BRUSSELS – A psychologist at a Belgian care home for the intellectually disabled has been detained on charges of raping and sexually assaulting multiple patients there, officials said on Thursday. Prosecutors said the man, who has not been named, also faces charges of forgery, as investigators believe he produced false qualifications to get hired. The 47-year-old worked as a psychologist at Les Coquelicots, a day care home for disabled adults in Anderlues, a small town near the southern city of Charleroi. Sandrine Vairon of the Charleroi prosecutor’s office told AFP the suspect was accused of “more than 10” rapes and sexual assaults.  He was arrested early in December following a complaint from one of his alleged victims, before being charged and remanded into custody. The suspect denies all the allegations. (Jamaicaobserver)

Photo: This photograph shows a view of the ‘Les Coquelicots’ day centre for mentally disabled adults, in Anderlues on December 31, 2024 where a psychologist working at the centre has been accused of alleged multiple rapes and sexual assaults committed against at least a dozen of its residents. (AFP)

ZIMBABWE – An eight-year-old boy has been found alive after surviving five days in a game park inhabited by lions and elephants in northern Zimbabwe, according to a member of parliament. The ordeal began when Tinotenda Pudu wandered 23 km (14 miles) from home into the “perilous” Matusadona Game Park, said Mashonaland West MP Mutsa Murombedzi on X. He spent five days “sleeping on a rocky perch, amidst roaring lions, passing elephants, eating wild fruits”, she said.

Matusadona game park has about 40 lions. At one point, it had one of the highest lion population densities in Africa, according to African Parks. Murombedzi said the boy used his knowledge of the wild and survival skills to stay alive. Tinotenda survived his ordeal by eating wild fruit. He also dug small wells into dry riverbeds with a stick to access drinking water – a skill taught in the drought-prone area.

Members of the local Nyaminyami community started a search party and beat drums each day to try and guide him back home. But ultimately, it was park rangers who managed to find him. On his fifth day in the wild, Tinotenda heard a ranger’s car and ran toward it, narrowly missing it, the MP said.

Luckily, the rangers returned, spotted “fresh little human footprints,” and searched the area until they found him. “This was probably his last chance of being rescued after 5 days in the wilderness,” said the MP. The park is over 1,470 sq km (570 sq miles) and is home to zebras, elephants, hippos, lions and antelope. (BBC)

LOS ANGELES – A Tesla Cybertruck exploded outside a hotel belonging to US President-elect Donald Trump in Las Vegas, killing at least one person and wounding seven, police said Wednesday. US President Joe Biden said authorities were investigating any links between the Las Vegas explosion and an attack earlier Wednesday in New Orleans, where a truck plowed into a crowd of New Year’s revelers, killing at least 15. However, Biden cautioned that no such links had yet been found. The FBI and local law enforcement said they believed the Tesla blast was an isolated incident, but they were investigating whether it was an “act of terrorism”. The electric vehicle — made by the company owned by Trump backer Elon Musk — pulled up to the Trump International Hotel’s glass entrance before a “large explosion,” Las Vegas Sheriff Kevin McMahill told reporters.

Video footage shows the stainless steel truck parked at the hotel entrance before bursting into flames, followed by smaller explosions that appeared similar to fireworks. McMahill said there was “one deceased individual inside the Cybertruck,” while seven people received “minor” injuries. He said the hotel had been evacuated.

He told a later news conference that the back of the truck contained gasoline and camping fuel canisters, as well as “large firework mortars.” McMahill also said the fact that it was a Cybertruck “really limited the damage… because it had most of the blast go up through the truck and out,” noting that the glass doors of the hotel, just a few feet away, “were not even broken by that blast.” Biden said authorities were probing “any possible connection with the attack in New Orleans.” “Thus far, there’s nothing to report on that score,” he said. (Jamaicaobserver)

BRAZIL – Brazil assumed the rotating presidency of the BRICS group (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) on Wednesday, with an agenda focusing on strengthening Global South cooperation, the Brazilian government said in a statement. It will also focus on reforming international governance, and creating mechanisms to facilitate trade among its members.

