Peter Manfield, 73, just couldn’t bear the thought of losing his local village 100-year-old pub.

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A man who didn’t want to lose his favourite pub re-mortgaged his home to buy it and stop it shutting down. Peter Manfield, 73, could not bear the thought of losing his village local pub, so took out the loan against his house to keep the boozer going.

At the heart of the community for 100 years, The Dog and Donkey in Devon, has lived through much history during World War Two and seen an array of different landlords.

But making the decision to buy it did not come lightly, Mr Manfield explained, as he felt he had to give it a go or risk always living with the regret of it becoming a block of flats.

Mr Manfield said he did not have enough money to buy the pub outright, so he re-mortgaged his house and did it up as much as he could.

Although Mr Manfield, a music teacher and musician, didn’t want to disclose his personal finances, public records show the pub was sold in 2023 for around £270,000.

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He said: “We obviously didn’t have enough money to buy a pub so we re-mortgaged our house to buy the pub and technically do it up as much as we could.

“It’s a lovely pub and it’s 100 year old this year and it also saw the Second World War through. It’s a beautiful building and there’s nothing else in the village apart from the village hall.

“To lose its heart would’ve been catastrophic in my opinion and you’ve got nowhere to go.”

Mr Manfield added: “If we didn’t buy it and it was sold it could be made into a block of flats, who knows? And then what have you got?

“You haven’t got history, that history of 100 years is gone and there’s no bringing it back. Of all that history and all that people that have come in here, the old landlords and if you look outside there’s a plaque that it’s the original plaque. This is an original building and we intend to keep this as a traditional English pub that it’s quite unique.”

Mr Manfield, who moved to the village in 1997, explained that the landlord was struggling and he was going to have to get rid of the pub. He added that it could possibly be changed into a block of flats or even be knocked down.

“I am not a big drinker, I might come down once a fortnight or once in 10 days and particularly if I have been working or playing somewhere then I come back and have a drink on the way through just to relax,” Mr Manfield explained.

“It’s just a lovely old building and it is a bit like when it’s gone it’s gone and it was just unacceptable to let it go without a fight. That’s the reason why we borrowed the money on the house to keep the pub.”

He explained that he doesn’t feel like he is the owner of the pub, but instead the keeper.

“I am just keeping it to make sure that it survives,” he added.

Apart from wanting to save the pub for the community, he wanted its story to remain alive. He said: “The bar is very wide and the reason is during the Second World War, G.I.s used to come down for a drink and they used to jump over the bar and try to snog the barmaid.

“The landlord had the bar made wider so they couldn’t jump across. It’s got an original fireplace and an original tiled floor. We would lose all that and what for?”

He added: “There’s also skittle teams here that come in, we have all sorts of people that use the pub for meetings, dog walkers, and the ethos was to keep it a traditional pub.

“It’s not a restaurant that most have become with a pub, this is a pub that does pub food. It’s a traditional pub that in my opinion we had to keep and there was no other way I don’t think.”

Mr Manfield met the current landlord Mark Loftin when he was cutting his hair, and he told him he was thinking about buying a pub. The second time they met, Mr Loftin told him he wouldn’t mind giving it a go as a landlord.

Mr Manfield said: “He’s never run a pub before which is brilliant in many ways before he’s got no baggage and I’d never owned a pub. Without the landlord this pub wouldn’t be here – very lucky to have found him.”

Mr Loftin took the lease over on February 1 2024. He added: “This was an amazing opportunity and something to be involved with, especially with Pete.

“Our values and belief systems basically align and that’s what’s important – wanting to keep the pub, keeping it traditional, not turning it into a gastro pub and that’s what we are doing.”

The community response has been positive, explained Mr Manfield, who added that they have been lucky that their pub is thriving.

He said: “Community response has been very good. We are extremely lucky in this pub to have an amazing landlord and his family is just wonderful.

“It’s a traditional English pub doing traditional English things. We have been very lucky. Many pubs are struggling and closing – this pub is surviving.”

Locals have taken to social media to thank Mr Manfield for buying the pub. One said: “Just moved into Knowle Village, great to have a friendly convenient Local!”

A second said: “Pete has always been a legend”. A third added: “Wishing you good luck in your new venture.” Another said: “It’s a great pub with friendly staff. Never had a bad meal here and plenty of it. Nice pub garden too.”

