The United States has said it killed eight people in new attacks on vessels in the eastern Pacific Ocean, days after the US military seized a Venezuelan oil tanker amid Washington’s continuing military buildup in Latin America.
In a post on social media, the US Military Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) said that “lethal kinetic strikes” targeted three vessels in international waters on Monday, at the direction of Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth.
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Eight people were killed in total, SOUTHCOM said in a statement.
“Three in the first vessel, two in the second and three in the third,” it said, while claiming without providing any evidence that those killed were linked to drug trafficking.
At least 90 people have been killed in similar US attacks on dozens of vessels in the Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea near Venezuela since September, in what international law experts have criticised as extrajudicial killings by the US military.
On Dec. 15, at the direction of @SecWar Pete Hegseth, Joint Task Force Southern Spear conducted lethal kinetic strikes on three vessels operated by Designated Terrorist Organizations in international waters. Intelligence confirmed that the vessels were transiting along known… pic.twitter.com/IQfCVvUpau
US lawmakers have questioned Hegseth over his role in the attacks, including whether he personally ordered a second strike on a boat targeting two people who had survived a first attack and were left clinging to the debris in September.
The Pentagon has also deployed warships, a submarine, drones and fighter jets to the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico, in what it claims are efforts to tackle drug smuggling in the region.
Venezuela said the attacks and US military buildup were aimed at allowing “external powers to rob Venezuela’s immeasurable oil and gas wealth“, even before US forces seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela last week, with US President Donald Trump telling reporters, “I assume we’re going to keep the oil.”
US military to use Trinidad airports, on Venezuela’s doorstep
The latest attacks on vessels in Latin American waters come as the US continues to build up its considerable military presence in the region surrounding Venezuela, with Trinidad and Tobago saying on Monday that it had authorised US military aircraft to use its airports.
Trinidad and Tobago said it had given the green light for the US military to use its airports “in the coming weeks”, adding that Washington would use them for “logistical” operations, including “facilitating supply replenishment and routine personnel rotations”.
The Caribbean island nation, which is located only 12km (7.4 miles) from Venezuela at its closest point, has been supportive of the US military buildup in the region, in contrast to some other Central and South American leaders.
Trinidad and Tobago’s prime minister, Kamla Persad-Bissessar, has said she would rather see drug traffickers “blown to pieces” than have them kill citizens of her nation.
In response, Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro again said that his country would stop supplying gas to Trinidad and Tobago on Monday, according to the Venezuelan state television channel Telesur.
Veteran comedian Billy Crystal and wife Janice, whom he wed in 1970, “wanted to say their goodbyes” to their friends Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner, it is said
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Rob Reiner and his wife Michele were found dead(Image: WireImage)
Comedy legend Billy Crystal and his wife Janice rushed to their friends Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner’s home to say their goodbyes moments after the couple were murdered, it is reported.
Billy and Janice arrived in time to see first responders tend to the bodies, it is said, Rob, 78, and Michele, 70, were found knifed at their $13.5million (£10million) mansion. Their son, Nick, 32, has been booked for murder, police confirmed during a press conference yesterday.
The couple were found dead by their daughter, Romy, who called the Crystals about the tragedy after reporting the murders to the police, it is reported. A photograph has emerged today, purporting to show Billy, 77, and Janice outside the address, as the first responders worked on the bodies.
Dad-of-two Billy is seen appearing emotional as he walked arm-in-arm with his wife, holding his hands go his face and seemingly wiping tears from his eyes.
READ MORE: Rob Reiner’s masseuse discovered grim murder scene after heated argument with sonREAD MORE: Rob Reiner’s son Nick booked for murder as police share update
Billy, who has been nominated for three Golden Globe Awards, had hoped to “say goodbye” to his friend, having received the phone call from Romy, reports TMZ.
Rob is known for making many of the best-known movies of the 1980s and 1990s, including Stand By Me and The Princess Bride in 1987, legal thriller A Few Good Men in 1992 and romantic comedy When Harry Met Sally in 1989, starring Billy.
The two had already had a decade-long friendship, as they first met on the set of classic sitcom All In The Family in 1975 when the two were cast as best mates.
READ MORE: Rob Reiner’s son Nick in custody after his parents were gruesomely murdered
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Initially, Rob’s son Nick had been placed on a $4million (£3million) bail – but this has since been revoked. He’s now being held in custody in Downtown Los Angeles. Rob and Michele’s daughter, Romy, initially told police that a family member “should be a suspect” as they were “dangerous”. Nick and Rob allegedly became involved in a heated argument while attending a party hosted by an American chat show legend just hours before the film director was killed.
