It may affect parking for football fans and shoppers on the weekends

A city centre car park will close for over two weeks for a fair. John Thurston and Son’s Mart Fair returns to Peterborough city centre on Thursday, March 19, and runs until Sunday, March 29.

The fair will be held at the Pleasure Fair Meadow car park. There will be over 100 rides on offer at the fair, providing lots of fun for all ages.

The fair will be open from 6pm until 10pm on weekdays, and 2pm until 10pm on Saturdays and Sundays. The car park will be closed from March 14 until March 30.

This could affect city centre parking for people attending Peterborough United games and also shopping. A Peterborough City Council spokesperson said: “Pleasure Fair Car Park will be closed from 6pm on Saturday 14 March until 6pm on Monday, March 30, due to the return of Mart Fair. Please use alternative car parks during this period.

“For any Posh fixtures taking place during the closure period, please use alternative parking. Thank you for your cooperation.”

The alternative council car parks motorists can use are:

• Bishops Road
• Brook Street
• Car Haven
• Dickens Street
• Railway Sidings
• Regional Pool
• Riverside
• Sand Martin House multi-storey
• Trinity Street
• Wellington Street

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The blaze broke out at around 6.20am on Sunday, March 1, outside Transporters 247 Ltd, trading as urtyres.co, and involved three vehicles.

A man, who asked to be known only as MJ and who called 999, said the fire escalated rapidly after a BMW 523i caught alight, sandwiched between a Mercedes‑Benz Sprinter and a Citroen Relay, describing the scene as “ferocious”.

CCTV footage shows him initially attempting to tackle the flames himself using a jet hose before contacting the emergency services.

MJ said: “They are so thorough and professional, there is so much more than just putting out a fire.

“Had the firefighters not checked the back of the Citroen Relay that was ready to ignite, they just stopped it in time before the fire spread to the buildings.

“The end result is like T2 or Mel Gibson’s Mad Max cars – but melted to molten liquid. It became that ferocious. I couldn’t believe it.”

He admitted he initially delayed calling emergency services.

“I wasted seven vital minutes trying to deal with it. I had no idea of the ferocity or the velocity of what came within minutes of the BMW catching fire,” he said.

“I’ve just recovered from something that could have burned down the whole of Nile Street if I delayed any longer.

“Every second counted.

“Please, it is so important for people to call 999 first.

“Don’t try like I did and faff about in panic. I learned my lesson.”

MJ said neighbouring businesses, including Halfords and ASL (a Siemens contractor), were close to the scene as the fire intensified.

CCTV footage captured the extent of the blaze and MJ’s efforts in attempting to tackle the fire.

A spokesperson for Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service (GMFRS) said: “Shortly after 6.13am on Sunday morning (Sunday 1 March), a fire engine from Bolton fire station was called to reports of a fire involving three vehicles on Nile Street, Bolton.

“Crews arrived quickly on the scene.

“Firefighters used a hose reel jet to extinguish the fire and make the area safe.

“Firefighters were in attendance for around 50 minutes.”

No injuries were reported.

Ryan Gosling had bigger concerns than promoting his film while interviewing a journalist who dialed in from the middle of the desert.

Gosling was doing a press junket for Project Hail Mary — his new film based on the popular 2021 sci-fi book by Andy Weir — when journalist Jake Hamilton appeared via video link.

“Do you have help on the way?” the actor asked Hamilton after joking that he looked like he was appearing from the inside of a volcano.

“You look like Tom Cruise in Mission Impossible, the one where he’s climbing,” he continued, referencing the red rocks surrounding the reporter.

“This is amazing. I don’t want you to be stranded, but the production value on this… Do you technically need a permit to shoot there? It’s like you’re doing a Western!”

The interviewer explained that before speaking with the La La Land star, he had been on a Grand Canyon bus tour — which unexpectedly broke down.

“Obviously, I would do anything not to miss an interview with you,” Hamilton told the Oscar nominee.

Gosling paused several more times during the interview to check whether the journalist had enough supplies to last in the desert, which Hamilton confirmed he did.

“You sure? You’re sure you have enough water for everyone? Because that could get ugly… I am worried about your hydration. You got a power bar?” Gosling continued.

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“I definitely want to hear that you got out of this,” the actor told Hamilton at the end of the interview.

