SWEDEN

SWEDEN
Svenska Dagbladet, Stockholm, May 8: It is obvious that many world leaders still hope for dialogue with Iran. Their foreign minister's (recent) European tour -- by invitation -- cannot be interpreted in any other way.
When Iran's Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki visited Stockholm to lecture on "multilateral diplomacy and global security," it became Carl Bildt and Maud Olofsson's turn to attempt to influence.
Smart relations
Iran has ignored international demands. And the dictatorship watched as strong U.N. Security Council sanctions were blocked, thanks to (Iran's) smart relations with Russia and China.
Sweden, the EU and the U.N. lack -- compared to the U.S. and possibly Israel -- the military muscle to influence the regime by force.
INDIA
Hindustan Times, Delhi, May 8: Having large families, it seems, is not only bad for privacy and savings, but also for Mother Earth. A study conducted by the Orwellian-sounding Optimum Population Trust (OPT) states that couples with two children instead of three cut their family's carbon dioxide output by the equivalent of 20 London-New York return flights a year. So switching lights off at home and conserving water aren't good enough any more. Having extra children is an ecological crime.
The problem with an environmental think-tank telling individuals to stop having more than two children to save the planet is twofold. At one basic level, people rightly or wrongly put individual happiness before global unhappiness. Which is why smokers are not sent to Siberia and washing machine owners are yet to be shot by a firing squad for eco-crimes. On another level, having a fixed limit on the number of children a couple can have can only be suggested, not imposed upon unless, of course, you live in China.
Strong correlation
The correlation between the amount of carbon dioxide emissions not to mention methane ones and the number of children per family is a strong one. But then, one wonders what would have happened if those wanting to impose a two-children family were not allowed to be born as their parents were already saddled with two kids. Who would have warned us?