Covid

When Covid-19 struck in 2020, it affected every sphere of our daily lives and worldwide economy in ways most people couldn't have imagined. As the lockdowns forced everyone to work remotely, and most brick-and-mortar businesses went online, thousands of companies were about to face unanticipated changes. On the one hand, the global pandemic profoundly affected every business and team management process. But on the other, the pandemic has been the most significant driver of digitalization for U.S. and European businesses. According to the Flexera 2021 State of Tech Spend Report , one of the top concerns of CIOs in 2022 continues to be digital transformation. A report by McKinsey states that the Covid-19 pandemic has accelerated the adoption of digital technologies by several years. The vast majority of these changes will remain even after the Covid-19 pandemic has passed. During the global pandemic, many consumers transitioned to online services, and companies and … [Read more...] about Developing Team Efficiency in the Post-Pandemic IT Landscape

LONDON (AP) — Britain's Metropolitan Police says it has concluded its investigation into breaches of COVID-19 regulations at British government offices, including Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s official residence, and has issued a total of 126 fines. Police said Thursday that they issued fixed-penalty notices to 53 men and 73 women for gatherings that took place on eight dates between May 2020, at the height of the first wave of the U.K.'s pandemic, and April 2021. Some people received multiple fines. The scandal, dubbed “partygate” by the media, has dealt a heavy blow to Johnson's leadership. The conclusion of the police investigation means that results from a separate probe by a senior civil servant, Sue Gray, can now be published. Government officials say the Gray report, which is being closely watched for the extent to which it censures Johnson and his Conservative government, will be published as soon as possible, though unlikely before next week. Johnson apologized … [Read more...] about UK police conclude probe into Johnson’s ‘partygate’ scandal

The Grand Prix Trust, an organisation which exists to help F1 team staff who have fallen on hard times, held a reunion lunch at Silverstone on Monday, bringing members together for the first time since the Covid-19 outbreak. Advert | Become a Supporter & go ad-free The organisation was set up by Sir Jackie Stewart over three decades ago, when it was originally known as the Grand Prix Mechanics’ Charitable Trust. Among its 10 trustees are its chairman Martin Brundle , F1 motorsport director Ross Brawn, former Williams designer Sir Patrick Head and Red Bull’s sporting director Jonathan Wheatley. A registered charity, the trust provides help and advice to F1 team personnel and others directly involved in the sport, including those who have worked for companies in the F1 supply chain for at least two years. Over more than three decades it has helped hundreds of F1 team staff and their families who have been affected by injury, ill health or loss of income. The … [Read more...] about How the Grand Prix Trust is reaching out to F1 team staff seeking support · RaceFans

This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate 8 For the first time since the pandemic began, Texas public schools will be rated based on how students score on the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness — more commonly known as the annual STAAR test. It’s the latest big step toward normalcy for the state’s 8,866 public schools — which includes 782 charter schools — since the COVID-19 pandemic forced school closures in early 2020. But this year’s ratings come with a few changes. For this year only, schools will receive an A-C rating. Districts and schools that score D or F will receive a “Not Rated” label instead. Schools who fall in those bottom tiers will also evade possible sanctions from the Texas Education Agency during the 2022-2023 school year. The news comes as thousands of students in grades 3 through 12 are taking the exam this spring. Last year, students had the option to take … [Read more...] about Texas will resume grading public schools based on students’ STAAR test results

North Korea has carried out a record-breaking blitz of missile launches this year. SEOUL: North Korea is poised to conduct a nuclear test, Seoul said Thursday, as the United States warned it could come as President Joe Biden visits South Korea this week. The visits to Seoul, followed by Tokyo, are being touted as proof that Washington is seeking to cement its years-long pivot to Asia, where rising Chinese commercial and military power is undercutting decades of US dominance. However, Biden's first trip as president to the region looks set to be overshadowed by an increasingly belligerent North Korea. Despite a spiralling Covid outbreak, Pyongyang's "preparations for a nuclear test have been completed and they are only looking for the right time", South Korean lawmaker Ha Tae-keung said after being briefed by Seoul's spy agency. US intelligence says there is a "genuine possibility" that North Korea's Kim Jong Un could stage this "provocation" after Biden arrives in Seoul late … [Read more...] about North Korea ‘ready for nuclear test’ with Biden due in Seoul

