Latest news with #Bevan
Wales Online
3 days ago
- Business
- Wales Online
WRU reveal new plan to lure players back from England after scrapping exiles programme
WRU reveal new plan to lure players back from England after scrapping exiles programme The WRU has been criticised for scrapping its exiles programme but insist better times are ahead Interim WRU performance director Huw Bevan (Image: Huw Evans Picture Agency ) The Welsh Rugby Union is changing its long-running Exiles programme — but performance director Huw Bevan insists the new version will be more effective at keeping the best Welsh talent in Wales and convincing those lost to the English system to return. In the past the WRU's exiles programme has been responsible for identifying Welsh qualified talent in England and further afield. But the WRU believes it has replaced it with a superior system, with the aim of retaining players in Wales and repatriating those who are based in England. This will be the aim for both the men's and women's game. "We are trying to restructure the emphasis of the programme to focus more on retention of players within Wales and the repatriation of players who are primarily in England," Bevan told WalesOnline. 'We believe that the majority of the players capable of playing professional or international rugby have already been identified by us or elsewhere. 'This is because the best players are already identified, in England either by a public school who are linked to an academy or directly from Wales, by academy people recruiting them back home from across the border. Article continues below 'They have either leaked out of our system to attend public schools, or been recruited by academies in England, or we already know about them through the Welsh academy system "So, our renewed focus is on retaining and also identifying players based across the border, together with supporting people who are already known to us. . "We need to make connections with them and engage with them to come back into the Welsh national age grade programmes. Sign up to Inside Welsh rugby on Substack to get exclusive news stories and insight from behind the scenes in Welsh rugby. "We think that the more often we get players who are currently across the border in a Welsh shirt the more chance we've got of recruiting them at senior level back into our system at national level and also for the regional clubs. "What we've done is given the responsibility for retaining our high potential players to specific WRU staff within our pathway who focus on our U18s on both the male and female side.. "So, they'll know all our players at U18s level and will connect with them, support and educate them about the options available to them in Wales in a way that will encourage them to stay in Wales or give them incentive to return. "To do that we are working closely together in the professional clubs to create a collective One Wales offer which includes all aspects of the professional game. "We have spent a lot of time with the regional clubs recently specifically on this topic of retention." There are a number of Wales internationals over the years who were born outside the country but qualified courtesy of a family connection, both in our age grade and senior teams Steff and Ioan Emanuel, Harry Beddall, Sam Scott, Louies Hennessey, Louis Trevett, Luke Evans, Aidan Boshoff and Jonny Green in the WRU pathways, along with the likes of Blair Murray and Ellis Mee at international level are good examples in recent times. Blair Murray and club and country team-mate Ellis Mee (Image:) The WRU is putting more of an emphasis on senior academy level and above with the aim of repatriating these players to Wales. This includes the Wales Pathway Players programme (WPP) where a group of up to 60 players of national interest between the ages of 15 and 24 have been identified as Wales internationals of the future and as a result will be given additional support. "In terms of identifying players who are Welsh qualified who have left our system and are in schools or academy systems elsewhere, we've now got people who are well placed and who have established connections with academy staff, in Richard Whiffin (Wales U20s coach), Andy Lloyd (talent and pathways manager) and others," said Bevan. "They will speak regularly with these academy managers and have strong relationships with them that we are already utilising. "If you look at the relationship with Harlequins, Bristol and Gloucester as examples. "Look at the number of players who are coming back and playing for Wales age grades because of the strength of those connections. "We need to continue to capitalise on those relationships. We feel the people we've got are best placed to do that. In terms of the wider identification of Welsh qualified players, each of the regional clubs have a recruitment manager who are connected to agents. "Using that is a much wider network to utilise, these are people who are going to be proactive in finding opportunities for Welsh-qualified players within Wales. "There's been several of late who have been found. "There's Levi Douglas at the Dragons, Ellis Mee, Blair Murray and Ioan Jones, who the Scarlets have signed, these players were identified through agents and recruitment managers that will be part of our system. Levi Douglas previously played for Bath (Image: Getty Images ) "There's also a network of about 20 coaches and teachers who are Welsh connected. "These are people who have strong connections to Wales but who are embedded in the English system who we have identified. 