Newspaper headlines: ‘Chagos surrender’ and ‘Shipshape Kate’ BBC UK signs Chagos deal with Mauritius to seal future of US-UK air base Reuters UK plan to transfer Chagos Islands goes ahead despite last-minute legal injunction CNN UK signs £3.4bn deal to cede sovereignty over Chagos Islands to Mauritius The Guardian The U.K. hands Chagos Islands over to Mauritius but says … Read more
US president says system will shield country from missile threats, including from space. US President Donald Trump announces his latest defence plan: The Golden Dome. Estimated at a cost of $175bn, it is designed to shoot down advanced missiles headed towards the United States. Using both ground and space to detect incoming projectiles, it will … Read more
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem says move is response to university’s refusal to comply with Trump demands. US President Donald Trump’s administration has blocked Harvard University’s ability to enrol international students, according to the Department of Homeland Security. In a post on X on Thursday, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said the Trump administration was … Read more
Ukraine fired hundreds of exploding drones at Russia beginning on Tuesday night and continuing into Thursday morning, in one of the largest attacks in more than three years of war, Russian authorities said. The Russian Ministry of Defense reported that 485 drones were shot down, 63 of them over the Moscow region. In total, 10 … Read more
Decision comes after two British nationals born on Diego Garcia, the largest island in the archipelago, claimed the islands should remain under UK control. A British High Court judge has temporarily blocked the government from transferring sovereignty over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius. The last-minute injunction on Thursday morning came hours before the agreement was … Read more
London CNN — Britain’s government has been temporarily blocked from concluding its deal to transfer the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, PA Media reported, after an 11th-hour injunction by a High Court judge. Prime Minister Keir Starmer intends to return the islands to the African country, while maintaining control of the US-UK Diego Garcia military base, … Read more
The UK pauses trade talks as the EU threatens to review ties with Israel. Israel is facing condemnation from some of its strongest allies over its increasing aggression in Gaza. The UK is cancelling new trade talks and the EU is reviewing old agreements, while both are imposing sanctions on Israeli settlers in the occupied … Read more
Hong Kong CNN — Visitors to a centuries-old tourist site in eastern China were sent scrambling after hundreds of roof tiles came loose and cascaded more than two stories to the ground. The Fengyang Drum Tower—built in 1375 and used to announce the beginning of ceremonies and the time of day—is one of the largest … Read more
Disruption from the ‘highly sophisticated and targeted cyber attack’, first reported around Easter weekend, continues. British retailer Marks & Spencer estimates that a cyberattack that stopped it from processing online orders and left store shelves empty will cost it about 300 million pounds ($403m). The company said in a business update (PDF) on Wednesday that disruption from … Read more
How global power struggles are impacting local communities, culture and sovereignty in the Solomon Islands and Samoa. In The Battlefield, tensions between the United States and China over the Pacific escalate, affecting the lives of Pacific Islanders. Key figures like former Malaita Premier Daniel Suidani and tour guide Maria Loweyo reveal how global power struggles … Read more