i don't care about the chagos islands.'s really not important to me if this is what the if this is what the government thinks is the best thing to do. this government and the previous government like, and the americans and the americans are happy. >> can i just ask a brief question, michel, before we move on, if this has no strategic significance whatsoever, which is your view, then why is it all afternoon? i've watched one former defence minister after another, one senior lawyer after another, one senior lawyer after another, one senior lawyer after another, one major think tank after another, come out and say, this is a strategic mistake on the part of the uk. what do you know that they don't seem to know? because whether i look at people like grant shapps policy exchange, richard ekins among others, among shapps is not an expert grant shapps as a tory trying to make a point. it's also former cabinet minister, but among others, i'm sorry. so that in itself is revealing. so it's simply because somebody in the conservative

deal is crazy. >> chagos islandsg given back to mauritius. your reaction? >> crazy. i mean, do i urge viewers of gb news to get out your maps, get out your atlases, check out the chagos islands , check out the chagos islands, see where they are, and see where mauritius is a long way away. yes. what is this claim? it's nonsense . it's total it's nonsense. it's total nonsense. why are we doing this? sheer political correctness. >> two former metropolitan police officers have been reinstated after being sacked for allegedly lying about smelling cannabis during a stop and search. jonathan clapham and sam franks stopped athlete bianca williams and her partner ricardo dos santos in 2020. the police appeals tribunal overturned their dismissal, calling the original ruling irrational and inconsistent. williams and dos santos say the decision is disappointing and they plan to challenge it in court. the officers will return to the force with back pay . gb to the force with back pay. gb news has won permission to bring a legal c

islands to the uk. -- the chagos islands.— islands to the uk. -- the chagos islands. ands. what do you not feel the people of _ chagos islands. what do you not feel the people of the _ chagos islands. what do you not feel the people of the chagos i feel the people of the chagos islands were treated very badly over the years? irate islands were treated very badly over the years?— islands were treated very badly over the years? we were forced to move to _ over the years? we were forced to move to mauritius, _ over the years? we were forced to move to mauritius, but i over the years? we were forced to move to mauritius, but there was some deal on the back office for compensation and there were agreements to relocate the chagossian, but they were treated worse in mauritius. we were treated as second—class citizens. we were living in poverty —— in poverty. the people did not receive any penny from compensation. we still have not received anything. still have not received anything-— still have not received an hina. ., , . anything. thank you very much for bein: anything. tha

thomas says the chagos islands are being effectively handed over to china. one thing to give those islands back, but to give financial support is just crazy. no wonder people think the uk is a soft touch. >> yeah, well, the prime minister is facing backlash over that decision to give up sovereignty of the chagos islands to mauritius , ending islands to mauritius, ending years of negotiations over the cluster of strategically important islands in the indian ocean. >> well, as part of the deal, the uk, us military base will remain there, but the uk government will provide a package of financial support to mauritius. >> well, the decision provoking fury among some conservatives, including former prime minister bons including former prime minister boris johnson, who gave his thoughts to gb news. >> the chagos islands being given back to mauritius. your reaction? >> crazy. i mean, do i urge viewers of gb news to get out your maps, get out your atlases, check out the chagos islands , check out the chagos islands, see where they are, and see where mauritius is a lo

robin on the whole chagos islands. chagos islands. sorry. ntina vows to gain full sovereignty over the falkland islands after starmer's surrender of chagos islands to mauritius. well, i'm sure it was starmer, but he's obviously got david lammy as the foreign secretary there. >> so, you know, and the argument is it was james cleverly who kicked off the negotiations and cleverly coming out yesterday saying this is an absolute disgrace . and labour absolute disgrace. and labour were quick to rebut him, saying, well, hang on a minute. it was you that kicked off the negotiations. david cameron put the handbrake on it and said, absolutely no way. and labour have just continued. apparently what cleverly kicked off, well, i just, i what cleverly kicked off, well, ijust, i don't what cleverly kicked off, well, i just, i don't you what cleverly kicked off, well, ijust, i don't you know, what cleverly kicked off, well, i just, i don't you know, what what cleverly kicked off, well, ijust, i don't you know, what i i just, i don't you know, what i think is

