France will stop using maps based on the traditional Mercator projection, Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot announced on Friday – backing an African push for a more accurate representation of the continent. The announcement comes as the United Nations General Assembly votes on Friday on a resolution calling for the world to move away from Mercator…
The United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution on Friday September 4, calling for world maps that more accurately represent the true size of continents, particularly Africa. The resolution, titled “Correct the Map: Rebalancing global cartographic representation and promoting equitable representation of the world’s regions, particularly Africa,” received 164 votes in favour. Rwanda was among…
The Osher Map Library, at the University of Southern Maine in Portland, is home to half a million rare maps, globes and atlases, dating as far back as the 15th century. Correspondent Martha Teichner explores the world as depicted by cartographers, through maps that are whimsical, political, or intentionally distorted, and examines why – in…
Sars has published a long-awaited consultation paper on VAT modernisation, setting out a five-corner e-invoicing model intended to pre-fill VAT returns and, in time, automate VAT assessment. The detail that will surprise many businesses is the timeline: on the road map Sars has published, no vendor is required to do anything until the 2030s. The…
Google is rolling out a major feature expansion to “Ask Maps,” the conversational assistant embedded within Google Maps. The update introduces agentic capabilities that allow users to order food, book accommodations, and monitor public transit directly through natural language prompts, alongside deep personalization options driven by connected Google services. Read: SpaceX shares plunge after first…
Heavy smoke from wildfires blazing in Canada and Minnesota is engulfing large swaths of the Midwest and Northeast U.S. this week, impacting air quality as millions of people are exposed to hazardous levels of air pollution. More than 100 wildfires are burning in Canada, and winds are carrying the smoke southeast. Multiple wildfires are raging…
Johnson Idesoh, group chief information and technology officer at Absa Group. The next phase of artificial intelligence (AI) will be defined by autonomous agents, human-AI collaboration and Africa’s ability to build technology ecosystems suited to its own realities. This came to light at ITWeb’s AI Summit 2026, where Johnson Idesoh, group chief information and technology…
Brian Hooker sent images of maps to his friends and other boaters, telling them the drawings purportedly showed where his wife, Lynette, went missing in the Bahamas last week. He allegedly also sent them to law enforcement. Brian Hooker shared the images with friends, who gave them to CBS News, in the days following his wife’s…
Following years of speculation, Apple has officially confirmed that it will begin integrating advertisements into Apple Maps. The announcement came as part of the launch of Apple Business, a new enterprise suite designed to consolidate mobile device management, business email, and marketing tools for companies of all sizes. Read: Bandwidth Blog & Smile 90.4FM Tech…
Tropical Storm Melissa is expected to bring days of heavy rain to the Dominican Republic, Haiti and Jamaica and may trigger life-threatening flash flooding, the National Hurricane Center says. It is forecast to become a major hurricane by early next week, according to CBS News meteorologist Nikki Nolan. Melissa, which is the 13th named storm…
