By lunchtime, the Sardinian sun is warm rather than fierce, with the thermometer hovering at a comfortable 25C. I’m seated at Bioaquam, the open-air restaurant at the Conrad hotel within Chia Laguna Resort, where a waiter has just filled my glass with a chilled Vermentino — the bright, easy-drinking white wine made from a grape that thrives across the island.

‘Salute!’ I say, lifting the glass in thanks. The waiter smiles and answers with words unfamiliar to me: ‘A kent’annos!’

Noticing my puzzled expression, he offers the translation: ‘May you live to 100!’

It is a charming toast — and, in Sardinia, not quite as fanciful as it sounds. The island, lying just south of Corsica, is one of the original so-called Blue Zones, alongside Japan’s Okinawa Prefecture, the Greek island of Ikaria and Nicoya in Costa Rica.

Sardinia earned that distinction in 1999, when researchers identified an unusually large number of residents living beyond 100. Curious about what underpins such remarkable longevity, I put the question to Giuseppe Fornillo, the hotel’s genial manager.

‘There are a number of factors,’ he says, ‘including a more relaxed lifestyle and a lack of stress.’

The specific Blue Zone area on Sardinia is in the central Nuoro province, which until about 20 years ago was difficult to reach due to poor roads. The people who lived there had only their immediate community to rely on, kept active by working the land and only ate what they could grow.

That included grapes, so wine was a legitimate part of their regime. ‘The polyphenols contributed to their good health,’ adds Fornillo.

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The Chia Laguna Resort sits in a lush and untamed landscape known as the macchia mediterranea. This dense shrubland is home to evergreen plants whose scents mingle with salty sea breezes.

I’d been to Sardinia once before, staying on the Costa Smeralda – the glitzy northern coastline renowned for powder-soft beaches, turquoise waters and yacht-filled marinas.

The southern coast is more rugged. To get here from Cagliari airport, I drive through unassuming villages where children play in dusty squares and past lakes dotted with herons, warblers and dusky-pink flamingos.

By the time I arrive at the Conrad, I feel myself loosen up. The decor is pleasing to the eye with stone walls, colourful ceramics and contemporary art hung throughout.

The real gems, however, are the nearby beaches. Le Dune di Campana is named after the dramatic piles of sand which lie in undulating heaps, while the golden sands of Monte Cogoni stretch to the 16th century Chia Tower, perched above on a small hill. 

After a heavenly sunrise one morning, I walk to the peak it sits on. I might not be working the land, but my muscles have certainly had a workout.

Special mention has to go to the food. Guests can dine at any of the 13 restaurants within the resort and almost every one has a selection of dishes marked with a Blue Zone symbol, indicating the use of longevity-approved ingredients.

These could include farro, an ancient grain served with courgette, tomatoes and capers. Or grilled prawns, drizzled with extra virgin olive oil and chilli. Alongside all of this, of course, a glass of wine (or three) is crucial.

And thanks to Sardinia’s way of life, I’m looking forward to a 100th birthday telegram one day from King William…

● Flights from London to Cagliari from around £170 return (ba.com). Rooms at the Conrad, Chia Laguna, start from £232 per night, including breakfast (chialagunaresort.com).

Canada’s latest round of retaliatory tariffs on American products came into force shortly after midnight Tuesday, as Prime Minister Mark Carney moved to turn up the economic pressure on the country’s largest trading partner following the breakdown of talks last month — a development that has deepened an already 18-month-long trade fight.

The countermeasures apply to roughly $20 billion worth of US imports, with tariff rates spanning from 15% to 50% on a wide mix of goods, including steel, furniture, apparel and consumer electronics.

The dollar-for-dollar response represents a sharp new phase in the dispute between the two neighboring economies. Officials in Washington and Ottawa have each blamed the other for derailing an agreement that, just two weeks ago, appeared to be within reach.

The escalating trade tensions are also casting fresh doubt over the future of the US-Mexico-Canada free trade agreement, which now faces annual reviews after US President Donald Trump chose not to renew the pact for another 10 years.

“What we are worried about is an escalatory spiral,” said Michael Harvey, executive director of the Canadian Agri-Food Trade Alliance and a member of Carney’s advisory committee on bilateral US economic relations.

“But at the same time, we totally understand that the prime minister needs to find areas of leverage,” Harvey said.

US TARIFFS HIT CANADIAN WINE, FURNITURE, DAIRY

Trump’s tariffs implemented last month hit sectors including wine, furniture, ​dairy products, cement, clothing, fishing rods and hockey equipment, covering $20 billion, or 5%, of Canadian exports to the US.