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He added: “Spain’s authorities have prepared a careful, step-by-step plan: passengers will be ferried ashore at the industrial port of Granadilla, far from residential areas, in sealed, guarded vehicles, through a completely cordoned-off corridor, and repatriated directly to their home countries.”

Rory McIlroy faded out of contention as Alex Fitzpatrick grabbed the third-round lead at the Truist Championship in North Carolina.

McIlroy, playing his first tournament since winning a second Masters title, started the day four shots off the lead.

But after opening his third round with a birdie, his hopes of a fifth success in the event evaporated in a round which included six bogeys – four of them in a row from the turn.

He clawed one shot back at the par five 15th, but a 75 left him at one-under-par and 13 shots off the pace.

Fitzpatrick took a one-shot lead on 14-under-par over Norway’s Kristoffer Reitan after both shot 64.

The Englishman, chasing a second PGA Tour victory after securing his card with a win at the Zurich Classic alongside brother and 2022 US Open champion Matt, who is a stroke behind McIlroy after a 69.

Alex Fitzpatrick made five birdies on his front none, adding another on the 12th and two more either side of his only dropped shot on the 16th.

“I think having my brother around has been super helpful,” he said.

“He’s been and done everything that I want to do in the game, whether that’s Ryder Cup and win majors.

“Having him, kind of, being around and me being there for all of that, I felt like I got a really good sense of what it takes and what the atmosphere is like.”

American Cameron Young was two off the pace after a bogey at the last marred a round of 63, two ahead of Denmark’s Nicolai Hojgaard and overnight leader Sungjae Im.

England’s Tommy Fleetwood fell into a group five strokes off the pace after a round of 71.

The ceasefire in the Iran war abruptly faced its most perilous moment Monday after the United States began trying to open the Strait of Hormuz to allow hundreds of stranded commercial ships sail out.

The United Arab Emirates said it came under attack for the first time since the early April ceasefire, and a British military monitor said two cargo vessels were ablaze off the UAE. There had been warning signs around the U.S. military-aided effort to guide ships through the strait, as Iran called it a violation of the fragile, three-week ceasefire.

Few ships had appeared to take advantage of “Project Freedom,” announced Sunday by President Donald Trump, though the U.S. said two U.S.-flagged merchant ships safely transited with its help.

Caution, even skepticism, is growing among shippers, and markets, over the lack of details from Washington. Who would risk their crew and cargo to possible Iranian fire?

Here’s what to know.

U.S. appears to be going it alone

Iran’s grip on the crucial waterway has left hundreds of commercial ships and tens of thousands of sailors stuck since the war broke out over two months ago. The U.S. military says 87 countries are represented among the vessels.

Backed up in the strait are weeks’ worth of supplies of globally needed oil, gas, fertilizer and other goods. This has been Iran’s strategic advantage in the war, one that has pinched economies and dimmed the outlook for the Republican president’s party in this year’s midterm U.S. elections.

Oil prices rose Monday as uncertainty continued around the strait and the U.S. effort, which Trump has described as a humanitarian one to help countries that have been “neutral and innocent” in the war.

While countries in Europe and elsewhere have fretted over the strait and have been urged by Trump to help solve the issue, it was not immediately clear whether any other nation was involved Monday.

The U.S. military, which has been blockading Iranian ports for weeks, said the initiative involves guided-missile destroyers, more than 100 aircraft and 15,000 service members but did not say how they are deployed.

Trump warned that interference in the effort “will, unfortunately, have to be dealt with forcefully.”

The U.S. military on Monday said it sank six small Iranian boats that were targeting civilian vessels, and said Iran launched missiles and drones at ships the U.S. was protecting.

Adm. Brad Cooper, who heads U.S. Central Command, said Iran initiated the “aggressive behavior.” He declined to say whether the ceasefire was over.

Iran calls the effort part of Trump’s ‘delirium’

Iran effectively closed the strait by attacking some ships over the past two months, and told others not affiliated with the U.S. or Israel that they could pass if they paid a toll.

Iran’s military command on Monday said ships still must coordinate with Tehran to transit the strait and warned that “any foreign military force — especially the aggressive U.S. military — that intends to approach or enter the Strait of Hormuz will be targeted,” the state broadcaster reported.