tell us a bit about the chagos islands. ~ , ., �* .,~ ., ., islands.don't we take a look at the map? we can — islands. why don't we take a look at the map? we can see the _ the map? we can see the chagos islands in the indian ocean and write down now, mauritius is going to take sovereignty. interestingly borisjohnson in his daily telegraph interview says, look at the distance. there is nojustification. he says it is lefty lawyers from matrix chambers and doughty street, where keir starmer started. and we can zoom in on the archipelago and see there are 58 islands in all in the archipelago and right at the bottom, the biggest of them all, diego garcia, an absolutely massive, technically uk military base, used by the us and under this deal there will be a renewable 99 year lease. the big bluesie, we are oceans away from the uk, many people wouldn't have been able to pinpoint this on the map. that tells us why, there has been a massive colonial history here. �* . has been a massive colonial history here. . . , ., , ., ., here. and rich in history and that

this as bofis the chagos islands.is as boris johnson slams the move as crazy , raging ayatollah , iran's crazy, raging ayatollah, iran's warmongering supreme leader, calls on muslim nations to prepare against their common enemy, labelling the recent ballistic missile onslaught on israel the minimum punishment for what he calls its bloodthirsty, vampiric regime . bloodthirsty, vampiric regime. three pretty meaty stories there to go at. i'm interested to know i wasn't here yesterday, and of course, you were covering this news about the chagos islands huge amount of anger at this decision that appeared to come out of nowhere. >> yeah , the strange thing is , >> yeah, the strange thing is, this was a process that was started in 2022 under the last government. but when david cameron became foreign secretary, he spoke to people in the ministry of defence. he put a stop to the deal. he put a stop to all of those negotiations. it was not the policy of the last government. by policy of the last government. by the time they wen

i'm not sure _ -- of the chagos island? i'm not sure it — -- of the chagos island?inly not the priority here. the government has very much presented it todayis has very much presented it today is a big win, but mostly on the strategic elements of this. this is a good dealfor the strategic base, this lease, and also that it will have an impact on closing a potential migration route to the uk. now, as you've already reflected, conservative mps and foreign ministers have been up in arms today, saying this is a trail of national interest, this is something that several of them have said they have tried to block or blocks while recently in office. to which labour has a meal he replied that this was all started by james cleverly —— has immediately replied. i think the biggest issue is the questions about china. mauritius is an ally of china, and while the government so far has been dismissing this line of argument, it doesn't seem to be a strategy of this government towards china, towards the region. this almost looks like they came across something that was presented by

now the diego garcia base is on the chagos islands. name of the islands is the british overseas pacific territories. >> i think i've just got that right. and they've been there for a specific reason as a bulwark against china and to, you know, project british interests into the indian ocean. and this, to me, is just symptomatic of this labour government who seem to concede everything when anybody asks for it, whether it's railway drivers, whether it's junior doctors, and now whether it's mauritius . once again, the mauritius. once again, the labour government has caved in. >> although, michael, i suppose you could make an argument that train drivers and people who work in the nhs that's in, in, in their interests , they're in their interests, they're british. i struggle to see whose interest this move is in other than china, other than a prime minister who used to be a lawyer wanting to appear very loyally in front of international courts and trying to buy favour by giving up territory, i mean, is that basically the foreign office view

downing street insists its deal to return the chagos islands to mauritius does not change the approachher overseas territories. it comes as argentina is now pledging to gain full sovereignty over the falkland islands. however, the government insists its commitment to the falklands is unwavering. former prime minister boris johnson told gb news he thinks the deal is crazy . news he thinks the deal is crazy. >> the chagos islands being given back to mauritius. your reaction? >> crazy. i mean, do i urge viewers of gb news to get out your maps, get out your atlases, check out the chagos islands , check out the chagos islands, see where they are, and see where mauritius is a long way away. yes. what is this claim? it's nonsense. it's total nonsense. why are we doing this? sheer political correctness. >> a metropolitan police officer has been charged over the death of a woman who was hit by a motorcycle escorting the duchess of edinburgh through london. the independent office for police conduct said it had authorised a charge of causing death by careless driving against 67 year old christoph