The bodies of the Hollywood actor and director, 78, and his 68-year-old wife were discovered at their property in Brentwood, Los Angeles, on Sunday. An LAPD spokesperson confirmed they are investigating an “apparent homicide” and speaking to family members.
Hollywood tributes flow for filmmaker Rob Reiner and wife Michele as son arrested for alleged murder
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Director Rob Reiner and his son Nick Reiner, who has been charged on suspicion of the murder of his mum and dad(Image: Getty Images)
Tributes are flooding in from Hollywood following the alleged murders of actor-director Rob Reiner and his wife Michele, with Barack Obama, Jamie Lee Curtis, and Elijah Wood a few of the many issuing their heartfelt condolences.
Tributes continue as the couple’s 32-year-old son Nick Reiner languishes in the lock-up of Los Angeles Police Department, arrested on suspicion of murder and held without bail until Monday in connection to the stabbing deaths of his parents.
Actors Jamie Lee Curtis shared a statement on behalf of herself and her husband, fellow actor Christopher Guest.
They said: “Christopher and I are numb and sad and shocked about the violent, tragic deaths of our dear friends Rob and Michelle Singer Reiner and our ONLY focus and care right now is for their children and immediate families and we will offer all support possible to help them.
“There will be plenty of time later to discuss the creative lives we shared and the great political and social impact they both had on the entertainment industry, early childhood development, the fight for gay marriage and their global care for a world in crisis. We have lost great friends. Please give us time to grieve.”
Monty Python star Eric Idle said: “Rob Reiner was a lovely man. I spoke to him last night for over an hour. I always enjoyed his company. I met him at his Dad’s in 1975. He was telling me about filming at Stonehenge and his thoughts for the future. This is so awful. I shall miss him. A clever, talented and very thoughtful man. So awful.”
Sir Elton John, who recently made an appearance in this year’s Spinal Tap sequel, said: “I am in disbelief at today’s news of Rob and Michele. They were two of the most beautiful people I’d ever met and they deserved better.”
British actor Cary Elwes, who starred in Reiner’s iconic 1997 film The Princess Bride, said he had “no words”, alongside a photograph from the set of the 1997 movie on social media.
Acclaimed author Stephen King, whose work was brought to the silver screen by Reiner, wrote on X: “I’m horrified and saddened by the death of Rob Reiner and Michele. Wonderful friend, political ally, and brilliant filmmaker (including 2 of mine).”
He added, referring to the film adaptations of Stand By Me and Misery: ”Rest in peace, Rob. You always stood by me.”
Stand By Me actor Jerry O’Connell kept it simple with: “Love you, Rob.” He later added, talking to CBS about Reiner’s life and legacy, that the director was “like a father to me.”
Corey Feldman, who also starred in Stand By Me as Teddy Duchamp, added on X in all caps: “OMG THIS IS HORRIBLE NEWS! IM SO SORRY 4 ROB & HIS WIFE, & THEIR CHILDREN & THE WHOLE REINER FAMILY! ALL I CAN SAY IS IM SHOCKED & SADDENED, BUT I LOVE U ROB! U WILL B 4EVER MISSED!”
Former US president Barack Obama wrote on X, formerly Twitter: “Rob’s achievements in film and television gave us some of our most cherished stories on screen. But beneath all of the stories he produced was a deep belief in the goodness of people—and a lifelong commitment to putting that belief into action.”
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America’s 46th president, Joe Biden and his wife Jill added: “Jill and I send our deepest condolences to everyone whose lives were touched by Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner’s extraordinary contributions. We take solace in knowing their work will live on for generations to come.”
The Clintons shared in the grief of the many left reeling in Tinsel Town. “Hillary and I are heartbroken by the tragic deaths of our friends Rob and Michele Reiner. They inspired and uplifted millions through their work in film and television. And they were good, generous people who made everyone who knew them better through their active citizenship in defense of inclusive democracy, setting an example for us all to follow. Hillary and I will always be grateful for their friendship, unfailing kindness, and support.” — In a statement.
Actor and director Ben Stiller, who recently earned acclaim for his direction on visionary hit TV series Severance, said: “What a huge loss. Rob Reiner was one of my favorite directors. He made some of the most formative movies for my generation.”
