World
Are sperm banks in Denmark rejecting donors based on their IQ?
By Euronews
Published on
A post on X claiming that Denmark has introduced an IQ threshold of at least 85 for sperm donors has sparked confusion, debate and memes, but ultimately is misleading.
In reality, Denmark has no legal IQ requirement for sperm donors, although donors must go through a risk assessment interview and medical history review to check for any genetic risk factors.
The country, which is well known for its liberal sperm donation laws, has at least a dozen sperm-bank operations active, despite no definitive public registry.
The two largest that are internationally recognised are the European Sperm Bank and Cryos International, the latter described as the “world’s largest sperm and egg bank”.
Cryos International says its donors must be between 18 and 45 years old, be physically and mentally healthy, undertake legal and medical screening and live in Denmark whilst donating. A single donor can donate to up to 12 families under wider Danish regulations.
Only in 2011 did Cyros introduce another requirement for donors: red-haired donors were turned away because, the company’s founder said, the bank already had plentiful supplies.
The European Sperm Bank has the same age requirements, and says its donors are required to go through a “thorough screening process” that checks for serious hereditary diseases and sexually transmitted infections.
Whilst it’s untrue that all Danish sperm banks and the country of Denmark have IQ requirements, one does: Donor Network, a sperm bank headquartered in the city of Aarhus.
The Cube, Euronews’ fact-checking team, reached out to Donor Network, whose CEO confirmed that the sperm bank has an IQ threshold of 85 and rejects those with a criminal record from donating.
“As far as we know, we are the only bank in the world with these requirements,” CEO of Donor Network, Jakub Knudsen, told The Cube.
Confusion and memes stem from an article written in November by the Danish broadcaster DR, which highlights Donor Network.
In late November, a post containing a rewritten clip from the article was shared widely online, sparking speculation that Donor Network’s requirements expanded to the whole of Denmark.
Controversy abounds
Whilst social media is awash with memes around Donor Network’s requirements, the topic raises some ethical considerations.
According to DR, medical ethicists say screening donors for certain hereditary conditions reduces the likelihood of certain negative outcomes, such as between 2007 and 2018, when a Danish sperm donor with a pathogenic gene mutation that increased the risk of cancer conceived 52 children.
However, according to Daniela Cutas, associate professor of medical ethics at Lund University, screening potential donors for their IQ and criminal record is trickier, because it assumes a higher IQ and a lack of criminal record can be genetically determined.
Broad consensus says that while traits such as a parent’s IQ can influence a child’s intelligence, environmental factors play a major role in shaping a child’s cognitive development.
However, according to Knudsen, scientific literature shows that “IQ is a strong predictor of, not just academic success and income, but also mortality, risk of ADHD, etc. and has a high heritability of 50-80%.”
“We wouldn’t feel comfortable selling these individuals as donors, as we wouldn’t recommend them to our own patients,” he said.
World
Netflix Unveils Turkish Slate, Headlined by Series Adaptation of Nobel Prize-Winning Author Orhan Pamuk’s ‘The Museum of Innocence’
Netflix has unveiled its Turkish production slate for 2026, which is headlined by a hotly anticipated series adaptation of Turkish Nobel Prize-winning author Orhan Pamuk acclaimed book “The Museum Of Innocence” and several other high-end shows with international reach.
The previously announced nine-episode “Museum of Innocence” series – that will drop on Netflix Feb. 13 – starts out in 1970’s Istanbul where a wealthy man named Kemal becomes romantically obsessed with his poor and distant young relative, a shopgirl named Füsun. Their romance unfolds over a decade against the backdrop of the changing city, after which he spends the rest of his life creating a museum in her memory that contains “his beloved’s earrings, her hair clips, and even her discarded cigarette butts,” as the synopsis puts it.
Directed by Zeynep Günay, “Museum of Innocence” is written by Ertan Kurtulan and produced by Turkish TV Powerhouse Ay Yapım known for International Emmy-winning series “Endless Love,” and also “Fatmagul,” “Ezel” and “Forbidden Love,” among other global hit series.
Other standout titles in Netflix’s new Turkish that have not been previously announced comprise:
— “Seni Tanıyorum,” a series written by Tuğba Doğan (“Hepimiz Birimiz Için”), directed by Mert Baykal (“Hot Skull”) and produced by Bonbon Studios. “After taking a break from painting following childbirth, Funda finds the nanny she has been searching for,” reads the synopsis. “But the mystery and unsettling nature of Nazlı begins to change the lives of Funda and her husband İlker forever. What starts as a simple encounter turns into a long-running game in which each of them is tested in their loyalty and desires.”
— “Sonra Gözler Görür,” a series penned by Ece Yörenç (“Fallen Leaves,” “Forbidden Love”), directed by Bertan Başaran (“Shahmaran”) and produced by Ay Yapim. “A quiet coastal town is shaken by the mysterious death of a young girl. When a renowned journalist returns to the place she grew up years later to investigate the case, her search uncovers not only a killer, but long-buried secrets and the truth about her own past,” the synopsis says.
New upcoming 2026 instalments of popular pre-existing Netflix Turkey originals shows include fresh seasons of “Ethos,” “Money Trap,” “Thank You, Next,” “Another Self” and Graveyard.”
