NBI files charges against overseas vloggers for fake news
The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) has initiated legal action against several vloggers based outside the Philippines, accusing them of disseminating false information online.
This move is part of the NBI's broader campaign to combat disinformation that undermines public trust and disrupts national discourse.
NBI Director Jaime Santiago revealed that the bureau has identified 20 vloggers involved in spreading fake news, particularly targeting government officials and exacerbating political tensions.
The NBI is also investigating the financial backers of these disinformation campaigns, suspecting coordinated efforts to destabilize the political landscape.
In a related development, the NBI arrested a Cebu-based vlogger who admitted to fabricating content that misrepresented President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.'s statements.
The vlogger altered a news post and inserted fabricated quotes, leading to charges under the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012.
The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) has urged the government to respect freedom of expression while combating fake news.
The CHR emphasized the importance of distinguishing between malicious disinformation and legitimate opinion to avoid infringing on constitutional rights.
As the NBI continues its crackdown on disinformation, it is collaborating with social media platforms to trace and hold accountable those responsible for spreading false narratives.
The bureau's efforts aim to preserve the integrity of information and protect the public from deceptive content.
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Middle East Eye
9 hours ago
- Middle East Eye
Israel's attack on Iran: What you need to know about Tehran
Millions of residents have left Tehran as Israel continues to attack Iran. Main roads have been clogged with traffic as people try to flee the metropolis. At petrol stations, residents have waited in line for hours to fill their vehicles. Shops, banks and businesses have shut. The authorities have blacked out the internet. Apartment blocks have been left largely empty. And throughout, there is the continued threat of further Israeli bombardments. To date, these have killed at least 639 people and injured 1,329 others, according to the US-based group Human Rights Activists in Iran. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters Iranian authorities have not updated figures since earlier this week, when they put fatalities at 224 people. Where in Iran is Tehran? Tehran is located in northern Iran, which has a population of 90 million people and an area larger than that of the UK, France, Germany, and Spain combined. Although there is evidence of settlement in the area for more than 6,000 years, Tehran did not officially became Iran's capital until 1906 following the Constitutional Revolution. To the north and east are the peaks of the Alborz mountains, which overlook the Caspian Sea. Mount Damavand, Iran's highest point at 5,600m, can be seen from the capital. To the south it is mostly arid plains and desert, including the salt basin Namak Lake and, much further to the east, Dasht-e Kavir, known as the Great Salt Desert. The very north of Tehran is at an elevation of 1,700m, while the southern tip is only 1,100m above sea level, meaning temperatures can vary by several degrees Celsius. Iran is prone to earthquakes, although Tehran has not suffered major causalties compared to the rest of the country in recent years. Around 30km to the west of Tehran is Karaj, the fourth largest city in Iran, which is linked to the capital by the Tehran–Karaj Highway. This week the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said Israel had attacked nuclear centrifuge production facilities on the outskirts of Karaj. The city of Qom, home to one of the holiest sites in Shia Islam, is 120km south of Tehran. During the current war, the road between the two cities has been attacked by Israel. Many residents of Tehran, including non-Iranians, have fled the capital for the cities of Amol, Babol and Sari, 200km across the mountains and close to the Caspian Sea. How big is Tehran? The capital of Iran may be visited by foreigners less frequently than other major cities in the Middle East and North Africa, it is still a major metropolis. Only Cairo and Istanbul are comparable in size, with metropolitan populations of 23 million people and 16 million respectively. Tehran has a population estimated at 9.5 million people. This increases to 16.8 million when the wider metropolitan area is included. It has an area of more than 700 km2, and has a size and population density similar to New York City. The city dominates life in Iran, and is the economic, political, administrative, commercial, financial and cultural centre of the country. But this key role has made it a target for Israeli attacks since 13 June this year. Iran's Atomic Energy Organisation and the Tehran Research Reactor are located just north of Amirabad district and within residential areas. Central neighbourhoods hit include Kamranieh, as well as Lavizan in the north-east, and nearby Tehran-Pars and Narmak. Who lives in Tehran? Tehran, like the rest of Iran, is a young city, with an average age of 32. The country has the largest number of Shia Muslims globally - making up 90 percent of the population - with most subscribing to the Twelver branch. The city is home to considerable numbers of Kurds and Azerbaijanis. Many people left the city, especially to the West, during the Iranian Revolution of 1979 and the advent of the Islamic Republic. Others fled during the Iran-Iraq war of 1980-1988, when the city was last targeted by air raids. Recent attacks have evoked painful memories for many of Tehran's older residents. The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979 