Iconic director Ron Howard shared memories of his own of Reiner. “Our careers and lives intersected often over the decades, from Rob writing the pilot script for Happy Days and then as we each shifted from acting careers into directing and producing,” Howard said. “He proved to be a superlative filmmaker, a supportive colleague, and at all times a dedicated citizen. Rob will be missed on so many levels. My heart goes out to his family and his many close friends.”
Actor Elijah Wood, who starred in Reiner’s 1994 film North, wrote: “Horrified to hear of the passing of Rob Reiner and his wonderful wife Michelle. So much love to their kids and family.”
Current US President Donald Trump offered some choice words of his own in the wake of the tragic deaths of the Reiners. Instead of condolences, Trump chose to launch a brutal political attack on the two victims by claiming their deaths were the result of opposition to Trump and his policies.
In Trump’s own words: “The anger he caused others through his massive, unyielding, and incurable affliction with a mind crippling disease known as TRUMP DERANGEMENT SYNDROME.”
Reiner, his wife Michele, and their son Nick – who is now in custody for alleged felony murder – had attended celebrity host Conan O’Brien’s party in Los Angeles on Saturday evening.
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Authorities arrested Nick on Sunday afternoon and booked him for felony murder on Monday morning. They are now questioning Nick, who is being held on bail of USD$4 million (£2.9 million).
New Delhi, India – A newly released Bollywood spy thriller is winning praise and raising eyebrows in equal measure in India and Pakistan, over its retelling of bitter tensions between the South Asian neighbours.
Sunk in a sepia tone, Dhurandhar, which was released in cinemas last week, is a 3.5-hour-long cross-border political spy drama that takes cinemagoers on a violent and bloody journey through a world of gangsters and intelligence agents set against the backdrop of India-Pakistan tensions. It comes just months after hostilities broke out between the two countries in May, following a rebel attack on a popular tourist spot in Pahalgam, in Indian-administered Kashmir, which India blamed Pakistan for. Islamabad has denied role in the attack.
Since the partition of India to create Pakistan in 1947, the nuclear-armed neighbours have fought four wars, three of them over the disputed region of Kashmir.
The film stars the popular actor Ranveer Singh, who plays an Indian spy who infiltrates networks of “gangsters and terrorists” in Karachi, Pakistan. Critics of the film argue that its storyline is laced with ultra-nationalist political tropes and that it misrepresents history, an emerging trend in Bollywood, they say.
A still from the trailer of Dhurandhar [Jio Studios/Al Jazeera]
What is the latest Bollywood blockbuster about?
Directed by Aditya Dhar, the film dramatises a covert chapter from the annals of Indian intelligence. The narrative centres on a high-stakes, cross-border mission carried out by India’s Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW), and focuses on one operative who conducts operations on enemy soil to neutralise threats to Indian national security.
The film features a heavyweight ensemble cast led by Singh, who plays the gritty field agent tasked with dismantling a “terror” network from the inside. He is pitted against a formidable antagonist played by Sanjay Dutt, representing the Pakistani establishment, and gangsters such as one portrayed by Akshaye Khanna, while actors including R Madhavan portray key intelligence officers and strategists who orchestrate complex geopolitical manoeuvering from New Delhi.
Structurally, the screenplay follows a classic cat-and-mouse trajectory.
Beneath its high-octane set pieces, the film has sparked an angry debate among critics and audiences over the interpretation of historical events and some key figures.
A scene shown in the trailer of the new Bollywood film, Dhurandhar [Jio Studios/Al Jazeera]
Why is the film so controversial in Pakistan?
Despite the longstanding geopolitical tensions between the two countries, India’s Bollywood films remain popular in Pakistan.
Depicting Pakistan as the ultimate enemy of India has been a popular theme retold for years, in different ways, especially in Bollywood’s spy thrillers, however. In this case, the portrayal of Pakistan’s major coastal city, Karachi, and particularly one of its oldest and most densely populated neighbourhoods, Lyari, has drawn strong criticism.
“The representation in the film is completely based on fantasy. It doesn’t look like Karachi. It does not represent the city accurately at all,” Nida Kirmani, an associate professor of sociology at Lahore University of Management Sciences, told Al Jazeera.
Kirmani, who has produced a documentary on the impact of gang violence in Lyari of her own, said that like other megacities in the world, “Karachi had periods of violence that have been particularly intense.”
However, “reducing the city to violence is one of the major problems in the film, along with the fact the film gets everything about Karachi – from its infrastructure, culture, and language – wrong”, she added.