According ​to Canadian and US government data, Canada has shipped almost 68% of total exports to the US this year, out of which ‌roughly 80% ⁠moved duty-free due to exemptions under the USMCA pact. Protections under the agreement have provided the domestic economy some resilience.

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The new tariffs, imposed under a Depression-era US law, do not allow Ottawa to exercise USMCA exemptions.

Concerns about the USMCA’s future have fuelled uncertainty about investment and growth, as Canada wages a trade war against an economy 13 times its ​size.

Polls show Carney has broad support ​from Canadians, but it ⁠could disappear within months as the consequences of the trade war sink in, according to political analysts.

Just 20% of Americans approved of Trump’s tariffs on Canadian goods, a Reuters/Ipsos poll ​found.

Carney said last week his government was ready to sign a trade deal that benefits ​both countries.

Trump threatened last ⁠month to raise US tariffs on all cars, trucks and automotive parts from Canada to 50% starting January 1, and signed an executive order renaming Lake Ontario as Lake America.

A government source said there are currently no talks between the two sides ⁠among ​ministers or government officials.

“The Canadian government needs to keep channels open to ​the United States and not go overboard in terms of rhetoric and reacting to the rhetoric from the American side, while waiting for the ​American decision-making process to come back to economics,” Harvey said.

Russia launched ballistic missiles at Kyiv on Tuesday, striking shortly after U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner traveled to Ukraine’s capital in a renewed push to revive stalled peace talks.

Ukrainian officials said the barrage included both ballistic and cruise missiles, CNN reported. Residential buildings in two Kyiv districts were damaged, while authorities urged residents to stay inside as the threat unfolded.

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said people were trapped in a residential building following the strikes.

The attacks, which caused fires across the city, including at an educational facility, came after Witkoff and Kushner met with Ukrainian officials in Kyiv on Sunday. The day prior, they met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow as the Trump administration attempts to bring an end to the war that began in February 2022.

Witkoff said Ukraine and Russia had agreed to a three-day ceasefire before their visit to the region following months without significant progress toward a peace agreement. The ceasefire ended on Tuesday.

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“Substantive progress was made, including movement on scheduling additional trilateral talks. President Trump is working hard to stop the killing and work towards a lasting and durable peace,” he wrote on X following the trip.

On Tuesday morning, the governor of the Russian city of Saratov said a Ukrainian drone struck civilian infrastructure and injured some people.

Russian attacks killed multiple people and wounded dozens of others across Ukraine over the past day, Ukrainian officials said on Monday.

Additionally, Ukrainian drones struck three Russian oil refineries on Monday.

The US Navy reportedly carried out a highly classified and dangerous four-month operation to remove mines from the floor of the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most strategically important maritime chokepoints.

Iranian forces are said to have planted mines throughout the key waterway after the US and Israel launched attacks on Iran in February. The strait is a critical route for global energy markets, with roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil supply passing through it.

By June, around 80 mines were believed to have been positioned in essential shipping lanes, according to estimates from the International Maritime Organization.

Last week, however, President Donald Trump said that “all mines” in the strait’s international waters had either been removed or blown up, while also referring to the narrow passage as “American territory.”

Details of the covert effort have now emerged, with Navy SEAL divers reportedly operating at night for months to neutralize the threat and reopen the shipping corridor, according to the Financial Times.

They worked in small teams at night using inflatable-hulled crafts and located the mines on the bottom of the strait with the help of robot boats and submersibles operating towed sonar arrays.

Those devices, like the MK 18 Mod 2 Kingfish, containing high-resolution, side-view sensors, can detect objects like mines on the bottom of the ocean – allowing forces to sweep large areas for the explosives with minimal risk to crew members.

Still, divers would then have to approach the mines underwater and place a charge on it to destroy it.

Alternatively, they could use robot submersibles like the UK’s SeaFox or the newer US AN/ASQ-235 Anchorfish to destroy the mines with explosives, according to demining expert Bryan Clark.

Either way, it is ‘an extremely time-consuming process,’ Nitya Labh, associate fellow at Chatham House, told the Financial Times.

‘They are doing, essentially, active bomb detonation underwater,’ she noted.

Clark also explained that ‘mine-clearing forces are vulnerable because the operation is slow and their boats or helicopters lack defenses.’

Fortunately, no US casualties have been reported specifically linked to the demining operation.

Ship owners and security advisors now say they are optimistic that the southern half of the strait near Oman’s coast – through which the US has been guiding ships – is genuinely mine-free.

But they expressed their doubts that the entire 104 mile waterway is clear, as only a handful of commercial ships have traveled through the strait since the war began.

