An Asian couple who tried to conceive through IVF has claimed that a mix-up at a California fertility clinic left them pregnant with the wrong children. A lawsuit filed by the couple in New York states that the couple was shocked to give birth to two boys who were not of Asian descent, US media reported.

The lawsuit says DNA tests confirmed the children were not related to the couple and they relinquished custody. The fertility clinic has not commented on the allegations. The couple – identified in the lawsuit only as AP and YZ to minimise the “embarrassment and humiliation” – say they tried for years to get pregnant before spending more than $100,000 (£80,000) on the IVF, or in vitro fertilisation, including medication, laboratory fees, travel and other costs.

IVF is the process of fertilising an egg outside of the woman’s body, before returning it to the womb to grow and develop. The lawsuit, filed in the Eastern District of New York last week, accuses CHA Fertility and two men identified as its co-owners and directors of offences including medical malpractice and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

It reportedly notes that after giving birth on 30 March, the couple “was shocked to see that the babies they were told were formed using both of their genetic material did not appear to be”. There were earlier signs that things were amiss when a scan revealed they were expecting boys, despite the fact that the doctors had said they did not use male embryos during the treatment.(BBC)…[+]

KABUL– U.S. and Taliban officials will reconvene on Tuesday to continue peace talks described as the “most productive session” by a top U.S. negotiator leading the discussions with the hardline Islamists group to end the Afghan war.

The warring sides started a seventh round of peace talks last week, aiming to hammer out a schedule for the withdrawal of foreign troops in exchange for Taliban guarantees that international militant groups will not use Afghanistan as a base for launching attacks. In a tweet yesterday, U.S envoy Zalmay Khalilzad, who has been holding peace talks with the Taliban to end the 18-year war in Afghanistan since last year, said the latest round of discussions were the “most productive session” to date.

He said substantive progress had been made on all four parts of a peace deal: counter-terrorism assurances, troop withdrawal, participation in intra-Afghan dialogue and negotiations, and a permanent and comprehensive ceasefire. About 20,000 foreign troops, most of them American, are in Afghanistan as part of a U.S.-led NATO mission to train, assist and advise Afghan forces. Some U.S. forces carry out counter-terrorism operations. (Reuters)…[+]

DAYS AFTER the Barbados Sea Turtle Project sent out a warning about the dangers of fire pits, 25 pounds of rusty nails were collected from a few square feet of one of the island’s most popular beaches Sunday. And deputy director of the Sea Turtle Project, Carla Daniel, is warning that the practice of lighting bonfires poses a danger not only to turtles who come up to nest, but to people and children using the beach.

Sunday, seven volunteers and Daniel combed the popular Drill Hall beach in the wake of a call, from Daniel, to join her in a clean-up of fire pits there. Before their arrival, she had marked at least eight fire pits which showed obvious signs of nails. “One of the problems is that people have been using pallets to burn (in the bonfires) and these pallets are full of nails and screws,” she told the DAILY NATION. (Barbados Nation) …[+]