Meanwhile, a member of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) has taken legal action in a Karachi court alleging the unauthorised use of images of the late former prime minister, Benazir Bhutto, who was assassinated in 2007, and protesting against the film’s portrayal of the party’s leaders as supporters of “terrorists”.
Critics, including Kirmani, say the film also bizarrely casts gangs from Lyari into geopolitical tensions with India, when they have only ever operated locally.
Kirmani said the makers of the movie have cherry-picked historical figures and used them completely out of context, “trying to frame them within this very Indian nationalistic narrative”.
Mayank Shekhar, a film critic based in Mumbai, pointed out that the film “has been performed, written, directed by those who haven’t ever stepped foot in Karachi, and perhaps never will”.
“So, never mind this dust bowl for a city that, by and large, seems wholly bereft of a single modern building, and looks mostly bombed-out, between multiple ghettos,” Shekhar said.
He added that this is also in line with how Hollywood “shows the brown Third World in action with a certain sepia tone, like with Extraction, set in Dhaka, Bangladesh”.
Bollywood actor Ranveer Singh (centre) performs during the music launch of his upcoming Indian Hindi-language film Dhurandhar in Mumbai on December 1, 2025 [Sujit Jaiswal/AFP]
How has the film been received in India?
Dhurandhar has been a huge commercial success in India and among the Indian diaspora. However, it has not escaped criticism entirely.
The family of a decorated Indian Army officer, Major Mohit Sharma, filed a petition in Delhi High Court to stop the release of the film, which, they claim, has exploited his life and work without their consent.
The makers of the film deny this and claim it is entirely a work of fiction.
Nonetheless, the film’s storyline is accompanied by real-time intercepted audio recordings of attacks on Indian soil and news footage, film critics and analysts say.
People linger outside a movie theatre that is screening The Kashmir Files, in Kolkata, India, on March 17, 2022 [Debarchan Chatterjee/NurPhoto via Getty Images]
Is this an emerging pattern in Bollywood films?
Shekhar told Al Jazeera that focusing on a deliberately loud, seemingly over-the-top, hyper-masculine hero’s journey is not a new genre in Bollywood. “There’s a tendency to intellectualise the trend, as we did with the ‘angry young man’ movies of the 1970s,” he said, referring to the formative years of Bollywood.
In recent years, mainstream production houses in India have, however, favoured storylines that portray minorities in negative light and align with the policies of the Hindu nationalist government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Kirmani told Al Jazeera that this frequently means “reducing Muslims across India’s borders and within as ‘terrorists’, which further marginalises Muslims in India culturally”.
“Unfortunately, people gravitate towards these kinds of hypernationalistic narratives, and the director is cashing in on this,” she told Al Jazeera.
Modi himself lavished praise on a recent film called Article 370, for what he said was its “correct information” about the removal of the constitutional provision that granted special autonomous status to the state of Jammu and Kashmir in 2019. Critics, however, called the film “propaganda” and said the film had distorted facts.
Another Bollywood film Kerala Story released in 2023 was accused of falsifying facts. Prime Minister Modi praised the film, but critics said it tried to vilify Muslims and demonise the southern Kerala state known for its progressive politics.
In the case of Dhurandhar, some critics have faced online harassment.
One review by The Hollywood Reporter’s India YouTube channel, by critic Anupama Chopra, was taken down after outrage from fans of the film.
Went looking for Anupama Chopra’s Dhurandhar review? It’s gone. The Hollywood Reporter India quietly made the video private.
For context, The Hollywood Reporter India was launched by RPSG Lifestyle Media, part of the RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group, which also owns Saregama –…
India’s Film Critics Guild has condemned “coordinated abuse, personal attacks on individual critics, and organised attempts to discredit their professional integrity”, in a statement.
United States President Donald Trump has filed a lawsuit seeking at least $10bn from the BBC over a documentary that edited his speech to supporters before the US Capitol riot in 2021.
The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Miami on Monday, seeks “damages in an amount not less than $5,000,000,000” for each of two counts against the United Kingdom broadcaster for alleged defamation and violation of the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act.
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Earlier in the day, Trump confirmed his plans to file the lawsuit.
“I’m suing the BBC for putting words in my mouth, literally… I guess they used AI or something,” he told reporters at the White House.
“That’s called fake news .”
President Trump: “I’m suing the BBC for putting words in my mouth, literally…I guess they used AI or something…they actually put terrible words in my mouth having to do with January 6th that I didn’t say.” pic.twitter.com/cUwXqBq3Zd
Trump has accused the UK publicly-owned broadcaster of defaming him by splicing together parts of a January 6, 2021, speech, including one section where he told supporters to march on the Capitol, and another where he said, “Fight like hell”.