totally counterintuitive. >> daniel, aside from the chagos islands , we've been contacted islands, we'vetacted today by people who live in the falkland islands. those who live on gibraltar. is this a flash of the ankle? a direction of travel, perhaps, where the labour party might be heading? is there is there a feeling that foreign policy could be ruled by the burden of history, the shame of the empire, of the colonies of the empire, of the colonies of slavery? there are people in the labour party sitting now who would like to do slavery, reparations , for example. is reparations, for example. is this the tip of the iceberg? >> the chagossians are the indigenous people are descendants of slaves from africa and madagascar. they have their own food. they have their own culture. they have their own music. they are totally separate indigenous people from mauritius. what this labour government is saying? sorry , government is saying? sorry, we're not interested in you. we're not interested in the right of self—determination. we're interested in facilitating a deal with mauritius for a quiet l

>> are the chagos islands are, i think i'm right in saying, >> are the chagos islands are, i think i'msaying, 1350 miles away from mauritius. think i'm right in saying, 1350 miles away from mauritius . what miles away from mauritius. what the heck is going on? why ? i the heck is going on? why? i mean the falklands. when we staked our claim on the falklands, argentina wasn't even a country. so the people in argentina, the people in gibraltar, they want to remain british. i couldn't tell you about the chagos islands. i don't know enough about it, but i do know it's too far away from mauritius and why would we let china have any kind of stronghold, like you said in your monologue? >> indeed , andy, it's unfair to >> indeed, andy, it's unfair to lay this at the door of the new prime minister fully, isn't it? because these negotiations started under former foreign secretary james cleverly? >> i think there are two key bits that predate the labour government in 2019, the international court of justice ruled that the continuing british occupation of the islands was illegal and then in novemb

this is not the same as the chagos islands giving away the chagos islands.ritory. the base there is ours. >> sovereign territory means it's just like sussex, kent or lancashire effectively. >> and we've given that away. and by the way, we've given it away to mauritius, who are hugely in hock to the chinese, and the chinese would dearly love to get their hands on the waters around the chagos islands, which is the largest maritime protection area in the world. >> they would. but bob . bob, >> they would. but bob. bob, just, just just on that. bob. sorry to cut across, but it's an important point this because on that you would have thought i would have thought that the day after that's announced and there's the controversy and the pushback on it, that when keir starmer is asked about the falklands and gibraltar, he would just come out and categorically say, we will not be parting company with those things. we asked him that and he didn't say that. do you find that odd? >> i do actually, i think all british prime ministers have said, you know, this is non—negoti

i've got a resident from the chagos islands . they're not remotely islands.rizik . weather with honour. krizik. >> there will be a light breeze in the morning leading to a warm front . front. >> boxed heat pumps, sponsors of weather on gb news. >> hello. good afternoon and welcome to your gb news weather update. brought to you by the met office. well, to end the week, we can expect a chilly start with some fog in places, but there will still be plenty of fine and dry weather away from the northwest to end today , from the northwest to end today, though, we still have high pressure dominating the weather across the country, bringing plenty of fine and settled weather to end the day today. a bit of a change from the northwest though, as we start to see this frontal system just clip parts of the northwest so turning cloudier here into the evening with some outbreaks of rain by the time we reach the morning. elsewhere, though, plenty of clear skies, so it is going to be feeling cold. colder than last night, in fact, and we can expect to see some mist and fog by t

the top stories downing street insists its deal to return the chagos islands to mauritius does not changehe approach to other overseas territories. it comes as argentina is now pledging to gain full sovereignty of the falkland islands. however, the government insists its commitment to the falklands is unwavering. former prime minister boris johnson told gb news this morning that he thinks the deal is crazy. >> the chagos islands being given back to mauritius. your reaction? >> crazy. i mean , do i urge >> crazy. i mean, do i urge viewers of gb news to get out your maps, get out your atlases, check out the chagos islands, see where they are, and see where mauritius is a long way away. yes. what is this claim ? away. yes. what is this claim? it's nonsense. it's total nonsense. why are we doing this? sheer political correctness . sheer political correctness. >> in other news, sir keir starmer has announced what he calls a game changing £22 billion funding package for projects that capture and store carbon emissions. speaking to workers in liverpool this morning, he said the investment in so—

