US District Judge Brian Cogan on Wednesday sentenced Mexican drug kingpin Joaquín Guzmán, known as “El Chapo,” to life in prison plus 30 years and ordered him to forfeit 12.6 billion dollars.  Guzmán ran one of the largest narco-cartels in Mexico and as recently as 2009 was listed on Forbes’ list of the world’s richest [...]

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo publicly designated four members of Myanmar’s military on Tuesday. The public designation, made under Section 7031(c) of the Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2018, means the four individuals and their immediate family members may not enter the US. Pompeo cited gross human rights violations, including [...]

Indonesia’s House of Representatives on Tuesday approved the Science and Technology Bill, which imposes criminal charges on foreign researchers if they are found to violate visa regulations, according to a copy obtained by the Jakarta Post. In addition to requiring permits for research, the new law also levies criminal charges against researchers who steal biodiversity [...]

The US Congress passed the Cambodia Act of 2019 Monday, which aims “To promote free and fair elections, political freedoms, and human rights in Cambodia, and for other purposes.” The bill was introduced by Congressman Ted Yoho, of Florida’s Third District and Lead Republican for the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Asia, the Pacific, and [...]

Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte has signed a bill into law penalizing acts of sexual harassment including catcalling, wolf-whistling and persistent telling of sexual jokes. Officials released a copy of the Republic Act 11313, known as the “Safe Spaces Act,” on Monday, which Duterte signed in April. Bars, restaurants, cinemas and other public places are required [...]

India’s Lok Sabha, the lower house of parliament, passed a bill on Monday to amend a statute that delineates the powers of the National Investigation Agency (NIA), the country’s federal anti-terrorism investigation agency. It will become law once it is passed by the upper house of parliament (Rajya Sabha) and receives presidential assent. In its [...]

The Guatemala Constitutional Court granted an injunction Sunday to stop the country’s President, Jimmy Morales, from entering into a proposal with the US that would require migrants from El Salvador and Honduras to apply for asylum in Guatemala instead of in the US. Morales canceled a trip to Washington, DC, earlier Sunday to let the [...]

The pension reform bill passed by the Chamber of Deputies of the National Congress of Brazil last week will reportedly be delayed possibly as late as August. Pension reform has been a key issue for Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro since taking office last year. Currently, many Brazilians retire in their mid-50s having contributed to the [...]

The US House of Representatives approved an amendment to the defense bill for fiscal year 2020 on Friday that would require the president to obtain congressional approval before ordering a military strike against Iran. The amendment passed 251-170, largely along party lines but with 27 Republican representatives signing on. The bill itself, the 2020 National [...]

Chilean President Sebastián Piñera signed a bill into law on Thursday that will lift the statute of limitations on sex abuse cases involving minors. Originally introduced in 2010, the bill was reintroduced at Piñera’s urging after a surge in reports that former Santiago Cardinals Francisco Javier Errazuriz Ossa and Ricardo Ezzati had covered up allegations of [...]