A west Cork councillor has said the new speed limits to be introduced next year may be viewed as a "revenue maker" by some drivers. Cllr Finbarr Harrington also said reducing the speed limits on rural roads will do little to help road safety. Advertisement Speed limits will be reduced from 80km/h to 60km/h across the country in the new year, and 30km/h limits will be brought in across urban and town centres during the summer time. The changes are due to start on a phased basis from February, rather than last November, which was initially proposed. Harrington said the changes are skirting around the real issues regarding road safety, and said policing the changes will be a huge challenge. Ireland Avoid talking politics or religion at the Christma... Read More "We're all well aware, look, that our gardaí numbers are well reduced and enforcement has become an issue," he said. "Driver behaviour has to be the big issue. Reducing the speed limit from 80 to 60 - some people will see that as a revenue maker." The plan to reduce speed limits across rural and local roads was delayed because of the Department of Transport and Local Authorities. This is according to the Garda Roads Policing Bureau, which said it is not responsible for the implementation of the plans.China set to narrow digital divideThe best snowboard bindings to raise your game on the slopes
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The New York Jets suffered a 32-26 overtime loss to the Miami Dolphins at Hard Rock Stadium, ending their playoff hopes and extending their of missing out on postseason football. The offense played yet another solid enough game, with Aaron Rodgers finishing his day going 27 for 39 with 339 yards and a touchdown, while Davante Adams totaled 109 yards and a touchdown, along with Garrett Wilson's 114 receiving yards, with the Jets having zero issues moving the ball in between the 20s. Javascript is required for you to be able to read premium content. Thanks for the feedback.
The Chairman of Air Peace, Allen Onyeama, on Friday, publicly admitted that staff of his airline sometimes violate regulations, the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has claimed. According to NCAA’s Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection, Michael Achimugu, via a post on X, Onyeama made the admittance while accepting enforcement actions taken against his airline by the regulatory agency. According to Achimugu, Onyeama said he had instructed his airline’s staff to comply with the NCAA’s regulations, particularly regarding refunds, which must be made within the timeframe stipulated in Part 19 of the NCAA Regulations 2023. Related Stories Air Peace adds Chinua Achebe International Airport to Lagos-London Gatwick flights Keyamo criticizes FCCPC over Air Peace pricing statement, says it should have consulted NCAA first “Today, the Chairman of Air Peace, Allen Onyeama, publicly accepted the enforcement actions initiated by the NCAA, stating that he has witnessed some of the infractions by his staff, and has cautioned them to comply with the Authority by ensuring that refunds are paid within the stipulated time frame per Part 19 of the NCAA Regulations 2023,” Achimugu reported. The airline boss said he was glad that the regulatory body took endorsement action against his company. “I am glad that this has happened. I have warned my team. This shows that the NCAA knows what they are doing. I will always acknowledge it where the fault is ours, ” he was quoted to have said. Achimugu commended Onyeama for “ acknowledging the issues raised while assuring the travelling public that we will continue to protect their rights.” Earlier in the week, the NCAA announced that it was taking enforcement actions against five airlines for violating regulations of the authority. In his X post on Friday, Achimugu disclosed that Air Peace and Ethiopian Airline were among the five airlines. He said both airlines admitted their wrongs and pledged to comply with the agency’s regulations. After sharing Onyeama’s reaction, he added: “After the stakeholders meeting with domestic operators today in Lagos, an international airline, Ethiopian, was waiting to discuss with me the notification of enforcement action issued to their airline. They expressed readiness to comply with NCAA regulations going forward and said that they would send in a compliance report by tomorrow. “This is the first time in over a decade that the