SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (AP) — A large fire almost completely destroyed a luxury resort in the Dominican Republic on Friday, forcing the evacuation of almost 1,700 tourists, authorities said.

Local media reported an Italian tourist died in the fire and several other tourists required medical assistance.

The Viva Dominicus Beach by Wyndham resort is located in Bayahibe, a popular destination for U.S. and international tourists on the Dominican Republic’s southeastern coast.

Authorities reported about 1,690 tourists had to be evacuated from the resort to other hotels and nearby housing facilities because of the massive blaze.

The cause of the blaze was under investigation and the country’s Emergency Operations Center said it appeared the “fire spread rapidly” due to wind and because part of the resort’s roof was made of thatch.

Viva Wyndham’s other nearby resort, the Dominicus Palace, was not damaged by the fire and was operating as normal, the center said.

John McGinn has urged Scotland to unleash more of their “personality” when they face Brazil in a pivotal World Cup clash in Miami on Wednesday. The Aston Villa captain’s call comes after Steve Clarke’s side suffered a 1-0 defeat to Morocco, a result that leaves their World Cup knockout stage aspirations hanging in the balance.

An early goal from Ismael Saibari just 70 seconds into Friday’s Group C fixture at Boston Stadium means Scotland remain on three points. However, a single point against the formidable Brazilians would be enough to all but secure their passage to the knockout stages for the first time in their history. Brazil, who subsequently beat Haiti 3-0, now sit level with Morocco on four points with those teams occupying the top two automatic qualification spots.

Speaking before Brazil’s victory over Haiti, McGinn reflected on the Morocco game, acknowledging the quality of their opponents while stressing Scotland’s own strengths.

“We have come a long way as a country and as a group,” he stated. “They (Morocco) are filled with elite players, but we’ve got some elite players in there as well, so we need to start showing more of our personality, but we’ve got to be proud of how we reacted.”

McGinn praised his team’s resilience after conceding, noting: “We could have folded, but in the second half we showed a lot more character and intent and we could have easily on another day drawn that game or even won.”

Looking ahead to the decisive encounter, the midfielder expressed confidence in Scotland’s preparations.

“We know what we need to do and we’re excited for it,” he said. “It will be different conditions, but conditions we’ve prepared for. Looking forward to the game, a big occasion for us. Brazil are a famous football nation, filled with players playing at a high level, so we’ll have to be at our best to get something from the game, but we’re excited by the challenge.”

McGinn also voiced his frustration over two penalty claims that were waved away during the Morocco match. He believed he was fouled in the area by Neil El Aynaoui, and later, Scott McTominay was brought down by the Roma player.

“When the defender’s running at that speed, it doesn’t matter what player, if you get the ball past them and are taken out then it is a penalty kick,” McGinn asserted regarding his own incident. “But we don’t make the decisions, the referee makes the decisions and he decided that it wasn’t a penalty.

“I haven’t seen Scotty’s back, but I’m led to believe that’s a big shout for a penalty as well, but we need to take it on the chin.”

Despite the perceived injustices, McGinn maintained a pragmatic outlook. “Like I said, we don’t make the decisions, but I certainly think the big, big moments haven’t gone our way.”

He concluded by highlighting the team’s improved second-half display and their determination adding: “Second half, I think we showed a lot more intent, a lot more bravery to go and hurt them. But when you’re not creating clear chances in open play, you need certain breaks to go for you against the top teams. We could have crumbled after the goal, we didn’t.

“Did we play amazing? No, but they are a top side and they’ll limit you to very little at all, so when you get those opportunities and they make mistakes – fouling someone in the box is a mistake – and they’ve not been punished for it, it’s just football and you take the hit, keep your chin up and be ready for Wednesday.”

The North East landmark appears as Cambridge University in Virginia Woolf’s Night and Day, the new adaptation from Newcastle‑based director Tina Gharavi, in cinemas now.

The cloisters that many people know from school trips and Harry Potter are reborn as an elite academic world where Woolf’s characters fight for knowledge, freedom and love.

