Belgian author Hugo Claus dies at 78

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Prolific Belgian writer Hugo Claus, whose Flemish novels, poetry and plays made him a frequently tipped candidate for the Nobel literature prize, died on Wednesday at the age of 78, his publisher told the Belgian news agency Belga.

Ghent-born Claus, author of "The Sorrow of Belgium", suffered from Alzheimer's disease and had asked for his life to be terminated under Belgium's liberal euthanasia law. He died at a hospital in Antwerp.