British for now, but after todays agreement, not for much longer. The islands are all uninhabited, save for one. An important one. DieGo garcia. It is home to a vast and secretive american Military Base, used to refuel bombers during the wars in iraq and afghanistan. Foghorn but for years, the Island Nation of mauritius has been staking claim to the ChaGos Islands, planting their flag on one of the tropical atolls here and demanding that britain give up what some have called the uks last colony in africa. Back in the 1960s, the people living on the archipelaGo were forcibly removed by britain, which kept hold of the islands while giving mauritius its independence. A secret deal was already in place to let the americans set up their Military Base on DieGo Garcia. Chapter ii of the charter. But in recent years, international opinion has turned against britain. That the united kingdom is under an obligation. The uns top court ruled here that the islands do indeed belong to mauritius and s
he acted pretty decisively in sacking nadhim zahawi as the conservative party chairman, as he defends his handling of the affair. the kremlin rejects claims by borisjohnson that president putin threatened him with a missile strike before russia s invasion of ukraine. and the former all black campbelljohnstone becomes new zealand s first national player to reveal he is gay. and coming up in sportsday later in the hour on the bbc news channel. we wll have the draw for the fifth round of the women s fa cup, we re down to the last 16. good evening and welcome to the bbc news at six. firefighters and control room staff across the uk have voted overwhelmingly to go on strike for the first time in 20 years over pay. last year the fire brigades union rejected a 5% pay offer. the union now says it ll give the government and employers 10 days to come up with a better offer, or the strikes will go ahead. it s the latest in a series of strikes announced by the public sector. on wednesd
in a mosque in pakistan, at least 59 people have died and more than 150 have been injured in a suspected bomb attack. three years to the week when the uk left the european union, is it now possible to measure the economic impact of brexit? # well, i heard it through the grapevine.# and we remember barrett strong, the man behind much of the motown magic. and coming up on the bbc news channel. jarrod bowen on target for west ham against derby county in the fa cup with the winner taking on manchester united in the fifth round. good evening. for the first time in 20 years, firefighters and control room staff in england, scotland, wales and northern ireland have voted to go on strike. the main dispute is over pay, and the result of the ballot was overwhelming. the fire brigades union said while the mandate was very clear, it would not announce any dates for strike action until it had held talks with fire service employers in all parts of the uk. it s the latest in a series of pay
thousands of syrian refugees, arrive at the turkish border as they try to cross back into their home country after last week s earthquakes. and tributes for the hollywood film star and model, raquel welsh who s died at the age of 82. the energy giant, centrica which owns british gas has reported huge profits of £35 billion last year more than triple those of 2021. the increase is largely down to the surge in energy prices because of the war in ukraine. british gas has recently been criticised for entering the homes of vulnerable customers to force fit prepayment meters. let s talk to our business correspondent theo leggett. which correspondent theo leggett. part of the business i these which part of the business have these profits really come from? element for a start, very little has actually come from british gas, the retail bit of the business. that sells as retail bit of the business. that sells gas to retail bit of the business. that sells gas to people