KABUL, Afghanistan — Pakistan’s military killed at least 70 militants in strikes along the border with Afghanistan early Sunday, targeting what it described as hideouts of Pakistani militants it blamed for recent attacks inside the country, the deputy interior minister said. Kabul rejected the claim.

Talal Chaudhry, Pakistan’s deputy interior minister, offered no evidence for his claim in an interview with Geo News that at least 70 militants were killed in the strikes. Pakistan’s state-run media later reported that militant fatalities jumped to 80.

The Afghan Defense Ministry said in a statement that “various civilian areas” in the provinces of Nangarhar and Paktika in eastern Afghanistan were hit, including a religious madrassa and multiple homes. The statement called the strikes a violation of Afghanistan’s airspace and sovereignty.

Afghan government spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said on X the attacks “killed and wounded dozens, including women and children.” He said Pakistan’s claim of killing 70 militants was “inaccurate.”

Mawlawi Fazl Rahman Fayyaz, the provincial director of the Afghan Red Crescent Society in Nangarhar province, said 18 people were killed and several others wounded.

Pakistan’s President Asif Ali Zardari said late Sunday Islamabad’s recent strikes along the Afghan border were “rooted in (Pakistan’s) inherent right to defend its people against terrorism,” after repeated warnings to Kabul went unheeded.

Earlier this month, Zardari warned that the Taliban-led government has created conditions “similar to or worse than” those before the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

In a statement, he said Pakistan had “exercised restraint” by striking only border hideouts but warned that those responsible for attacks inside Pakistan “will not remain beyond reach,” stressing that protecting Pakistani citizens is “paramount and non-negotiable.”

Afghanistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned Pakistan’s ambassador to Kabul to protest the Pakistani strikes. In a statement, the ministry said protecting Afghanistan’s territory is the Islamic Emirate’s “Sharia responsibility” and warned that Pakistan would be responsible for the consequences of such attacks.

On Sunday, villagers cleared rubble in Nangarhar following airstrikes, while mourners prepared for funerals of those killed. Habib Ullah, a local tribal elder, said those killed in the strikes were not militants. “They were poor people who suffered greatly. Those killed were neither (the) Taliban, nor military personnel, nor members of the former government. They lived simple village lives,” he told The Associated Press.

Pakistan’s Information Minister Attaullah Tarar wrote on X that the military conducted “intelligence-based, selective operations” against seven camps belonging to the Pakistani Taliban, or TTP, and its affiliates. He said an affiliate of the Islamic State group was also targeted.

Tarar said Pakistan “has always strived to maintain peace and stability in the region,” but added that the safety and security of Pakistani citizens remained a top priority.

Militant violence has surged in Pakistan in recent years, much of it blamed on the TTP and outlawed Baloch separatist groups. The TTP is separate from but closely allied with Afghanistan’s Taliban. Islamabad accuses the TTP of operating from inside Afghanistan, a charge both the group and Kabul deny.

Hours before the Pakistani strikes, a suicide bomber targeted a security convoy in the border district of Bannu in Pakistan’s northwest, killing two soldiers, including a lieutenant colonel. Pakistan’s military warned after the attack that it would not “exercise any restraint” and that operations against those responsible would press on.

Another suicide bomber, backed by gunmen, rammed an explosives-laden vehicle last week into the wall of a security post in Bajaur district in northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, which borders Afghanistan, killing 11 soldiers and a child. Pakistani authorities later said the attacker was an Afghan national.

Tarar said Pakistan had “conclusive evidence” that the recent attacks, including a suicide bombing that targeted a Shiite mosque in Islamabad and killed 31 worshippers earlier this month, were carried out by militants acting on the “behest of their Afghanistan-based leadership and handlers.”

He said Pakistan had repeatedly urged Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers to take verifiable steps to prevent militant groups from using Afghan territory to launch attacks in Pakistan, but alleged that no substantive action had been taken. Tarar also asked the international community to press Afghanistan’s Taliban authorities to uphold their commitments under the Doha agreement not to allow their soil to be used against other countries.