keir starmer has taken so many freebies he's decided to give one away himself the chagos islands. ippe sands casey, is the chief legal advisor for mauritius, who starmer has just handed the islands over to. now, do you think that's a coincidence? but it goes even deeper. coincidence? but it goes even deeper . mr coincidence? but it goes even deeper. mr sands is one of the many founders of matrix chambers, which also happens to be where starmer's other close friend , richard hermer, was friend, richard hermer, was plucked from to serve as attorney general. now he appears to be very pro—palestine. he reportedly pushed the icj to consider whether israel was an apartheid state and he reportedly represented the iras. gerry adams. so starmer has made him our government's top legal advisor. mauritius is allied strongly to china. in fact, chinese direct investment in mauritius was £35 million in 2020, taking its total cumulative investment to a whopping £667 million. more than 18% of mauritius total imports came from china that year. so starmer and david lammy have just handed china a huge

these are the chagos islands, deep in the indian ocean. itish for now, but after today's agreement, not for much longer. the islands are all uninhabited, save for one. an important one. diego garcia. it is home to a vast and secretive american military base, used to refuel bombers during the wars in iraq and afghanistan. foghorn but for years, the island nation of mauritius has been staking claim to the chagos islands, planting their flag on one of the tropical atolls here and demanding that britain give up what some have called the uk's last colony in africa. back in the 1960s, the people living on the archipelago were forcibly removed by britain, which kept hold of the islands while giving mauritius its independence. a secret deal was already in place to let the americans set up their military base on diego garcia. chapter ii of the charter... but in recent years, international opinion has turned against britain. ..that the united kingdom is under an obligation... the un's top court ruled here that the islands do indeed belong to mauritiu

the sovereignty of the chagos islands to mauritius, an ally of china, who gives it a lot of money if to give away this cluster of islands, should we be worried about gibraltar or even the falklands? well, back to my panel. falklands? well, back to my panel . strategically, the chagos panel. strategically, the chagos islands are important . china has islands are important. china has been pumping money into mauritius . david lammy mauritius. david lammy surrendered to china. >> well, two things right at the start. i think an enormous shame that this has not been announced to parliament in parliament is not sitting and i think that matters. then next, no one seems to have asked the chagossians what they want and they, i gather, want all sorts of different things . i've in fact different things. i've in fact been to mauritius about ten years ago and spoken to chagossians. i have an observation about this in a question. the observation is this when david cameron was prime minister, we were apparently very resistant to doing this . then there was doing this. then there was apparently a cha

chagossians wish. >> would the chagos islands be better under the jurisdiction of mauritius? at's nearer, isn't it, mauritius? because that's nearer, isn't it , than the uk? nearer, isn't it, than the uk? to the islands where you're from, where your family are from? >> well, they are saying mauritius is nearer and we know from history when labour forcibly removed the chagossians to mauritius, what happened to the chagossian? they have given compensation to the mauritius government at that time to give to the community and they have not received anything so from the seychelles, have not received anything until today. and some has, they have had something, but not what it was meant to be given. we have always been classed as second class citizens in mauritius. the mauritian government does not have the solution in heart . have the solution in heart. >> and do you think this labour government doesn't understand or is there a problem with that? i mean, the tory government started the talks, didn't they? so perhaps it's all of government, doesn't quite understand the pain you're go

mauritius has claimed sovereignty over the islands since its independence in 1968. the chagosn — about 1,000 miles south of the indian subcontinent. it's made up of more than 60 — mostly uninhabited islands. it was the uk's last african colony. under the agreement, the key island of diego garcia will remain home to a joint uk—us military base. in the 1960s, the uk evicted about 1,500 local residents to make way for the airbase. they'll now be allowed to return. 0ur correspondent andrew harding has more. a scattering of tiny islands deep in the indian ocean. 0ur correspondent andrew harding has more. a scattering of tiny islands deep in the indian ocean. british for now but, after today's agreement, not for much longer. the chagos islands are all uninhabited save for one, an important one — diego garcia. it is home to a big and secretive american military base. today, britain agreed to hand the whole archipelago over to mauritius but, crucially, the americans will remain in place. this is a very, very important agreement between our countries. it crucially protects the national