Turning a North East icon into Cambridge

When Gharavi began scouting locations for the 1910‑set film, she wanted places that felt both historic and alive – spaces where young women could plausibly be dreaming of science and suffrage while society tries to push them into marriage.

Durham Cathedral’s medieval cloisters, with their covered walkways and enclosed courtyard, offered exactly that.

Speaking to The Northern Echo, the film’s director Tina Gharavi recalled deliberately seeking out “crazy parts” of buildings – arches, passageways and arcades – that could convince as an Cambridge college.

Durham Cathedral’s cloisters, already familiar to audiences from the Harry Potter films, became her answer.

(Image: VICKY ROSS/NORTHERN ECHO CAMERA CLUB)

On screen they stand in for Cambridge, framing scenes in which protagonist Katharine Hilbery, a passionate astronomer, pushes back against the expectations of her class and era.

Why Durham works so well on screen

Durham Cathedral brings more than pretty stonework. It carries centuries of history, power and learning – themes at the heart of Night and Day.

By placing Woolf’s questioning, ambitious women in such a recognisable, traditional setting, the film visually underlines how radical their desires for education and independence really are.

For North East audiences, there is an extra jolt of recognition.

One moment you are looking at the same cloisters you might walk through on a day out; the next, they belong to a fictional Cambridge where conversations about women’s rights and the future of Britain are unfolding.

(Image: NORTHERN ECHO)

Showcasing the North East as a film destination

Durham is just one part of the production’s deep North East footprint. Night and Day also uses Beamish Museum, Ryhope Engines Museum and historic buildings in Newcastle to recreate Edwardian London and other settings.

(Image: BEAMISH MUSEUM)

For Gharavi, who has lived in the region for nearly 30 years, that was a deliberate choice: she has spoken of her pride in “bringing the production home” and proving that the region can deliver world‑class period locations.

She argues that the North East is “spectacularly diverse”, with cities, coastline, countryside and heritage sites all within easy reach, all which do not have the headaches of filming in the south.

(Image: BRIDGE & TUNNEL PRODUCTIONS)

A local landmark with a global audience

As Virginia Woolf’s Night and Day reaches cinemas, Durham Cathedral joins the growing list of North East locations being discovered by audiences well beyond the region.

For some viewers, it will be a beloved building seen in a new light.

For others, it may be an introduction – a reason to step off the train at Durham and see the real thing after the credits roll.

There is a chance there might even be a bit of sunshine… (!)

It’s set to be a big weekend for Manchester with a host of huge events taking place across the next couple of days.

Alongside big gigs from the likes of Lily Allen and The B-52’s, as well as major netball and cricket events at the Co-op Live and Emirates Old Trafford, the city will also be welcoming over 100,000 fans for both Parklife and Take That.

The annual music festival Parklife will be returning to Heaton Park on Saturday and Sunday for major performances from big names like Skepta, Zara Larsson, Calvin Harris, Nia Archives, and Chris Stussy.

Click here for the latest on Manchester’s food & drink scene, gigs and more in our CityLife newsletter

Meanwhile, Take That will also be playing the Etihad Stadium on Friday, Saturday and Sunday with their major The Circus Live 2026 tour, which has been hailed as a spiritual revival of their biggest tour ever in 2009.

With both events taking place outdoors, fans will be keeping a close eye on the Manchester weather over the weekend to determine what to wear and what to bring with them.

According to the Met Office’s forecast for the weekend, there will be highs of 21C on Saturday and there could even be some sunny intervals throughout the day too. From 11am to 3pm, temperatures will be between 18-20C.

There could be a bit of brightness heading our way from around 4pm, with sunshine forecast until about 10pm with temperatures between 18-20C. Turning into a clear night, temperatures will then start to dip to about 16C.

On Sunday, sunny intervals are expected again and it could be a little bit warmer than Saturday too. Between 11am and 3pm, temperatures could reach between 21-24C, turning up a notch to 25C from 4pm to 6pm.

For those heading to Heaton Park on Sunday, temperatures could even reach as high as 25C with temperatures forecast between 23-25C from 1pm to 5pm.