'They've stepped forward to say they would like to contribute and support a Welsh-qualified scouting network. "That's the proactive approach we are going to take." Join WalesOnline Rugby's WhatsApp Channel here to get the breaking news sent straight to your phone for free Undoubtedly one of the biggest threats to professional rugby in Wales is the high number of talented young players who take up scholarships in English public schools and are picked up by the academies of Gallagher Premiership clubs. The WRU believes its new system will help prevent this from happening as much as it used to with a huge emphasis on retaining players in Wales. The retention drive is based on creating an improved understanding of the opportunities available to players in Wales from a rugby, academic and welfare perspective. "Certainly from an academic perspective, we are competitive and we believe we have a good all round offer, we just need to give the players the information they need to make an informed decision,' said Bevan. 'If players do choose to leave we have to continue to stay connected with the players if they do leave to make sure the are still linked to the club they come from. 'If they go, what we have done previously is largely ignored them. "We've previously had the attitude of sometimes thinking, that's it you are out of the system, but you can't afford to do that. "We have to work with our schools or academies that they go to and make sure that player feels connected to whatever club they come from. "We need to go there, visit them, encourage them to be part of the Welsh system and make sure the allegiance is with Wales. "They are selected and encouraged to come into the Welsh Player Pathway (WPP) programme, they are encouraged to play at every opportunity at our U18s, U19s and U20s programmes. "I don't think we will stop everyone leaving but the first thing to do is say, this is what we can offer you in terms of academic support and this is what we can do from a rugby perspective. "If you are in Wales you are going to have more opportunities to work through the WPP programme, however you made the decision to go but we are not going to let you feel isolated by that, we still want to stay connected with you and we want you to come back.' Bevan is confident this new strategy will work and believes young players have greater opportunities in Wales and this will persuade players to return to this side of the Severn Bridge. "What we've got at the moment in Wales is opportunity," he said. "Our young players are getting more opportunities than the ones in England. Get the latest breaking Welsh rugby news stories sent straight to your inbox with our FREE daily newsletter. Sign up here. "Look at Macs Page and Huw Anderson. Look at the game time Macs has had for the Scarlets which has now got him on the Wales tour to Japan. "There's a couple of signings coming to Cardiff now who are not getting opportunities in England. Article continues below "Look at Louie Hennessey. He came on loan to Cardiff and went straight into the first team. "We just need a collective effort. "We can't afford to let people slip through the net as easily as we may have done previously."
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Yahoo
55 men arrested in France in major operation to bust online pedophile ring
Fifty-five men from across France were arrested between Monday and Thursday morning as part of a large-scale operation to dismantle a pedophile network operating through the messaging service Telegram, according to France's Office for the Protection of Minors. The suspects, aged between 25 and 75, are accused of exchanging messages on Telegram with an 'extremely dangerous' child sex offender who was incarcerated in the summer of 2024, and whose own children were rescued after being abused, Quentin Bevan, head of the OFMIN's operational unit told CNN on Thursday. 'These 55 individuals all exchanged CSAM imagery (Child Sexual Abuse Material) with the dangerous pedophile, so we had digital evidence implicating all of them,' said Bevan. Bevan said that the arrests are 'the fruit of a ten-month long investigation.' 'It was a major investigation and infiltration operation on this Telegram group,' Bevan said. 'We had to follow the exchanges, analyze them, and identify the individuals hiding behind these Telegram pseudonyms — especially those who had children, had criminal records, or worked in sensitive professions involving contact with children.' Bevan said the men are from all ages and backgrounds: fathers, civil servants, military personnel, and France, the possession and distribution of child sexual abuse material is punishable by a five-year prison sentence and a €100,000 ($112,747) fine. CNN has reached out to Telegram for comment on the arrests. This is not the first high-profile case involving the platform in France. In August 2024, Telegram founder Pavel Durov was detained at Paris's Bourget Airport on a warrant related to Telegram's moderation policies. French authorities indicted Durov on August 28, 2024 on several charges, including money laundering and spreading child sex abuse material. Durov said in a statement soon afterwards that he was committed to improving his app's moderation and that authorities were trying to hold him 'personally responsible for other people's illegal use of Telegram.'