In Islamabad, security analyst Abdullah Khan said the Pakistani strikes suggest that Qatari, Turkish and even Saudi-led mediations have failed to resolve tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan. “These strikes are likely to further escalate the situation,” he said.

The Qatari-mediated ceasefire between the two countries came about after deadly border clashes in October, killing dozens of soldiers, civilians and suspected militants. The violence followed explosions in Kabul that Afghan officials blamed on Pakistan. Islamabad, at the time, conducted strikes deep inside Afghanistan to target militant hideouts.

The truce between Islamabad and Kabul has largely held, but several rounds of talks in Istanbul in November failed to produce a formal agreement, and relations remain strained.

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Ahmed reported from Islamabad. Associated Press writers Riaz Khan and Rasool Dawar in Peshawar, Pakistan, Ishtiaq Mahsud in Dera Ismail Khan, Pakistan, contributed to this report.

The BBC apologized Sunday for the “strong and offensive language” that was shouted during the taping of the British Academy Film Awards after a clip of an attendee yelling a racial slur at Michael B. Jordan and Delroy Lindo sparked outrage online.

Jordan and Lindo, the stars of “Sinners,” were onstage in London to present the first award of the night, for best visual effects, at the 79th annual awards show, which took place Sunday and aired on the BBC. The actors, who are Black, appeared to pause for a beat after the “N-word” was yelled at them, then continued their presentation.

(NBC News has viewed the moment from the show. A broadcast of the ceremony that aired in the U.S. on E! did not appear to bleep the slur.)

Representatives for the BAFTAs, Jordan and Lindo did not immediately respond to requests for comment. A representative for Versant, which owns E!, did not immediately respond to inquiries before and after its telecast about the slur.

A spokesperson for the BBC attributed the language outbursts to an attendee with Tourette syndrome, which the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention defines as “a condition of the nervous system that causes people to make sudden and repeated twitches, movements, or sounds, called ‘tics.’”

“Some viewers may have heard strong and offensive language during the BAFTA Film Awards 2026,” the spokesperson said in an email statement to NBC News. “This arose from involuntary verbal tics associated with Tourette syndrome, and was not intentional. We apologise for any offence caused by the language heard.”

Variety, which was in the room at London’s Royal Festival Hall as the show was being recorded, reported that the remark as Jordan and Lindo were presenting was not the only outburst. Someone purportedly shouted “shut the f— up” as BAFTA chair Sara Putt gave an introductory speech and “f— you” when the award for best children’s and family film was being accepted, Variety reported.

The publication identified the person who yelled the N-word as Tourette syndrome campaigner John Davidson. He was there with the nominated film “I Swear,” which follows the story of his Tourette syndrome diagnosis, his struggles and his journey to raise public awareness. The title is a nod to his uncontrollable swearing associated with the syndrome.

NBC News was unable to confirm whether it was Davidson. The BBC did not respond to a follow-up request about who yelled the slur.

The film, which received critical acclaim in the U.K. — with Robert Aramayo snagging a win in the best actor category Sunday — is not headed to U.S. theaters until spring. Sony Pictures Classics, which picked up the distribution rights, says on its website that the movie will roll out on April 24.

BAFTAs host Alan Cumming acknowledged the “strong and offensive language” that was yelled during the show, including once after Aramayo’s win.

“You may have heard some strong and offensive language tonight. If you have seen the film ‘I Swear’ you will know that film is about the experience of a person with Tourette syndrome,” Cumming told the audience. “Tourette syndrome is a disability, and the tics you’ve heard tonight are involuntary, which means the person who has Tourette syndrome has no control over their language. We apologize if you were offended.”

The film’s director, Kirk Jones, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Representatives for Sony Pictures Classic and Bankside Films, which distributed the movie in the U.K., also did not immediately respond to requests for comment. NBC News did not immediately hear back to a message sent to Davidson’s personal Instagram account.

This year’s BAFTAs also marked a historic moment for “Sinners” director Ryan Coogler, who became the first Black man to win best original screenplay. The vampire thriller won three awards in all.

