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27 Years After, Fleeing Man Arrested, Faces Child Sex Abuse Charges

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An 80-year-old ex-scoutmaster arrested after more than 27 years on the run is set to face further child sex abuse charges.

Richard Burrows, who is accused of the historic sexual abuse of children, was arrested at Heathrow Airport in March, after returning to the UK from Thailand.

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He had been wanted since December 1997 when he failed to attend Chester Crown Court to face trial for two counts of buggery and 11 counts of indecent assault.

The charges relate to allegations of abuse reported to have taken place at a children’s home in Congleton, Cheshire, between 1969 and 1971 and in the West Midlands between 1971 and 1981.

READ ALSO: UK Richest Family Jailed For Exploiting Domestic Staff In Switzerland

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Cheshire Police revealed today that the Crown Prosecution Service had now authorised additional charges against him.

They were 20 counts of indecent assault, one count of buggery, three counts of making indecent images of children, and four counts of possession of a false identity document with intent.

The additional charges relate to 11 victims and the offences occurred between 1966 and 1996 across Cheshire, the West Midlands and West Mercia areas.

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Burrows is next scheduled to appear at Chester Crown Court on August 2.

He had been due to be prosecuted at Chester Crown Court on child sex charges when he skipped bail in December 1997.

A warrant was issued for his arrest but, despite various appeals, including on the BBC’s Crimewatch, police did not locate him until March this year.

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READ ALSO: Nigerian Boxer Shot Dead In US

Detectives from Cheshire police working with the National Crime Agency, dubbed Britain’s FBI, finally arrested Burrows as he ‘stepped off a flight’ from Thailand at London’s Heathrow Airport.

He appeared at Chester Crown Court on April 2.

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Asked by the clerk of the court whether it was correct that he had ‘failed to surrender to custody and failed to surrender pursuant to a warrant for his arrest,’ Burrows, who was dressed in a grey tracksuit, replied: ‘Yes.’

Judge Steven Everett told the court that Burrows was facing historical allegations of serious sexual assault and indecent assault relating to 11 young complainants at a Cheshire children’s home, and while he was acting as a scoutmaster, when he jumped bail in December 1997.

The judge remanded Burrows in custody and ordered that he appear before the court again on June 21 to enter a plea.

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He also set the date for his trial for January 13.

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42 Killed In Israeli Attacks, Says Gaza’s Civil Defense

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Gaza’s civil defence agency reported at least 42 people killed in Israeli attacks on Sunday, as the Israeli army prepared for a new assault on the Palestinian territory’s largest city.

Civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal said there had been several air strikes around Gaza City — which the military is gearing up to capture — including one in the Al-Sabra neighbourhood that killed eight people.

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Attacks were also reported elsewhere across the territory, he said, with the “total tally currently rising to 42 dead”.

READ ALSO:Russia, Ukraine Exchange Prisoners Of War, Civilians

The army did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the figure.

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The situation is extremely dangerous… Each day, each minute, there are bombings, martyrs, death and blood — we can’t take it anymore,” Al-Sabra resident Ibrahim Al-Shurafa told AFP, explaining strikes and shelling were ongoing.

We don’t know where to go. Death follows us everywhere,” he added.

READ ALSO:Russia Claims More Ukraine Land As Hopes For Summit Fade

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Media restrictions in Gaza and difficulties in accessing many areas mean AFP is unable to independently verify the tolls and details provided by the civil defence agency or the Israeli military.

The October 2023 Hamas attack on Israel that sparked the war resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.

Israel’s offensive has killed at least 62,686 Palestinians, most of them civilians, according to figures from the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza that the United Nations considers reliable.

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Venezuela Frees Eight Opposition Leaders

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Venezuelan authorities released eight opposition leaders from jail early Sunday, including a former congressman and two Italian citizens, and granted house arrest to five others, an opposition politician said.

Most of those released had been charged with corruption in opposition-run mayoral offices.

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Also set free was Congressman, Amirico de Grazia, detained amid protests that erupted during President Nicolas Maduro’s reelection in 2024.

READ ALSO:Russia, Ukraine Exchange Prisoners Of War, Civilians

Today, several families are once again embracing their loved ones. We know there are many left, and we have not forgotten them; we continue to fight for everyone,” two-time former presidential candidate Henrique Capriles said on X.

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Opposition leaders Victor Jurado, Simon Vargas, Arelis Ojeda Escalante, Mayra Castro, Diana Berrio, Gorka Carnevalli, as well as Italian nationals Margarita Assenzo and de Grazia were released, Capriles said.

Nabil Maalouf, Valentin Gutierrez Pineda, Rafael Ramirez, Pedro Guanipa, and David Barroso were placed under house arrest.

READ ALSO:US Ambassador To Paris Slams Macron Over Rising Antisemitism

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The Italian government confirmed the release of de Grazia and Assenzo, who must appear in court to clarify the conditions of their release. It also vowed to continue working on securing the release of other detained Italians.

We have always said, and we maintain it: we will talk to whomever we need to talk to so that there is not a single political prisoner in our Venezuela!” Capriles added.

AFP

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Russia, Ukraine Exchange Prisoners Of War, Civilians

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Russia and Ukraine each sent back more prisoners of war on Sunday in the latest in a series of exchanges that have seen hundreds of POWs released this year, the two sides said.

Large-scale prisoner exchanges were the only tangible result of three rounds of talks between Russia and Ukraine in Istanbul between May and July.

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They remain one of the few areas of cooperation between the two countries since Russia’s offensive began in 2022.

On August 24, 146 Russian servicemen were returned from the territory controlled” by Kyiv, the Russian defence ministry said on Telegram.

READ ALSO:Russia Returns Bodies Of 1,000 Ukrainian Soldiers

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In exchange, 146 prisoners of war of the Ukrainian Armed Forces were transferred” to Ukraine, it added. Ukraine did not confirm any figures for the release.

Russia also said that “eight citizens of the Russian Federation—residents of the Kursk region, illegally detained” by Kyiv were also returned.

Ukrainian forces launched a surprise incursion into Russia’s Kursk region in August last year, seizing hundreds of square kilometres (miles) of territory in a major setback for the Kremlin.

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Russia deployed thousands of troops from its ally North Korea as part of a counterattack but did not fully reclaim the region until April.

READ ALSO:Top Russian General Seriously Wounded In Ukraine – Officials

Among the Ukrainians released on Sunday was journalist Dmytro Khyliuk, President Volodymyr Zelensky said.

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Khyliuk was kidnapped in the Kyiv region in March 2022. He is finally home in Ukraine,” Zelensky said on social media.

Also freed was former Kherson mayor Volodymyr Mykolayenko, “who spent more than three years in captivity,” Zelensky’s aide Andriy Yermak wrote on X.

In 2022, he was on the list for return, but Volodymyr voluntarily refused to be exchanged in favour of a seriously ill prisoner with whom he was sharing a cell in a Russian prison,” Yermak said.

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