Iranian news agencies claimed that Iran struck a U.S. vessel southeast of the strait, accusing it of violating “maritime security and navigation norms.” The U.S. military denied it.

Concerns remain about Iranian mines in the waterway. Cooper said the U.S. military had cleared a pathway in the strait, and set up a “defensive umbrella” that includes helicopters and fighter planes to protect freighters leaving it.

Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency has called Trump’s plan to reopen the strait part of his “delirium.”

Wary shippers say security situation is unchanged

The threat level around the strait remains critical, according to the U.S.-led Joint Maritime Information Center, even as it issued an advisory on the new U.S. effort.

The head of security for the Baltic and International Maritime Council, a leading shipping trade group, said no formal guidance or details about the effort had been issued to the industry.

Without Iran’s consent for safe transit, “it is currently not clear whether the Iranian threat to ships can be degraded or suppressed,” Jakob Larsen, BIMCO’s chief safety and security officer said in a statement.

Larsen questioned whether the U.S. effort is sustainable in the long run or is envisioned as a limited operation, and said there is a “risk of hostilities breaking out again” if it goes ahead.

“There’s not much clarity at this point,” United Nations spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told journalists.

The Joint Maritime Information Center has advised ships to cross the strait in Oman’s waters, saying the U.S. has set up an “enhanced security area.” It warned that passing close to usual routes “should be considered extremely hazardous due to the presence of mines that have not been fully surveyed and mitigated.”

The center urged mariners to coordinate closely with Omani authorities “due to anticipated high traffic volume” — a forecast that on Monday seemed unlikely to play out.

___

Adam Schreck in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Fatma Khaled in Cairo, and Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations, contributed to this report.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Tuesday’s primary in Ohio set up two marquee matchups in November — a U.S. Senate race that will help determine control of the chamber and a governor’s race in which Democrats see their best chance of victory in two decades.

Another stunningly expensive Senate race — the state’s third in four years — is expected as Republicans try to hold their majority during a difficult midterm cycle. Former Sen. Sherrod Brown easily defeated a challenger in the Democratic primary and will now attempt to unseat Republican Sen. Jon Husted.

Democrats are counting on Brown’s previous popularity with voters to flip the seat, even as the Senate Leadership Fund — a top GOP super PAC — has pledged $79 million to defend Husted.

Brown, who served three Senate terms before losing a bitter reelection bid in 2024, pledged at his victory party to fight for working-class Ohioans.

“No one in the Senate is standing up to these corporations who raise your prices and who game the system,” Brown said as attendees booed. He continued, “Ohioans don’t have anyone fighting for you, until November.”

Husted, who did not hold an election night party, was unopposed in his primary, a special election to fill the remainder of the six-year Senate term that Vice President JD Vance won in 2022.

In a statement earlier in the day, Husted said Brown has no room to talk about failures in Washington.

“Over the next six months, Ohioans will hear a lot from Sherrod Brown about his so-called solutions,” Husted said. “The truth is, after 32 years in Washington, he created the very problems he now blames others for. His record is indefensible.”

In the governor’s race, biotech billionaire Vivek Ramaswamy clinched the Republican nomination over internet personality Casey Putsch to face Dr. Amy Acton, the COVID-era health director, this fall. Acton was unopposed in the Democratic primary.

Both candidates for governor are widely known across the state

A newcomer to state politics, Ramaswamy aggressively positioned himself for the job early with the help of an endorsement from President Donald Trump — who praised him on social media Tuesday as “Young, Strong, and Smart!”

“We have an historic opportunity to lead Ohio to be the top state in the country — to raise a young family, to give our kids a world-class education and to be the state where we will revive this quaint idea that we call the American Dream,” Ramaswamy told supporters in Columbus.

Acton, speaking at her victory party, said she is running because people are struggling, working harder than ever and still not getting ahead.

“I refuse to look the other way,” she said.

Trump’s endorsement continues to carry weight in Ohio, which favored him three times for president, but Ramaswamy could face headwinds amid the president’s lagging popularity over the war in Iran and the rising cost of living.

Acton’s high public profile and robust early fundraising have made Democrats hopeful of winning back the governor’s office for the first time since 2006.

Ramaswamy, a 2024 GOP primary presidential candidate, swept onto the state’s political scene early last year as a mad shuffle left an opening at the top of Republicans’ statewide ticket. Then-Sen. Vance was ascending to the vice presidency and Husted — then the front-running candidate for governor — was being appointed to replace him in Washington.

With his national profile, tech industry connections and proximity to Trump, he quickly cleared a prospective field that included the sitting state attorney general, state treasurer and lieutenant governor.

National economy, COVID-19 pandemic set early tone for governor’s race

But Democrats saw opportunity with the open governors seat, even as the state, a former bellwether, has tipped convincingly toward Republicans during the Trump era.

Acton became a household name across Ohio in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic as she stood alongside Republican Gov. Mike DeWine during daily coronavirus broadcasts. Her comforting presence during the crisis made her a beloved figure with many Ohioans.

Her campaign also has highlighted her rough childhood, overcoming poverty, homelessness and sexual abuse while growing up in Youngstown.

“I just think she’s real,” said Aaron Weiner, a Cincinnati real estate agent who voted for Acton. “She has had struggles, so I think she can empathize with people who are struggling to get ahead.”

But the administration’s aggressive pandemic actions — including shuttering businesses, closing schools and canceling an election — also earned Acton plenty of enemies and made her the occasional target of people upset about the policies, with some armed protesters showing up outside her home.

Ramaswamy’s campaign sought to capitalize on lingering anger over the restrictions with attacks on Acton’s role early in the crisis, but he also has connections to the government’s response. Ramaswamy was advising the lieutenant governor at the time — Husted — on virus-related economic issues and founded a company that profited off its role developing vaccines.

Cincinnati voter Paul Mussman, who backed Ramaswamy, said he considers it an asset that he is a relative newcomer to politics.

Ramaswamy would look at issues “in a fresh way and not based on what their party affiliation is,” Mussman said.

Republicans see some Democratic-held House seats as vulnerable

In the wake of a new round of redistricting that slightly favored Republicans, the state also had numerous partisan congressional primaries.

The most heated GOP primary was in the Toledo area’s 9th District for the chance to take on Democratic U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur, the longest-serving woman in Congress.

Former state Rep. Derek Merrin, whom Kaptur defeated by less than a percentage point in 2024, bested an Air National Guard veteran, a healthcare industry worker, a sitting state representative and the former deputy director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Madison Sheahan.

In Democratic U.S. Rep. Greg Landsman’s Cincinnati-area 1st Congressional District, which his party considers a “must-hold,” the three-way Republican primary went to Eric Conroy, a CIA and Air Force veteran who was endorsed by Trump, Vance and Moreno.

Landsman beat back a primary challenge of his own Tuesday from Damon Lynch IV, the grandson of a prominent civil rights leader. Lynch had criticized Landsman for his initial vote against a war powers resolution on the war in Iran, which Landsman later followed up with a favorable vote.

In the Akron area’s 13th District, Republican Carey Coleman defeated four others for the opportunity to face Democratic U.S. Rep. Emilia Sykes.

Democrats think new House maps give them a shot to regain seats

As a Trump-backed national effort to remake congressional maps in Republicans’ favor was underway, Ohio Democrats took a could-have-been-worse approach and passed the map they were given unanimously.

Now party candidates crowded congressional primaries across the state for the chance to take on sitting Republican representatives, who hold 10 of Ohio’s 15 seats.

The newly redrawn 7th District in the Cleveland area attracted five Democrats hoping to challenge Republican U.S. Rep. Max Miller, a former senior Trump adviser, in November. Brian Poindexter, a union ironworker and city councilman endorsed by Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, emerged as the winner in a race that also included former Cuyahoga County Executive Ed FitzGerald, the Democratic nominee for governor in 2014.

In northeast Ohio’s 14th District, PR professional and former Euclid City Council member Maria Jukic won the Democratic primary over former Ohio Supreme Court Justice William O’Neill and others and will face Republican U.S. Rep. Dave Joyce.

___

Associated Press writer Dylan Lovan in Cincinnati contributed.

Those are the words of Rebecca Butler, director of Bugweed’s, a craft shop in Clifton Moor.

Listed among the largest independent handcraft shops in the north, Bugweed’s stocks a vast array of yarns, quilting cottons, haberdashery and sewing machines.

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Rebecca said: “We have more than 4,000 square feet of retail space, with planning permission to add a second floor.”

Rebecca Butler opened up Bugweeds’ current retail space in 2025 (Image: Bugweed’s)

She added: “This enables us to carry a large variety of garment-making fabrics and equipment across every price point, as well as entire collections of significant ranges.

“We have highly-skilled staff, that cover all the main hobbies for which we cater, and so if a particular member of staff cannot answer a customer’s technical query, they know where to turn for someone who can.

“Many of our customers have become friends and we have become a safe place for them. 

“Reading the quality of the feedback from our recent success as By Annie’s UK winner of Favourite Local Quilt Shop is humbling and a testament to the environment we strive to create.

“Whether it’s people feeling a bit lonely and wanting to just come and sit on the sofas to knit, or people getting a cancer diagnosis and knowing they will get a hug and a cup of tea, we are so much more than a shop to so many of our community.”

The Bugweed team (Image: Bugweed’s)

Bugweed’s is run as a small family business, with four permanent staff members.

Its Clifton Moor venue was established in January 2025 when Rebecca and her team combined Bugweed’s four existing units at a nearby industrial estate.

It has a sister company Bugweek’s Limited, which runs crafting events and classes.

Rebecca explained: “There are some staples that are always well attended, such as our knit and natters on a Tuesday afternoon and Thursday evening, beginners knitting and beginners crochet, as well as our block of the month class for quilters.

“But the majority of our classes are prepared in response to our community.”

“We want to be kind, to walk gently through the world, to add more to our community than we take and to support people wherever we can.” (Image: Bugweed’s)

Indeed, two of Bugweed’s employees, who join the team on Saturdays, introduced a knit and natter for their teenage peers.

They have brought together crafty teens from across the city – who have bonded over their shared interests.

‘I think our values played a key part’

Rebecca said: “We want to be kind, to walk gently through the world, to add more to our community than we take and to support people wherever we can. 

“I think our values have played a key part in creating the vibrant, supportive and inclusive community with which we are blessed.

“From a strictly business perspective, we strive to offer quality products at a fair price whilst delivering first-rate customer service. 

“I’d like to think we do this – and the inclusive and generous community in which we sit is, in part, a testament to that.”

Bugweed’s has been selected by readers of The Press as a finalist in the Best Independent Retailer in York competition.

Readers are now welcome to vote for their winner by filling out a voting slips attached to each edition of the paper until Thursday (May 14).

Fabio Wardley was making the first defence of his heavyweight world title when he took on former champion Daniel Dubois in Manchester

Daniel Dubois twice climbed off the canvas to stop Fabio Wardley in one of the most brtutal fights in boxing history.

Wardley made a fast start, dropping Dubois after just 10 seconds before repeating the trick in the third round. But in between his trips to the floor, Dubois began to establish his jab and his authority.

The challenger took over from the fourth round but for long stretches his best shots simply bounced off Wardley’s chin. But Wardley’s right eye was almost closed shut by the ninth session as he absorbed heavy punishment – and Dubois finally closed the show in the 11th round to be crowned world champion again.

“We came through the sticky moments but that was a war,” the new champion said. “I know I’ve got bundles of heart and I showed I was a warrior in there. I had to get back up, brush it off and come back stronger.”

Wardley was making the first defence of his heavyweight title having been gifted the belt when Oleksansdr Usyk gave up his title instead of facing the Ipswich man. Dubois, meanwhile, was fighting for the first time since his second defeat by Usyk last summer as he sought to become a two-time champion.

Dubois, who was late to the arena after being stuck in the Manchester traffic, marched to the ring dressed all in black. And Wardley donned the colours of his hometown football club Ipswich Town who celebrated promotion to the Premier League last weekend.

Wardley stunned Dubois inside 10 seconds, dropping him with a right hand to the top of the head. But the challenger rose to beat the count and then landed the same shot in response. Dubois worked his way into the fight in the second session as his jab began to fire followed by his right hand.

But Wardley had Dubois down again in the third round with another backhand as he took control. Dubois again came back strongly in the next session as a right hand rocked the champion, but Wardley’s chin stood up to the assault.

The momentum was still with Dubois in the fifth round as he began to use his jab to control the fight. And Dubois had Wardley on the ropes in the sixth as he piled on the pressure – only for the champion to return fire with fire.

Wardley, with blood streaming down his face, was hurt early in the seventh as Dubois looked to seize his chance. The Londoner could hardly miss with his jab but still Wardley refused to buckle – and an uppercut suddenly caught Dubois’ attention.

Dubois had by now likely edged ahead on the judges’ scorecards and he kept his composure to notch another round courtesy of his ramrod jab. Wardley’s right eye had almost closed over by the start of the ninth and had to be cleared to continue by the ringside doctor.

Wardley’s shots were beginning to miss wildly but one right hand connected in the ninth only for that to spark Dubois into life. A right hand on the ropes staggered the Ipswich man but still he refused to topple.

Wardley again looked shaky heading into the 10th stanza but was still absorbing his challenger’s biggest shots. He last barely seconds of the penultimate round, however, as a final flurry from Dubois forced referee Howard Foster to step in.

There are queues on the M6 tonight after two sperate crashes led to delays. Drivers were being warned of 20 minute delays near the scene of an accident in Lancashire.

Traffic is stopped on southbound motorway between junction 30 at the M61 interchange and junction 31 for Preston. Images shared on Facebook show motorists stood on the central reservation.

In a post on X National Highways North West said: “The M6 in Lancashire southbound between J31-J30 traffic has been stopped due to a road traffic collision.

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“There are currently delays in excess of 20 minutes with 2 miles of congestion. Updates to follow.”

Traffic monitoring site Inrix has posted: “All traffic being temporarily held due to accident, two vehicles involved on M6 Southbound after J31 A59 Preston New Road (Samlesbury).”

The M6 is also closed southbound between junctions 17 and 16 from Sandbach to Crewe in Cheshire

Follow our live blog below for updates…

MV Hondius, with more than 140 passengers and crew on board, is headed to Spain’s Canary Islands and is expected to arrive at the island of Tenerife this morning

The head of the World Health Organization has delivered a message to reassure residents of the Spanish island where passengers of a hantavirus-stricken cruise ship are expected to be evacuated.

The Dutch-flagged MV Hondius, with more than 140 passengers and crew on board, is headed to Spain’s Canary Islands, off the coast of West Africa, and is expected to arrive at the island of Tenerife this morning.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus arrived Saturday at the island, where he, Spain’s Health Minister Monica Garcia and Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska planned to coordinate the disembarkation of passengers and some crew.

READ MORE: Steps scientists are taking to learn more about Hantavirus as fast as they canREAD MORE: Terrifying map shows Hantavirus spread as suspected cases confirmed across continents

“I know you are worried. I know that when you hear the word ‘outbreak’ and watch a ship sail toward your shores, memories surface that none of us have fully put to rest. The pain of 2020 is still real, and I do not dismiss it for a single moment,” Tedros said in a statement to the people of Tenerife.

“But I need you to hear me clearly: This is not another COVID. The current public health risk from hantavirus remains low. My colleagues and I have said this unequivocally, and I will say it again to you now,” Tedros added.

WHO, Spanish authorities and cruise company Oceanwide Expeditions said nobody on the Hondius is currently showing symptoms of the virus.

Hantavirus can cause life-threatening illness. It usually spreads when people inhale contaminated residue of rodent droppings and isn’t easily transmitted between people. But the Andes virus detected in the cruise ship outbreak may be able to spread between people in rare cases. Symptoms usually show between one and eight weeks after exposure.

Three people have died since the outbreak, and five passengers who left the ship are infected with hantavirus.

Some Tenerife residents say they don’t want the ship there

Some on Tenerife say they are worried. On board the cruise ship, some Spanish passengers have voiced concern about being stigmatized. “I tell you, I don’t like this very much,” said 69-year-old resident Simon Vidal. “Anyone can say what they want. Why did they have to bring a boat from another country here? Why not anywhere else, why bring it to the Canary Islands?”

Others said they empathized with the boat’s passengers, but were still concerned.

“The truth is that it is very worrying,” said 27-year-old Venezuelan immigrant Samantha Aguero. She added: “We feel a bit unsafe, we don’t feel as there are 100% security measures in place to welcome it. This is a virus after all and we have lived this during the pandemic. But we also need to have empathy.”

Passengers can take only limited belongings and will be isolated

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Garcia said passengers and some crew would disembark in Tenerife “under maximum safety conditions.”

The ship will not dock but will remain at anchor, with people ferried off in small boats. Everyone disembarking will be checked for symptoms and won’t be taken off the ship until a flight is already in Tenerife waiting for them, Garcia said during a news conference in Madrid. There are currently people of more than 20 different nationalities on board.

Authorities are aiming to complete the evacuation flights on Sunday and Monday, the director of the WHO’s Department of Epidemic and Pandemic Management, Maria Van Kerkove, said in a briefing Saturday.

Both the U.S. and the U.K. have agreed to send planes to evacuate their citizens. Americans are to be quarantined at a medical center in Nebraska.

All Spanish passengers will be transferred to a medical facility and quarantined, Garcia said. Oceanwide has listed 13 Spanish passengers and one Spanish crew member on board.

Those disembarking will leave behind their luggage, Garcia said, and will be allowed to take only a small bag with essential items, a cellphone, charger and documentation. Some crew, as well as the body of a passenger who died on board, will remain on the ship, which will sail on to the Netherlands, where it will undergo disinfection, the minister added.

This root vegetable could help lower your blood pressure naturally, according to a doctor and studies

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A specific red vegetable could help in lowering blood pressure, according to a doctor. Also referred to as hypertension, high blood pressure is a potentially dangerous condition thought to affect approximately one in three adults in the UK.

Having high blood pressure means your heart has to work significantly harder than it should to pump blood around your body. This puts extra strain on the heart, blood vessels and other organs over time.

If left untreated, it can result in serious complications, with high blood pressure linked to medical emergencies such as strokes and heart attacks. Diet is acknowledged as a major contributing factor to hypertension, with foods high in salt amongst the main culprits.

Salt causes the body to hold onto water, which in turn increases blood pressure. However, what we eat can also have the opposite effect.

In a video shared on social media platform TikTok, Doctor Suraj Kukadia highlighted several benefits of eating beetroot. Dr Kukadia, known online as Dr Sooj, said: “Are beetroots good for you?

“Beetroots are an excellent dietary nitrate, which has been proven to lower blood pressure both centrally and peripherally. On top of this, it can also help improve athletic performance.

“If you find the taste of beetroot a bit too earthy, you can also just mix it with a bit of apple or a bit of ginger and even mix it into fruit juices.”

What does the research indicate?

His guidance is backed by research exploring the effect of beetroot juice on blood pressure levels. In a study published in the journal Hypertension in 2015, scientists from Queen Mary University of London discovered that a 250ml glass of beetroot juice resulted in an average drop in blood pressure of around 8/4 mmHg.

Consequently, numerous participants in the study experienced their blood pressure returning to a healthy range. The researchers highlighted this was especially important, considering that every 2mmHg increase in blood pressure is thought to raise the risk of death from heart disease by seven per cent and stroke by 10 per cent.

The blood pressure-lowering qualities of beetroot were credited to the substantial concentration of dietary nitrates present in the vegetable. Other foods rich in nitrates include spinach, rhubarb, celery, lettuce and watercress.

In a university statement, lead study author Professor Amrita Ahluwalia explained: “Diseases of the heart and blood vessels – which can cause heart attacks and strokes – remain the biggest cause of death worldwide.

“However, unlike some other serious illnesses, we are fortunate in that we can make certain lifestyle changes which dramatically improve our heart and blood vessel health.

“This research has proven that a daily inorganic nitrate dose can be as effective as medical intervention in reducing blood pressure and the best part is we can get it from beetroot and other leafy green vegetables.”

A more recently published study arrived at a similar conclusion. A meta-analysis, published in Frontiers in Nutrition in 2022, reviewed seven existing studies and established that nitrates present in beetroot juice reduce systolic blood pressure, though not diastolic blood pressure in patients with arterial hypertension.

NHS advice

To lower your blood pressure, the NHS recommends you:

• Have a healthy, balanced diet
• Exercise regularly – aim to do at least 150 minutes of exercise a week
• Lose weight if you’re overweight
• Do not eat too much salt – avoid salty food or adding salt to your meals
• Do not drink too much alcohol – avoid drinking more than 14 alcohol units a week on a regular basis
• Do not drink too much caffeine – drinks high in caffeine include coffee, tea and cola
• Do not smoke

If you are concerned about your blood pressure, you should speak to your GP.