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The United Nations General Assembly has overwhelmingly backed a Togo-led resolution calling for a more accurate representation of the world’s continents, particularly Africa, on global maps.

The resolution, “Correct the Map: Rebalancing Global Cartographic Representation and Promoting Equitable Representation of the World’s Regions, Particularly Africa,” was adopted on Friday, September 4, with 164 countries voting in favour, six abstaining and only the United States voting against.

The initiative promotes the gradual adoption of the Equal Earth projection, which represents the relative areas of continents more accurately than the centuries-old Mercator projection. The Mercator map, developed in 1569 primarily for navigation, significantly enlarges landmasses closer to the poles while making equatorial regions such as Africa appear disproportionately smaller.

Togo, which spearheaded the initiative with African Union backing, argued that maps are not merely geographical tools but also shape how societies perceive the world and their place in it.

The resolution is not legally binding and does not ban the Mercator projection, which remains useful for maritime navigation. Instead, it encourages governments, educational institutions and other users to consider more geographically accurate alternatives.

The vote also exposed differing political interpretations of the initiative. The United States was the sole country to oppose the resolution, arguing that the United Nations should concentrate on more pressing global challenges rather than what Washington characterised as an ideological agenda.

The measure nonetheless represents a significant diplomatic victory for African countries seeking to challenge longstanding distortions in the way the continent is visually represented on commonly used world maps.

Africa has not changed its size. The map is finally being asked to show it.

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Nigerians and other foreign workers in the UK have welcomed a new immigration policy allowing recognised victims of modern slavery on Skilled Worker visas to leave exploitative employers and take up new jobs without putting their immigration status at risk.

The UK Home Office announced the change on Thursday, saying workers who have been formally recognised as victims of modern slavery should not be forced to remain with abusive employers because of their immigration status.

“No victim of modern slavery should be trapped with an exploitative employer because of their immigration status,” the Home Office said in a post on its official X account.

It added that recognised victims on Skilled Worker visas would now be able to leave abusive employers and work elsewhere without risking their immigration status.

The development has attracted positive reactions online, particularly from Nigerians who work in or are familiar with the UK’s care and support sector.

An X user, @daddyhope, described the announcement as “good news for care workers”, saying the policy could remove the fear of deportation allegedly used by some exploitative employers to control sponsored workers.

“From today, care workers and other Skilled Worker visa holders who are formally recognised as victims of modern slavery will be allowed to leave abusive employers and work elsewhere without risking their immigration status,” the user wrote.

Another user, @JajaPhD, welcomed the policy but sought clarification on who qualifies as a recognised victim.

“Sounds like progress. What’s a recognised victim though?” the user asked, pointing to concerns among some care and support workers who may feel trapped in exploitative workplaces because they fear losing their sponsorship and livelihoods if they report abuse.

Similarly, @MzHorlabc11 described the development as “a step in the right direction”, while calling for more clarity on how the new arrangement would operate in practice.

Other users expressed stronger support for the move.

@Unfilteredxrp8 described the announcement as “fantastic news”, saying it would provide relief to many skilled workers living in the UK.

@Prestigious_Gt also welcomed the development, suggesting that the change could encourage employers to improve their treatment of sponsored workers.

“Some employers deserve this news. They will be calmer and more respectful moving forward,” the user wrote.

Another X user, @RealMrKay, expressed optimism that the policy would encourage employers to treat sponsored workers more fairly.

The user said they knew people who were unhappy with their sponsors over what they considered unfair treatment compared with workers who did not require sponsorship.

The UK Government’s move provides an important safeguard for people who have been formally recognised as victims of modern slavery and whose immigration status is linked to their employment.

However, reactions online also highlighted the need for greater public understanding of the process through which a worker becomes formally recognised as a victim of modern slavery.

The change is particularly relevant to care workers and other sponsored employees, who have previously faced restrictions linked to their employer-sponsored immigration status when attempting to leave abusive or exploitative workplaces.

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The death toll from last week’s devastating flash floods in Nepal has risen to 1,222, with 4,875 people still missing as rescuers continue to search through debris and isolated communities a week after the disaster.

According to The Hindu, citing Nepal Police and the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority, bodies have been recovered across eight districts, with Chitawan recording the highest number at 348, followed by Nawalparasi East with 218 and Nawalparasi West with 208.

Nuwakot has recorded 155 deaths, while 127 bodies have been recovered in Rasuwa, 69 in Gorkha, 60 in Dhading and 38 in Tanahu.

The scale of the disaster has also complicated the search for missing people, 583 of whom are foreigners, while thousands remain unaccounted for in areas where roads, bridges and communication networks were swept away.

The joint security operation involving the Nepal Army and other security agencies has so far rescued 11,993 people by helicopter and land routes. About 21,314 security personnel have been deployed for search and rescue operations.

The humanitarian crisis was underscored on Wednesday in Bidur, where survivors were forced to use a temporary cable crossing over the swollen Trishuli River after floodwaters destroyed roads and bridges.

The Nepal Army installed the roughly 250-metre cable, which residents and soldiers have been using to move people across the river, including those needing medical treatment, medicines, food and other essential supplies.

The disaster has also spread across the Nepal-China border. In Tibet’s Gyirong county, where flooding struck near the Nepal border, 21 people have died, and 541 remain missing, according to Chinese authorities cited by The Hindu.

China reopened the highway leading to the Gyirong border crossing on Wednesday after floodwaters destroyed sections of the route, allowing heavy rescue equipment to reach the disaster zone.

Reuters reported that search teams equipped with life-detection devices and dogs were subsequently deployed.

India has also stepped up its response, with a fifth aircraft arriving in Nepal carrying an 11-member rescue team, specialised equipment and 5.5 tonnes of essential medicines, according to India’s Ministry of External Affairs.

The disaster has meanwhile renewed scrutiny of development and environmental practices in the Himalayan region. Environmentalist Sunita Narain said the scale of the flooding was linked to decades of treating rivers and mountains as though they could be continually re-engineered, particularly through extensive hydropower development.

The continuing recovery operation comes as authorities confront the destruction of transport links and the large number of people still missing, leaving the final human cost of the disaster uncertain.