“The group is one of the key political and diplomatic forums for Global South countries, focusing on cooperation across various sectors,” said the statement. Its key goals include developing payment systems to simplify trade and investment between members, promoting inclusive and responsible governance of artificial intelligence, and improving financing mechanisms to address climate change.

The agenda also emphasizes collaborative projects among Global South countries, particularly in public health, and strengthening the institutional structure of BRICS. As the host nation until the end of this year, Brazil will also organize and oversee working group meetings, bringing together representatives from member countries to discuss and implement its priorities.  (Xinhua)

ISRAEL – An Israeli strike killed at least 11 Palestinians overnight, including the director general of Gaza police and a deputy, in Al-Mawasi, southern Gaza, local officials said Thursday. Gaza’s interior ministry accused Israel of killing Maj. Gen. Mahmoud Salah, aged 50 and a father-of-four, and Maj. Gen. Hussam Shahwan, a member of the Police Command Council, to undermine law and order in the Palestinian territory. “By committing the crime of assassinating the Director General of Police in the Gaza Strip, the occupation is insisting on spreading chaos in the Strip and deepening the human suffering of citizens,” the ministry said in a Thursday statement. The Israeli military said it killed Shahwan, the deputy, on Thursday. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said that Shahwan was a “terrorist” who was “responsible for developing intelligence assessments in coordination with elements of Hamas’ military wing” in Gaza. The IDF did not acknowledge Salah’s killing in its statement.

The Israeli offensive since the Hamas-led October 7 attacks in 2023 has eroded law infrastructure in Gaza. The presence of heavily armed groups has also stifled relief efforts in a territory besieged by Israel’s sustained aid restrictions and severe hunger, disease and mass displacement. Palestinian police have played a key role in ensuring the safe delivery of humanitarian aid. But human rights agencies have repeatedly warned that Israel’s sustained aid restrictions have strangled relief operations in the enclave, citing lengthy truck inspections, damaged roads, strikes on aid convoys and impeded access to the north.

In November, the United Nations warned of a “collapse of law and order” leading to dozens of trucks being looted at gunpoint. A few days later, the chief of the UN’s agency for Palestine refugees stressed that Israel, as the occupying power, must ensure that aid flows safely into Gaza. Israel’s war in Gaza has erased entire families, decimated the health care system and reduced entire neighborhoods to debris. At least 45,581 Palestinians have been killed and more than 108,400 people injured, the Ministry of Health there reported on Thursday. (CNN)

Photo: Palestinians survey the aftermath of an Israeli strike in Al-Mawasi, southern Gaza. (Reuters)

USA – Chinese car maker BYD saw its sales jump at the end of last year, as it competes with Tesla to be the world’s best-selling electric vehicle (EV) maker of 2024. The company says it sold 207,734 EVs in December, taking its annual total to 1.76 million, as subsidies and discounts helped attract customers.

It comes as Tesla is due to announce its own quarterly sales figures later on Thursday. The US electric car maker maintained a slim lead in EV sales over BYD in the previous quarter but the S henzhen-based firm has been narrowing the gap. BYD’s total vehicle sales jumped more than 41% in 2024, year-on-year. The surge was powered mainly by sales of its hybrid cars.

The company has benefited from a rise in car sales in its home market, as intense competition drove down prices and government subsidies encouraged consumers to replace their old cars with EVs or other more fuel efficient options. BYD sells 90% of its cars in China, where its been extending its lead over foreign brands like Volkswagen and Toyota. The rise of BYD and other Chinese EV makers contrasts with the challenges faced by some legacy car makers, which have been struggling in major Western markets. Last month, Honda and Nissan confirmed that they were holding merger talks, as the two Japanese firms seek to fight back against competition from the Chinese car industry. (BBC)

Photo: The Chinese EV maker saw record sales in December. (Getty Images)