LUCKNOW, India (AP) — Rescuers were scouring a devastated Himalayan village in northern India to find dozens of missing people, a day after flash floods killed at least four people and left many others trapped under debris, officials said Wednesday.
Flood waters triggered by intense rains gushed down the narrow mountains Tuesday into Dharali, a mountain village in Uttarakhand state, sweeping away homes, roads and a local market.
Teams of army and disaster force rescuers were searching for dozens, including at least 11 Indian army soldiers, who are believed to be trapped under the rubble. Authorities said rescue workers had recovered four bodies by Wednesday.
“The search for others is still underway,” said Dilip Singh, a disaster management official. Singh said at least 60 people have been rescued so far and moved to safer locations, but adverse weather conditions, damaged roads and rugged terrain were hampering rescue efforts.
An Indian army camp in Harsil, some 7 kilometers (4.3 miles) from the flooded village of Dharali, was also hit by flash floods and 11 army personnel were missing, said Col. Harshvardhan, who was leading rescue efforts.
“The conditions are extremely challenging, but our teams are staying put,” said Lt. Col. Manish Srivastava, a defense spokesperson.
The flooding in northern India is the latest in a series of disasters that have battered the Himalayan mountains in the last few months.
Sudden, intense downpours over small areas known as cloudbursts are increasingly common in Uttarakhand, a Himalayan region prone to flash floods and landslides during the monsoon season. Cloudbursts have the potential to wreak havoc by causing intense flooding and landslides, impacting thousands of people in the mountainous regions.
Similar incidents were recorded in Dharali in 1864, 2013 and 2014. More than 6,000 people died and 4,500 villages were affected when a similar cloudburst devastated Uttarakhand state in 2013.
Experts say cloudbursts have increased in recent years partly due to climate change, while damage from the storms also has increased because of unplanned development in mountain regions.
“This village sits on a ticking time bomb,” said geologist S.P. Sati. “It is in a highly fragile zone.”
Uttarakhand, known for its rugged terrain, spiritual pilgrimage sites and popular tourist destinations, has witnessed a growing number of extreme weather events in recent years.
Lokendra Bisht, a local lawmaker who runs a homestay in the area, said people ran for their lives, but the flood waters came so fast that “there was nothing anyone could do.”
“The whole of Dharali village was wiped out,” he said.
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Saaliq reported from New Delhi.
Heavy machinery is deployed to clear a road after a flash flood that swept away many houses and buildings in Dharali, a Himalayan mountain village in the Uttarkashi district of Uttarakhand state, India, Wednesday, Aug. 6, 2025. (Indo Tibetan Border Police via AP)
Indo-Tibetan Border Police personnel asses the damage and rescue operation after a flash flood that swept away many houses and buildings in Dharali, a Himalayan mountain village in the Uttarkashi district of Uttarakhand state, India, Wednesday, Aug. 6, 2025. (Indo Tibetan Border Police via AP)
Indo Tibetan Border Police soldiers clear the debris and look for the survivors after a flash flood that swept away many houses and buildings in Dharali, a Himalayan mountain village in the Uttarkashi district of Uttarakhand state, India, Wednesday, Aug. 6, 2025. (Indo Tibetan Border Police via AP)
LONDON (AP) — European basketball often is a hot mess of passionate fandom, heated rivalries and financial problems.
Holding some powerful fiefdoms together is the EuroLeague. It’s not thrilled about the NBA’s plans to create a new competition on the continent.
It’s not concerned, either.
"We've only heard the plan or the fireworks of how amazing it will be, how much potential there is,” EuroLeague CEO Paulius Motiejunas said of the NBA’s proposed league. “But having a theory is one — and making it work is two.”
“We’ve been here for 26 years. We know how Europe functions."
With clubs like Real Madrid and Bayern Munich, the EuroLeague is considered the best men's professional competition outside the NBA. The 20-team league is comprised of 13 “shareholder” clubs immune from relegation. The rest either qualify through their domestic leagues or through invitation.
The NBA, in partnership with FIBA, is eying a 16-team model with 12 permanent members — with a target start of October 2027. It has identified Athens, Istanbul, Paris, Lyon, Munich, Berlin, Rome, Milan, Madrid, Barcelona, London and Manchester as potential host cities.