brought refugees from the east, a number that was later boosted by the US-led military action from 2001 onwards. But many Afghans in Iran have faced discrimination and are frequently deported. What's the layout of Tehran? Tehran has faced many economic and political challenges over the last half century, including the Islamic Revolution, Saddam Hussein's war on Iran, and, more recently, the imposition of sanctions by the US and others. This has meant that Tehran's infrastructure has failed to keep pace with its growth, resulting in gridlocked roads and poor services. The city consists of 22 districts. Like many capitals, it is marked by older, more historic buildings at its centre, including mosques, religious schools and the central bazaar, linked by squares, boulevards and narrow streets. Some, such as the old royal citadel, are now occupied by government offices. More modern neighbourhoods and suburbs, planned on a grid street system, have sprung up in recent decades, especially to the south and west, where they have absorbed smaller towns and communities on the outskirts of Tehran. Infrastructure includes Mehrabad International Airport to the south, which serves domestic flights, but has been hit by Israeli missiles in the past week. The area close to the mountain foothills has traditionally been favoured by the city's wealthy, who appreciate its cooler climate during the summer heat. As the city has expanded over the decades, these districts have become part of Tehran. Land is more expensive here, but the population density is lower and services are better. Kesharvarz Boulevard, pictured (left in November 2024 and after an Israeli attack on 15 June 2025), crosses Valiasar Boulevard (AFP) Land is also more expensive on the city's north-south and east-west routes, such as historic Valiasar Boulevard, and Enqelab Street, which is named after the revolution of 1979 and associated with protests against Iran's mandatory hijab. Modern expressways, including the Hemmat Highway, run east-west to the suburbs. What's Tehran like for transport? Bad. While news reports in recent days have emphasised the lines of traffic leaving the city, Tehran has always been notorious for its congestion and pollution, which is exacerbated by the high number of older vehicles on the roads. Pollution chokes Tehran in December 2023, forcing some workplaces and schools to shut. The problem is worse during the colder autumn and winter months (AFP) The result is frequent smog. Much of this is down to geography and the Alborz mountains that prevent winds blowing in from the Caspian and trap hot air coming from the south. Only limited relief has come with the subway network, one of the biggest rail networks in the region. It first began running trains in 1999 and now has seven lines carrying more than three million people every day. Its tunnels are now being used by many Tehranis to shelter from the missile strikes, along with basements or older shelters used in the war with Iraq during the 1980s.
Middle East Eye
15 hours ago
- Middle East Eye
Will Trump abandon 'America First' to join Israel's war on Iran?
Two leaders obsessed by their political legacies, and one also by his own cult of personality, are escalating the already highly tense situation in the Middle East to dangerous new peaks. Israel's unprovoked attack on Iran this month marks the riskiest chapter yet of a dream that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been chasing for four decades: regime change in Tehran. Israel seems determined to modify in its favour, once and for all, the overall strategic balance of the Middle East. Its ongoing quest to destroy Hamas and ethnically cleanse Gaza must be framed in this context, alongside the decapitation of Hezbollah's political and military leadership in Lebanon. To a certain extent, the collapse of the Assad regime in Syria fits into the same strategy, even if the final chapter of the Syrian ordeal has not been written yet - and it may not necessarily be positive for Israel. Now Netanyahu has decided to attack Iran - not with a ground invasion, which would be militarily impossible, but through precision air strikes to eliminate the nation's military leadership and the capabilities that Israel deems most dangerous to its own existence, including nuclear and ballistic-missile sites. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters Israel's attacks have so far killed more than 600 people in Iran, including more than 250 civilians, according to a US-based human rights group. Tel Aviv's primary stated purpose is to permanently prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon that could be deployed against Israel. Its secondary goal is to create a legitimacy crisis and stir internal dissent within Iran, aiming to bring about the collapse of the Islamic Republic. Its ideal outcome would be the installation of a pro-western regime that would bring Iran, together with Saudi Arabia, into the fold of the Abraham Accords for a period of 'peace and development' according to terms and conditions conceived, imposed and enforced by American and Israeli hegemony. Perception of vulnerability In this context, the future for Palestinians is deeply uncertain. At best, they could continue to be caged in their enclaves in the occupied West Bank and Gaza, constantly harassed (if not killed) by Israeli settlers and soldiers. At worst, they could be forcibly transferred elsewhere. In line with his cult of personality, US President Donald Trump appears tempted to join this master plan, detecting that this time, it could succeed. With its regional allies severely degraded, Iran is perceived in both Washington and Tel Aviv as more vulnerable than ever before. Whether this perception is right or wrong is another matter. Should Netanyahu's dream become reality, Trump wants to be a part of it, and to take a large share of the credit