France, May 22 -- An agreement to transfer sovereignty of the Chagos Islands from the United Kingdom back to Mauritius has been cleared by a British court, after being blocked by a last-minute injunction, prompted by a legal challenge from exiled islanders.

The UK-Mauritius deal to transfer sovereignty of the Chagos Islands has been dramatically revived after a British court lifted an injunction that had threatened to derail the deal at the last minute.

The High Court had initially blocked the agreement just hours before it was due to be signed on Thursday morning, following a legal challenge from two British-Chagossian women representing the islands' original residents.

But after a rapid follow-up hearing, Judge Martin Chamberlain rul...