The UK has signed a £3.4bn ($4.6bn) deal to hand over sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, while retaining control of a UK-US military base on Diego Garcia - the largest of the islands. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer says the 99-year agreement to lease back Diego Garcia will cost the UK £101m a year,

Mauritius has said that India and Prime Minister Narendra Modi has supported the signing of the agreement between the island nation and United Kingdom over the Chagos Islands. The United Kingdom signed an agreement on Thursday to hand over the sovereignty over the contested and strategically located Chagos Islands to Mauritius.

LONDON (AP) — A British court said Thursday that the U.K. can transfer sovereignty over the contested and strategically located Chagos Islands to Mauritius, overturning a block that was imposed hours before the agreement was due to be signed.