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Floods Destroy 1.1 mln Tons of Rice in Bangladesh

]A view shows a partially submerged school and madrasa premises amid severe flooding in the Fazilpur area of Feni, Bangladesh, August 26, 2024. REUTERS/Mohammad Ponir Hossain/File Photo
]A view shows a partially submerged school and madrasa premises amid severe flooding in the Fazilpur area of Feni, Bangladesh, August 26, 2024. REUTERS/Mohammad Ponir Hossain/File Photo
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Floods Destroy 1.1 mln Tons of Rice in Bangladesh

]A view shows a partially submerged school and madrasa premises amid severe flooding in the Fazilpur area of Feni, Bangladesh, August 26, 2024. REUTERS/Mohammad Ponir Hossain/File Photo
]A view shows a partially submerged school and madrasa premises amid severe flooding in the Fazilpur area of Feni, Bangladesh, August 26, 2024. REUTERS/Mohammad Ponir Hossain/File Photo

Floods in Bangladesh have destroyed an estimated 1.1 million metric tons of rice, according to data from the agriculture ministry, prompting the country to ramp up imports of the staple grain amid soaring food prices.

Floods brought by heavy monsoon rains and torrential upstream runoff struck the country in two major waves in August and October, claiming at least 75 lives and affecting millions, particularly in the eastern and northern regions where crop damage has been the most severe.

The agriculture ministry said this year's flooding has resulted in a substantial loss of rice production. In response, the government is moving quickly to import 500,000 tons of rice and is expected to permit private sector imports soon, a food ministry official said, Reuters reported.

The interim government, which took power in August after deadly protests forced former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to flee to India, has been struggling to stabilize food prices that have surged nearly 20% in recent months.

Higher imports by Bangladesh could lift shipments from neighbouring India, the top global rice exporter, which last month cut the duty on parboiled rice exports to 10%.

The floods have also severely impacted other agricultural products, including more than 200,000 tons of vegetables. Total nationwide agricultural losses due to the flooding are estimated at around 45 billion taka ($380 million).

Bangladesh, the world's third-largest rice producer, typically produces nearly 40 million tons of rice a year to feed its population of 170 million. However, natural disasters often disrupt production and lead to increased dependency on imports.

The floods this year have underscored Bangladesh's vulnerability to climate change. A 2015 World Bank Institute analysis estimated 3.5 million people in Bangladesh are at risk of annual river flooding, a risk scientists say is worsening due to global climate change.

"To ensure food security in the face of increasing climate challenges, it is essential to develop more flood- and drought-tolerant crop varieties, along with short-duration varieties," said Khandakar Mohammad Iftekharuddaula, chief scientific officer at the Bangladesh Rice Research Institute.

He said investing in agricultural research is crucial for developing these resilient crops.

"By focusing on flood- and drought-resistant traits, we can help farmers adapt to changing weather patterns and stabilize yields even in difficult conditions."

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Passengers Flee Snake at Australian Train Station

People gather at Sydney Opera House during Australia Day 2026 celebrations, in Sydney, Australia, 26 January 2026. (EPA)
People gather at Sydney Opera House during Australia Day 2026 celebrations, in Sydney, Australia, 26 January 2026. (EPA)
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Passengers Flee Snake at Australian Train Station

People gather at Sydney Opera House during Australia Day 2026 celebrations, in Sydney, Australia, 26 January 2026. (EPA)
People gather at Sydney Opera House during Australia Day 2026 celebrations, in Sydney, Australia, 26 January 2026. (EPA)

Commuters jumped in fright as a snake slithered across a city train platform in Australia, proving nowhere is safe from the nation's creepy-crawlies.

Footage showed the small serpent wriggling down the platform in the city of Sydney on Sunday night.

One woman abandoned her bike after spotting the snake and flees in the opposite direction, while other passengers anxiously huddled together on the platform.

The impasse was solved when one passenger plucked up the courage to hoist the snake by its tail and drop it over the hand railing.

"A passenger who got off a train took it upon himself to handle the intruder," said government agency Transport for New South Wales, adding that "the man did not flinch".

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Saudi Scientific Study Develops AI-Powered Detection of Obstructive Sleep Apnea

Sleep apnea affects more than one billion people worldwide. (AFP illustrative photo)
Sleep apnea affects more than one billion people worldwide. (AFP illustrative photo)
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Saudi Scientific Study Develops AI-Powered Detection of Obstructive Sleep Apnea

Sleep apnea affects more than one billion people worldwide. (AFP illustrative photo)
Sleep apnea affects more than one billion people worldwide. (AFP illustrative photo)

A Saudi scientific study has developed an intelligent model for detecting obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), a condition affecting more than one billion people worldwide, using unidirectional electrocardiography (ECG) signals and artificial intelligence (AI) techniques.

The findings, published in "Frontiers in Artificial Intelligence" and conducted by Dr. Malak Al-Marshad at the University Sleep Medicine and Research Center, College of Medicine, and Medical City at King Saud University, detailed the development of an “attention transformer-based deep learning model” designed to improve the accuracy and speed of diagnosing OSA.

