The boys had been charged in connection with an alleged serious sexual assault on a teenage girl in the Clonavon Terrace area of the Co Antrim town in June.

The incident sparked days of race-related anti-immigration rioting in Ballymena, with linked sporadic outbreaks of violence in other parts of Northern Ireland.

The PPS said there had been “significant evidential developments” in the case.

The boys are aged 14 and 15 and have been in custody since they first appeared in court in June, when they addressed the court through a Romanian interpreter.

Today's News in 90 Seconds - Friday, November 28

A PPS spokesperson said: “The PPS has a duty to keep prosecution decisions under consideration and take into account any change in circumstances that occurs as the case proceeds.

“Where new

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