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While You Were Sleeping: 5 stories you might have missed, Sept 5, 2026

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The Straits Times. (2026, September 4). While You Were Sleeping: 5 stories you might have missed, Sept 5, 2026. The Straits Times. https://www.straitstimes.com/world/while-you-were-sleeping-5-stories-you-might-have-missed-sept-5-2026

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

The Straits Times · collected 2026-09-04 · by The Straits Times analysis

Quick Summary

The United Nations General Assembly voted to adopt a new world map, known as the Equal Earth cartographic projection, which makes Africa larger while shrinking North America and Europe, with 164 countries in favor and the US voting against it. The resolution aims for a more accurate representation of world geography. Six other states abstained from the vote. The new map is intended to replace the traditional Mercator projection, used since 1569. A key aspect of this article is the US's stance on the matter, with only one country opposing the adoption of the new map.
Written by AI on 2026-09-04, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

September 4th, 164 countries, including France and the UK, voted in favor of a resolution at the UN General Assembly to adopt a new world map that more accurately reflects the size of Africa. Only the US voted against it, with six other states abstaining. The new map, known as the Equal Earth cartographic projection, aims to provide a more accurate representation of continental landmasses and reduce distortions caused by the traditional Mercator projection, which has been widely used since the 16th century. According to Foreign Minister Robert Dussey of Togo, "a fair world begins with a fair map," highlighting the importance of cartography in shaping our understanding of the world. The resolution promotes the use of the Equal Earth projection over the Mercator projection, which distorts the relative size of land masses by expanding those nearer the poles, making Greenland appear roughly the same size as Africa, although Africa is about 14 times larger.

Written for “UN Adopts New World Map” on 2026-10-31, grounded in this article and the 24 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 UN Adopts New World Map
World · 25 article(s) covering the same event. Compare every outlet's account →

Compared with similar articles

This article reads centre and hedges 38% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
The Straits Times
⚖️ Leans left further left than this Hedges 0 of 19 claims Outlet record 66/100
Dawn
Hedges 0 of 17 claims Outlet record 72/100
National Post
⚖️ Leans left further left than this Hedges 0 of 17 claims Outlet record 60/100
South China Morning Post
⚖️ Leans left further left than this Hedges 0 of 6 claims Outlet record 64/100
Daily Mail
Hedges 1 of 23 claims Outlet record 68/100
The Guardian
Hedges 1 of 31 claims Outlet record 66/100
BBC News
Hedges 1 of 26 claims Outlet record 68/100
ABC News (AU)
⚖️ Leans left further left than this Hedges 0 of 21 claims Outlet record 68/100
The Straits Times
Hedges 0 of 18 claims Outlet record 66/100
NPR
Hedges 1 of 29 claims Outlet record 60/100
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
13
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
38%
5 of 13 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
Centre
of the writing, not the subject · beta estimate
Publisher signals
66/100
The Straits Times's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
25
World
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-09-04 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

The Straits Times · 4076 article(s) · 5 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 5 correction(s)

Who wrote this

The Straits Times
2577 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
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Also by The Straits Times
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 2577 articles by The Straits Times →

Topics

African Russia The United Nations General Assembly Ukraine the United States

Subjects

Trump PERSON · 3× Ukraine GPE · 3× Kushner PERSON · 2× Russia GPE · 2× Witkoff PERSON · 2× African NORP · 1× Flemish NORP · 1× Gerardus Mercator PERSON · 1× The United Nations General Assembly ORG · 1× the United States GPE · 1×

Narrative

UN adopts new world map showing true scale of continents; only US votes against it The United Nations General Assembly voted on Sept 4 for a resolution spearheaded by several African countries to adopt a map that makes their continent bigger while shrinking North America and Europe - aiming at “a more accurate representation” of world geography.
framing: mixed · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-04
🔮 While You Were Sleeping: 5 stories you might have missed, Sept 5, 2026
2026-09-04 · The Straits Times
While You Were Sleeping: 5 stories you might have missed, Sept 5, 2026 · mixed framing

Claims (13 extracted, 5 hedged)

While You Were Sleeping: 5 stories you might have missed, Sept 5, 2026 uncertain
you → sleep → ?
UN adopts new world map showing true scale of continents; only US votes against it The United Nations General Assembly voted on Sept 4 for a resolution spearheaded by several African countries to adopt a map that makes their continent bigger while shrinking North America and Europe - aiming at “a more accurate representation” of world geography. asserted
continent → adopt → geography
The resolution was backed by 164 countries while the United States voted against it and six other states abstained. asserted
states → back → it
The new map - known as the Equal Earth cartographic projection - “offers a more accurate representation of the sizes of continental landmasses and to this end is a relevant option for improving the accuracy of the cartographic representation of the world,” the resolution says. asserted
resolution → know → world
It urges member states to adopt the new map in place of the traditional Mercator projection, which was designed for maritime navigation by Flemish cartographer Gerardus Mercator in 1569. asserted
which → urge → 1569
US midterm elections begin with chaos over mail-in voting crackdown America’s midterm elections opened on Sept 4 in a fog of confusion over mail-in voting, with ballots already going out as President Donald Trump presses courts to let him impose sweeping new restrictions on how they are handled. North Carolina became the first state authorised to begin sending out ballots, formally launching an election season that culminates on Nov 3 and will determine control of Congress for the final two years of Trump’s term. Yet voters and election officials still do not know what rules may govern millions of mail-in ballots, as Trump asks the Supreme Court to revive curbs blocked by a federal judge and as states scramble to prepare for changes that could come after voting has begun. uncertain
voting → begin → changes
Trump says envoys Witkoff, Kushner heading abroad to discuss Ukraine peace US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, Donald Trump’s son-in-law, are heading abroad to attempt to forge a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine, the US president told reporters on Sept 4. asserted
president → say → Sept
During comments in the Oval Office, Trump suggested the US had a fresh concrete proposal aimed at ending the war, which is now in its fifth year. uncertain
which → suggest → year
He did not, however, elaborate on what that proposal would be, nor did he say if Witkoff and Kushner would be travelling to Ukraine, Russia or both nations. asserted
Witkoff → elaborate → Ukraine
EU to help cities clamp down on tourist rentals The EU is set to lay out rules helping European cities to curb short-term rentals such as Airbnb in a bid to tackle rising house prices, according to plans seen by AFP on Sept 4. The European Commission is expected to unveil next week a legal proposal setting out the conditions under which authorities can restrict the provision of short-term tourist lets. Such rentals have increasingly come into the crosshairs of local authorities in tourist hotspots such as Florence and Barcelona, as residents complain about being priced out by visitors. uncertain
residents → help → visitors
Air India A320 issued stall warning when seatbelt signs off, injuring 24, investigators say An Air India A320 flying from Phuket to New Delhi in August issued a stall warning when seatbelt signs were off, while a rapid pitch up and then down threw passengers and cabin crew against overhead bins and injured 24 people, Indian investigators said. asserted
investigators → issue → people
The Airbus plane, cruising at 36,000ft, initially ascended 372 feet (113m) and then fell to 292 feet (89m) below it, according to a preliminary report released on Sept 4. uncertain
plane → cruise → Sept
The two-second stall warning came after the flight control system detected the loss of all three of the aircraft’s hydraulic systems within four seconds, disengaging the autopilot and setting off a continuous cockpit alarm. asserted
system → come → alarm
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