UK suffers defeat in UN vote on Chagos Islands

Washington had campaigned vigorously at the UN and directly in talks with national capitals around the world in defence of the UK’s continued control of the archipelago, where there is a US military base at Diego Garcia. The islands, known by the Foreign Office as the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT), include Diego Garcia, used by US bombers on long-range missions and, in the past, for rendition flights carrying terrorism suspects. The UK and US lobbied intensely at the UN to try to avoid support for Britain dropping to single figures among the UN’s 193 member states.

Source: www.theguardian.com