ocean territory citizens gathered to demand that britain halts labour's plan to hand over the chagos islandswaving banners, the protesters directed their ire squarely at keir starmer and foreign secretary david lammy, accusing them of ignoring the will of the islanders and bypassing democratic process. and the rally comes in response to labour's controversial decision to negotiate the return of the chagos islands , home to the chagos islands, home to the strategic diego garcia military base to mauritius, a move the protesters decry as undemocratic and dangerous. while some well—known faces attended the rally , including former rally, including former conservative minister dame andrea jenkins and the former ukip leader henry bolton, who i'm delighted to say joins me now. but before we get to him, let's hear from the foreign secretary, who was speaking in the commons earlier this afternoon. >> i want to reassure the house and all members of the uk family worldwide that this agreement does not signal any change in policy to britain's other overseas territories . british overseas territories. br

overseas charities act, and in another acts later, the uk recognize some of the harms it did to the chagos islandso those islanders and subsequent generations born, so there is a large and growing population of chagossian said in the uk now, spread around the uk, but the largest population lives in and around crawley in west sussex, the vicinity of gatwick airport. the remaining british 0verseas territories like bermuda, british virgin islands, cayman islands, gibraltar, what does this mean for them? i islands, gibraltar, what does this mean for them?- this mean for them? i don't know it that _ this mean for them? i don't know it that it _ this mean for them? i don't know it that it means - this mean for them? i don't - know it that it means anything. the history is different and i'm not very familiar with the history of the other british 0verseas territories, the crucial difference is the checklist was one where the entire population was removed and he probably order to submit for any third party at military base, so it's a particular history. base, so it's a particular history-— history. profess

the chagos islands, in the indian ocean, are known as britain's last african colony. u may not have been aware of it but britain has controlled the islands since the early 1800s. now — after a long running bitter dispute — they've agreed to hand over soverignty to mauritius. the chagos archipelago is made up of more than 60 islands — mostly uninhabited — here between mauritius and coming up on bbc news... can eric ten hag pull off a european win to ease the pressure after a run of bad results? manchester united take on porto in the europa league tonight. good evening and welcome to the bbc news at six. the chagos islands, in the indian ocean, are known as britain's last african colony. you may not have been aware of it but britain has controlled the islands since the early 1800s. now — after a long running bitter dispute — they've agreed to hand over soverignty to mauritius. the chagos archipelago is made up of more than 60 islands — mostly uninhabited — here between mauritius mostly uninhabited - here between mauritius , americans will remain in place. this is a ve ,

are you able to just dismiss that as rhetoric, or do you worry that this decision regarding the chagos islandswill try and recover the islands or, or actually from their point of view, they they , they try and view, they they, they try and any, any sort of light that they see, they will leap on. but i think it's been it's been made very, very clear by the british government, the current british government, the current british government and former british governments that the support for the islanders right to self—determination is ironclad . self—determination is ironclad. >> roger spink, i'm glad to know you have that confidence. that's hopefully reassuring for all the falkland islanders. we appreciate the fact that it is. what? 531 there in the falkland islands. so thank you very much indeed for getting up early to talk to us and, and yeah, and our colleagues in gibraltar have very much the same view about their rights. oh, let's hope so. >> thank you. thank you very much. well, the sun hasn't even come up in the falkland islands yet. >> no, not a place i've ever been.i >> no, not a place i

the uk government says it has agreed a deal which gives mauritius full sovereignty over the chagos islands located in the indian ocean — while allowing the uk and the us to retain operational control of their diego garcia joint military base there. mauritius has claimed sovereignty over the islands, which are around 500km south of the maldives, since independence in 1968. the uk evicted its population of more than 1,000 people in the 1960s and 1970s, to make way for that military base. under the terms of the agreement, the base will now be �*undisputed, and legally secure.�* the dispute continued at the united nations and in international courts for many years — and this agreement was reached following two years of negotiations. both the british and us governments have welcomed the agreement with mauritius. the uk's agreement with mauritius. the uk�*s foreign secretary david lammy said to... and in his statement, president joe biden described to diego garcia as a facility which plays a vital role in... he said it enables the united states to support operations that demonstrate our shared c