World
Iran accused of sex assaults on teenage prisoners, while families charged to recover remains of loved ones
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Reports have emerged from eyewitnesses in Iran alleging sexual assaults on teenagers held in custody, as well as authorities forcing families of those protesters killed to pay as much as 10 billion rials to recover their bodies.
The National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI-US) also told Fox News Digital Wednesday that the “barbarity continues” across the nation, with prison detainees allegedly being killed and their bodies burned.
The reports came as Iran’s government claimed it had successfully crushed weeks of unrest that swept the country.
Beginning Dec. 28, the protests erupted amid deep public anger over political repression, economic hardship and state violence before rapidly expanding nationwide.
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Iranian demonstrators gather in a street during a protest over the collapse of the currency’s value, in Tehran, Iran, on Jan. 8, 2026. (Stringer/WANA/Reuters)
“The sedition is over now,” Iran’s prosecutor general Mohammad Movahedi said, according to the judiciary’s Mizan News Agency.
“And we must be grateful, as always, to the people who extinguished this sedition by being in the field in a timely manner,” he added, according to the New York Times.
The regime’s claims emerged on day 25 of the protests with the number of confirmed fatalities reaching 4,902, and the number of deaths still under review standing at 9,387.
The total number of arrests has risen to 26,541, the Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) said.
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Demonstrators burn a poster depicting Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei during a rally in support of anti-government protests in Iran, in Holon, Israel Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)
The France-based Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN) also said it received information indicating that some families were forced to pay sums of up to 10 billion rials to recover the bodies of their relatives.
In many cases, funeral ceremonies were held under heavy security control in the hometowns of those killed.
Some families were reportedly subjected to threats and pressure to falsely attribute responsibility for the killings to protesters.
KHRN further said that two protesters, including a 16-year-old, said they were sexually assaulted by Iranian security forces who detained them in Kermanshah, according to reports.
G7 THREATENS IRAN WITH NEW SANCTIONS OVER NATIONWIDE PROTEST CRACKDOWN KILLING THOUSANDS
Iranian security forces allegedly killed detainees and burned bodies during protests, with clashes continuing in Kermanshah, Rasht and Mashhad despite government claims. (NCRI)
Meanwhile, NCRI’s Ali Safavi said eyewitnesses reported that “several young women and men were forced to undress, so the military could see whether they had pellet wounds.”
“There has been barbarity with people who were detained. When they were killed, their bodies were burned,” he added.
Safavi also said clashes continued in multiple cities Tuesday night, including “Kermanshah where protesters and armed units of the IRGC fought in parts of the city.”
“There was the same in Rasht and Mashhad where the people and the regime will not return to the status quo even if the uprisings have slowed down. This is because of the blood of thousands of martyrs on their hands.”
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“The regime is still in power, and it won’t abandon brutal and bloody suppression so there is no pathway to a velvet revolution in Iran.”
“The shoes and sneakers seen left along the sidewalks remind us of the 30,000 MEK members and Iranian prisoners who were hanged during the 1988 massacre based on a fatwa by Khomeini,” Safavi added.
World
French firm Lactalis latest to recall baby formula amid contamination scare
French, Swiss food giants Danone and Nestle have also recalled infant formula batches in recent weeks over toxin fears.
Published On 22 Jan 2026
French dairy product giant Lactalis has announced a recall of batches of infant formula in France and more than a dozen other countries over worries batches have been contaminated by a toxin.
The announcement on Wednesday follows the recall of infant formula by Swiss dairy corporation Nestle in almost 60 countries since the beginning of the month.
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Lactalis “is proceeding with a voluntary recall of six batches of Picot infant milk, available in pharmacies and mass retail, due to the presence of cereulide in an ingredient supplied by a supplier”, the company said, referring to the toxin that can cause diarrhoea and vomiting.
“We are fully aware that this information may cause concern among parents of young children,” the company said.
Outside France, the recall affects Australia, Chile, China, Colombia, the Republic of the Congo, Ecuador, Spain, Madagascar, Mexico, Uzbekistan, Peru, Georgia, Greece, Kuwait, the Czech Republic and Taiwan, a spokesperson for the company told the AFP news agency.
The recall involves “a few batches” of formula in each of the countries, the spokesperson said.
The company said the French authorities had not signalled “any claim nor any report related to the consumption of these products”.
The infant formula industry has been rocked by recalls in recent weeks.
Authorities in Singapore on Saturday recalled Dumex baby formula, a brand owned by French food giant Danone, as well as batches of Nestle formula.
The Singapore Food Agency said it ordered the precautionary recall of a batch of Danone’s Thai-origin Dumex Dulac 1 and Nestle’s Swiss-origin NAN HA1 SupremePro after detecting cereulide.
Danone said the authorities blocked just “a few pallets” of Dumex, indicating they were not yet on the shelves of retail outlets.
Like Lactalis, Nestle has issued recalls since January due to the potential presence of cereulide, a bacterial substance that can cause sickness.
Nestle France said it was carrying out a “preventive and voluntary recall” of certain batches of its Guigoz and Nidal infant formulas after new investigations showed the potential presence of cereulide.
French health authorities said on Tuesday an investigation was under way after the death of a baby who had consumed milk from one of the batches recalled by Nestle, though no link has been established between its consumption and the death at this stage.
In 2018, Lactalis was at the centre of a salmonella outbreak and ensuing scandal after the company was accused of trying to cover up the extent of the outbreak, which led to the recall of 12 million tins of baby formula from more than 80 countries.
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