for upending the Middle East's political landscape. Netanyahu, meanwhile, would cement his role in power, skip the Israeli justice system, and potentially go down in history as the man who eliminated the key threats Israel has faced since its creation in 1948. Trump has a problem: his Maga constituency, to whom he promised 'America First' and no more endless wars In previous weeks, the Trump administration had attempted to move ahead with the so-called Libya option, which would entail Iran's voluntary relinquishment of its nuclear enrichment programme through a mediated deal. Of course, the Libya precedent must sound terrible to the Iranian leadership, having watched the fate that western nations ultimately meted out to Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi. The US initially hinted that Iran could keep its nuclear enrichment programme under strict international monitoring, provided that it dispose of its accumulated stockpile of uranium enriched to 60 percent purity. Then, as often happens, the White House backtracked and demanded zero enrichment, bending once again to the whims of Netanyahu. At the time of writing, the international community was still waiting for Trump's decision on whether to directly join the war on Iran. This is a crucial decision, because in order to credibly dismantle the Iranian nuclear programme and its alleged military dimensions, it will be necessary to destroy the Fordow facility, buried under a mountain. Only the US owns the 'bunker buster' bombs that could do the job, and the planes to deliver such a high payload on target. Massive deja vu But Trump has a problem: his Maga constituency, to whom he promised 'America First' and no more endless wars. Former Trump strategist Steve Bannon has issued a stern warning about joining the war against Iran - and to get a sense of how much the winds are shifting among the Maga base, just watch conservative commentator Tucker Carlson's excoriating interview with Senator Ted Cruz, one of the more ardent Israel supporters in Congress. The saddest element of all this, however, is the massive sense of deja vu arising from this latest chapter of US involvement in the Middle East. All the issues related to Iran's nuclear programme are purely speculative. This past March, Tulsi Gabbard, the US director of national intelligence, told Congress that the intelligence community 'continues to assess that Iran is not building a nuclear weapon and Supreme Leader [Ali] Khamenei has not authorised the nuclear weapons programme he suspended in 2003'. In other words, no imminent threat, contrary to Israel's assertions. Why Netanyahu is frantically trying to pull the US into Israel's war on Iran Read More » In 2003, the Bush administration claimed to have intelligence showing evidence of weapons of mass destruction to justify its invasion of Iraq. Within months, these claims were shown to be false. This time around, US intelligence agencies have reached the conclusion that Iran is not building a nuclear weapon - but apparently ignoring this assessment, the president might be sleepwalking into another war of choice that, in Bannon's own words, could 'tear the country apart'. Trump's support for Israel's latest wave of aggression suggests that the real issue is not Iran's nuclear programme, but Iran itself in the current political configuration. US military assets are being moved into position ahead of a possible attack, although no final decision has been taken. In such cases, it would not be surprising to see a false flag operation, quickly attributed to Iran through clever spinning by complacent media, in order to push inexperienced, ignorant and impulsive leaders to take the 'right' decision. Trump, unfortunately, perfectly fits this description. The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Eye.
Gulf Today
a day ago
- Gulf Today
Oklahoma aspires to become hub for mineral refining
Nestled beneath Oklahoma's Wichita Mountains sits a two-story warehouse containing the only machine in the United States capable of refining nickel, a crucial energy transition metal now dominated by China. The facility, owned by startup Westwin Elements, aims to help Oklahoma become the epicentre for US critical minerals processing, a sector the country largely abandoned decades ago. The state will have to overcome several obstacles to get there, including a lack of major critical mineral deposits, a weak education system and its location at the centre of the United States — far from international shipping lanes. Yet Oklahoma's push into minerals processing marks an unexpected twist in the country's efforts to wean itself off Chinese rivals who have blocked exports. President Donald Trump has said he wants to boost US production of minerals used across the economy. In Oklahoma, the country's only nickel refinery, its largest lithium refinery, two lithium-ion battery recycling plants, a rare earths magnet facility, and several electronic waste collection facilities are under construction or in operation — more than in any other state. They join a Umicore site that produces germanium crystals for solar panels. An aluminum smelter — the country's first since 1980 — is set to break ground next year at a site bordering an Arkansas River tributary. "I've strategically made a conscious effort to go after some of these new industries that I think are going to be critical," Governor Kevin Stitt, a Republican, told Reuters. "There's money flying into critical minerals from the investment side, so it might as well be located in Oklahoma." Investors and corporate executives say the state's location, lack of mineral deposits, and other detracting factors are outweighed by a string of positives: Oklahoma has railways and highways bisecting the state en route to the three US coasts, a workforce with deep energy experience, state rebates and other financial incentives, a large