The United States The arrest of a leader of the Japanese "Yakuza" gang while trying to buy air defense missiles

The Southern District of New York's attorney general's office has confirmed that police have arrested a leader of Japan's largest organized crime group, Yakuza, as he tried to purchase stolen missiles from a military base in Afghanistan.

The United States The arrest of a gang leaderViolent fight between rival Yakudza factions in Tokyo

In a statement, the Attorney General's office indicated that "Takeshi Ibisawa, 57, has been under surveillance by the US Drug Enforcement Administration since 2019, and that he was arrested in New York last Monday, as part of this case, and 3 Thai citizens were arrested."

He added, "The evidence base against the defendants was created with the help of a DEA employee who, as an undercover agent, posed as a Yakuza weapons dealer."

"Ibisawa planned and paid for the purchase of weapons, imported at least a ton of drugs into the United States to sell on the streets of New York and other cities, and intended to transfer the missiles to armed ethnic groups in Myanmar," the office said.

Source: "Novosti"

US Senate confirms appointment of first black female Supreme Court justice

The US Senate has confirmed Kitangi Brown-Jackson to the Supreme Court as the court's first black female justice.

Jackson, a 51-year-old appeals court judge, has nine years of federal court experience, and her appointment was confirmed by 53-47 votes, mostly on party lines, but with three Republican votes.

The vote was presided over by Vice President Kamala Harris, who is also the first black woman to reach this senior position.

Jackson will take her seat when Justice Stephen Breyer retires this summer, bolstering the court's liberal wing, which is dominated by conservatives.

During four days of Senate hearings last month, Jackson spoke of her parents' suffering through segregation and said her "path has been clearer" than theirs after the civil rights laws were enacted.

She attended Harvard University, worked as a public defender, worked in a private law firm and was appointed as a member of the American Judgment Committee.

She told senators that she would enforce the law "without fear or favour" and repelled Republican attempts to portray her as too lenient with the criminals she sentenced.

Jackson will be joined by three other women, Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, and Amy Connie Barrett, meaning four of the nine judges will be women for the first time in history.

Source: AB