Federal mobility minister Etienne Schouppe has called for a report by the road safety institute (BIVV) into the safety or otherwise of MP3 players on the roads. The report will look at the dangers to drivers, cyclists and pedestrians of listening to personal music players in traffic. Although personal stereos have existed for 30 years, the danger is increasing as more people use the devices, the government said.

This year's Ronde van Vlaanderen (Tour of Flanders) was again won by Stijn Devolder, the fourth win for the Belgian Quick Step cycling team in five years and Devolder's second victory in a row.

Four people are being treated in a Brussels hospital for severe burns after having their colons washed out by a caustic cleaning product. It may sound like a dubious medical procedure from the days of Samuel Pepys or the latest unspeakable internet fad. But in fact it was a routine examination gone wrong, carried out at the Brugmann hospital in Brussels two weeks ago.

Flemish artists, poets and musicians are involved in a bizarre conspiracy to protest at the existence of NATO while echoing the words of a Roman senator on the vanished city of Carthage. Last week’s Passa Porta literary festival in Brussels was the occasion for at least one performer to speak the single sentence: “Overigens, ben ik van mening dat de NAVO afgeschaft moet worden” (Furthermore, I am of the opinion that NATO must be abolished).