And even the threat of mines has forced insurers to jack up their prices, up to 10 times their prewar costs. For a typical supertanker, that could mean insurance costs of about $10 million to traverse the waterway without Iranian permission.

Officials in Tehran have also dismissed the US’s claims that the waterway is mine-free, with Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi saying in late August that ‘no one except Iran knows the location of these mines.’ 

The US Navy-directed Joint Maritime Information Center further warned there was a ‘continued risk of drifting or unchartered mines’ even as Trump declared the strait mine-free. 

Military analysts note that the Iranian regime has thousands of Maham mines, similar to those used in World War II.

Some sit just below the surface and detonate when a ship hits lead horns on the mine itself, while others detect changes in electromagnetic fields as vessels pass overhead.

Iranian media has since claimed that at least two tankers struck mines in the past week, though no mine attacks have been reported or confirmed by maritime authorities.

An Iranian military spokesman also claimed on Thursday that Tehran has laid more mines close to Oman, near where US forces are directing cargo ships.

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Yet on August 30, the US military announced that it struck Iranian rocket launchers preparing to fire sea mines into the strait. 

‘It’s hard to know what to believe,’ said Ethan Connell, assistant director of Taiwan Security Monitor and an expert on mines.

‘Iran is certainly trying to re-mine,’ he noted as he acknowledged ‘it’s always possible the [US] Navy missed some.’ 

Amid the uncertainty, cargo ships have been forced to either comply with Tehran’s recently established Persian Gulf Strait Authority and request permission to pass through the strait – potentially risking US sanctions – or take the route around Oman.

‘The Iranians have realized that their strongest card is the perception that they control the Strait of Hormuz,’ said Bill Hamblet, a retired US Navy captain who often operated in the Gulf.

‘If they can convince the world that they can threaten the strait, that’s their strongest source of strategic leverage.’

On the other hand, the United States does not have to prove that every mine has been removed; it simply needs to establish sufficient confidence that shipping can resume.

That may prove to be a difficult task as about one out of every 30 ships in the strait continue to be attacked by missile and drone strikes.

‘The bigger game is on the information side,’ Hamblet said. ‘That may be as important, if not more important, than what’s actually happening in the water or on the bottom of the strait.’ 

Still, just two ships crossed the waterway on Saturday, while six made the journey on Sunday.

However, the true scale of traffic in the strait remains unclear as some ships have reportedly switched off their transponders and crept through the waterway under the protection of US military escorts. 

Trump has made the reopening of the waterway a key plank of ending the war in Iran.

But the war could last a little while longer after the Pentagon began extending troop deployments overseas at Hegseth’s request, The Wall Street Journal reported. 

The military is planning to keep 50,000 soldiers in the area to help with missions that involve intercepting missiles and protecting commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz. 

However, Trump has denied that the more than six-month military campaign in Iran is a ‘war,’ calling it ‘small potatoes.’

Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office on Friday, the commander-in-chief was asked about the ongoing operations in Iran, and to respond to Vice President JD Vance’s claim, one day earlier, that the ongoing conflict is ‘not a war.’

‘I’ll tell you what,’ Trump said. ‘A lot of people call it a war. I call it a military conflict,  because it’s small potatoes,’ Trump said. 

He then characterized the military conflict as a small-scale operation compared to previous conflicts, such as the Vietnam War, which he invoked several times.

‘It’s not a big thing,’ Trump continued. ‘We did Venezuela, and we did this, and Venezuela [we] lost nobody,’ Trump said, referring to the US capture of former Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, ‘and [in] this, we lost 18 people.’ 

At least 18 US service members have been killed in the war with Iran since it began in February 2026, according to data from the Department of Defense, and a much higher number, at least 767 US service members, have been injured.

‘It’s intermittent. We do intermittent conflicts,’ Trump said of the war with Iran. ‘It’s very intermittent.’  

‘We’ve been in there for five months,’ Trump said of the US war with Iran, which stretched past the six-month mark roughly seven days ago. ‘And in five months, what did we do? We stopped them from having an Israeli war,’ Trump said of the US strikes in Iran. 

‘If we didn’t go in there, you wouldn’t have Israel right now,’ Trump told reporters. ‘You wouldn’t have the Middle East. And they probably would go [at] European cities, and our cities next,’ he continued. ‘But we stopped them, in five months.’ 

Pressed by a reporter about the conflict, Trump responded by firing back, ‘How long were we in Vietnam?’ 

‘I don’t think it matters what you call it,’ Trump added, a moment later. ‘What matters is we had tremendous success.’

The Daily Mail has reached out to the US Navy for comment.