- Arsenal's Saka out for 'many weeks' with hamstring injury
- Mali singer Traore child custody case postponed
- France mourns Mayotte victims amid uncertainy over government
- UK economy stagnant in third quarter in fresh setback
- Sweden says China denied request for prosecutors to probe ship linked to cut undersea cables
- African players in Europe: Salah leads Golden Boot race after brace
- Global stock markets edge higher as US inflation eases rate fears
- German far-right AfD to march in city hit by Christmas market attack
- Ireland centre Henshaw signs IRFU contract extension
- Bangladesh launches $5bn graft probe into Hasina's family
- US probes China chip industry on 'anticompetitive' concerns
- Biden commutes sentences for 37 of 40 federal death row inmates
- Clock ticks down on France government nomination
- 'Devastated' Australian tennis star Purcell provisionally suspended for doping
- Mozambique on edge as judges rule on disputed election
- Mobile cinema brings Tunisians big screen experience
- Philippines says to acquire US Typhon missile system
- Honda and Nissan to launch merger talks
- Police arrest suspect who set woman on fire in New York subway
- China vows 'cooperation' over ship linked to severed Baltic Sea cables
- Australian tennis star Purcell provisionally suspended for doping
- Asian markets track Wall St rally as US inflation eases rate fears
- Luxury Western goods line Russian stores, three years into sanctions
- Wallace and Gromit return with comic warning about AI dystopia
- Philippine military says will acquire US Typhon missile system
- Afghan bread, the humble centrepiece of every meal
- Honda and Nissan expected to begin merger talks
- 'Draconian' Vietnam internet law heightens free speech fears
- Israeli women mobilise against ultra-Orthodox military exemptions
- Asian markets track Wall St rally as US inflation eases rate worries
- Tens of thousands protest in Serbian capital over fatal train station accident
- Trump vows to 'stop transgender lunacy' as a top priority
- Daniels throws five TDs as Commanders down Eagles, Lions and Vikings win
- 'Who's next?': Misinformation and online threats after US CEO slaying
- Only 12 trucks delivered food, water in North Gaza Governorate since October: Oxfam
- BluSky Carbon Announces $1 Million Convertible Debenture Financing
- Abasca Resources Closes Non-Brokered Private Placement of $3.2 Million
- Greenlane Appoints Rob Shields as Chief Growth Officer
- American Resources Corporation's ReElement Technologies Produces Greater than 99.5% Pure Terbium For National Defense Supply Chain
- Beyond Work Unveils Next-Generation Memory-Augmented AI Agent (MATRIX) for Enterprise Document Intelligence
- Northern Superior Announces ONGold's Completion of Monument Bay and Domain Projects Acquisition in Manitoba
- ARIA Cybersecurity Solutions Partners with UFT to Protect Water Treatment Facilities from Dangerous Cyberattacks
- Clear Start Tax Named 2024 Orange County Register’s Top Workplaces for Exceptional Tax Resolution Service and Workplace Culture
- Ensysce Biosciences Regains Full Compliance with Nasdaq
- Tortoise Capital Completes Merger of Tortoise Power and Energy Infrastructure Fund, Inc. (NYSE: TPZ), Tortoise Pipeline & Energy Fund, Inc. (NYSE: TTP), and Tortoise Energy Independence Fund, Inc. (NYSE: NDP) and Conversion to Actively Managed ETF
- Tortoise Capital Completes Merger of Tortoise Energy Infrastructure Corp. (NYSE: TYG) and Tortoise Midstream Energy Fund, Inc. (NYSE: NTG)
- Telomir Pharmaceuticals Confirms Copper Binding Capabilities of Telomir-1 and Expands Pipeline Into Wilson's Disease
- Datametrex Cancels RSUS
- South Star Battery Metals Announces Upsize of Non-Brokered Private Placement to Raise Up to US$3.20M, Extends Closing and Amended and Restated Stream Agreement
- Brightline Interactive Successfully Delivers A Scalable Immersive Simulation To A Global Government Service Integrator, Positioning Itself As A Leading Operating System For Processing And Visualizing Complex Information In 3D Space
Argentine court drops rape case against French rugby players
An Argentine court on Tuesday dismissed rape charges against two French international rugby players accused of assaulting a woman after playing a match in the country in July.
Hugo Auradou and Oscar Jegou, both 21, were arrested two days after winning their first international caps for France against Argentina in the western city of Mendoza.
A 39-year-old woman, whom they met in a nightclub accused them of a vicious assault in a hotel room.
Auradou, a lock with French club Pau, and Jegou, a flanker with the club La Rochelle, insisted they had consensual sex with the woman after a night of drinking following their July 6 match.
A judge in Mendoza dismissed the case on the advice of the prosecution, which called for the charges to be dropped over inconsistencies in the woman's version of events.
"As we expected, the French players have been acquitted because the (sexual) act was consensual, meaning there was no crime and no doubt that they are innocent," defense attorney German Hnatow announced.
The French rugby federation expressed "relief and satisfaction" at the outcome of the case and said that it paved the way for Auradou and Jegou to be selected again for the national team "if their sporting performances allow for it."
The players were kept in preventive custody for a little over a week in Mendoza and then under house arrest for nearly a month before being allowed to return to France in September after prosecutors said the case against them appeared flimsy.
Auradou, a lock with Pau, and Jegou, a flanker with La Rochelle, were not present in Argentina for Tuesday's ruling.
Their Parisian lawyer, Antoine Vey, on Tuesday hailed their "judicial rehabilitation."
He added that for the players' "clubs, families and the (French rugby) federation, it was a day they have been waiting for and, which, I hope, will close the difficult chapter that they experienced."
The complainant has not yet announced whether she plans to appeal the decision.
The accusations against Auradou and Jegou, coupled with racist remarks by full-back Melvyn Jaminet, for which he was sent home and given a 34-week suspension, overshadowed the French team's summer tour of Argentina.
French rugby federation president Florian Grill last month announced an overhaul of disciplinary measures in the wake of the scandals.
He also vowed to put an end to the kind of "fourth and fifth half" post-match celebrations that took place in Mendoza.
"There will be financial or sporting sanctions" in the future, he continued regretting in previous years "a form of acceptance of these excesses which could sometimes even be organised."
"We cannot take all the positives from rugby, ask brands and partners to associate their image with our presupposed values and not respect them," he added.
O.Norris--AMWN