, when Mercury, Venus, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune will align across the sky

Space enthusiasts are in for a treat at the end of this month as six planets will appear close together in the night sky.

The phenomenon, known as a planet parade or planetary alignment, occurs when at least four or five planets can be seen altogether, according to Nasa. On 28 February, stargazers will have the chance to spot Mercury, Venus, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune aligned closely across the sky – making this a rare planetary display.

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Wasserman has apologised for communicating with Ghislaine Maxwell after flirtatious emails they exchanged more than 20 years ago were released in the Epstein files

Pop star Chappell Roan said on Monday she was no longer represented by the talent agency led by Los Angeles 2028 Olympics chief Casey Wasserman, who has faced criticism for flirtatious email exchanges with convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell more than 20 years ago.

Wasserman has apologised for communicating with Maxwell, after the publication of a series of personal emails between the two.

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Bithumb has apologised for staff error that sent customers 620,000 bitcoins instead of 620,000 Korean won, equivalent to a few hundred US dollars

South Korea’s second-largest cryptocurrency exchange is scrambling to recover more than $40bn of cryptocurrency after accidentally crediting customers with 620,000 bitcoins during a promotional event last week.

Bithumb said it had corrected most of the mistaken credits, but that about 13bn won ($9m) remained unrecovered after some recipients sold or withdrew the funds before the error was detected.

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Bij outdoorwinkels zijn kleine zakjes te koop die warmte kunnen afgeven. Hoe werken die?

Nederland is van de nul! Na een openingsweekend zonder medailleoogst reden Jutta Leerdam en Femke Kok maandag ver weg bij de concurrentie op de 1.000 meter.

SYDNEY (ANP) - De Australische politie heeft dinsdag laten weten dat zij de politieagenten steunt die maandagavond ingrepen tijdens een groot protest in de Australische stad Sydney. Agenten toonden volgens politiecommissaris Mal Lanyon in deelstaat New South Wales "opvallend veel terughoudendheid" en "deden wat ze moesten doen", schrijft de BBC.

Bij protesten in Sydney vanwege het bezoek van de Israëlische president Isaac Herzog werden maandagavond zeker 27 mensen gearresteerd. Herzogs bezoek aan onder meer Bondi Beach, waar in december 15 doden vielen toen schutters het vuur openden tijdens een Joodse viering, ligt gevoelig.

Australische media als ABC News melden dat er kritiek was op het politieoptreden, mede door beelden die gedeeld werden op sociale media van het politieingrijpen tijdens de demonstratie bij het stadhuis in de stad. Agenten zetten onder meer pepperspray in en sloegen demonstranten, zo is op beelden te zien, meldt de BBC.

De Australische premier Anthony Albanese liet dinsdag weten "kapot" te zijn van het geweld en riep demonstranten op vreedzaam te protesteren. Later dinsdag ontmoet Albanese de Israëlische president.

Vandaag is het een bewolkte dag in de regio, met soms wat lichte regen of motregen. Het zal daardoor wat druilerig aanvoelen. Regen van enige betekenis wordt overigens niet verwacht. De maximumtemperatuur komt uit op ongeveer 8 graden. De wind waait matig en komt uit een zuidoostelijke richting.

An anonymous reader shares a report: It turns out that when fewer cars spew exhaust as they drive along, air quality improves. That's the conclusion of a new study published in The Lancet Planetary Health that looked at the effect of increased numbers of both EVs and plug-in hybrids on air pollution in California. The Golden State has by far the largest number of plug-in vehicles in the United States, and they've now reached significant numbers to have a positive impact on air quality.

Between 2019 and 2023, for every 200 EVs or plug-in hybrids added, nitrogen dioxide (NO2) levels dropped 1.1%, according to the study, which used satellite data to track those levels through the unique way NO2 absorbs and reflects sunlight. NO2 can trigger asthma attacks, cause bronchitis, and increase the risk of heart disease and stroke.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

DanÅke Carlsson posted a photo: