Lithuanian hoops chief escapes racism charge

VILNIUS: The head of Lithuania's powerful basketball federation has no case to answer over a racist outburst against two black Americans who play for a top club in the Baltic state, prosecutors said on Monday.

The Lithuania prosecutor general's office announced that after a probe, launched on Oct 29, it had concluded that there was no criminal element in Vladas Garastas' comments.

Garastas found himself under investigation following a complaint by a local human rights group for alleged public instigation of hatred, an offence that carries up to two years in prison.