British MPs will hold a debate on February 21 on a petition signed by more than 1.6 million people calling for a planned state visit by US President Donald Trump to be cancelled to avoid embarrassing the Queen. The debate was called by the Petitions Committee of the House of Commons. On the same day,MPs will also debate a second petition calling for the state visit to go ahead, which has been signed by more than 100,000 people.
The Trump administration said 872 refugees will be allowed into the United States this week despite a presidential order suspending the US refugees programme. Kevin McAleenan, the acting head of Customs and Border Protection, said that the refugees were already travelling and stopping them would cause "undue hardship".
Thousands of men convicted under now-abolished anti-homosexuality laws in Britain have been pardoned posthumously under a law enacted on Tuesday, and many more still alive can now apply to have their criminal convictions wiped out. Announcing the new law, the Ministry of Justice said the pardons apply automatically to deceased men who were convicted for consensual same-sex relations before homosexuality was decriminalised several decades ago. Men living with convictions can apply to the government to have their names cleared. Activist Peter Tatchell, who had campaigned for 30 years for the pardons and an apology from the British Government, welcomed the new law, but said it "has connotations of forgiveness for a wrong done". The law will "remedy the grave injustices suffered by many of the estimated 50,000 to 100,000 men who were convicted under discriminatory anti-gay laws between 1885 and 2003".
Israel announced plans to build 3000 new homes in West Bank settlements, pressing forward with a construction binge. The move followed an announcement days earlier of an additional 2500 homes in the West Bank and more than 550 homes in east Jerusalem. The Palestinians claim both areas, captured by Israel in the 1967 Mideast war, as parts of a future independent state - a position that has wide international backing.
A ferret is recovering after being fitted with a pacemaker during a rare surgery at Kansas State University. The 4-year-old ferret, named Zelda, is owned by Carl Hobi of Olathe, who took her to the Veterinary Health Centre in Manhattan, Kansas, after Christmas. Zelda had a third-degree block in her heart, which caused a low heartbeat and a lack of energy. The university said tests determined Zelda was a good candidate for a pacemaker, although it had to be special ordered because of her veins' small size. The university says Zelda was released two days after the surgery and should enjoy a normal ferret lifespan, which the school's veterinary college says generally is about 10 years.