Around 2,900 athletes from around the world competed in 116 events at the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympic Games, but the prized gold, silver and bronze medals went home with only a small portion of the competitors. 

Once again, Norway dominated the Winter Olympics medal count, finishing the 2026 Games with 41 medals, including a record 18 gold. It was followed in the standings this year by the United States, which won 33 medals. Twelve of those U.S. medals were gold: a new national best for the Winter Games. 

The U.S. came out on top at the most recent Summer Games in Paris in 2024, taking home 126 medals, including 40 gold. It was followed by China, Britain and France. 

But which countries have taken home the most medals overall, and which athletes have won most often in Olympic history? 

Which countries have the most Olympic medals?

While the International Olympic Committee does not compile rankings, the Olympic Foundation for Culture and Heritage does keep a medal tally. It puts the U.S. at the top, with 3,103 total medals. The count has not yet been updated to include medal totals from 2026.

The Olympic Foundation for Culture and Heritage, which is described by the Olympics as the “leading international exponent in promoting and disseminating Olympism in the fields of culture, heritage and values-based education,” counts one medal per event, regardless of how many athletes may compete in a winning team. The organization does not count medals won in the arts competitions or medals won during demonstration events. 

The U.S. is followed in the overall medal count by the Soviet Union, which was disbanded in 1991, with its former republics now competing as independent countries. The Soviet Union earned 1,204 medals. Germany comes in third with 1,091 medals.

Germany’s exact medal count is a point of contention because Germany has not always competed in each Olympics as a unified country, which can lead to confusing medal counts. At one point, the Federal Republic of Germany team represented West Germany while the German Democratic Republic team represented East Germany.

While the U.S. leads in the overall medal count, it does not hold the top spot when it comes to Winter Olympics medals. Norway dominates there, with 404 medals earned during the Winter Games.

The U.S., with 330, and Germany, with 286, are next in the Winter Olympics rankings. 

Which countries have the most Olympic gold medals?

Heading into the Milano Cortina Games, the U.S. had the most gold medals overall: a total of 1,220, according to the Olympic Foundation. In second place, the Soviet Union racked up 473 gold medals. Germany was third, with 355 gold medals. 

Great Britain, France, Italy, China, Sweden and Norway have all won more than 200 gold medals apiece, prior to 2026, according to the Olympic Foundation.

The Winter Olympics specific rankings had Norway on top, with 148 gold medals, followed by the U.S. and Germany, with 114 and 113 gold medals, respectively.

At the 2026 Games, Norway set a new record for the most gold medals at a single Winter Olympics, topping the 16 it won four years earlier. 

Which athletes have the most Olympic medals overall?

American swimmer Michael Phelps is handily the Olympic athlete with the most medals. Phelps, who first appeared in the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games, has 23 gold medals, three silver and two bronze, won across five games.

Former Soviet gymnast Larisa Latynina is the most successful female Olympian, with 18 Olympic medals: nine gold, five silver and four bronze.

Norwegian skier Marit Bjørgen became the most decorated winter Olympian in 2018, with 15 medals, including eight gold.

Ole Einar Bjørndalen, also a Norwegian skier, holds the most medals for a male winter Olympian, with 14.

Speed skater Apolo Anton Ohno, who has earned eight medals across three Winter Olympics, holds the top spot for U.S. winter Olympians.

Which athletes have the most Olympic gold medals?

Phelps is not only the most decorated Olympian; he’s also the athlete with the most Olympic golds, earning 23 gold medals across five games. And Latynina, in addition to being the winningest female Olympian overall, also holds the record for most golds by a female athlete at the Olympics. She competed in three games, starting in 1956 in Melbourne.

Norwegian skier Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo holds the record for the most Winter Olympic gold medals after winning the 11th gold of his career at the Milano Cortina Games. He’s won 13 medals overall.

Skiers Bjørgen and Bjørndalen, with eight gold medals apiece, are tied with Bjørn Dæhlie, another Norwegian skier, for second place in the gold medal count.