NCAA Consumer Protection Department is initiating sanctions against airlines. It will no longer be business as usual even as we will continue to do our duty of protecting both airlines and passengers as impartial umpires.” The enforcement action of the NCAA follows numerous complaints by customers about flight delays, abrupt cancellation of flights and delay of refunds by airlines. Some airlines, including Air Peace have been called out by Nigerians on social media for their notoriety in flight delays, poor handling of luggage, and/or poor customer service. On December 10, the NCAA threatened to sanction airlines that fail to process ticket refunds within the stipulated timeframes.WEST LAYFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) — Trey Kaufman-Renn had 18 points and Myles Colvin and Camden Heide each scored 13 to lead No. 6 Purdue to an 80-45 rout of Marshall on Saturday. Colvin and Heide were making their first starts of the season for Purdue (5-1). Braden Smith, who was averaging 14.6 points, was scoreless on an 0-for-4 shooting day. Smith had a team-high nine assists. Nate Martin led Marshall (3-2) with nine points, playing 24 minutes before fouling out with several minutes left in the game. The Boilermakers shot 55% in the first half to take a 39-24 halftime lead. However, Purdue made only one field goal in the final nine minutes of the first half. Purdue picked up the intensity in the second half, leading by as many as 41 points. The Boilermakers shot 50% for the game and held the Thundering Herd to 30%. HONOLULU (AP) — R.J. Davis scored 14 of his 18 points in the first half and No. 10 North Carolina pulled away from Hawaii. Elliot Cadeau had 17 points on 7-of-8 shooting, Seth Trimble scored 11 of his 13 points after halftime and Ian Jackson added 11 for the Tar Heels (3-1). Davis, an All-American guard, moved into fourth place on North Carolina’s all-time career scoring list. He overtook Sam Perkins with his free throw at the 11:59 mark of the first half. Gytis Nemeiksa led Hawaii with 16 points and had 10 rebounds. Akira Jacobs made three 3-pointers and scored 13 points off the bench. Tanner Christensen had 10 points and 10 rebounds and Marcus Green added 10 points for the Rainbow Warriors (4-1). NASSAU, Bahamas (AP) — David Joplin scored a career-high 29 points and made six 3-pointers, Chase Ross had 14 points and five steals, and No. 15 Marquette beat Georgia. Joplin scored five straight Marquette points to begin a 12-3 run that Stevie Mitchell capped by banking in a shot with 1:33 remaining for a 78-66 lead. Mitchell made a steal at the other end to help seal it. Ben Gold scored a career-high 14 points and Kam Jones had 10 points and seven assists for Marquette (6-0). Jones was coming off the program’s third triple-double in more than 100 seasons when he had 17 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists in 36 minutes against No. 6 Purdue on Tuesday. Gold’s previous high was 12 points at UConn on Feb. 7, 2023, while Joplin’s was 28 at DePaul on Jan. 28, 2023. Blue Cain scored 17 points and Tyrin Lawrence added 15 for Georgia (5-1). Dakota Leffew had 11 and Silas Demary Jr. 10. The Bulldogs turned it over 18 times, leading to 27 points by Marquette. ATLANTA (AP) — Dillon Mitchell had 14 points and 11 rebounds for his first double-double of the season, and No. 18 Cincinnati beat Georgia Tech. Jizzle James and Cole Hickman also scored 14 points apiece for the Bearcats (5-0), who passed the first true test of the young season against their first major conference opponent in the Yellow Jackets of the ACC. Naithan George made three 3-pointers while scoring 13 points for Georgia Tech (2-3). Duncan Powell added 10 points, while leading scorer Baye Ndogo finished with just five points. CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) — Will Riley scored his 19 points in the second half and No. 25 Illinois beat Maryland Eastern Shore. Kylan Boswell added 13 points, Tomislav Ivisic had 11 and Morez Johnson Jr. finished with 10 for the Illini (4-1), who shot 25% (10 for 40) from 3-point range but committed just nine turnovers. Tre White grabbed 11 rebounds and Kasparas Jakucionis seven for Illinois, which outrebounded the Hawks 59-38. Jalen Ware scored 10 points and Christopher Flippin had 10 rebounds for Maryland Eastern Shore (2-6), which had its lowest point total of the season. The team’s previous low came in 102-63 loss to Vanderbilt on Nov. 4.
