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,

The Chagos Islands are a strategically significant area, with one of its islands, Diego Garcia, serving as a key military base jointly operated by the UK and the US. It monitors the Malacca Strait and other essential global trade routes,

The Chagos Islands are in the middle of the Indian Ocean and home to a strategic military base on Diego Garcia.