UK puts Chagos Islands handover deal on hold after Trump withdraws support

Britain’s agreement to hand Mauritius the Chagos Islands that are home to a strategic UK-American military base is on indefinite hold because U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration has withdrawn its support for the deal. The British government acknowledged Saturday that legislation to ratify the agreement for the islands in the Indian Ocean has run out of time in Parliament. It’s the latest fallout from souring relations between Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s government and the Trump administration. Trump initially backed the deal, but changed his mind in January, calling a deal to transfer sovereignty of the islands, home to the joint…