Hard Numbers: Getting to net zero in US, Facebook trolls in Africa, Saudis gut budget, Mozambicans flee ISIS

Art by Annie Gugliotta

2.5 trillion: Getting the US economy to net zero carbon emissions by 2050 — a pledge made by the incoming Biden administration — would require an additional $2.5 trillion in capital investment in green technologies like electric vehicles, electric heat pumps in homes, and more solar and wind power, according to a new study by Princeton University. The report argues that the 2050 target is doable with "proactive policy and action."

348: Facebook has removed 348 fake accounts linked to the French military and Russia's notorious Internet Research Agency for violating the social media platform's policies by spreading misinformation in African countries. The fake accounts posted content supportive of France's policies in Africa, and — oddly enough for a Russian troll farm — claimed that Moscow is meddling in an upcoming election in the Central African Republic.

7: Saudi Arabia plans to cut public spending by 7 percent next year to offset the deficit created by the pandemic and global economic crisis. The economy of the world's largest crude oil producer has been shattered in 2020 by pandemic-induced low oil prices, which have recently recovered but are yet to reach the break-even point for the Saudis to balance the budget.

570,000: At least 570,000 people have fled their homes in conflict-affected northern Mozambique since Islamic State-affiliated fighters launched an offensive there almost three years ago. Mozambique has asked for EU military assistance to help defeat the militants, who have seized control of a strategic port in the country's north.

More from GZERO Media

Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting with Head of the Federal Service for Financial Monitoring Yury Chikhanchin at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, on July 8, 2025.
Sputnik/Mikhail Metzel/Pool via REUTERS

At first glance, Russia has coped well under the weight of Ukraine-related Western sanctions, but clouds are starting to circle on Moscow.

Riot police officers fire tear gas canisters to disperse demonstrators during anti-government protests dubbed “Saba Saba People’s March,” in the Rift Valley town of Nakuru, Kenya, on July 7, 2025.
REUTERS/Suleiman Mbatiah

Kenya’s president orders police to shoot at protesters, European nuclear powers expand umbrella, and US President Donald Trump goes after Brazil.

Hezbollah beat on their chests as a sign of mourning during a mass rally to mark Ashoura, commemorating the martyrdom of the Prophet Muhammad's grandson Hussein.

On Wednesday, the Trump administration’s envoy to Lebanon, Tom Barrack, received a stunning proposal from the Lebanese government– a plan to disarm Hezbollah, the powerful Iran-backed Shia militia group that has dominated Lebanon’s politics and fought two major wars with Israel over the past 20 years.