By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
LONDON/PORT LOUIS (Worthy News) – British Prime Minister Keir Starmer says he has signed an agreement handing over the sovereignty of one of the last remnants of the British Empire, the Chagos Islands, to Mauritius.
The archipelago in the Indian Ocean is home to a strategically important naval and bomber base on the largest of the islands, Diego Garcia.
Starmer says the agreement secures the future of a base “right at the foundation of our safety and security at home.”
The signing was delayed for several hours after a British judge imposed a last-minute injunction blocking the transfer. Another judge later lifted that injunction.
One of the last remnants of the British Empire, the Chagos Islands, have been under British control since 1814.
Britain split the islands away from Mauritius, a former British colony, in 1965, three years before Mauritius gained independence.
CONCERNED WOMEN
However, two Chagossian women representing the islands’ original residents took legal steps, saying they opposed the move as they were evicted decades ago to make way for the American military base.
Bernadette Dugasse and Bertrice Pompe, both British citizens, fear returning to the islands will be even more difficult once Mauritius takes control of them.
After the injunction was lifted, Pompe said it was “a very sad day” but vowed to continue fighting.
“We do not want to hand over our rights to Mauritius. We are not Mauritians,” she said outside the High Court. “The rights we are asking for now, we have been fighting for 60 years,” she added. “Mauritius is not going to give that to us.”
Yet despite their opposition, the agreement was due to be signed Thursday by British Prime Minister Starmer and Mauritian leader Navin Ramgoolam at a virtual ceremony.
Copyright 1999-2025 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
Latest News from Worthy News
Israel said Tuesday it has begun enforcing new registration regulations for international nongovernmental organizations, moving to bar 37 groups from operating in Gaza and the West Bank after they failed to comply with requirements introduced earlier this year.
Federal authorities are launching what the Department of Homeland Security described as a “massive operation” in Minnesota aimed at identifying, arresting, and removing criminals accused of defrauding American taxpayers.
Israel and the United States have agreed to give Hamas a two-month window to disarm, according to a report by Israel Hayom, following an overnight meeting between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. President Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago.
Attorney General Pam Bondi said the Department of Justice will continue investigating what she described as widespread “government weaponization” by officials who served under the Obama and Biden administrations, even after courts dismissed charges against several high-profile figures.
Saudi Arabia carried out airstrikes on the southern Yemeni port city of Mukalla on Dec. 30, saying the operation targeted weapons and military vehicles allegedly shipped from the United Arab Emirates to support separatist forces. Riyadh warned that its national security was a “red line” and demanded Emirati forces leave Yemen within 24 hours.
New details are emerging surrounding the U.S. strike on a suspected drug loading site in Venezuela, with multiple reports claiming a CIA drone carried it out.
A 14-year-old Christian girl is recovering after being abducted and raped in Pakistan’s Punjab province, according to family members and police.