Airbnb Wars, Russian Pork, and 'Chicken Joy': The VICE Evening Bulletin

Russia Now Wants to Sell Indonesia Pork, For Real
It all sounded like a joke when Russian officials suggested that they sell pork to Indonesia, a Muslim-majority country. Vladimir Putin laughed out loud and dismissed the idea as absurd. But now the Russian Ministry of Agriculture is considering the idea, making a joke, a reality. —Kompas

Indonesian Hotel Industry Fires Back at Airbnb
The domestic hotel industry is struggling to keep up with competition from Airbnb, especially in Bali where companies are using the app to rent out so many villas that the top earner made $15.4 million USD last year. The industry is now lobbying the government to require Airbnb to pay taxes, the same as a normal hotel. —Kumparan

Indonesian Artists Pull Out of KL Art Show Over 'Censorship' Complaints
A collaboration between five Malaysian artists and two Indonesian ones ended poorly after some of their artwork was suddenly removed from the show the night before opening day because it contained "elements of communism." Malaysian officials have declined to comment on why the artwork was removed. —Malaysian Insight

Legendary Philippines Fast-Food Chain Jollibee Eyes Indonesia
Are you ready for some Chicken Joy? The Filipino fast-food franchise hopes to open its first Indonesian branches by 2019, with the hopes of dethroning the colonel as the king of the crispy fried chicken kingdom. "If you are familiar with Indonesia, everyone there loves chicken," a Jollibee official said. Why, yes. We do. —Straits Times

Osaka Ends 'Sister City' Deal With San Francisco Over Comfort Women Memorial
The Japanese city has shared close ties with its US sister for more than 60 years, but when San Fran. unveiled a memorial to comfort women—women who were forced into the sex trade to service soldiers during WWII-era Japan—Osaka decided to call it quits. Japan has long refused to acknowledge much of its war-time misdeeds, despite overwhelming evidence that the practice did indeed occur. —Japan Times

Bank Officials Barred From Leaving Their Homes In Vietnam Corruption Crackdown
Five officials with the partially private owned Dong A Bank, including the bank's one-time CEO, were named in an ongoing corruption probe by Vietnamese authorities. The bank is accused of "deliberate violation of state regulations on economic management that led to serious consequences and the violation of lending provisions."—Reuters

China Rocked by Kindergarten Abuse Scandal
The allegations are shocking to say the least. Children, many as young as six, were subjected to physical and sexual abuse, including being injected with drugs, molested, and stripped naked, at a nursery school run by China's largest private childhood education provider. "Who on earth allowed this nursery to become a devil’s nest?” one commenter wrote online. —the Guardian

Myanmar Signs Deal to Accept Return of Rohingya Refugees
More than 600,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled to neighboring Bangladesh to escape violence at the hands of the Myanmar Army. Now, Myanmar officials say they are willing to welcome the refugees back, but with strings attached. Those who fled will likely be allowed to return if they can provide proof of residency, a hard task in a country that refuses to recognize the Rohingya as actual citizens. —ABC

Lose Your Mind to Omar Souleyman's 'Es-Samra' Video
Boats, men, water, seagulls, elaborate techno that's gonna shake you to the bone and wonder why you're dead inside – Omar Souleyman's video for "Es-Samra" has it all. Watch the video here: —VICE

Garbage 'Apologies' From Men in Power Prove They Don't Understand Consent
Men implicated in Hollywood (and the media's) spreading sexual harassment scandals keep sidestepping personal responsibility and claiming that they misread the cues. Nope, you didn't mistakenly think the women were into it. You don't understand consent. —VICE

Conservative South Korea Starts to Wake Up to Sexual Revolution
“Why do you need to be engaged or feel some deep responsibility to have sex? If they’re hotties with bodies just hop on," writes Lin Yu-han, a woman pushing to change South Korea's deeply held conservative views about sex and relationships. Sex shops are starting to open up and this is in a country that still uses loan words for "penis" and "sex."—the Guardian

John Lennon's Stolen Diaries Have Been Found After 11 Years
Along with about 100 other pieces of Lennon memorabilia, including a few pairs of his iconic glasses. German police arrested a 58-year-old man accused of stealing the items after finding them in his trunk. —VICE