Express Tribune
22-05-2025
- Express Tribune
France arrests 55 men in crackdown on paedophile ring
Dozens of men aged from 25 to 75 arrested in connection of pedophile activities in France. PHOTO: PEXELS Listen to article Fifty-five men, including a priest, a paramedic, and a music teacher, were arrested in France this week as part of an operation to dismantle a suspected paedophile ring operating via the Telegram messaging app, authorities said on Thursday. The arrests took place in 42 departments over possession, distribution and regular viewing of pornography involving children 'under the age of 10', France's OFMIN, which is tasked with preventing violence against minors, told AFP. OFMIN issued the warrant that led to the arrest of Telegram founder Pavel Durov in Paris in 2024, and he remains under formal investigation by French authorities over illegal content on the popular service. The arrests of the 55 men aged 25 to 75, which followed a 10-month investigation, took place from Monday to Thursday. The men exchanged messages on Telegram and were in contact with 'extremely dangerous' child sex abusers who have been in prison since last summer, Quentin Bevan, head of OFMIN's operational unit, told AFP. The large-scale operation began last summer with the arrest of individuals suspected of abusing children and posting images on Telegram. The suspects are being investigated for human trafficking and face life imprisonment. 'It took 10 months of investigation to track down these child abusers,' Bevan said. 'Ten months of undercover work involving thousands of exchanges, analysis and detection of paedophile images by a task force set up at the OFMIN.' The suspects either have children or grandchildren, or come into contact with children at work. Some of the suspects boasted of abusing children while they slept, but now claim they did not actually commit any crimes, according to investigators. 'Pedophile den' In a separate case, Durov has been charged with several counts of failing to curb extremist content. Investigators have confronted him with specific cases ranging from child abuse to drug trading, scams, arms sales and the hiring of hitmen. The Russian-born entrepreneur has since announced steps appearing to bow to Paris's demands. While Bevan acknowledged progress in Telegram's cooperation with investigators since Durov's arrest, he said the platform was 'barely fulfilling its legal obligations'. He said that Telegram remains a 'pedophile den' and a 'platform of choice' for child abusers. Telegram rejected the accusation in a statement on Thursday, saying that it 'meets and exceeds its legal obligations to fight harmful content'. The messaging platform has 'always complied with EU law' and 'consistently responded to all binding legal requests for years', the company added. Durov says Telegram has also sought to fight against child abuse for years. In June 2024, France shut down the adult website Coco which was used to commit numerous sex crimes such as child sex abuse and rape. After that, some perpetrators of child sex abuse are believed to have switched to Telegram, according to an investigator.
