Lamer said closer analysis can find that FEMA’s approximated maps can overestimate flood risks — something clients are usually hoping for. “I’ve had lenders say, ‘Prove to me we’re out of the floodplain’ and we do the work and you’re 30 feet above the river,” Lamer said of FEMA’s original mapping. “That’s how inaccurate these…
Something happens when machines get smarter: we start craving the human touch. Across industries, customer experience (CX) is being reshaped by automation, AI and data. Businesses are rushing to keep up with customers who want instant responses, seamless transitions across channels and service that remembers who they are. However, there is a danger in the…
The current cost-of-living demonstrations indicate widespread dissatisfaction that could continue into the 2027 electoral year. Thousands of people again took to the streets in Angola on 28 July in protest against the rising cost of living. The demonstrations began in the capital Luanda, and quickly spread to the cities of Huambo, Malanje and Benguela. In…
Italian orienteer Mattia Debertolis has died after collapsing during the World Games in China last week. The 29-year-old was found unconscious by organisers during an orienteering event last Friday in Chengdu. The Italian died on Tuesday – four days after his collapse. “Despite receiving immediate expert medical care at one of China’s leading medical institutions,…
Adil El Youssefi, Chief Executive Officer, Africa Data Centres. (Image: Africa Data Centres) In May 2025, a brief yet wide-reaching internet outage in South Africa, caused by a single point of failure in a core internet exchange, revealed just how exposed even mature digital ecosystems can be. The interruption only lasted a few minutes, but…
Debating Ideas reflects the values and editorial ethos of the African Arguments book series, publishing engaged, often radical, scholarship, original and activist writing from within the African continent and beyond. It offers debates and engagements, contexts and controversies, and reviews and responses flowing from the African Arguments books. It is edited and managed by the…
By leveraging their central location, expanding regional connectivity and embracing transformative technologies, Africa’s landlocked developing countries (LLDCs) are positioning themselves as vital contributors to the continent’s prosperity and sustainable development. “We stand at a pivotal moment, one that marks a profound shift from viewing these nations as isolated and constrained by geography to recognizing them…
8/11: CBS Evening News – CBS News Watch CBS News Violent crime down 26% in D.C., but Trump says otherwise as he takes control of city’s police; Nonprofit working to train people for available manufacturing jobs
The Dongfeng Box electric city runabout has landed in South Africa, and Watts & Wheels has taken the vehicle – one of the cheapest electric cars currently on sale in the country – for a test drive. One of China’s biggest and oldest motoring manufacturers, the state-owned Dongfeng Motor Corporation has identified South Africa as…
The East African Community (EAC) has made notable progress in easing the movement of people across borders, placing it alongside West Africa’s ECOWAS as a continental leader. Yet, according to Alan Hirsch, Senior Research Fellow at the New South Institute and Emeritus Professor at the University of Cape Town, “there is still a long way…
