PARIS (AP) — EuroLeague basketball owners have rejected a formal offer from the NBA to merge into a single European operation following a meeting in Italy, Barcelona confirmed Wednesday.
The decision not to accept the NBA's proposal of a single Europe entity was made Tuesday in Cernobbio during a gathering of the EuroLeague's 13 shareholder clubs. They include Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, Olympiakos, Milan, Tony Parker -owned ASVEL in France and two Istanbul-based clubs.
A statement on the EuroLeague's website said they met to “discuss and align on key strategic decisions regarding the future of their collective property,” without mentioning the NBA.
Barcelona told The Associated Press in an emailed response that a formal merger offer from the NBA had been rejected. In a statement, the club confirmed that Barcelona president Joan Laporta attended the meeting and that club owners “took several decisions regarding the future of the competition.”
“Among those decisions was the rejection of the NBA’s proposal as it currently stands. Should that proposal be amended in the future, the clubs and the EuroLeague will reconsider it,” the statement read.
It's not clear how each club voted. The EuroLeague declined to comment and pointed to its initial statement.
The NBA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The 20-team EuroLeague 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.
French sports daily L'Equipe reported that the NBA offered each future member 400 million euros ($448 million).
At Tuesday's EuroLeague meeting, club owners agreed to move forward with converting the current 10-year licenses into franchises for the shareholder clubs. They also agreed to continue plans to increase the number of franchises.
France’s Victor Wembanyama, Greece’s Giannis Antetokounmpo and Slovenia’s Luka Doncic are among the biggest basketball stars worldwide.
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver reaffirmed in January that the league was pressing forward on plans to bring a new league to Europe.
The NBA was targeting October 2027 as a potential launch date, with franchises paying what is expected to be a substantial entry fee. Media reports indicated the NBA was looking for at least a $500 million fee.
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FILE - Olympiacos' Cory Joseph jumps for the ball during the Euroleague final basketball match between Olympiacos and Real Madrid in Athens, Greece, May 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis, File)
KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) — The families of thousands of people who remain missing in Nepal weeks after catastrophic floods devastated the country have expressed mixed feelings after the government said this week that it is stopping the search for victims.
The office of Prime Minister Balendra Shah decided on Monday that search and rescue operations for victims of the Aug. 26 floods will cease. Instead, authorities will concentrate on rehabilitation and reconstruction including restoring roads and bridges cut off by floods, particularly in remote areas where damaged infrastructure has made aid deliveries difficult.
Rescuers have so far recovered the bodies of at least 1,455 people, but 5,285 others remain missing, including hundreds of foreigners.
The government estimates reconstruction and recovery will cost $4.77 billion. Nearly 33,000 people have been affected and about 7,500 homes were damaged or destroyed.
Hopes for finding survivors were briefly revived after two Nepalese workers were rescued from an underground tunnel at the Trishuli hydropower project on Sept. 4, and again two days later when rescuers found a Chinese man at the same location.
Families of victims have held protests and vigils in Nepal, calling for search efforts to be improved.
“I am so angry at the government for giving up on search and rescue with thousands of people still missing. I just don’t understand how they can do that when we still have hope left that our loved one can still be found,” said Usha Khatri, who has spent days searching for her husband in multiple towns where the river flows and bodies have been recovered.
During her ongoing search she has checked photos of bodies that were recovered but buried for preservation until identification is made.
“Either they have to give up the body or show some solid proof that my husband is gone and only then can they declare him dead,” Khatri said.
“They have abandoned us and they should not have stopped the search,” said Mahesh Shrestha, whose brother was an engineer at a hydropower plant that was hit. “Our family demand they continue looking for him.”
Others welcomed the decision and said they are seeking government-issued death certificates.
“After so many days and weeks there is little or no hope of finding anyone alive. We are sure that none of our family members survived and we are just looking for a closure,” said Nirajan Poudel, who lost five family members in the flood.
Several people whose relatives remain missing have performed symbolic funerals. Cremation is an important final rite in the Hindu tradition and performing the ceremony even without a body provides a sense of spiritual release for some families.
Poudel said the government has so far refused to issue death certificates, saying laws need to be amended first. Death certificates are necessary in Nepal for families to receive compensation, insurance and inherit properties.
Nepal's government did not immediately respond to a request by The Associated Press for more information about the death certificates.
A man stands next to the damaged gate by flash flood in Rasuwa, Nepal, Friday, Oct. 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)
People carry their belongings as they walk toward their villages after flash floods damaged roads in Nuwakot, Nepal, Friday, Oct. 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)
Sabitri Tamang, whose six family members are missing after recent floods, breaks down while sitting inside a temporary shelter set up at a school in Nepal's Nuwakot district, Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Dar Yasin)