Temperatures will dip a little between 21-24C on Sunday from 6pm to 10pm but sunny intervals are still predicted with another clear night then forecast. Of course, as with any weather forecast, things can change and it’s best to expect the unexpected, but it could potentially be a nice weekend for live music.

Several caravans were driven onto an area of the park, on Corporation Road, last weekend.

The group were subsequently given a ‘direction to leave’ notice by council officers, which was ignored.

A court summons was later served with an order granted by magistrates allowing the council to take possession of the site and remove the unauthorised occupants.

They were given until 4pm on Thursday to move on, although caravans were still present at the park into the evening.

Council leader Alec Brown said the situation continued to be monitored by the local authority.

Writing on Facebook, Cllr Brown also said “suitable prevention measures” were being examined in a bid to prevent a recurrence of the unauthorised camp.

He said this could include drop bollards at the entrances to the park, but such structures would have to be “robust enough to do a sufficient job”.

The council initially responded to the incursion by locking all park gates, except for the main entrance, which it said was for “security reasons”.

Some Facebook users suggested caravans had previously been parked up at another council owned site, Borough Park, off Redcar Lane, before moving on.

There is a designated gypsy and travellers site in Redcar and Cleveland – The Haven site in South Bank which provides permanent residential accommodation.

It was developed by the council at a cost of nearly £1m, opening in 2013.

Record View says if Andy Burnham becomes Prime Minister, his first priority has to be getting a grip on the cost-of-living crisis that continues to bite hard.

Andy Burnham’s by-election win is almost certainly his first step towards replacing Keir Starmer as Prime Minister.

Starmer may stumble on for a few days, even a few more weeks, but the UK is set for its second Labour prime minister since the general election.

Starmer has been a steady presence on the international stage but domestic blunders have cost him and he’s on the way out.

Burnham is a talented politician who as mayor of Greater Manchester has made a positive difference to people’s lives.

But leading a country is a different matter and he will have a tough job on his hands if he gets the top job he craves.

Record readers will want to be reassured he is up to the job. His first priority has to be getting a grip on the cost-of-living crisis that continues to bite hard.

Bringing down energy prices should be just the first stage of a wider plan to get more money into people’s pockets.

Suggestions he might raise the tax-free personal allowance for income tax would be a welcome step in the right direction.

He also has to recognise the world is a dangerous place and the UK must address a gap in defence spending.

A sound strategy to protect the country is essential and he must be bold in raising extra money for our armed forces.

Another top order issue is tackling the rising social security bill. Welfare spending protects the vulnerable and boosts people’s incomes – stances no Labour government should go against.

But a generation of young people are being given welfare benefits instead of the support they need to get a job. A compassionate and effective set of welfare reforms is needed to get the UK working again.

Burnham has the drive to be PM and much of what he says makes sense.

But he must have a laser-like focus on making people’s lives better, otherwise he’ll go the same way as Starmer.

Sea the light

Politicians love to talk about a just transition away from North Sea oil and gas. But there’s been precious little evidence of any “justice” as the oil capital of Aberdeen is left to rot.

Voters in the city made clear to the SNP at Thursday’s by-election how they feel about that. The Nationalists were comprehensively thrashed in a seat they won just two years ago.

The Tories could scarcely believe the scale of their victory, given it’s more than 50 years since they last won a ­Westminster by-election north of the Border.

All parties – including the Tories – must share the blame for the failure to prepare for the inevitable job losses from the North Sea energy sector.

We can’t see a repeat of the 80s and 90s when former pit villages were effectively abandoned when the Tory government closed down an entire industry.

Voters in Aberdeen made their voices heard. Holyrood and Westminster must ensure they’re listened to.

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SNP and Green MSPs have blocked a Holyrood inquiry into Peter Murrell. But the party still faces questions over how its former chief executive was able to steal so much money.

Was public money involved?

Tens of millions of pounds in donations and other contributions flowed through the SNP’s accounts during the time of Murrell’s offending, including at least £8m of public money – known as Short money – which is given to all political parties with representation at Westminster. Over £2m was also given to the SNP in policy development grants from the Electoral Commission.