chagos islands the headline. chagos islands have belonged to britain. going to read the they put the entire story in a headline. but the truth is, is these like tiny little islands and they're in the middle of the indian ocean, indian ocean, right, which is between africa and india, which is why they are they they are they are in the indian ocean. they are. and they've been under british control since 1814 and the french took control of it. people haven't lived in them. >> for i tell you what, they still had dodos when we took them over. >> is that right? >> is that right? >> yeah. yeah, exactly. so they did. i don't know if they were on that particular island. >> the fact is , they are >> the fact is, they are british. and this keir starmer gave it away . nobody knows. did gave it away. nobody knows. did you hear about this beforehand ? you hear about this beforehand? >> well, i believe the process was started under james cleverly, which we i don't know if we'll be coming back to that later, but he was he was foreign secretary and he initiated that proc

the uk has announced it will hand over the chagos islands to mauritius, following years of negotiations important region. under the new arrangement, the uk—us military base on the island of diego garcia will remain. mauritius has long argued it was illegally forced to give up the islands when it gained independence in 1968. 0ur correspondent andrew harding reports. these are the chagos islands, deep in the indian ocean. british for now, but after today's agreement, not for much longer.

and the uk gives up control of the chagos islands its last and the uk gives up control of the chagos nds, its last african colony, but the us and uk retain control of their military base. i'm so missing must ——iam —— i am sumi somaskanda. we start with breaking news of israeli air strikes in the lebanese capital, beirut, reportedly the israel defense forces say they were targeting a hezbollah senior official. the israeli military earlier called on civilians to flee. we're also following another developing story in the region, in the occupied west bank. an israeli air strike on a refugee camp on thursday is reported to have killed at least 14 people. the idf confirmed in a statement that it had carried out a strike in the tulkarm region and has just updated to say the strike killed a hamas commander they believe was resonsible for planning a number of attacks. video shows a chaotic scene with people gathered outside a hospital and bodies being carried into the facility, after what palestinian officials said was a strike on a refugee camp. violence has surged in the west bank since the

i mean, really the chagos islands are not our islands. labour government has is completing those negotiations. it was the right thing to do. it's in accordance with international law. we just need to make sure that we get it right. we've always said that we want to cooperate with the chinese where we can. we're going to challenge them where we where we need to and we know that we compete with them as well. i mean, all of these things, you know, are consistent. but, you know, our overriding thing is that we need to have growth as a country. and so of course, our international relationships will be supporting that. do you have reservations about cultivating closer ties with china? we need to have a straightforward relationship with china, i think, which is that our commercial relationship... well, we get our stuff from china. we can't walk away from china. we can't fix the problems with the warming planet without working with china. we have to make sure that we have a relationship, a clear relationship with china, and we need to be clear ab

but the people in mauritius who lived there, who originally from the chagos islands, will be able tohe indian territory. >> the abject surrender of a socialist government that doesn't believe in national security. bear in mind half of this minute they've james cleverly started these negotiations. they didn't complete them. he didn't do this. >> this has been in the making. >> this has been in the making. >> it's a socialist thing because they half of them backed jeremy corbyn wanting us to pull out of nato . they're a bunch of out of nato. they're a bunch of pacifists who don't believe in the security of the country or of the western world. >> you sound like someone who doesn't believe in sovereignty for the will of the people. >> i believe in the sovereignty of britain over the british territory. >> the chagos islands, who live in mauritius now, have been petitioning. nobody has asked the chagossians. >> it's been given to mauritius. it's not been given to the people. it's like hong kong. you're handing it to somebody. not in this case back. it's never been mauritius. mauritians hav

— have capitulated on the chagos islands and will not tell us about— islands and will not tell us aboutve made the world even _ i feel they have made the world even more insecure. my near neighbour— even more insecure. my near neighbour in crawley is pretty aghast— neighbour in crawley is pretty aghast at what has happened, he had 40 _ aghast at what has happened, he had 40 minutes notice and that is disgraceful.— is disgraceful. james cleverly would never _ is disgraceful. james cleverly would never have _ is disgraceful. james cleverly would never have agreed - is disgraceful. james cleverly i would never have agreed these negotiations? it is would never have agreed these negotiations?— negotiations? it is very difficult _ negotiations? it is very difficult as _ negotiations? it is very difficult as foreign - negotiations? it is very - difficult as foreign secretary do not — difficult as foreign secretary do not engage with people about whatever they want but it is not about the negotiations and engagement, it is about the agreement, and the agreement has been — agreement, and the agr

