Publishing Company Sees 40,000% Increase in Sales, SetNov Stays Silent in Court, and More: The VICE Evening Bulletin

Indonesia News

Fighter Jets F-16 Arrive in Indonesia
Four F-16 fighter jets granted by the US have landed at the Iswahjudi Air Force Base in Magetan, East Java. Two others are still grounded in Hawaii due to engine troubles. The fighter jets are a major addition to Indonesia’s Air Force. —The Jakarta Post

Setya Novanto Stays Silent in Court
It took months for investigators to finally bring the House Speaker to court. But at his first hearing today, Novanto barely opened his mouth, even when addressed by the judge. Novanto, who allegedly faked his illness to avoid court sessions for the multibillion dollar e-KTP case, kept his mouth zipped as the judge, prosecutor, and his attorney went on about his health status. —Detik

Police Prohibit Raids By Mass Organizations at DWP
Several mass organizations are already planning to stage protests at the annual dance festival Djakarta Warehouse Project this weekend. South Jakarta Police will allow these protests, but it won’t tolerate unofficial raids targeting drugs and alcohol consumption. “If [these raids] happen, I will act on it,” said Roma Hutajulu, chief of South Jakarta Police. —Kompas

Gramedia Sees 40,000% Increase in Sales on National Online Shopping Day
The publishing company broke its own record on National Online Shopping Day yesterday. In one day, they sold over Rp 10 billion ($700,000 USD) worth of goods—a 40,000 percent increase from total sales at last year’s event. Gramedia offered discounts as much as 50 percent this year. —Tempo

International News

‘North’ Is The Japanese Kanji of The Year
After a year of the North Korean nuclear crisis, it’s not surprising that the Kanji character that means “north” became the Japanese Kanji of 2017. According to the the Japan Kanji Aptitude Testing Foundation, the word represents Japan’s anxiety of its neighbor’s nuclear missile threats. Every December, the people of Japan chooses a word to sum up the social and political tone of the previous months. —The Guardian

Philippines May Soon Import Cattle From Brazil, Argentina
The World Organization for Animal Health has given the greenlight for the Philippines to import cattle from Brazil and Argentina, given that the country follow a series of protocols to maintain its feet-and-mouth disease free status. The protocols will involve putting the cattle in six-month quarantine before the animals are shipped to the Philippines. —Philippines Star

Google To Open Artificial Intelligence Research Center in China
The search engine, along with its app store, email and storage services, is banned in China, but Google is opening an artificial intelligence research center in Beijing. Though the Chinese government supports AI research, it also continues to heavily restrict foreign media and internet platforms that are considered to be going against the country’s socialist ideas. —Reuters

Six Get Death Sentence For Murder of an ‘Untouchable’ in India
A court in India has ordered death penalty for six people for brutally killing a man of the Dalit caste—previously called the untouchables—after he married a woman belonging to a higher caste. The woman’s father is one of the six convicted of the crime. The attack on Sanar and his wife Kausalya happened in March 2016, eight months after their marriage. Kausalya was badly injured but survived. —NPR

Everything Else

How to Know If You’re a ‘Cinebro’
If you don’t know a Cinebro, you might be one. —VICE

We Asked People to Tell Us What They Still Hide From Their Parents, In Only Six Words

“Gay, gay, gay, gay, gay, gay.” —VICE

Some Masochist Watched ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ on Netflix 365 Days Straight

Netflix dropped a year-end report, and it reveals some interesting facts about its watchers all over the world. —VICE

The 100 Best Albums of 2017

The Noisey staff’s favorite releases of the year, including Lil Peep’s Come Over When You’re Sober and Daniel Caesar’s Freudian. —Noisey