Rolando Páucar, president of the Lima-based Institute for the Investigation of Energy and Development (IEDES), hailed the Peruvian government's official cancellation of the Inambari hydro-electric complex, saying that while he is not opposed to hydro-power in general, projects that would flood vast expanses of land must be rethought. "the Inambari project alone would inundate 47,000 hectares of Amazon rainforest," he said. But he proposed nuclear energy as an alternative to the project, calling upon president-elect Ollanta Humala to pursue development of a nuclear plant in Peru, as pledged in his official Plan of Government. The platform pledges that within his first 100 days in power, Humala will approve an expansion of uranium mining in Peru, as a first step towards a nuclear development plan. Páucar also proposed that Peru and Brazil jointly build a "binational" nuclear plant as a substitute for the 1,200-megawatt Inambari project, which would have exported electricity to Brazil. (La Republica, June 13)

Residents in potentially impacted areas of Puno and Madre de Dios regions of the Peruvian Amazon agreed to call off their protest roadblocks when the government announced cancellation of the Inambari hydro-electric dam this week. But Puno congressman Yonhy Lescano charged that the announcement was a "trick" by the government to defuse the protest movement and buy time to move ahead with the project definitively. "There hasn't been any solution to this issue, the concession has not been cancelled; they have only put an end to the temporary concession that the company had, but the process will continue," he said. "Already they are preparing the definitive concession, although the people of Puno are against it, and are demanding its cancellation."

Security forces shot dead at least 16 protesters at Friday demonstrations at several points across Syria on June 17, activists told wire services by telephone. The deaths included the first protester to be killed in Syria's second city, the commercial hub of Aleppo, the Local Coordination Committees said in a statement. Four people were killed in the northern flashpoint city of Homs, at least one in the eastern city of Deir Ezzor, two in Dael in the southern province of Daraa, and one in the Damascus suburb of Douma, the activists said. (Reuters, AFP, June 17)

Moussa al-Dalah, a 35-year-old tribal leader from Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, knew it would be a risky step to try and take his employer to court over alleged discrimination: He could easily end up in prison. "I had to tell the employer that the Bedouins won't be able to accept humiliation forever," al-Dalah told IRIN. "He used to give factory workers from other parts of Egypt higher salaries and better treatment."

Thousands of people joined a general strike in Greece June 14 and protesters in Athens tried to blockade parliament to prevent lawmakers from entering and voting on a new austerity plan. The rally turned violent as demonstrators hurled stones and petrol bombs, smashed windows and clashed with police, who used tear gas and stun grenades against the protesters. The riot left nearly 50 people injured, including 36 officers. Prime Minister George Papandreou said he would form a new government and put it to a vote of confidence in the coming days, hoping to win support for the austerity plan aimed at preventing the country from defaulting on its debt. Following Papandreou's announcement, two lawmakers from his party, including former Public Order Minister Giorgos Floridis, resigned their seats, dealing a new blow to the prime minister. (SETimes, June 16)

Indonesian cleric Abu Bakar Bashir was sentenced June 15 to 15 years in prison for his involvement with a terrorist training camp in the province of Aceh to prepare Islamic radicals to carry out attacks in Jakarta. Prosecutors said Bashir provided more than $62,000 to the group, which was allegedly planning attacks modeled after the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks and targeting high-profile members of the Indonesian government. Bashir was found guilty of inciting terrorism. He was not convicted, however, of funding terrorist activities because there was not enough evidence to prove Bashir's money contributed to purchasing guns for use at the training camp. The 72-year-old said he would appeal the sentence because it ignores Sharia law.

The US is building a secret airbase "somewhere in the Middle East" from which the CIA can launch drone attacks against terrorist elements in Yemen, the AP reports, calling the move "a hedge against the danger that today’s friendly government could crumble and force America to continue its fight from outside." The US effort against al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) in Yemen is being jointly run by the CIA and the Pentagon's Joint Special Operations Command. JSOC forces have been allowed by Yemen's government to conduct "limited strikes" there (some of which have apparently taken a grave civilian toll) since 2009 . The account states: “The Associated Press has withheld the exact location at the request of U.S. officials. They spoke on condition of anonymity because portions of the military and CIA missions in Yemen are classified.” (Fox News, DoD Buzz, June 15)

Following the issuance of Ministerial Resolution 264 by Peru's Ministy of Energy and Mines (MINEM) on June 14, suspending construction of the Inambari hydro-electric dam in the rainforest region of Madre de Dios, protesters called off their paro, or civil strike, in Macusani, capital of Carabaya province in the neighboring region of Puno. Macusani had been paralyzed since June 8 by protests demanding cancellation of the project, with traffic blocked on the newly paved Interoceanic Highway connecting the region to Brazil.