NEWS OF THE DAY

_1 Malaysia threat: Police said Saturday that eight suspected militants, including seven foreigners, have been arrested for allegedly spreading religious extremism that could threaten national security and fan terrorism in the region. National police chief Mohamad Fuzi Harun said the Sept. 24 arrests came after police received intelligence about attempts by a terror group based in Yemen to set up a school in Southeast Asia to promote the Salafi Jihadi ideology, which is shared by groups including the Islamic State. He said all eight are linked to an Islamic learning center in northern Perlis state that has ties with the Yemen school. Malaysia has been battling to curb the influence of militant cells linked to the Islamic State.

_2 Congo crash: At least 50 people were killed Saturday and more than 100 suffered burns when a tanker truck collided with a bus and, after villagers rushed to collect the leaking fuel, erupted in flames, officials said. The accident occurred in the village of Mbuba about 120 miles southwest of the capital, Kinshasa. The U.N. peacekeeping mission in Congo said it had offered the government assistance for the injured, with nine ambulances en route to help with medical evacuations. “We deplore the deaths,” said the interim governor of Kongo-Central province, Atu Matubuana.

_3 Missing law officer: Interpol has made a formal request to China for information about its missing Chinese president who seemingly vanished on a trip home, citing concerns for his well-being. The international police agency in Lyon said Saturday that it used law enforcement channels to submit its request about the status of Meng Hongwei. China, in the midst of a weeklong holiday, did not immediately comment. Meng’s wife says she hasn’t heard from him since he left Lyon at the end of September. Meng is also a vice minister for public security in China. The South China Morning Post, a Hong Kong newspaper, has suggested that Meng may have been the latest target of a campaign against corruption in China. The newspaper said Meng was “taken away” for questioning by what it said were “discipline authorities.”

_4 American soldier killed: The Pentagon has released the identity of a U.S. soldier killed in Afghanistan. The Defense Department said specialist James Slape, 23, from Morehead City, N.C., died Thursday as a result of wounds sustained from an improvised explosive device in Helmand Province. The incident is under investigation. Slape was assigned to the 60th Troop Command of the North Carolina Army National Guard.

_5 Gaza restrictions: Israel announced new restrictions on Gaza on Saturday, weeks after the territory’s Hamas rulers stepped up protests along the enclave’s land and sea borders with Israel. Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman has ordered the permissible zone for Gaza fishermen to be scaled back from nine to six nautical miles and threatened “additional steps if the violent incidents continue,” according to a statement by COGAT, the Israeli defense body that coordinates civil affairs for the Palestinian territories. Other measures could include more restrictions at Kerem Shalom, Gaza’s prime commercial crossing point and the only one with Israel. Hamas seized Gaza forcibly from the Palestinian Authority in 2007 after winning legislative elections a year earlier. The Islamic militant group has since March initiated protests on a weekly basis, demanding an end to an Israeli-Egyptian blockade that has made it increasingly difficult for the group to govern.