The head of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party in the state of West Bengal has threatened to shoot and jail people who protest a new citizenship law that has triggered a month of nationwide demonstrations. Dilip Ghosh, a member of India’s Parliament and the president of the BJP in West Bengal, made the comments to party members on Sunday in a district of the state that borders Bangladesh. The citizenship law provides a path to naturalization for people from Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Pakistan, unless they’re Muslim. Many Indians worry the law will be used in conjunction with a National Register of Citizens that could require all Indians to produce documents proving their origins, a challenge in a country where many people lack official records including birth certificates.
Thailand eases royal motorcade rules to unblock traffic
Thailand’s king has directed police to reduce the closure of roads during royal motorcades. The new rules issued by King Maha Vajiralongkorn to ease traffic congestion have been tested in the capital, Bangkok, since October. Police Maj. Gen. Komsak Sumangkaset said the rules will be applied throughout the country. They will apply only to personal trips by members of the royal family, not to those involving official duties. “It is the initiative of his majesty the king to help alleviate traffic congestion. And we have tested it for months and now we have come up with measures that traffic police nationwide must follow,” he said. The new rules follow criticism on social media in recent months of large traffic jams created when roads were closed to allow royal motorcades to pass through.
Indonesia sentences American man for selling drugs
An Indonesian court sentenced an American man to 9 1/3 years in prison yesterday after finding him guilty of selling cocaine and marijuana on the resort island of Bali. Police said Ian Andrew Hernandez of California was arrested last May with 10 small plastic packs containing 6.6 grams of cocaine and a pack with 23.7 grams of marijuana at his rented house on the island. The raid on the house followed a tip from a member of the community. Police also seized electric scales, cigarette papers and a cellphone allegedly used to receive orders for drugs from tourists through text messages. The indictment said Hernandez confessed that the devices and drugs were his. Prosecutors had sought a 14-year sentence, but the judges said they reduced the penalty because Hernandez regretted his acts and promised to reform.
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