Croatia battling with wildfires durring height of tourist season

ZAGREB, Croatia (AP) — Croatian firefighters have been stretched to their limits as they struggle to contain raging wildfires on the Adriatic coast and islands at the height of tourist season.

Two huge fires have swept through the Peljesac peninsula, forcing evacuation of villages and destroying large areas of olive groves, pine forests and vineyards.

The blaze has occasionally cut off the main road and power supplies since it erupted earlier this week. Associated Press reporters said hot winds on Friday have undermined efforts by firefighters, backed by planes and helicopters.

Fires also have swept through the islands of Korcula and Brac and on several other spots amid extremely high summer temperatures.

France’s top court gives OK to controversial surveillance bill

PARIS (AP) — France’s Constitutional Council has ruled that a bill legalizing broad surveillance of terrorism suspects doesn’t violate the country’s constitution.

Friday’s decision was the final step before the law can come into effect.

The bill was proposed long before the January attacks in Paris by Islamic extremists, but the government said that had added to its urgency.

One measure will force communication and Internet firms to allow intelligence services to install electronic “lock-boxes” to record metadata from all Internet users in France, allowing algorithmic analysis to detect potentially suspicious behavior.

The data will be anonymous, but intelligence agents could follow up with a request to an independent panel for deeper surveillance that could identify users.

S. Korea man arrested for alleged death threat on U.S. envoy

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea’s police say they’ve arrested a 33-yearold jobless man for allegedly making an online threat to kill the U.S. ambassador in Seoul.

Police said Friday the man allegedly left a English message vowing to “kill” Mark Lippert with “nuclear poisoning” on the website of the White House on July 8.

The man, surnamed Lee, has denied the allegation. But police say they’ve found a draft of the online threat from his laptop computer.

Police say the message didn’t clearly explain why he wants to kill Lippert.

In March, Lippert was attacked by another man who slashed him with a knife during a forum. Lippert suffered deep gashes on his face and arm and was treated at a hospital for five days.

More than 100 suspects face Thai human trafficking charges

BANGKOK (AP) — Thailand’s state prosecutors have recommended charges against more than 100 people, including a Thai army general, in a multinational human trafficking scandal after dozens of bodies were discovered earlier this year.

Office of the Attorney General spokesman Wanchai Roujanavong said Friday that 91 Thais, nine Myanmar nationals and four Bangladeshis face multiple charges, including, human trafficking, partaking in a transnational crime network, and assisting or bringing in aliens into the kingdom illegally.

He said provincial prosecutors have pressed charges against 72 arrested suspects and were waiting to proceed with 32 others who remained at large.

The sweeping investigation, in which 15 Thai state officials were implicated, came after 33 bodies, believed to be migrants from Myanmar and Bangladesh, were exhumed from various jungle camps near the Thai- Malaysian border in May.

Bomb packed with nails kills 1, wounds 8 others in Philippines

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Philippine officials say a bomb packed with nails for more lethal effect has exploded in a massage parlor in the country’s south, killing one person and leaving at least eight others wounded.

Philippine police say two of the victims of late Thursday’s blast in the port city of Zamboanga were in critical condition in a hospital. No group immediately claimed responsibility for the night-time attack, which damaged the shop and nearby businesses.

Police say investigators are still trying to determine the identity of the attackers. Zamboanga, a bustling city that’s a gateway to many urban centers in the south, has come under bomb attacks by Abu Sayyaf militants in the past.