A Chinese military-developed supercomputer has once again ranked first in an international test of AI computing efficiency. Tianhe, created by the National University of Defense Technology, tops the latest list of the world’s most power-efficient big data processing systems, achieving its second win since 2021. The advanced computing power of supercomputers can be applied to simulations for studying climate change, conducting materials research, exploring space, and developing treatments for various diseases. Energy-efficient big data computing The Green Graph500 list measures performance-per-watt for processing large graphs, comparing the energy efficiency of the fastest supercomputers tackling data-intensive tasks. First released in 2010, it is the leading international ranking for assessing the performance of supercomputers in graph computation. China’s indigenous supercomputer, the Tianhe Exa-node Prototype, reached 6,320 MTEPS/W, securing the top position in the Green Graph500 ranking for big data. This performance metric, measured in million traversed edges per second per watt, evaluates a system’s efficiency in internal data communication, the South China Morning Post reports . It surpassed the previous Tianhe Exa-node Prototype, which achieved 4,385 MTEPS/W and placed first runner-up, as well as Eniad, a supercomputer developed by the University of Pennsylvania, which ranked third with 2,057 MTEPS/W. Tianhe last topped the list in July 2021. Graph analysis is a growing field in AI computing that focuses on identifying connections within graph structures. It is a valuable tool for studying complex networks, patterns, and structured data. For instance, it can be used to analyze social media relationship maps or transaction histories across multiple accounts. Energy-efficient big data computing is also becoming increasingly essential, as energy consumption is expected to be a limiting factor. As the need for large-scale data analysis grows, graph computing is becoming an important aspect of big data and artificial intelligence, attracting increasing research interest worldwide. Major breakthrough in data analysis According to Meng Xiangfei, the chief scientist at the National Supercomputer Centre in Tianjin, which hosts the Tianhe supercomputer, the top ranking reflects significant international breakthroughs in the system’s ability to handle complex data analysis, as reported by state news agency Xinhua. The Chinese researcher added that it would play a crucial role in advancing the development of next-generation intelligent technologies. Tianhe has also contributed to the center’s significant achievements in research areas like numerical simulation technology, materials computation, and environmental meteorology, according to a post on the Chinese social media platform WeChat. Furthermore, the system has also achieved major breakthroughs in industrial areas such as superintelligent integration, large generative models, and supercomputing internet. Last year, the Chinese National Supercomputing Center (NSC) in Guangzhou also introduced the domestically developed supercomputer, Tianhe Xingyi. While no specifications had been disclosed, officials have claimed that it surpasses the capabilities of the renowned Tianhe-2 supercomputer.None
A survey by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology has revealed that in fiscal 2023, 320 public school teachers received disciplinary action for sexual crimes or sexual violence against children and students, the highest number since the current statistics began to be collected in fiscal 2011. According to the ministry, the survey of 67 boards of education in Japan’s 47 prefectures revealed 320 teachers at public elementary, junior high and high schools received disciplinary action for sexual crimes, sexual violence and sexual harassment. This is an increase of 79 over the previous fiscal year. The ministry said that among the offending teachers, 195 were fired, 69 were suspended and 17 teachers had their pay cut. By age, 105 teachers were in their 20s, 86 in their 30s, 51 in their 40s and 78 over 50. Of these, 157 people committed acts of sexual violence against children or students, 1o1 were disciplined for lewd acts, 17 for violations of the Child Pornography Prohibition Act, 32 for molestation or voyeurism and seven for obscene remarks and behavior. In addition, more than half of the total offenses were against children at the schools where the teachers worked.WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump has selected former White House aide Brooke Rollins to lead the Department of Agriculture in his second administration. Here are some things to know about Trump’s choice and the agency that Rollins would lead if she is confirmed by the Senate. She is a lawyer with agriculture ties — and a strong relationship with Trump Rollins, 52, graduated from Texas A&M University with an undergraduate degree in agricultural development before completing law school at the University of Texas. She served as domestic policy chief during Trump's first term, a portfolio that included agricultural policy. After leaving the White House, she became president and CEO of the America First Policy Institute, a group helping to lay the groundwork for a second Trump administration. Over the years, Rollins has forged a strong enough relationship with Trump, who has prized proven loyalty in his Cabinet and top adviser picks , that she was among the people floated as a potential White House chief of staff. That job went to Susie Wiles, Trump's co-campaign manager. Rollins, in an interview earlier this year, called Trump an “amazing boss.” USDA is about more than farms President Abraham Lincoln founded the USDA in 1862, when about half of all Americans lived on farms. The sprawling department now reaches into every American neighborhood, grocery store and school cafeteria. The USDA is the primary agency overseeing the nation’s farming, forestry, ranching, food quality and nutrition. The agency has a dual purpose of promoting and regulating agriculture practice and products. The agency oversees multiple support programs for farmers; animal and plant health; and the safety of meat, poultry and eggs that anchor the nation’s food supply. Its federal nutrition programs provide food to low-income people, pregnant women and young children. And the department sets standards for school meals. The next USDA chief could figure prominently in Trump 2.0 Trump did not offer many specifics about his agriculture policies during the campaign. But if he keeps his pledge to impose sweeping tariffs, farmers could be affected quickly — and potentially harshly. During the first Trump administration, countries like China responded to Trump’s tariffs by imposing retaliatory tariffs on U.S. exports like the corn and soybeans routinely sold overseas. Trump countered by offering massive multibillion-dollar aid to farmers to help them weather the trade war. The ripple effects could extend to consumers’ grocery bills, as well. When things are going smoothly, agriculture secretaries are not usually prominent faces of an administration. But when the nation’s food supply is at issue, it could be another story. ___ Gomez Licon reported from Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Bill Barrow And Adriana Gomez Licon, The Associated Press