President Bush's $163 billion Iraq war funding request collapsed in the House May 15. Republicans expected to provide the winning margin instead sat out the vote in protest of Democratic efforts to add money for the unemployed and an expansion of education benefits for soldiers. In the 149-141 tally, 132 Republicans abstained. (AP, May 16) Also included in the measure was $500 million as part of a multi-year commitment to Mexico, including about $204 million for the purchase of transport helicopters and surveillance aircraft. An additional $50 million was requested for Central American governments. In a burst of phone calls, Secretary Condoleezza Rice called about a half-dozen lawmakers on both sides of the Capitol the week before the vote to advocate the Mexican measure, and Bush spoke for it at a meeting with Republicans at the White House. (Politico, May 8)

Spanish ministers and royalty attended the funeral of a Civil Guard killed in a May 14 car bombing blamed on ETA at a barracks in Legutiano, near the Basque city of Vitoria. Four officers were hurt. (BBC, May 15) Meanwhile, the UN Special Rapporteur for Human Rights, Martin Scheinin, concluded an eight-day mission to Spain to review that country's practices in combating terrorism. While the report issued at the end of the trip praised certain "best practices" in safeguarding the rights of suspects, it also raised concerns about abuses. (UN News Centre, May 14) An excerpt:

Monks protest at Labrang MonasteryMass arrests of monks and their supporters continue in Tibet and the neighboring Tibetan ethnic regions of the People's Republic of China. Ten monks were arrested May 12 at Khenpa Lungpa Monastery for defying the "patriotic re-education" campaign, in which authorities demand ritual denunciations of the Dalai Lama in surprise raids on monasteries. Six monks were arrested May 13 at Woeser Monastery, and two lay Tibetans arrested there May 14. Both monasteries are in Garthog township, Markham county, Chamdo prefecture, Tibet Autonomous Region. (TCHRD, May 15) On May 7, thousands of People's Armed Police and Public Security Bureau personnel surrounded Labrang Monastery, Xiahe County, Gansu province, detaining around 140 monks. The next day, monks from the monastery held a protest to demand the release of those arrested. All but seven of those arrested were released after the protest. (TCHRD, May 9)

China's Ministry of Water Resources has dispatched teams to Sichuan, Chongqing, Yunnan, Gansu and Shaanxi provinces to prevent dams that were damaged by the devastating earthquake from bursting and endangering the lives of residents. Several dams are believed to be imminently threatened in the key region where the Tibetan plateau meets the Sichuan plain.

The price of rice in Burma has jumped 50% since Cyclone Nargis devastated the country's most important croplands and destroyed several fully stocked grain warehouses. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) warned that the cyclone may "sharply decrease national rice production and impair access to food." And the disaster comes as global rice prices are at an unprecedented high.

Truce talks between Pakistan's government and tribal militants may be causing a rise in terror attacks in Afghanistan, NATO spokesman James Appathurai told reporters in Brussels. "The concern is that deals being struck between the Pakistani government and extremist groups in the tribal areas may be allowing them, the extremists, to have safe havens, rest, reconstitute and then move across the border," he said.

In a massive sweep of shantytowns in urban areas across the country, Italian police arrested nearly 400 undocumented immigrants in Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's first week back in power. 118 were immediately expelled, and many others held to face immigration, drug and other charges. Most of the detained were from Romania and North Africa. Anti-crime director Francesco Gratteri said the operation was aimed at fighting crime "linked to illegal immigration."

Barack Obama just can't win with some people. Either he's too Muslim, or not Muslim enough. In a bizarre op-ed in the New York Times May 12, "President Apostate," Edward Luttwak warns :

As the son of the Muslim father, Senator Obama was born a Muslim under Muslim law as it is universally understood. His conversion, however, was a crime in Muslim eyes; it is "irtidad" or "ridda," usually translated from the Arabic as "apostasy," but with connotations of rebellion and treason...

South Sudanese former SPLA rebel fighters engaged government forces May 14 in the disputed oil-rich Abyei region, leaving up to four dead and sending hundreds fleeing. Heavy exchanges of machine gun and mortar fire could be heard from a UN base just outside the town in the north-south border zone. Fighting reportedly spilled into the town's marketplace. Abyei, often called the "Kashmir" of Sudan's north-south conflict and coveted by both sides, is cited as a potential flashpoint to reignite civil war. (Reuters, May 14)

Mali is sending army reinforcements to the desert North after attacks by Tuareg guerillas on several army posts left one dead May 6. A military base in Diabaly was attacked by rebels who made off with army supplies. (AFP, May 6) The new attacks began May 3 when Mali's army said it killed four Tuareg rebels after they attacked a military convoy. Authorities called it the first clash since an April 3 ceasefire brokered in Libya. (Reuters, May 3) In late April, Niger's parliament passed a tough new anti-terrorism law in response to the insurgency. (Reuters Africa, April 20)