John Swinney has previously downplayed the idea of Murrell having spent public funding and insisted the Electoral Commission had found no issue with the accounts provided to it by the SNP.

The Scottish Affairs Committee at Westminster has since written to both the Commission and Commons authorities demanding clarification on the matter.

How was the £600,000 of donations spent?

The SNP has yet to give a detailed answer on how it spent £667,000-worth of donations it raised during two online fundraisers from 2017 onwards. The first, called ScotRef, raised almost £500,000 of a £1m target before it was shut down in June 2017 after the party’s underwhelming general election result.

The second website, Yes.scot, was launched after Boris Johnson’s general election victory in 2019 and took the fund to almost £667,000. The party insisted in June 2017 that the money was “ring-fenced” for a referendum campaign. In June 2021, Sturgeon denied that the money had “gone missing”, insisting “every penny” would be used on a referendum campaign.

Then SNP treasurer Colin Beattie later admitted the money had been used for other purposes, but insisted “amounts equivalent to the sums raised will be spent for the intended purpose”.

Why were whistleblowers ignored?

It’s now a matter of public record that several SNP members had serious concerns about the party’s finances from 2020 onwards, stemming from the apparent disappearance of the £600,000 raised for referendum campaigning. This led to several long-serving Nationalists to launch a campaign to be elected to office bearer roles, in an attempt to scrutinise the books. MP Douglas Chapman ousted Colin Beattie as SNP treasurer in 2020 – only to quit in May the following year, claiming he “had not received the support or financial information required to carry out the fiduciary duties of National Treasurer.”

Despite this, Nicola Sturgeon gave repeated private and public assurances about the SNP’s financial health. In a video leaked to the Sunday Mail, and filmed in March 2021, she told members of the party’s ruling body: “There are no reasons for people to be concerned about the party’s finances”, before warning members against suggesting otherwise. In a TV interview a few months later, she insisted that “money hasn’t gone missing”.

Why did Nicola Sturgeon refuse to answer questions at her police interview?

Anyone interviewed by police under caution is under no obligation to answer questions – the famous “right to remain silent”. But the revelation the former first minister had replied “no comment” to questions put to her by detectives following her arrest in 2023 was seized on by Scottish Conservatives leader Russell Findlay, who described it as a “tactic of organised crime”.

In a response issued by solicitor Aamer Anwar on behalf of Sturgeon, he said the answer was standard legal advice. “In relation to the advice tendered to Ms Sturgeon to make no comment, this was by her solicitor, formerly a very senior crown counsel at Crown Office,” Anwar said.

Sturgeon has previously insisted she cooperated fully with the Operation Branchform investigation. Her name was on a file of evidence prepared by police upon the conclusion of their investigations and passed to the Crown Office. It was prosecutors who ultimately decided she should face no further action.

Why was Peter Murrell’s hearing pushed back until after the election?

This is a question less for the SNP and more for the Crown Office and Murrell’s defence team. The former SNP CEO was originally due in court on February 20. But prosecutors announced at 5pm on February 13 his court date had been pushed back until May 25 – three weeks after the Holyrood election.

The request to delay was made by Murrell’s lawyers to Lord Young, the judge presiding over the case, who argued they needed more time to prepare. Prosecutors have since said it is stand procedure for the Crown to agree to a delay if one is requested by the defence.

But the choice of date for the new hearing – weeks after the conclusion of the Scottish Parliament election campaign – raised eyebrows, to put it mildly. Or as now former Tory MSP Douglas Ross put it: “this absolutely stinks”.

A federal judge on Friday rejected former President Joe Biden’s attempt to block the Trump administration from releasing to a conservative group the recordings that Biden made with a ghostwriter.

U.S. District Judge Dabney Friedrich found that the public interest in the material outweighed whatever privacy rights Biden had, but she effectively put her ruling on hold for up to three weeks so Biden could appeal.

The recordings were obtained by special counsel Robert Hur in the course of his investigation into whether Biden improperly retained classified documents while a senator and vice president. Republicans in Congress demanded them after Hur declined to file charges against the then-president.