Attention is currently on three EuroLeague shareholder clubs that haven’t renewed their 10-year licenses — Real Madrid, Fenerbahce in Istanbul and the Tony Parker -owned ASVEL near Lyon. Parker has signaled his support for the NBA, and Spanish sports daily Diario AS reported that Real Madrid favors the NBA project.
Recent holdout Barcelona has indicated it will extend for another 10 years beyond this season.
"It’s a big deal, of course. It’s an important brand, and we’re happy that they committed,” Motiejunas said of Barcelona, which hasn’t commented publicly.
Motiejunas, in an interview with The Associated Press, said he’s confident all 13 clubs will stay.
“The NBA has been announcing and announcing things for a year but still it’s nothing that you can grasp on,” Motiejunas said. “As businessmen, these are team owners, they also begin to see it’s a little bit of a broken record of ‘we will announce later,’ ... The ’27 start is already around the corner.”
EuroLeague clubs reportedly have a 10 million euro ($11.6 million) exit clause, but Motiejunas would only say that through “consequences and legal teams” contracts can be broken. There's no NBA opt-out, he added.
The EuroLeague claims to still be open to some type of relationship with the NBA, whose executives have expressed similar sentiments. But in the meantime, the EuroLeague sent a letter to the NBA warning of legal action should talks with EuroLeague shareholders continue.
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver shrugged off the threat Thursday in Berlin ahead of the Orlando Magic's 118-111 win over the Memphis Grizzlies in the NBA’s first regular-season game in Germany.
He also shrugged off the EuroLeague more generally.
“If I thought that the ceiling was the existing EuroLeague and their fan interest," Silver said, "we wouldn’t be spending the kind of time and attention we are on this project.”
Media reports indicate the NBA is looking for at least a $500 million franchise fee. Silver noted that any investors will have to be patient because “it will take a while, I think, before it is a viable commercial enterprise.” He added it will be "multi-decades in the making.”
Silver cautioned that “potentially” starting a new league is an “enormous undertaking” and described talks with Real Madrid and other Spanish clubs as “more in the category of fact finding.”
The European basketball landscape is similar to soccer. EuroLeague is like UEFA's Champions League in quality, though entry is more restrictive. Basketball also has several other international leagues — but they're lesser known than their soccer counterparts, so fans get confused. FIBA, for example, has its own Basketball Champions League, which would be a potential feeder to an NBA league.
Silver sees potential because basketball is the No. 2 sport in Europe after soccer.
“Rather than think of us as taking share from (soccer), I look at the commercial side of basketball as it exists now in Europe, and it probably represents about 1 percent of the commercial sports marketplace,” he said.
Many European basketball teams, including some in the EuroLeague, have struggled financially. The system has often relied on wealthy owners to cover team debts each year. EuroLeague has implemented spending restrictions to promote financial sustainability.
In a revenue boost, the EuroLeague last season took its “Final Four” championship outside Europe — to Abu Dhabi — for the first time. It brought a flavor of Euro hoops chaos, too, as Panathinaikos majority owner Dimitris Giannakopoulos was handed a 5-game ban for his "threatening actions” against referees.
EuroLeague also granted a multi-year license to a newly created Dubai team and recently extended its partnership with global sports marketing agency IMG.
“We focus on ourselves,” Motiejunas said. “We will be able to adapt, there’s no question about it, and we will continue to fight.”
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA
Orlando Magic forward Franz Wagner (22) and Memphis Grizzlies forward Jaren Jackson Jr. (8) challenge for the ball during an NBA basketball game between Orlando Magic and Memphis Grizzlies in Berlin, Germany, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)
Orlando Magic guard Desmond Bane (3) reacts during an NBA basketball game between Orlando Magic and Memphis Grizzlies in Berlin, Germany, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)
Fenerbahce players celebrate winning the Euroleague final basketball match between Monaco and Fenerbahce in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, Sunday, May 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)
Anadolu Efes' Shane Larkin in action by Real Madrid's Guerschon Yabusele during Final Four Euroleague finall basketball match between Anadolu Efes and Real Madrid, in Belgrade, Serbia, Saturday, May 21, 2022. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)
Barcelona's head coach Sarunas Jasikevicius gives instructions to his players during their Final Four Euroleague bronze medal basketball match between Barcelona and Olympiacos, in Belgrade, Serbia, Saturday, May 21, 2022. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)
