Hungry Rat Terrifies the Queen in Buckingham Palace

Buckingham Palace and the forecourt is seen in central London. Photo: Reuters
Buckingham Palace and the forecourt is seen in central London. Photo: Reuters
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Hungry Rat Terrifies the Queen in Buckingham Palace

Buckingham Palace and the forecourt is seen in central London. Photo: Reuters
Buckingham Palace and the forecourt is seen in central London. Photo: Reuters

A hungry rat spotted in one of Buckingham Palace's kitchens in London left the Queen Elizabeth II horrified.

The palace's staff has called in a pest control squad that shortly arrived to address the situation.

The British Pest Control Association admitted that the country witnesses an invasion or a new species of rodents with immunity against poison, which raised anger among Britons.

The proliferation of rats and mice has become a major problem hitting the ancient buildings of Britain such as the royal palace that dates back to 1703, the parliament, and other governmental edifices.

It is reported that officials have given staff, in particular kitchen workers, basic training such as shutting cupboard doors and sweeping away bits of food in order to stop the problem spreading.

The tiny animals developed a genetic mutation known as LG20, which renders many toxins useless.

A spokesperson for the British Pest Control Association admitted that the long-tailed rodents had grown increasingly immune to the poison.



Vietnam Scraps Two-Child Limit as Birth Rate Declines 

A grandfather talks to his grandchild inside a kindergarten in Hanoi on June 4, 2025. (AFP)
A grandfather talks to his grandchild inside a kindergarten in Hanoi on June 4, 2025. (AFP)
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Vietnam Scraps Two-Child Limit as Birth Rate Declines 

A grandfather talks to his grandchild inside a kindergarten in Hanoi on June 4, 2025. (AFP)
A grandfather talks to his grandchild inside a kindergarten in Hanoi on June 4, 2025. (AFP)

Vietnam's communist government has scrapped its long-standing policy of limiting families to two children, state media said Wednesday, as the country battles to reverse a declining birth rate.

The country banned couples from having more than two children in 1988, but a family's size is now a decision for each individual couple, Vietnam News Agency said.

The country has experienced historically low birth rates in the last three years. The total fertility rate dropped to 1.91 children per woman in 2024, below replacement level, the ministry of health said this year.

Birth rates have fallen from 2.11 children per woman in 2021, to 2.01 in 2022 and 1.96 in 2023.

This trend is most pronounced in urbanized, economically developed regions, especially in big cities such as Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City as the cost of living rises.

Tran Minh Huong, a 22-year-old office worker, told AFP that the government regulation mattered little to her as she had no plans to have children.

"Even though I am an Asian, with social norms that say women need to get married and have kids, it's too costly to raise a child."

Deputy Health Minister Nguyen Thi Lien Huong, speaking at a conference earlier this year, warned it was increasingly difficult to encourage families to have more children, despite policy adjustments and public campaigns.

She emphasized that the declining birth rate poses challenges to long-term socio-economic development, including an aging population and workforce shortages.

She urged society to shift its mindset from focusing solely on family planning to a broader perspective of population and development.

Vietnam is also grappling with sex imbalances due to a historic preference for boys. On Tuesday the ministry of health proposed tripling the current fine to $3,800 "to curb fetal gender selection", according to state media.

It is forbidden to inform parents of the sex of their baby before birth in Vietnam, as well as to perform an abortion for sex-selection reasons, with penalties imposed on clinics who break the law.

The sex ratio at birth, though improved, remains skewed at 112 boys for every 100 girls.

Hoang Thi Oanh, 45, has three children but received fewer benefits after the birth of her youngest, due to the two-child policy.

"It's good that at last the authorities removed this ban," she said, but added that "raising more than two kids nowadays is too hard and costly."

"Only brave couples and those better-off would do so. I think the authorities will even have to give bonuses to encourage people to have more than two children."

Vietnam's neighbor China ended its own strict "one-child policy", imposed in the 1980s due to fears of overpopulation, in 2016 and in 2021 permitted couples to have three children.

But as in many countries, the soaring cost of living has proved a drag on birth rates and the moves have failed to reverse China's demographic decline -- its population fell for the third year in a row in 2024.