Trump says UK’s Starmer making ‘a big mistake’ with Chagos Islands deal
Al Jazeera
The US president warned the military base on Diego Garcia may be needed to respond to possible attack from Iran.
Donald Trump has criticised the United Kingdom’s plan to hand over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, a day after the United States Department of State gave its official approval of the deal.
The US president said on Wednesday that Prime Minister Keir Starmer was “making a big mistake” in the agreement to return sovereignty of the archipelago to Mauritius, and lease back the island of Diego Garcia, which is home to a UK-US military base.
He warned in a Truth Social post that Starmer was “losing control of this important Island by claims of entities never known of before”, adding: “In our opinion, they are fictitious in nature.”
The Indian Ocean archipelago became part of British territory in 1814, with the UK detaching it from Mauritius before it gained independence in the 1960s. It then worked with the US to force the islands’ residents to leave, in order to build a military base on Diego Garcia, which it had leased to the US.
Mauritius won its legal battle for sovereignty over the islands in 2019, and the International Court of Justice (ICJ) urged the UK to cede control. This was followed by a UN resolution giving the UK six months to hand it back.
Tributes pour in for former Palestinian envoy to France and EU, remembered as ‘voice for justice, freedom and peace’.
The pharmaceutical giant expressed optimism that its new flu shot would be available this year, after approval concerns.
Teachers’ strikes in Iran condemn student killings during protests as mourning ceremonies take place nationwide.
Nearly four years into Russia’s war on Ukraine, multiple peace efforts have been started, but no end is in sight.
American ski great clinches her fourth career Olympic medal, and her first since 2018, in the women’s slalom at Tofane.
Amid Cuba’s deepening fuel crisis, countries are bowing to US pressure and winding down their Cuban medical programmes.
Pakistan beat Namibia by 102 runs in Colombo as Sahibzada Farhan hits his first T20 international century.
The latest deaths come as just 260 people have been allowed to seek medical care via the crossing to Egypt, the UN says.
Filton24 defendants, members of Palestine Action, found not guilty as prosecutors fail to provide evidence.
Gabonese authorities impose indefinite social media blackout, citing risks to social cohesion and national stability.