The average life expectancy for a baby born in Flanders keeps rising, according to the latest figures. In 1999, a baby boy could expect to live for 75 years and a girl for 81 years. In 2008, the latest year for which figures are available, boys could expect to reach 78 and girls 83. The five-year gap appears to be constant, even though the figures are going up for both sexes. Flanders is fifth in Europe for life expectancy, after Italy, France, Sweden and Spain.

A woman whose body was found buried in the dunes at Zeebrugge was suffocated to death, either before being buried or because of it, police said. The woman, aged 25 to 35, had been in the sand for about two weeks before she was discovered by some kitesurfers. Her identity remains unknown.

Operating rooms in hospitals have waiting lists of up to three months to deal with toddlers who require full anaesthetic to treat the number of cavities they have, announced Professor Dominique Declerck on the VTM programme Telefacts. The dentist said that the problem had become too serious for ordinary dentists to handle. The causes of the problem are poor oral hygiene and too many sweets and sugary drinks.

Belgium should scrap its ban on foreigners entering the profession of notary, the advocate-general of the European Court of Justice advised last week. Discrimination on the grounds of nationality is illegal in the EU. Belgian notaries draw up legally-binding contracts, such as those regarding house sales. The advocate-general's role is advisory, but his opinion is usually followed by the whole court, which will rule on the matter later.

Belgium last week achieved the complete destruction of its remaining stocks of cluster munitions, federal defence minister Pieter De Crem announced. Belgium (following Spain, Moldavia and Norway) becomes one of the first signatories to fulfil its Oslo Treaty obligations - well within the eight years the treaty allows. Belgium had 115,210 cluster missiles.

A Flemish atomic expert has been given a senior post at the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna. Herman Nackaerts, 59, will be in charge of the service responsible for inspections to ensure atomic energy facilities are not diverted to military ends. Nackaerts graduated in civil engineering from the Catholic University of Leuven and previously worked for the EU's atomic safeguards inspection.

Twelve-year-old schoolchildren in Brussels and Antwerp will receive lessons in cardio-pulmonary resuscitation (CPR) from staff at the Antwerp hospital network (ZVA) and the Free University of Brussels (VUB).