Local and federal police will increase their presence this summer at the Nekker sport and recreation centre in Mechelen, in an effort to combat problems with gangs of youths, most of them from Brussels, who ran amok in the park last year, causing damage and upsetting visitors. Police will be backed up by private security guards and stewards from the city. "They'll either have to behave or go somewhere else," Mechelen mayor Bart Somers said.

An exhibition of paintings by the 15th-century Flemish artist Rogier Van der Weyden has sold 10,000 tickets, despite the fact that it does not open until September and that the museum hosting it is not yet fully constructed. Tickets to the show at the new M city museum in Leuven have been on sale since April, and about one-third of the sales so far have come from other countries, mainly on behalf of groups. Weekends for the duration of the show, which runs until 6 December, are nearly sold out.

A Limburg wine last week caught the attention of one of the world's top culinary stars. Heston Blumenthal, chef of the Fat Duck restaurant in Bray, Berkshire, England, and regularly voted second-best chef in the world (after Ferran Adrià of El Bulli in Catalonia) was in Flanders to take part in the reality show Mijn Restaurant! While dining at one of the competing restaurants in Sint-Truiden, he tasted the local Clos d'Opleeuw chardonnay and immediately ordered two bottles: one to drink right away and one to take back to the Fat Duck. The vineyard, run by Peter Colemont, only produces 3,000 bottles a year. "I take the compliment more as a spiritual vindication because it's not as if I need the publicity," Colemont said. "As a small producer, my stock always flies out the door."

Mass release of balloons at private parties or public protests is a threat to marine life, according to research by Francis Kerckhof, a marine biologist with the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences. Once released, the balloons go up to a height of eight kilometres, where air pressure causes them to explode into small pieces, most of which fall into the sea. Sea birds, turtles and sea mammals are attracted to the pieces, which look like food. However, when swallowed, they block the digestive passages and cause the animal to starve to death - "a terrible death," said Kerckhof.

Researchers at Ghent University have discovered an effective new medium for transporting live bacteria to the large intestine: chocolate. The problem of transporting the so-called probiotica to the colon, where they are required to tackle a variety of intestinal disorders, has puzzled scientists for years. Yogurt drinks like Yakult provide some protection, but it now appears that chocolate is better still, according to Sam Possemiers of the Biochemical and Microbial Technology department.

Beach orientation poles, used at the Belgian coast to help lost children find their way back to their parents, will be introduced at the French resort of Cannes this year. The poles, which use easily-recognised symbols like trains and teddy bears, were invented by Dominiek Vervaecke of Oudenburg and are provided to municipalities at the Flemish coast for free, thanks to sponsoring by KBC bank.