UN News Today 07 July 2026 |

Global investment rebounds, but gains stay uneven

Global foreign direct investment rose six percent last year, reaching $1.6 trillion – ending two years of decline. 

But the UN’s trade and development agency, UNCTAD, says the recovery is narrow and fragile, with the benefits spread very unevenly.

Investment into wealthy economies grew far faster than into developing ones. And much of the overall increase came from a small number of huge projects, especially in AI-related digital infrastructure like data centres.

Just 20 economies attracted more than 80 per cent of all global investment last year. UNCTAD says this points to a broader trend – investment is becoming more concentrated, both geographically and in a handful of strategic sectors like semiconductors and critical minerals.

That matters for developing countries, which rely on foreign investment as a major source of external financing. 

Ebola outbreak in DRC still growing, WHO says

The Ebola outbreak in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, or DRC, is still spreading – and the UN’s World Health Organization says it can’t yet say the situation is stabilising.

As of 4 July, the government has recorded over 1,500 confirmed cases. More than 500 people have died. Around 250 have recovered. Health workers are monitoring more than 10,000 contacts.

WHO’s representative in the DRC, Dr. Anne Ancia, has just visited treatment centres in the region.

“The outbreak unfortunately continues to expand, and its true scale has not yet been fully established. I met frontline workers responsible for patient care, contact tracing, investigating alerts, and sensitizing and mobilizing communities. I witnessed firsthand the dedication of staff who continue to serve their communities despite enormous challenges.”

The outbreak began in May, in an area of the restive east of the vast Central African nation already dealing with conflict and displacement. Fighting continues between Government forces and armed groups, including the M23 movement – just one of dozens of different militias in the region.

There is some good news. Testing capacity has jumped dramatically thanks to new laboratories set up across the region. And a clinical trial has just begun to test two possible treatments, since there’s still no approved cure for this strain of Ebola.

WHO also says areas controlled by the M23 group are currently reporting no active cases – though it stresses the outbreak’s true scale still isn’t fully known.

AI-driven hate speech putting refugees at risk, UNHCR warns

The UN refugee agency, UNHCR, says the spread of misinformation, hate speech and deepfakes online is fuelling real-world harm against refugees and aid workers — and that artificial intelligence is making the problem worse.

Speaking at the AI for Good Summit in Geneva, UNHCR brought together government, tech and academic experts to discuss the issue. The agency says information crises now go hand in hand with the world’s biggest displacement crises, from Africa to the Asia-Pacific region.

A recent UNHCR survey found that 93 percent of staff had witnessed misinformation, disinformation or hate speech affecting their work — with women, both refugees and staff, disproportionately targeted.

The consequences can be severe. In Libya, UNHCR says a surge of violent hate speech and disinformation led to abuse of refugees and threatened the safety of humanitarian staff. Deepfakes of UNHCR personnel and online calls to share staff home addresses were among the examples cited.

UNHCR is calling for refugee and humanitarian perspectives to be included in global AI governance discussions, arguing that trusted information is essential to keeping displaced people safe.

Matt Wells, UN News