Democratic senators are calling for the Supreme Court to investigate Justice Clarence Thomas for failing to disclose reported luxury trips funded by a billionaire Republican donor. The Senate Judiciary Committee Democrats have announced they will hold a hearing on Supreme Court ethics. The panel also warned of legislation, if the court does not resolve this issue on its own. Justice Thomas has said he did not think he needed to report the trips. In a letter to Chief Justice John Roberts, Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Dick Durbin, and 10 other Democratic lawmakers said Justice Thomas’ behaviour was “plainly inconsistent with the ethical standards the American people expect of any person in a position of public trust”. “If the Court does not resolve this issue on its own, the Committee will consider legislation to resolve it,” the lawmakers added. ProPublica reported last week Justice Thomas had accepted vacations including luxury yachts and private planes from real estate mogul Harlan Crow nearly each year for several decades.(BBC)…[+]

The Italian coastguard is carrying out two large-scale operations to rescue around 1,200 migrants from overcrowded boats off the coast of Sicily. About 800 people are travelling on one of the fishing boats, while around 400 are on another. The country’s coastguard has already rescued around 2,000 people in other operations since Friday. At least two people died during the weekend’s boat crossings, German non-profit ResQship said. Migrant arrivals to Italy have risen steeply compared with the same period last year, despite efforts by the right-wing coalition government to clamp down on irregular migration. The boat carrying 400 people, which is believed to have set out from Tobruk in Libya, was still without help late on Monday evening, according to an unofficial hotline for migrants in distress, Alarm Phone. It said it had raised an urgent alarm with the authorities of Italy, Greece and Malta on Sunday. German non-governmental organisation Sea-Watch International said two merchant vessels near one of the ships had been ordered not to help with rescue efforts by Malta while the boat was in Maltese waters. Instead, one of the ships had been allowed to supply it with fuel and water. The Maltese government has not commented on the matter.(BBC)…[+]

US President Joe Biden said his priority was to “keep the peace” in Northern Ireland as he set off on Air Force One for a visit to Belfast. He will arrive in the city tonight to mark the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday peace agreement. The 1998 deal brought an end to the Troubles – the decades-long violent conflict in Northern Ireland in which thousands of people were killed. A huge security operation is already in place in Belfast for Mr Biden’s visit. While he has praised what politicians did to secure peace in 1998, his visit is overshadowed by the fact that Northern Ireland’s power-sharing government is not functioning. It collapsed last year when the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) – one of the biggest parties at Stormont – pulled out as part of a protest against post-Brexit trade rules for Northern Ireland.(BBC)…[+]