Federal agents raided a Phoenix gun store May 6 in the biggest weapons bust in years. Authorities said the store was a source for at least 650 high-powered weapons, including 250 AK-47 automatic weapons, smuggled to Mexican drug cartels. The raid on X-Caliber Guns followed an 11-month investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Phoenix Police Department and the Arizona Attorney General's Office. Agents seized 1,300 weapons, closed down the business, and arrested owner George Iknadosian and two others, Hugo Miguel Gamez and Cesar Boroguez-Gamez. The Gamez brothers are accused of setting up a network of "straw purchasers" to procure weapons for the cartels.

In El Paso County, TX, commissioners voted 3-to-1 May 5 for a resolution demanding a halt to construction of the border wall, asserting it would interfere with the region's long-established way of life. Thousands cross the border daily between El Paso and Juárez on the Mexican side of the Rio Grande, including students who attend classes in Texas. Commissioner Miguel Terán introduced the resolution, calling construction of the wall an act of racism. Although terrorist suspects have been arrested crossing the border with Canada, "we're not building walls over there," he said. "We're building them here."

A fence designed to separate the Roma from the majority community in Havlíčkův Brod, Czech Republic, has received approval from the local planning office. The remaining obstacle seems to be who will pay for the construction. People from the housing condominium who complained about the Roma are refusing to pay half of the costs, as municipal authorities demand. Ivan Veselý from the Romani association Dženo warns that if construction goes ahead, the country's international image will suffer. "The Czech Republic will discredit itself again," he said. Džamila Stehlíková, minister without portfolio for human rights, has failed to talk local officials out of the plan. (Prague Daily Monitor, May 7)

Some 300 Tibetan protesters, including many Buddhist monks and nuns, tried to storm the Chinese Embassy in Nepal May 8, kicking the metal gates and throwing banners inside the fortified compound before police pushed them back. More than 200 were detained. "We want our freedom. Stop China," they chanted as they skirmished with police. (AP, May 8) The protest came as the Olympic torch made the final, televised ascent along Mount Everest's icy ridge, crossing from Nepal into Tibet. (AP, May 8)

Nepal's Maoist leader, known as Prachanda—whose party won the most seats in last month's Constituent Assembly elections on an anti-monarchist platform—says he has received indications from the royal palace that King Gyanendra is willing to meet him to discuss the the country's future. He says he is willing to arrange a "graceful exit" for the king, but insists abolition of the monarchy is the only option. (BBC, May 7)

Brendan J. Cassar, chief of UNESCO's cultural program in Afghanistan, has—for the moment—backed denials by the New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) denial that their soldiers damaged remains of the Bamiyan Buddha statues (destroyed by the Taliban seven years ago) by setting off charges in the area. Najibullah Harar, chief of information and culture for Bamiyan, said the blast conducted near the smaller of the two statues on May 1 had caused cracks in what is left of the 114 foot-high ancient structure and its side walls. (New Zealand Herald, May 5; AP, May 4)

In the face of growing violence, NATO is considering ending its rotating command for the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan. NATO commander Gen. Bantz Craddock of the US said "it would be better if we had one country take lead as opposed to rotate." ISAF includes 47,000 soldiers from 40 countries who work alongside a separate US-led coalition numbering about 20,000 and the Afghan security forces. The US has 34,000 troops in Afghanistan, 16,000 of whom are under ISAF. (AFP, May 8)

Baitullah Mahsud, an al-Qaida ally who leads the Taliban in Pakistan, pulled out of a peace deal with the government after it refused to withdraw the army from tribal lands on the Afghan border. Tribal elders in Pakistan's South Waziristan region have been trying to broker the deal. Mehsud has been accused of masterminding a wave of suicide attacks that have rocked Pakistan since mid-2007, including one that killed former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto (though Mehsud has denied involvement) in December. The peace talks were aimed at making permanent a five-week lull in a wave of suicide attacks that has killed more than 1,000 people in Pakistan since the start of 2007.