Global Refugee Population at Highest Level Since WWII
New figures show the number of refugees is at its highest level since after World War II. The United Nations says more than 51 million people are displaced worldwide, half of them children. High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres unveiled the figures on Friday. Syrians accounted for the bulk of the world’s 2.5 million new refugees last year.
Germany breaks 3 solar power records in 2 weeks
On June 6, between 1pm and 2pm, solar power output rose to a record 24.24 GW, according to the Fraunhofer ISE solar energy research institute. That was a Friday. Over the entire week, German solar power systems generated 1.26 TWh of electricity, another new record for the country. On Monday of the next week, June 9, German solar power output rose to 23.1 GW. Due to it being a national holiday and there being less electricity demand, Germany hit yet another record — 50.6 percent of total electricity demand.
“The Farm” Founder Stephen Gaskin Dies at 79
The activist Stephen Gaskin has died at the age of 79. In the 1970s, Gaskin founded The Farm in Tennessee, one of the nation’s longest-lasting communes. In 1980, Gaskin became the first winner of the Right Livelihood Award, known as the alternative Nobel Peace Prize, for his work as founder of the global relief and education group Plenty International.