inland port with access to the Mississippi River watershed, and accommodating regulators. Officials boast on social media that Oklahoma is a "one phone call state," a description meant to evoke what they see as a streamlined regulatory process. Australia-based MLB Industrial, a startup that supplies lithium-ion batteries to the locomotive industry, expanded its business to Oklahoma earlier this year for that very reason. "Other states were looking for a large, established company to invest, rather than a company with a growth profile," said Nathan Leech, MLB's CEO, who moved his family to Oklahoma. "We intend to grow in Oklahoma." A nickel refinery, in particular, has been sought by Washington for years but Chinese market dumping had scared away would-be entrants, said a source familiar with the Trump administration's minerals policy. KaLeigh Long founded Westwin and named it after her desire for the US to shake off Chinese minerals dependence — as she puts it, "The West will win." The firm has built a demonstration facility 85 miles (137 km) south of the state capital that it says can refine 200 metric tons of nickel annually and will expand to produce 34,000 metric tons per year by 2030. If successful, the Westwin facility would refine 10% of America's annual nickel needs, demand projections from Benchmark Mineral Intelligence show, drawing on rock taken from Turkish and Indonesian mines, as well as recycled US batteries. Even as Oklahoma promises state tax rebates and other incentives, Westwin is lobbying Washington not to eliminate a federal production tax credit heavily opposed by Republicans along with other green energy subsidies enacted by former President Joe Biden, as Reuters reported earlier this month. Westwin is in negotiations with the Pentagon for a nickel supply deal that would keep metal inside the United States to make batteries for military drones and other equipment, according to a source familiar with the deliberations. Roughly 220 miles (354 km) northeast, a lithium refinery under construction from Stardust Power aims to produce 50,000 metric tons of the battery metal per year, about a fifth of what the US is expected to need by 2030. Japan's Sumitomo signed a preliminary agreement in February to buy up to half of the facility's output. Stardust aims for the plant to filter lithium from brines — something that has yet to happen at commercial scale — and will have roughly the same capacity as Tesla's refinery under construction in Texas. It will be powered in part by renewable energy; nearly half of the state's electricity is generated by wind turbines. "That was a huge draw," said Roshan Pujari, Stardust's CEO. The company is pushing forward even after rival Albemarle paused plans to build a large US refinery, citing weak lithium prices. "During these down cycles is the best time to be developing, because why do we want prices to be high when we have nothing to sell?" Pujari said. USA Rare Earth, which went public earlier this year, chose Oklahoma over Texas for its rare earths magnet facility given what it felt was the personalized support from Stitt and other officials, said CEO Josh Ballard. Magnets made from rare earths turn electricity into motion for EVs; the US stopped making them in the 1990s. Ballard says the facility is slated to open early next year and initially produce 1,200 metric tons annually, enough magnets to build more than 400,000 EVs. That supply is already highly sought after in the United States since China placed export restrictions on rare earths in April. Ballard said he has been fielding "a lot of phone calls" since April from prospective customers. The company on Tuesday signed a preliminary supply agreement with Moog for magnets used in AI data centers. "We can do this quickly. It's just a matter of how do we do it, and can the government help be a catalyst?" said Ballard. The company could get a boost from legislation introduced earlier this month by three U.S. senators - including Oklahoma's Markwayne Mullin - that would provide a tax credit for roughly 30% of the cost to manufacture a magnet made from rare earths. Elsewhere, two Oklahoma battery processing facilities - from Green Li-ion and Blue Whale Materials - will break down lithium-ion batteries into copper and other building blocks for new batteries. Natural Evolution, in Tulsa, is spearheading a push to expand electronic waste recycling. Green Li-ion, which has a recycling facility in Atoka - Country music star Reba McEntire's hometown - has held talks with Glencore as well as Westwin about buying a recycled version of battery scrap known as MHP, or mixed hydroxide precipitate, that can be used to make nickel products, according to two sources familiar with the negotiations. Glencore declined to comment. Most of the country's recycled batteries are exported now to China in the form of black mass, essentially shredded battery parts. Green Li-ion, which is headquartered in Singapore, moved its US operations to Oklahoma given the state's history with oil and gas extraction, skills it sees as complementary to black mass processing. "This state has a lot of chemical engineers," said Kevin Hobbie, the company's senior vice president of operations. Oklahoma's foray into the energy transition hasn't been all smooth sailing. Tesla supplier Panasonic in 2022 chose Kansas over Oklahoma for a battery plant after the Sunflower State wooed it with $1 billion in incentives. In January, EV startup Canoo filed for bankruptcy despite a $1 million state grant and Stitt's commitment for his administration to buy 1,000 of the company's vehicles. Canoo, which had several production facilities in Oklahoma, blamed uncertain demand for its cargo vans. State officials say they are trying to recoup the funds. Stitt said he is not bothered by the bankruptcy. "We're going to keep swinging for the fences," he said. Ernest Scheyder, Reuters
