内容摘要：“Months later, I heard from my brother that they had sold the family’s property and were going to live inside the church after ditching earthly possessions.

“Months later, I heard from my brother that they had sold the family’s property and were going to live inside the church after ditching earthly possessions.

By October, shipments rebounded to about 135 tonnes, before again going into decline during 2023.“Samsung does not operate retail stores in Russia. Shipments to Russia remain suspended,” the South Korean tech firm told Al Jazeera in an email.

In the case of at least one major brand, imports appear to have recovered to pre-war levels.Swedish appliance manufacturer Electrolux, which in September 2022 announced it would exit Russia completely, saw shipments of its products decline sharply throughout 2022, from about 1,600 tonnes in January to just 184 tonnes in September.But by May 2023, shipments topped pre-war levels at some 2,000 tonnes, before again plunging sharply.

Electrolux expressed surprise at customs records appearing to show its products continuing to flow into Russia, mainly from Chinese suppliers.A company spokesperson said the data suggested that Electrolux-branded products were being made and exported by unaffiliated firms without permission.

“According to our data, we had no product exports to Russia during 2023, and we have procedures in place to confirm those numbers,” the spokesperson told Al Jazeera.

“Based on the information you provided, we can conclude that the products have not been manufactured by Electrolux, nor exported to Russia on our behalf. We do not manufacture these product categories in China, and we have not given consent to any supplier to export Electrolux-branded products to Russia. Thus, the import is a completely unacceptable, unauthorised use of our brand."Many experts conclude the answer is a resounding no. Maps, they say, are inherently a lie, always compromising on something: Area, distance, or something else. Others, though, argue that near-perfect maps exist and must be highlighted.

Ogundairo believes the commonly used Mercator map affects Africa and Africans negatively, and that its widespread use for centuries is connected to the many decades ofthe continent endured. Now, she said, some 70 years after independence from colonial masters, is the time to press for change.

“We live in a world where size is often equated with power,” Ogundairo said, adding that the Mercator map feeds tropes that Africa is a country.“It has a damaging impact on the way we make decisions in our everyday lives, on how we make business decisions, the way we dream, and even the way non-Africans view the continent as a tourist destination and an investment destination. It’s the most lingering lie about Africa,” she said.