The UK court placed a last-minute block on a deal to hand over Mauritius to Chagos Islands

London: A British court on Thursday blocked Britain from transferring sovereignty to the Chagos Islands, Mauritius, a few hours before the signing of the agreement. Britain has agreed to hand over sovereignty to Mauritius of the Indian Ocean Islands, the home of the largest islands on the islands, a strategically important naval and bombing base of Diego Garcia. Britain will then withdraw Aadhaar for at least 99 years. The administration of US President Donald Trump, which was advised on the deal, gave his approval, but finalizing the agreement delayed the final-mining negotiations on the costs. The agreement was due to being signed on Thursday morning at a virtual ceremony. But a High Court judge gave an prohibition on the agreement in the early hours of Thursday. It came in response to the claims of two original inhabitants of the islands. Chagos Islanders, many of whom had moved to Britain to make way for the Diego Garcia base in the 1960s and 70s, say they were not consulted on the agreement