News in Brief(2023-08-05)

Chance discovery helps fight against malaria
LONDON, Aug 04: Scientists have found a naturally occurring strain of bacteria which can help stop the transmission of malaria from mosquitoes to humans. They found it by chance, after a colony of mosquitoes in one experiment did not develop the malaria parasite. The researchers say the bacteria could be a new tool for fighting one of the world's oldest diseases, which kills 600,000 people every year. Trials assessing its safety in the real world are now taking place. Scientists at a research facility in Spain, run by the GSK pharmaceutical company, made the discovery after noticing that a colony of mosquitoes being used for drug development had stopped carrying malaria. "The infection rate in the mosquitoes started dwindling and so by the end of the year the mosquitoes just would not be infected with the malaria parasite," says Dr Janneth Rodrigues, who led the programme. — BBC
Thai freight train hits truck, killing eight
BANGKOK, Aug 04: Eight people were killed on Friday when a freight train hit a pick-up truck trying to cross the tracks in central Thailand, the kingdom's railway agency said. The crash took place around 2:20 am (1920 GMT Thursday) at an unauthorised crossing in Chachoengsao province, east of Bangkok, the State Railway of Thailand said in a statement. The train driver had sounded his warning horn as he approached the crossing but was unable to stop before hitting the truck, which was transporting fish, the statement said. — AFP
Teacher stabbed at school in latest South Korean knife attack
SEOUL, Aug 04: South Korean police have arrested a man suspected of stabbing a high school teacher with a knife in the city of Daejeon on Friday, in the country's second apparently random knife attack in two days. Officials at the Daejeon Metropolitan Police Agency did not immediately release the personal details of the suspect, describing him only as a man in his late 20s. — Al Jazeera
18 dead as Mexican bus carrying foreign migrants crashes
MEXICO CITY, Aug 04: At least 18 people were killed and at least 23 injured Thursday when a bus carrying foreign migrants and locals plummeted into a ravine in northwestern Mexico, authorities said. Three minors were among the dead, the civil protection agency in Nayarit state reported. — AFP
African leaders call for unlocking of Russian grain exports
JOHANNESBURG, Aug 04: African leaders involved in peace talks over Ukraine have called for the unlocking of Russian grain and fertiliser exports to revive a key Black Sea grain deal, South Africa said on Thursday. The group also called for the United Nations to take action to release 200,000 tons of Russian fertiliser blocked in European Union seaports, said Vincent Magwenya, a spokesman for South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa. — AFP