The reporter later shared the interview clips on his Instagram alongside the caption, “That moment you have to interview Ryan Gosling…but your tour bus broke down in the middle of the desert.”

People were quick to turn to the comments afterward, commending both Hamilton for his commitment to still doing the interview and Gosling for his adamant concern for the journalist.

“No need to discuss the movie tbh, this is the best interview ever done. Ryan interviewing you about your tour bus breaking down is epic lol,” one person wrote.

Another person agreed, “I actually cannot get over this. From the commitment to the interview to Ryan’s concern for your well-being, this is too good.”

In Project Hail Mary, Gosling plays a schoolteacher tasked with traveling into space to save the world. The cast also includes Anatomy of a Fall star Sandra Hüller, Lionel Boyce, Ken Leung and Milana Vayntrub. It is directed by The Lego Movie’s Phil Lord and Christopher Miller.

The film is scheduled for release in theaters March 20.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. Senate is headed towards a vote Wednesday on President Donald Trump’s decision to embark on a war against Iran, an extraordinary test in Congress for a conflict that has rapidly spread across the Middle East with no clear U.S. exit strategy.

The legislation, known as a war powers resolution, gives lawmakers an opportunity to demand congressional approval before any further attacks are carried out. The Senate resolution and a similar bill being voted on in the House later this week face unlikely paths through the Republican-controlled Congress and would almost certainly be vetoed by Trump even if they were to pass.

Nonetheless, the votes marked a weighty moment for lawmakers. Their decisions on the five-day-old war — which Trump entered without congressional approval — could determine the fates of U.S. military members, countless other lives and the future of the region.

“Wars without clear objectives do not remain small. They get bigger, bloodier, longer and more expensive,” said Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer at a news conference Tuesday. “This is not a necessary war. It’s a war of choice.”

Trump administration scrambles for congressional support

After launching a surprise attack against Iran on Saturday, Trump has scrambled to win support for a conflict that Americans of all political persuasions were already wary of entering. Trump administration officials have been a frequent presence on Capitol Hill this week as they try to reassure lawmakers that they have the situation under control.

“We are not going to put American troops in harm’s way,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters in a raucous news conference at the Capitol Tuesday.

But six U.S. military members were killed over the weekend in a drone strike in Kuwait. Hundreds of others in the region have died.

Trump has also not ruled out deploying U.S. ground troops. He has said he is hoping to end the bombing campaign within a few weeks, but his goals for the war have shifted from regime change to stopping Iran from developing nuclear capabilities to crippling its navy and missile programs.

“I think they are achieving great success with what they’ve done so far,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune said Tuesday, adding that what happens next in the country will be “largely up to the Iranian people.”

Almost all Republican senators were readying to vote Wednesday against the war powers resolution to halt military action, but a number still expressed hesitation at the idea of deploying troops on the ground in Iran.

“I don’t think the American people want to see troops on the ground,” said Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., as he exited a classified briefing Tuesday. He added that Trump administration officials “left open that possibility,” but it wasn’t an option they were emphasizing.

Lawmakers to go on record

The votes in Congress this week represented potentially consequential markers of just where lawmakers stand on the war as they look ahead to midterm elections and the consequences of the conflict.

“Nobody gets to hide and give the president an easy pass or an end-run around the Constitution,” said Sen. Tim Kaine, the Virginia Democrat leading the war powers resolution. “Everybody’s got to declare whether they’re for this war or against it.”

Republican leaders have successfully, though narrowly, defeated a series of war powers resolutions pertaining to several other conflicts that Trump has entered or threatened to enter. This one, however, is different.

Unlike Trump’s military campaigns against alleged drug boats or even Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, the attack on Iran represents an open-ended conflict that is already ricocheting across the region. For Republicans who are used to operating in a political party dominated by Trump and his promises of keeping the U.S. out of foreign entanglements, the moment represented a bit of whiplash.

“War is ugly, it always has been ugly, but we’re taking out a regime that has been trying to attack us for quite some time,” said Sen. Markwayne Mullin, an Oklahoma Republican.

Meanwhile, Sen. Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican who has long pushed Trump to engage overseas, argued that the widening conflict represented an opportunity for Arab and European countries to join in the fight against Iran and the militant groups it supports.

“I don’t mind people being on record as to whether or not they think this is a good idea,” he told reporters, but also argued that too much power over the military was ceded to Congress in the War Powers Act, which mandates that presidents must withdraw troops from a conflict within 90 days if there is no congressional authorization.