The edited sections of his speech omitted words in which Trump also called for peaceful protest.
Trump’s lawsuit alleges that the BBC defamed him, and his lawyers say the documentary caused him overwhelming reputational and financial harm.
The BBC has already apologised to Trump, admitted an error of judgement and acknowledged that the edit gave the mistaken impression that he had made a direct call for violent action.
The broadcaster also said that there was no legal basis for the lawsuit, and that to overcome the US Constitution’s strong legal protections for free speech and the press, Trump will need to prove in court not only that the edit was false and defamatory, but also that the BBC knowingly misled viewers or acted recklessly.
The broadcaster could argue that the documentary was substantially true and its editing decisions did not create a false impression, legal experts said. It could also claim the programme did not damage Trump’s reputation.
Rioters attack the US Capitol in Washington, DC, on January 6, 2021, in an attempt to disrupt the certification of Electoral College votes and the election victory of President Joe Biden [File: John Minchillo/AP Photo]
Trump, in his lawsuit, said that the BBC, despite its apology, “has made no showing of actual remorse for its wrongdoing nor meaningful institutional changes to prevent future journalistic abuses”.
A spokesman for Trump’s legal team said in a statement that the BBC had “a long pattern of deceiving its audience in coverage of President Trump, all in service of its own leftist political agenda”.
The BBC did not immediately respond to a request for comment after the lawsuit was filed on Monday.
The dispute over the edited speech, featured on the BBC’s Panorama documentary show shortly before the 2024 presidential election, prompted a public relations crisis for the broadcaster, leading to the resignations of its two most senior officials.
Other media organisations have settled with Trump, including CBS and ABC, when Trump sued them following his comeback win in the November 2024 election.
A Moscow district court has designated Russian punk protest band Pussy Riot as an extremist organisation, according to the state TASS news agency.
The exiled group’s lawyer, Leonid Solovyov, told TASS that Monday’s court ruling was made in response to claims brought by the Russian Prosecutor General’s Office and that the band plans to appeal. According to TASS, the case was heard in a closed session at the request of the Prosecutor General’s Office.
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The court said that it had upheld prosecution submissions “to recognise the punk band Pussy Riot as an extremist organisation and ban its activities on the territory of the Russian Federation”, the AFP news agency reports.
An official Pussy Riot social media account shared a statement, responding defiantly to the ruling, saying the band’s members, who have lived in exile for years, were “freer than those who try to silence us”.
“We can say what I think about putin — that he is an aging sociopath spreading his venom around the world like cancer,” the statement said.
“In today’s Russia, telling the truth is extremism. So be it – we’re proud extremists, then.”
The group’s designation will make it easier for the authorities to go after the band’s supporters in Russia or people who have worked with them in the past.
“This court order is designed to erase the very existence of Pussy Riot from the minds of Russians,” the band said. “Owning a balaclava, having our song on your computer, or liking one of our posts could lead to prison time.”
According to TASS, earlier reports said that the Prosecutor General’s Office had brought the case over Pussy Riot’s previous actions, including at Christ the Saviour Cathedral in February 2012, and the World Cup Final in Moscow in 2018.
Today Russian court designated Pussy Riot as an extremist organization.
And yet, we’re freer than those who try to silence us. We can say what I think about putin — that he is an aging sociopath spreading his venom around the world like cancer. In today’s Russia, telling the… pic.twitter.com/ymz3BbApTo
The band’s members have already served sentences for the 2012 protest at the cathedral in Moscow, where they played what they called a punk prayer, “Mother of God, Cast Putin Out!”
Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Maria Alyokhina, who were jailed for two years on hooliganism charges over the cathedral protest, were released as part of a 2013 amnesty, which extended to some 26,000 people facing prosecution from Russian authorities, including 30 Greenpeace crew members.
In September, a Russian court handed jail terms to five people linked with Pussy Riot – Maria Alyokhina, Taso Pletner, Olga Borisova, Diana Burkot and Alina Petrova – after finding them guilty of spreading “false information” about the Russian military, news outlet Mediazona reported. All have said the charges against them are politically motivated.
Mediazona was founded by Alyokhina alongside fellow band member Tolokonnikova.
The news outlet says that it is continuing to maintain a verified list of Russian military deaths in Moscow’s war on Ukraine.