Centara Grand Island Resort & Spa Maldives boasts 112 spacious villas. Centara Hotels and Resorts reported that its overseas hotels, particularly in the Maldives, performed strongly in the first quarter, 2022. Centara Hotels and Resorts posted total revenue of 3.8 billion baht for the first quarter of 2022, a rise of 40% compared to the same period last year. The firm attributed the revenue increase to its food and hotel businesses due to the country's reopening and lifting of restrictions to prevent the pandemic. Its earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) stood at 951 million baht for this quarter, skyrocketing 96% compared to the corresponding period last year. The Ebitda margin of 24% was also higher than the level recorded in the previous year. The firm recorded a profit before interest and taxes of 184 million baht, an improvement of 157% year-on-year, while the net loss decreased by 91%. As for its hotel business, overseas hotels … [Read more...] about Centara revenue up 40% in first quarter

Ralf Schumacher has predicted a “disastrous” Spanish Grand Prix for Sebastian Vettel and pondered whether the four-time World Champion may retire. The 2022 season has not been kind to Vettel. Forced to miss the first two races due to a bout of Covid, he returned to the track in Australia and to a car performing well below where he would have liked. In his first race back in Melbourne, his comeback was a disaster with two crashes, two fines and an Aston Martin breakdown. So bad was his performance that after the race, he was told he should retire by former F1 team boss Giancarlo Minardi because “he won’t win any more” races. The rain at Imola provided him with an opportunity to showcase his talent as he took his Aston Martin car to P8, but he followed that up with another retirement in Miami following a crash with Mick Schumacher. Mick’s uncle Ralf has now predicted another bad weekend at the Spanish grand Prix for Vettel. “It will be a disastrous weekend … [Read more...] about Ralf expects ‘disastrous’ Spanish GP for Vettel

The Spanish Grand Prix will be the second successive hot race weekend for Formula 1’s drivers to contend with after the Miami Grand Prix. Advert | Become a Supporter & go ad-free Temperatures are expected to match those that challenged the drivers around Florida last time out, which Haas driver Kevin Magnussen later described as the “hardest race I’ve ever done” due to the “unbelievable” heat. There is less than a two percent chance of rain forecast across each of the three days of running this weekend. Air temperatures are likely to get hotter – albeit only slightly – as the days progress. A cloudier start to the weekend on Friday should see a top of around 28C for the afternoon’s first practice session. Then, clearer skies are expected for the following two days, with temperatures likely to reach as high as 30C. This makes this year’s Spanish Grand Prix one of the hotter races in Barcelona in recent memory, significantly warmer than both 2021 and 2019. The … [Read more...] about Another hot weekend set to punish drivers and cars in Barcelona · RaceFans

Tripped up by politics and the pandemic — and with only a last-minute investment in promotion by the state — the 2020 census likely undercounted the Texas population by roughly 2%, the U.S. Census Bureau said Thursday. The once-a-decade national count put Texas’ official population at 29,145,505 after it gained the most residents of any state in the last decade, earning two additional congressional seats. In a post-count analysis using survey results from households, the bureau estimated that the count for people living in Texas households — a slightly smaller population than the total population — failed to find more than half a million residents. That’s the equivalent of missing the entire populations of Lubbock, Laredo and then some. The undercount means that many residents were missing from the data used by state lawmakers last year to redraw congressional and legislative districts to distribute political power. For the next decade, the undercount will also be baked into the … [Read more...] about The U.S. census estimates it missed more than a half-million Texans during 2020 count