in a historic move, the uk government announces the return of the chagos islands in the indian oceanirut in an israeli strike on a medical facility — close to the centre of the lebanese capital. i'm anna foster in beirut — the israeli military continues to hit targets across lebanon — saying that 15 hezbollah fighters were killed in an air strike in the south. meanwhile the war in gaza continues. bbc examines a fatal air strike on a school in gaza city which killed multiple children. live from london. this is bbc news. in a historic move, the uk government announces the return of the chagos islands in the indian ocean to mauritius. lebanon's health ministry says nine people are killed in beirut in an israeli strike on a medical facility — close to the centre of the lebanese capital.

the us says it welcomes an agreement for the uk to hand over sovereignty of the chagos islands to mauritiuses south of the indian subcontinent. under the agreement, the key island of diego garcia will remain home to a joint uk—us military base. 0ur correspondent andrew harding has more. a scattering of tiny islands deep in the indian ocean. british for now but, after today's agreement, not for much longer. the chagos islands are all uninhabited save for one — an important one, diego garcia. it is home to a big and secretive american military base. today, britain agreed to hand the whole archipelago over to mauritius but, crucially, the americans will remain in place. this is a very, very important agreement between our countries. crucially protects the national security interests of the united kingdom and our allies, and this has been reached in full agreement with the united states, retaining the crucial base on diego garcia. it also closes down a potential route for migrants. but some have warned that china could exploit the deal to extend its influence. it is over half a century since th

these are the chagos islands, deep in the indian ocean. home to a vast and secretive american military base, used to refuel bombers during the wars in iraq and afghanistan. foghorn but for years, the island nation of mauritius has been staking claim to the chagos islands, planting their flag on one of the tropical atolls here and demanding that britain give up what some have called the uk's last colony in africa. back in the 1960s, the people living on the archipelago were forcibly removed by britain, which kept hold of the islands while giving mauritius its independence. a secret deal was already in place to let the americans set up their military base on diego garcia. chapter ii of the charter... but in recent years, international opinion has turned against britain. ..that the united kingdom is under an obligation... the un's top court ruled here that the islands do indeed belong to mauritius and should be handed over immediately. britain disagreed but began negotiations anyway. and today, reluctantly, but peacefully, the government has c

most people listening to the stand watching this will never have heard of the chagos islands.ey might have heard of diego garcia, the american military base which is really at the heart of the dispute and this breakthrough today. the mauritian government and the british government are framing it like this, it is about military... in the indian ocean. back when mauritius won its independence, it didn't get full independence because britain kept back the chagos archipelago from mauritius. it had already promised in a secret deal to give diego garcia at all to the americans for a military base. there has been a campaign to get those islands back, full 70, full independence. the us have taken that very seriously. as britain has, for example brexit, it has begun to lose international... they have come together to campaign on this issue of anti colonialism, to say britain must end its last occupation, its old empire. that has galvanised a lot of internationals. finally, today, we have on both sides agree, they have signed a deal. they still need to sign a treaty that they basically

sovereignty since then. >> do you not feel that the people of the chagos islands have been badly treatedars? they were forced to leave the island over half a century ago. >> we were forced to move to mauritius. there was a deal on the back of this, compensation, agreements to relocate. they were treated worse in mauritius than the treatment we were forcibly removed. we were treated as a second-css citizen. the people who were sent to -- they did not receive any penny for that compensation and to this day they have not received anything. >> thank you very much are being with us. a third generation chagossian. thank you very much for your time. let me tell you, that -- it is not for the first time actually, but after a four-month delay in belfast, a cruiseship has finally set off on its three and a half year crews. there was a false start the other day. where is it going? the owners say it is heading for france and then the bahamas. the passengers appear to have been told they are heading for scotland. >> we are lifting anchor and sailing away. we've got the full go-ahead and we are making

