A court in Tongeren last week issued an exclusion order banning a 20-year-old Riemst man found guilty of threatening behaviour from coming within 10 metres of his victim. The man was charged with sending threatening text messages, the culmination of a campaign of bullying that had gone on for years. If he comes within the 10-metre exclusion zone, he will be fined €100.

The 93-year-old Antwerp woman who went on a hunger strike after her plea for euthanasia was rejected has died in a rest home in Merksem. Amelie Van Esbeen’s request was granted after her case doctor withdrew and another physician took over.

An illegal immigrant attempting to board a ship in Ostend harbour was killed last week when he fell into the water and was pulled into the ship’s screw. The man, who has not been identified, is thought to have been trying to cross to England. The ship had arrived in Ostend from Ramsgate but was not sailing back to England at the time. Ostend harbour authorities now fear a repeat of last summer, when floods of immigrants passed through the town in the hope of finding passage to the UK.

An 18-month-old golden retriever called Femke has taken up residence in a nursing home in Zemst. Femke is part of an initiative based on research that shows that the presence of companion animals improves the quality of life for long-stay hospital patients and rest-home residents. Her upkeep is paid for by the local authority.

Doctors will now be able to inform the partners of HIV patients of their medical status in cases where the patient refuses to take protective measures, the Order of Physicians has declared. Since the appearance of HIV/Aids in the early 1980s, doctors have been prevented by confidentiality laws from informing the partners of infected patients, leading to a certain number of new infections.

Staff from the Sea Life nature attraction in Blankenberge will train members of the local police and fire services to distinguish healthy seals from sick ones. As more seals appear on the North Sea coast, the number of reports of beached seals rises, leading to call-outs for Sea Life personnel – often for no reason. The training should allow emergency services to make an initial determination before raising the alarm.

Flemish environment minister Hilde Crevits has promised action to tackle the problem of the fox tapeworm (Echinococcus multilocularis), which has been detected in Flanders for the first time. The parasite can be a danger to humans, causing the often-fatal liver disease alveolar echinococcosis. Foxes spread the eggs in their faeces, and humans can be infected by eating brambles, for example, that have been infested.

A final year law student at the Catholic University of Leuven has won the 2009 prize for excellence in European business law skills offered by London law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer. Anneleen Straetemans wins a traineeship with the company and a cash prize.

Students are using black lights to cheat in exams, according to Flemish education authorities. The devices, which emit ultraviolet light, are used to reveal writing on previously-prepared papers that appears blank to the naked eye. The black light is the latest technology to fall into the hands of the cheats: authorities have already detected the use of GSMs and MP3 players to bring illicit information into the exam room.

200,000 Belgians are living in housing conditions without basic sanitary facilities, such as bath, shower, toilet or warm water, according to figures from the federal economics ministry. That’s 2.1% of the population as a whole and 5.4% of those living under the poverty line. One in four poor people have no central heating, with the same percentage complaining about a lack of space (see also “Slumming”, p. 6 this week).

The Post Office is to open branches in city centres on Saturday afternoons from this week, something that has hitherto only been tried in Brussels. The branches with extended hours are in Antwerp Groenplaats; Bruges Markt; Brussels De Brouckère and South Station; and Ghent, Leuven and Hasselt centres.