RUSSIA has a long tradition of honouring it soldiers, scholars and scientists
for their achievements. Yesterday, it honoured parents with large families with
the "Order of Parental Glory" - part of a campaign to halt a dramatic population
decline.
"When he announced that he would baptise any child born to parents with at
least two children already we could not resist the opportunity to have another
baby. To have a child baptised by the Patriarch is so very special."
Two years after having one of the lowest birth rates in the world, Georgia is enjoying something of a baby boom, following an intervention from the country's most senior cleric.