( October 16, 2026, 1:05 PM EDT) -- SAIPAN, Northern Mariana Islands — A judge in the U.S. District Court for the District of Northern Mariana Islands on Oct. 15 issued two orders denying two investment entities’ motions to dismiss a petition filed against them by the Government of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic (GOL), which is seeking to enforce arbitral awards against the entities and affiliated individuals and companies worth more than $5 million in attorney fees and arbitration costs, ruling that the court has general jurisdiction over the entities under GOL’s alter ego theory....