House vote looms

On the other side of the Capitol, House leaders were also readying for an intense debate over the war followed by a vote Thursday.

“I do believe we have the votes to defeat it, I certainly hope we do,” House Speaker Mike Johnson said after an all-member briefing on Tuesday night.

Meanwhile, House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries said he expected a strong showing from Democrats in favor of the war powers resolution.

As lawmakers emerged from a closed-door briefing Tuesday night, Rep. Gregory Meeks, the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, implored the Trump administration to “come to Congress” and speak directly to the American people about the rationale for the war.

His voice filled with emotion as he said, “Our young men and women’s lives are on the line.”

👉Listen to The World with Richard Engel and Yalda Hakim on your podcast app👈

What happens next in Iran? Will there be regime change? And what are the actual objectives of Israel and America?

Yalda and Richard are both in Israel as the conflict in the region ramps up. Both have been reporting on the ground and working their contacts to find out what the American and Israeli strategy is.

As the death toll in Iran climbs, and the Americans say the biggest hits are yet to come, just what happens next?

The two of them will answer listeners’ questions, so write to them at theworld@sky.uk

To listen to Richard’s bonus Q&A episode, click here.

You can also watch the podcast on our YouTube channel here.

But this January, something changed. Harry Styles released Aperture, the first single from his latest album, Kiss All The Time. Disco, Occasionally (out this Friday). It was moody, considerably more electronic-leaning, and decidedly different to anything we’ve heard from Styles thus far. Fans leaving listening parties for the single described it as “techno”, a misguided description that I suspect is partly due to techno’s pervasive dominance in the electronic music world right now or, more likely, Harry Styles’s recent fondness for wearing a slogan baseball cap that says “techno is my boyfriend.”

The US has joined forces in Ecuador in operations against “narcoterrorists” responsible for alleged illegal drug trafficking.

The military’s southern command, which operates in Central and South America, as well as the Caribbean, made the announcement with little fanfare on social media.

Commander Francis Donovan said: “We commend the men and women of the Ecuadorian armed forces for their unwavering commitment to this fight, demonstrating courage and resolve through continued actions against narcoterrorists in their country.”

Ecuador’s defence ministry refused to share details of the operations.

Trump’s war on drugs

The Trump administration has been waging war on drug cartels, and the president has pressured countries he deems responsible for illegal substances crossing the border to co-operate.

Combating “narcoterrorists” was the justification for Donald Trump’s hostile approach to Venezuela in the months before the stunning capture of its president, Nicolas Maduro, in January.

Ecuador, however, has been keen to show it’s on Mr Trump’s side.

Sky’s chief correspondent Stuart Ramsay joined police on a drugs raid in the capital, Guayaquil, where officers have been raising their game.

One told Ramsay: “The United States [is] giving us money, guns, technology, and we are so happy about that.

“It’s very important for the war.”

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The hunt for drug dealers in Ecuador

Read more from Sky News:
US is burning through ammo in Iran
UK to impose ‘unprecedented’ visa ban

The US also has plans to open a military base in Ecuador.

While the country doesn’t produce drugs, it is used as a transit by cartels in the region. Its ports are the gateway to sea routes north to the US and west to Asia and the South Pacific.

The death of Iraq’s former dictator Saddam Hussein was a grim and chaotic affair, with the man who had once ruled with an iron fist being taunted and jeered as he stood on the gallows

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Saddam Hussein governed Iraq with ruthless authority for over two decades, maintaining his grip on the Middle Eastern country through intimidation, violence and absolute power, whilst eliminating anyone who dared oppose him.

However, his rule collapsed in 2006 after a US-led military intervention, and in the early morning of December 30 2006, the man who had once led an entire army found himself standing beneath the gallows, awaiting execution.

Hussein was formally found guilty of crimes against humanity connected to a 1982 atrocity in Dujail, where 148 Shi’ite males and youngsters were savagely murdered after an assassination attempt.

Following an extensive and disputed trial at the Iraqi Special Tribunal, he received a death sentence by hanging.

Saddam had asked to face a firing squad instead, claiming it was the appropriate military penalty for a former head of armed forces, but his appeal was rejected.

During his final hours at Camp Justice in Baghdad, the ex-dictator consumed a last supper of chicken with rice, accompanied by hot water and honey.

