Islamic Defenders Front Demonstration, Ahok’s Release Date, and Indonesians’ Internet Habit: The VICE Evening Bulletin

Indonesia News

Indonesians Believe the Internet Too Much
The Ministry of Communications and Informatics (Kominfo) says that Indonesians tend to believe everything they see on the internet, regardless if the information is accurate or not. Semuel Abrijani Pangerapan from Kominfo says that according to a recent survey, 65 percent of Indonesians don’t question the content that they consume on the internet. —Detik

Ahok Could Be Released From Prison Mid 2018
Former Jakarta governor Basuki Purnama Tjahaja, who’s better known as Ahok, could be a free man as early as 17 August next year, as he’s eligible for Christmas Day and Independence Day remission. Ahok was charged two years in prison for blasphemy this year, and he began his sentence on May 9. —BCC

FPI to Hold Demonstration at Facebook HQ
A meme saying that the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) will hold a demonstration at Facebook’s Indonesia office in Jakarta was uploaded to Instagram today. FPI spokeperson Slamet Maarif said that while the organization is planning such action to protest LGBT content on Facebook, the date is not yet fixed. —Liputan6

Indonesia Needs More Football Coaches
The Football Association of Indonesia (PSSI) is holding a 2-week course for Asian Football Confederation-licensed coaches this month in Yogyakarta, starting yesterday. Twenty-four participants of the course are mentored by Emral Abus Sutan Harhara, the former coach of a Bandung football team, and instructed by Bambang Nurdiansyah, a coach and former Indonesian football player. Indonesia still needs 500 football AFC-licensed coaches, according to Danurwindo, the technical director of PSSI. —Bola

International News

K-Pop Star Jonghyun Death Ruled a Suicide
Kim Jong-hyun, who’s better known as Jonghyun from the K-pop band SHINee, was found unconscious in a hotel room in Seoul yesterday before he died in a hospital at 27 years old. The police is ruling Kim’s death a suicide, and reported that he sent his sister a text message implying that he was going to take his own life. A note sent to K-pop singer Nine, which has been uploaded to her Instagram account, suggests that Kim was struggling with depression from the high pressure of the demanding K-pop industry. —Variety

Malaysia, China Bust Macau Scam Syndicate
Yesterday, the director of Malaysia’s Commercial Crime Investigation Department said that last week, in simultaneous raids, the Malaysian police have arrested 65 Chinese citizens, while Chinese authorities detained 75 others who are involved in a Macau scam syndicate. The Chinese citizens had been working from makeshift call centers in Malaysia, scamming victims in China who have lost $3 million USD in the last 6 months. —Channel NewsAsia

Derailed US Train Travel Twice the Speeding Limit
The Amtrak train was going 80 mph in a 30 mph zone when it derailed on Monday in Washington state. Thirteen train cars jumped off the tracks, and some of them fell into the rush hour traffic in the highway below the tracks. At least three people died and hundreds are injured. —CNN

Everything Else

When Cosplay Crosses the Line
We talked to cosplayers about the pervasive sexual harassment problem in Indonesia’s cosplay scene. —VICE

Photographing Japanese Schoolgirls, Without the Stereotypes
Photographer Constance McDonald captured the everyday life of an all-girls high school in Tokyo where life doesn’t imitate anime. —VICE

10 Places You’ve Got to Go In 2018
Let us help you decide where you travel next year. —VICE

Tom DeLonge’s UFO Research Project Seems Increasingly Legit

A former Pentagon UFO official just joined the former Blink-182 guitarist’s research non-profit, To The Stars Academy. —Noisey