f “st of the blue removed were the chagos islands errors back in the 70s, so yes there is crucial forhave an opportunity notjust a visit, and there have been the visits organized by the britain in the past, but notjust a visit, and there have been visits organized by the britain in the past, but now to go resettle the island, there will be expensive and logistically complex boa but some people certainly feel it is a time to come, and that this is fundamentally next fundamentally next fundamentally about justice for them and the right to go home. thank you for all that, andrew. about 100,000 newborn babies in england are being tested for genetic diseases as part of a new study aiming to improve diagnosis and treatment. more than 200 rare diseases will be detected in the screening process, meaning babies can be treated and, in some cases cured, at the earliest possible age. our medical editor fergus walsh reports. just a day old. amelia is among the first babies to have their entire genetic code sequenced to look for rare diseases. her mum didn't hesitate when offered the test at birmin

the second factor that played was the chagos islands, because this story is far from over.unny before the david lammy chagos islands debate, the other funny before the david lammy chagwhichinds debate, the other funny before the david lammy chagwhich isis debate, the other funny before the david lammy chagwhich is thezbate, the other funny before the david lammy chagwhich is the tory, the other day, which is the tory leadership contest, taking an unexpected turn. who do you fear most? kemi badenoch or james or most? kemi badenoch orjames or robert jenrick? the two candidates from the right of the party. >> well, firstly, can i apologise to the audience because i generally get my big predictions right? well, i got one wrong yesterday , i thought one wrong yesterday, i thought cleverly, i know i got it wrong. hands up, you know, i mean, i thought cleverly would sail through now. now it's very interesting that last night cleverly was on the terrace here in the palace of westminster, having a drink, strutting around , having a drink, strutting around, looking very confident, ta

the uk cedes the chagos islands to mauritius, but an important strategic military base will stay.health from a young age, the large scale genome project taking place using the uk's youngest residents. welcome to world news america. let's return to the middle east. israel issued fresh evacuation orders this evening for people living near two buildings in southern beirut — as attacks on parts of the lebanese capital continue. i'm sumi somaskanda in washington and this is bbc world news america. the uk cedes the chagos islands to mauritius, but an important strategic military base will stay. as israel continues its campaign against hezbollah in lebanon,

chagos island.e other thing, of course, adam is now people are saying now the falklands, this is this . like, is this some this is this. like, is this some sort of like giving them like a sort of like giving them like a sort of like giving them like a sort of like, oh well look, if they're giving back that the falklands are sort of going , oh falklands are sort of going, oh well, well the argentinians, we can take it. >> and it does, to be fair , like >> and it does, to be fair, like the optics of this does look like. well, if you're just giving stuff back we'll have ours back please. and i think what was interesting, there was a statement earlier made made on thursday, the falklands governor, allison blake, reassured residents, saying, well, actually we're not going to give back the falklands. it's a very different issue. it's definitely giving it. yeah, 100%. yeah. >> well, keir starmer was actually asked if he was going to give it back. he says no, i don't give a fork. nice. yeah. >> or he's goin

britain has agreed to hand over sovereignty of the remote but strategically important chagos islands home to an important american military base, which the us will retain. it was built in the 19605 and �*70s after all the local people were forcibly removed to make way its construction. here's andrew harding. a scattering of tiny islands deep in the indian ocean. british for now but, after today's agreement, not for much longer. the chagos islands are all uninhabited save for one, an important one — diego garcia. it is home to a big and secretive american military base. today, britain agreed to hand the whole archipelago over to mauritius but, crucially, the americans will remain in place. this is a very, very important agreement between our countries. it crucially protects the national security interests of the united kingdom and our allies, and this has been reached in full agreement with the united states, retaining the crucial base on diego garcia. it also closes down a potential route for migrants. but some have warned that china could exploit the deal to extend its influence. it

and i think the chagos islands has come out of nowhere.est, for most of us, we didn't know it was on the discussion. there may have been talks being had, and we all know that the foreign office has many things bubbling away, which they place in front of a new foreign secretary and a new prime minister every now and again to see if they can get things through. but those politicians have to be very clear where they stand with british sovereignty , stand with british sovereignty, because one domino falls and it leads to another conversation and another conversation, and we can't have people being naive about this . if you make about this. if you make a decision that hands over sovereignty of an area of space, what happens to all the other conversations that we have? so you can't disengage one and say, well, no, that's one we're doing in isolation. we're going to do this. and then if you do do that, you have to be clear about your position on everything else and what we're all looking for is leadership and clarity from our prime minister on ma