The study noted that the proposed diagnostic approach is more efficient than traditional polysomnography (PSG), which is time-consuming, costly, and requires specialist analysis. The model uses transformer-based AI technology, similar to that in large language models, relying on a single ECG signal and autoencoder-based positional encoding to process raw data without complex preprocessing.

Results showed that the model outperformed previous studies by 13% in F1 score and achieved high temporal accuracy, detecting apnea events with precision down to one second. It offers physicians faster, more affordable, and reliable diagnostic support, even when using noisy real-world data.

The research reflects growing interest in applying AI in sleep medicine. King Saud University ranked 18th globally in sleep medicine research over the past five years, while Professor Ahmed BaHammam of the College of Medicine at King Saud University ranked fifth worldwide among sleep medicine scientists during the same period, according to the 2025 ScholarGPS rankings.

Varieties

In Sudan's Old Port of Suakin, Dreams of a Tourism Revival

Local officials in the historic Sudanese city of Suakin hope the once-booming transit port turned tourist draw can be revived. Mutawakil ISSA / AFP
Local officials in the historic Sudanese city of Suakin hope the once-booming transit port turned tourist draw can be revived. Mutawakil ISSA / AFP
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In Sudan's Old Port of Suakin, Dreams of a Tourism Revival

Local officials in the historic Sudanese city of Suakin hope the once-booming transit port turned tourist draw can be revived. Mutawakil ISSA / AFP
Local officials in the historic Sudanese city of Suakin hope the once-booming transit port turned tourist draw can be revived. Mutawakil ISSA / AFP

The mayor of Suakin dreams of a rebirth for his town, an ancient Red Sea port spared by the wars that have marked Sudan's history but reduced to ruins by the ravages of time.

"It was called the 'White City'," for its unique buildings made of coral stone taken from the seabed, said mayor Abu Mohamed El-Amin Artega, who is also the leader of the Artega tribe, part of eastern Sudan's Beja ethnic group.

Now the once-booming port and tourist draw languishes on the water, effectively forgotten for years as Sudan remains mired in a devastating war between the army and paramilitary forces.

But inside the ruins of a mosque, a restoration crew is hard at work rebuilding this piece of Suakin, over a century after the city was abandoned.

"Before the war, a lot of people came, a lot of tourists," said Ahmed Bushra, an engineer with the association Safeguarding Sudan's Living Heritage from Conflict and Climate Change (SSLH).

"We hope in the future, when peace comes to Sudan, they will come and enjoy our beautiful historic buildings here," he told AFP.

Architecture student Doha Abdelaziz Mohamed is part of the crew bringing the mosque back to life with funding from the British Council and support from UNESCO.

"When I came here, I was stunned by the architecture," the 23-year-old said.

The builders "used techniques that are no longer employed today", she told AFP. "We are here to keep our people's heritage."

- Abandoned -

The ancient port -- set on an oval island nestled within a lagoon -- served for centuries as a transit point for merchant caravans, Muslim and Christian pilgrims travelling to Makkah and Jerusalem, according to the Rome-based heritage institute ICCROM.

It became a vibrant crossroads under the Ottoman Empire, said Artega, 55, and its population grew to around 25,000 as a construction boom took off.

"The streets were so crowded that, as our forefathers said, you could hardly move."

Everything changed in 1905, when the British built a deeper commercial port 60 kilometers (37 miles) north, to accommodate increased maritime traffic with the opening of the Suez Canal.

"Merchants and residents moved to Port Sudan," the mayor said, lamenting the decline of what he calls "Sudan's great treasure".

But his Artega tribe, which has administered the city since the sixth century with powers "passed from father to son", refused to leave.

His ancestor, he said, scolded the British: "You found a port as prosperous as a fine hen -- you took its eggs, plucked its feathers and now you spit its bones back at us."

As proof of the Artega's influence, he keeps at home what he says are swords and uniforms gifted to his ancestors by Queen Victoria during the British colonial period.

The rise of Port Sudan spelled disaster for Suakin, whose grand public buildings and elegant coral townhouses were left to decay, slowly eaten away by the humid winds and summer heat.

But the 1990s brought new hope, with the opening of a new passenger port linking Suakin to Jeddah in Saudi Arabia.

Today, the Sudanese transport company Tarco operates daily crossings, carrying around 200 passengers per trip from the modern port of Suakin, within sight of the ancient city and its impoverished environs.

- Lease to Türkiye-

The city's optimism grew in 2017 when then-president Omar al-Bashir granted the old port to his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, under a 99-year lease for touristic development.

A Turkish company restored the old governor's palace, customs house and two mosques, but the project stalled in 2019 after Bashir fell from power in the face of mass protests.

Then, in April 2023, the cruise passengers and scuba divers who once stopped in Suakin completely vanished when fighting erupted between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

A rusting cargo ship now lies stranded on a sandbank in the blue lagoon, where only a handful of fishing boats float around.

But Bushra, from SSLH, remains optimistic. He hopes to see the mosque, which houses the tomb of a Sufi sheikh, host a traditional music festival when the renovation is complete, "in five months".

"When we finish the restoration, the tourists can come here," he said.