Nine prisoners in Hasselt prison have started legal action against the prisons authority because shortages force them to wear the same underpants for days at a time, while other clothing is torn, or the wrong size. While the prisoners accept they have to serve their punishment, their lawyer said, they demand to be able to do so with some dignity.

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Drug addiction treatment centres in Flanders, and particularly in the Ghent area, faces an imminent crisis if something is not done about waiting lists, according to criminologist Brice De Ruyver and addiction expert Dirk Vandevelde. In the past year, lists have gone from nothing to three months, partly as a result of a new drugs tribunal, which can order treatment for addicts charged with crimes before they are sentenced. However treatment facilities are not fit to keep up with the increase in demand, the report states.

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More than 100 members of cabinet staff in the Flemish government are to lose their jobs as a result of the disappearance of Open VLD from the region's government. Three of the party's ministers - Dirk Van Mechelen, Patricia Ceysens and Marino Keulen - will no longer serve. Another 48 staff will return to the civil service departments from which they were seconded. The party will also lose €448,000 in subsidies because it polled fewer votes in the June election.

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Anyone caught throwing a cigarette-end to the ground in Blankenberge this summer could face a fine of up to €125, under a new tougher littering policy introduced by the city council. The same goes for vomit, dog-mess and other rubbish. And feeding of seagulls is also illegal, the town said.

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The case against the man accused of running Belgium's largest-ever cannabis plantation could be thrown out in its entirety because of procedural errors, a Ghent court warned. Patrick Lagrou, aged 50, is accused together with his wife and daughter and three others. The court found fault with the terms of a search warrant which brought the crime to light, and the evidence found could be declared inadmissible. Lagrou and his co-accused were last week freed from remand.

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Justice minister Stefaan De Clerck is to cut months off of the sentences of some convicted criminals to allow them to be released early before the summer weather takes hold. De Clerck said he planned to use the releases to ease prison overcrowding in warm weather, and reduce the chances of riots and other disturbances.

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The authorities at Brussels National airport at Zaventem have warned of long delays this summer as a result of increased security measures, including asking passengers to remove their shoes. Departing passengers should turn up two hours before takeoff for check-in, a Brussels airport spokesman said, and three hours for long-haul flights.

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The country's first-ever blind judge took the oath of office last week before the Antwerp court of appeal. Bart Hagen is 32 years old from Turnhout, and came second nationwide in exams for entry to judicial internship, which he served in Mechelen. He was appointed for a five-year term in the courts of first instance in Antwerp-Limburg jurisdiction. Hagen will have an assistant, and voice software to transcribe his case files into speech.