Biden’s Democratic administration refused to turn over the recordings and transcripts from 2016 and 2017, leading congressional Republicans to hold his attorney general, Merrick Garland, in contempt.

President Donald Trump’s Justice Department authorized the release of the materials. That led Biden last month to sue to seek to block the release to a staffer at the conservative Heritage Foundation who had formally requested the records.

Biden objected to the release as an invasion of privacy, saying the recordings included him discussing sensitive personal matters such as the death of his older son, Beau Biden. But Friedrich found that the administration redacted that material.

The judge wrote that the materials “contain no mention of highly sensitive topics like illness or death, nor do they mention any non-public persons, including members of Biden’s family.”

Representatives for Biden did not immediately comment but asked Friedrich to bar release of the material while they appeal her decision. The Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Friedrich was nominated by Trump, a Republican, in 2017.

Hur’s yearlong investigation led to a 345-page report that questioned the effects of Biden’s age and his mental competence but recommended no criminal charges against the then-81-year-old. Hur said he found insufficient evidence to prosecute a case in court successfully.

The transcripts of five hours of Biden interviews with federal prosecutors was released that same year. While Biden was adamant that he treated classified information seriously, the transcript shows that he was at times fuzzy about dates and details and he said he was unfamiliar with the paper trail for some of the sensitive documents he handled.

TYRE, Lebanon (AP) — Wearing a yellow scarf showing her son killed fighting for Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, Iman Dilbani wept during a religious sermon Friday in the battered southern city of Tyre during the Islamic holy month of Muharram.

Tyre, Lebanon’s fourth largest city, has been devastated by the Israel-Hezbollah war that reached a reported ceasefire Friday, with damaged buildings and structures reduced to rubble seen on almost every street following intense Israeli airstrikes.

Muharram is among the holiest months for Shiite Muslims and marks the martyrdom of the Prophet Muhammad’s grandson, Imam Hussein, and his 72 companions in the battle of Karbala in the seventh century in present-day Iraq.

Dilbani and hundreds more gathered Friday in a lot in the coastal city for a mourning ceremony, many wearing scarves or holding portraits of relatives killed.

Portraits of Hezbollah leader Sheikh Naim Kassem and Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei were placed above the podium, with the lot surrounded by red and black banners with Hussein’s name. A young girl held a portrait of Khamenei as she stood next to her father, who wept while listening to the sermon. The attendees wore black as they would at a funeral.

The devastating war in Lebanon makes the month of Muharram even more meaningful for its Shiite Muslims. Some residents placed banners with Hussein’s name on the ruins of their homes.

The mourning over the deaths of Hussein and his companions reaches to its peak on Ashoura, the 10th day of Muharram, which millions observe worldwide.

After Hezbollah fired rockets toward northern Israel on March 2 in solidarity with its ally Iran, Israel launched massive aerial bombardments that regularly struck Beirut and flattened large areas of southern and eastern Lebanon. Over one million Lebanese remain displaced, and Israeli ground forces invaded the country, controlling swaths of southern Lebanon. Almost 4,000 people have been killed in Israeli strikes, according to Lebanon’s Health Ministry.

Hezbollah meanwhile fired rockets and launched drone attacks into northern Israel.

Israel and Hezbollah agreed to halt fighting Friday, although the failure of past ceasefires has left many in Lebanon skeptical.

A cleric speaking through a sound system at the event slammed Hezbollah critics who say they lost the war, despite the heavy losses, comparing their situation to that of the revered imam in Karbala.

Imam Hussein’s teachings “are an institution, in every way, in their values and their pride,” said Sheikh Ibrahim Qassir, the imam of the town of Deir Qanoun En Nahr near Tyre, which was widely damaged during the war.

“And that is why we are still here, and we will be victorious, and victorious, and victorious.”

Greg Wolverson, deputy chief forecaster at the Met Office, said: “While heatwave criteria will be met for some in the south and south-east of England over the weekend, with temperatures into the low 30s possible, the warmth will expand and intensify at the start of next week, which, coupled with high temperatures overnight, leads to potential impacts.