Breaking News English

The African Union (AU) has called for an end to a widely used map that [shrinks / shrink] the African continent. The map is called the Mercator projection. It was created [by / at] mapmaker Gerardus Mercator in 1569. In the 18th century, it became the international standard for [sailor / sailors] . It is now the world's most [widely / width] used map. However, it does not show the [truth / true] size of different nations. Countries [further / farther] away from the Equator look larger than they [reality / really] are, whereas countries closer [to / of] the Equator appear smaller. The AU is supporting a campaign [calling / called] Correct the Map. It is also calling for a design that shows the correct size of Africa, and of [other / another] continents and countries.

The deputy chairperson [of / in] the AU spoke about the Mercator map. She told Reuters: "It might seem to [have / be] just a map, but in reality, it is not." She said the Mercator [gave / giving] the impression that Africa was [lessen / less] important. She said Africa is the world's second-largest continent [by / of] area and has more than one billion people. The executive director of the non-profit organization Africa No Filter [agreement / agreed] . She said the Mercator map was "the [worldly / world's] longest misinformation and disinformation campaign and it just [simple / simply] has to stop". The group Speak Up Africa wants people to use the 2018 Equal Earth map, on [which / what] "Africa appears 14 times larger than Greenland, as it [actual / actually] is".