He clutched a Qur’an as he was escorted into the execution chamber just before sunrise on the opening day of Eid al-Adha, reports the Mirror.

Those present in the chamber subsequently recounted a charged and disorderly scene.

While certain officials stayed quiet, others mocked him as chants glorifying Islamic cleric Muqtada al-Sadr echoed through the room whilst Saddam stood upon the scaffold, the noose suspended overhead.

Throughout the ordeal, witnesses reported he maintained his composure despite enduring relentless taunts.

When questioned about experiencing fear or regret, he’s said to have responded that he felt no apprehension, declaring instead that his existence had been dedicated to combating aggression.

As the rope was secured round his throat, Saddam started reciting the Shahada, the Islamic profession of faith, his voice rising above the commotion within the execution chamber.

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Then came his final six words.

“The Muslim Ummah will be victorious.”

Before he could utter anything further, the trapdoor gave way, and an audible crack resonated as he dropped. Death was confirmed moments afterwards.

Whilst official Iraqi government footage depicted him solely in the seconds preceding his execution, stopping short before the fatal moment, a poor-quality mobile phone clip, covertly recorded inside the chamber, subsequently emerged on the internet.

The recording showed the complete hanging, the sectarian abuse and Hussein’s last defiant words, triggering worldwide condemnation and controversy surrounding the manner of his death.

Hours later, his remains were transported by helicopter to Al-Awja near Tikrit, his birthplace, where he was laid to rest alongside his two sons.

EXCLUSIVE: The former Labour PM used his influence to support Starmer as he faced calls to quit.

Gordon Brown helped save Keir Starmer after Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar called on the Prime Minister to quit.

The Labour heavyweight shored up support for the ailing PM as he faced an early exit from Downing Street.

One source said: “Gordon was clear Keir should be given a chance.”

Sarwar used a dramatic press conference in Glasgow last month to urge Starmer to stand down.

He accused his one-time ally of making too many mistakes and of leading a Government that is “not good enough”.

The quit call sent shockwaves through Labour and was a moment of peril for the Prime Minister.

But Starmer’s position was secured by the end of the day after he received public declarations of support from Cabinet ministers.

And only two Scottish Labour MPs came out to support Sarwar – despite a number of others agreeing with him.

The Record understands Brown, who was Prime Minister between 2007 and 2010, played an important role behind the scenes.

READ MORE: Alba Party spent ‘£50,000 on flights’ for Alex Salmond in just two yearsREAD MORE: John Swinney “deeply concerned” over Iran conflict and questions legality of air strikes

He is said to have privately urged Labour figures to back Starmer in his time of need.

One Labour source said the rebellion, particularly in Scotland, would have been greater had Brown not got involved:

“Gordon is hugely respected in the party and people listen to him.”

A second insider said Brown’s pro-Starmer stance was likely influenced by some of his colleagues trying to oust him when he was PM.

Months before the 2010 general election, former Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon plotted to remove Brown, but the attempt failed.

It comes after Brown, who was also Chancellor between 1997 and 2007, helped influence Rachel Reeves’ last Budget.

He had been pushing the Government to scrap the two child benefit cap and introduce a tax on gambling profits, both of which were announced by Reeves.

He has also launched his own investigations into the activities of billionaire paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.

Brown wrote to six police forces demanding a probe into whether Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor used taxpayer-funded jets and RAF bases during his time as trade envoy to meet Epstein.

He has also been highly critical of Peter Mandelson, who served in his administration, for leaking confidential Government information to Epstein.

An SNP source said: “It’s hard not to feel a bit sorry for Anas Sarwar – he’s way out of his depth and this embarrassing episode just keeps getting more toe curling by the day.

“The only people backing his coup were Jackie Baillie, Davy Russell and a couple of MSPs – you could fit that rabble in the back of his swanky motor.

“Gordon Brown once said he saved the world, he could have at least tried to save Anas Sarwar some dignity.”

A Scottish Conservative spokesperson said: “Labour are too weak to stand up to the failing SNP government because of the civil war tearing their party apart.

“Anas Sarwar is desperate to wash his hands of Keir Starmer, despite fighting tooth and nail to put the hopeless PM in Downing Street, but his attempted putsch has been ignored by colleagues and undermined by Gordon Brown.”

A spokesperson for Brown was approached for comment. Scottish Labour declined to comment.