eNCA
22-05-2025
- eNCA
France detains 55 men in child sex abuse crackdown
Fifty-five men including a priest, a paramedic, and a music teacher were arrested in France this week as part of an operation to dismantle a suspected paedophile ring operating via the Telegram messaging app, authorities said on Thursday. The arrests took place in 42 departments over possession, distribution and regular viewing of pornography involving children "under the age of 10", France's OFMIN, which is tasked with preventing violence against minors, told AFP. OFMIN issued the warrant that led to the arrest of Telegram founder Pavel Durov in Paris in 2024, and he remains under formal investigation by French authorities over illegal content on the popular service. The arrests of the 55 men aged 25 to 75, which followed a 10-month investigation, took place from Monday to Thursday. The men exchanged messages on Telegram and were in contact with "extremely dangerous" child sex abusers who have been in prison since last summer, Quentin Bevan, head of OFMIN's operational unit, told AFP. The large-scale operation began last summer with the arrest of individuals suspected of abusing children and posting images on Telegram. The suspects are being investigated for human trafficking and face life imprisonment. "It took 10 months of investigation to track down these child abusers," Bevan said. "Ten months of undercover work involving thousands of exchanges, analysis and detection of paedophile images by a task force set up at the OFMIN." The suspects either have children or grandchildren or come into contact with children at work. Some of the suspects boasted of abusing children while they slept but now claim they did not actually commit any crimes, according to investigators. - 'Paedophile den' - In a separate case, Durov has been charged with several counts of failing to curb extremist content. Investigators have confronted him with specific cases ranging from child abuse to drug trading, scams, arms sales and the hiring of hitmen. The Russian-born entrepreneur has since announced steps appearing to bow to Paris's demands. While Bevan acknowledged progress in Telegram's cooperation with investigators since Durov's arrest, he said the platform was "barely fulfilling its legal obligations". He said that Telegram remains a "paedophile den" and a "platform of choice" for child abusers. Telegram rejected the accusation in a statement on Thursday, saying that it "meets and exceeds its legal obligations to fight harmful content". The messaging platform has "always complied with EU law" and "consistently responded to all binding legal requests for years", the company added. Durov says Telegram has also sought to fight against child abuse for years. In June 2024, France shut down the adult website Coco which was used to commit numerous sex crimes such as child sex abuse and rape. After that some perpetrators of child sex abuse are believed to have switched to Telegram, according to an investigator.
Int'l Business Times
22-05-2025
- Int'l Business Times
France Detains 55 Men In Paedophile Ring Crackdown
Fifty-five men were arrested in France this week as part of an operation to dismantle a suspected paedophile ring operating via the Telegram messaging app, authorities said Thursday. The arrests took place in 42 departments over possession, distribution and regular viewing of pornography involving children "under the age of 10", France's OFMIN, which is tasked with preventing violence against minors, told AFP. The OFMIN issued the warrant that led to the arrest of Telegram founder Pavel Durov in Paris in 2024, and he remains under formal investigation by French authorities over illegal content on the popular service. The arrests of the 55 men, which followed a 10-month investigation, took place from Monday to Thursday. The suspects, aged 25 to 75, come from all walks of life and include a priest, a paramedic and a music teacher. The men exchanged messages on Telegram and were in contact with "extremely dangerous" paedophiles who have been in prison since last summer, Quentin Bevan, head of the OFMIN's operational unit, told AFP. The large-scale operation began last summer with the arrest of individuals suspected of abusing children and posting images on Telegram. The suspects are being investigated for human trafficking and face life imprisonment. "It took ten months of investigation to track down these child abusers," Bevan said. "Ten months of undercover work involving thousands of exchanges, analysis and detection of paedophile images by a task force set up at the OFMIN." The suspects either have children or grandchildren or come into contact with children at work. Some of the suspects boasted of abusing children while they slept but now claim they did not actually commit any crimes, according to investigators. One man, who denies committing any crime, could not explain why he had bought a thong for an 8-year-old girl. Durov has been charged with several counts of failing to curb extremist and terrorist content. Investigators have confronted Durov with specific cases ranging from child abuse to drug trading, scams, arms sales and the hiring of hitmen. The Russian-born entrepreneur has since announced steps appearing to bow to Paris's demands. While Bevan acknowledged progress in Telegram's cooperation with investigators since Durov's arrest, he said the platform was "barely fulfilling its legal obligations". He said that Telegram remains a "paedophile den" and a "platform of choice" for child abusers. In June 2024, France shut down the Coco adult website which was used to commit numerous sex crimes such as paedophilia and rape. After that some paedophiles are believed to have switched to Telegram, according to an investigator. Durov has recently accused the chief of France's DGSE foreign intelligence service of requesting to ban pro-conservative Romanian accounts from the platform ahead of elections. The DGSE has rejected the claims. Durov says Telegram has sought to fight against child abuse for years. "Falsely implying Telegram did nothing to remove child porn is a manipulation tactic," he posted on X earlier this week. Durov is subject to judicial supervision, which prohibits him from leaving France without authorisation from authorities. France has recently denied Durov's request to travel to the United States for talks with investment funds.
