Latest news with #V3
New Paper
5 hours ago
- New Paper
ICA inspector admits to soliciting sex acts from six foreign men as bribes
An Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) inspector obtained bribes in the form of sex acts from six men in exchange for helping them with their short-term visit pass (STVP) applications so they could remain in Singapore. Kannan Morice Rajagopal Jayaram, 55, who committed the offences between 2022 and 2023, pleaded guilty on July 28 to three corruption charges, each involving an Indian national. The three men were between 25 and 30 years old at the time. Another three similar charges involving three other men will be considered during the Singaporean's sentencing. In a statement in 2023, ICA said that Kannan has been suspended from service since April that year. The Straits Times has reached out to the agency to find out if he is still working for it. Deputy public prosecutors Bryan Wong and Benjamin Low stated in court documents that Kannan joined ICA in 1996 and became a team leader at ICA's Visit Pass Unit in 2018. He rose through the ranks and became an inspector in 2021. As a team leader, he was responsible for overseeing a team of around 10 ICA officers who reported to him. Among other things, these officers were tasked with processing foreigners' applications to extend their STVPs. While there were ICA guidelines, Kannan's subordinates also had the discretion to grant or reject STVP extensions if there were sufficient reasons to do so. However, they would usually consult him whenever they encountered difficulties with such applications. In turn, Kannan had the discretion to grant any STVP extension application that his team handled. There were also times when he manned walk-in counters at the ICA headquarters, the court heard. One of the men he targeted was a 26-year-old Indian national, referred to as V3 in court documents. V3 had arrived in Singapore in March 2022 as he wanted to study hospitality management here. He was issued a student pass (STP) in mid-2022, but it was only valid until September that year. As such, he had to repeatedly apply for STVP extensions at ICA headquarters until he could obtain a fresh STP. On Nov 16, 2022, he went to the headquarters and Kannan attended to him. The pair exchanged contact details and Kannan later contacted him via WhatsApp, asking to meet up. However, V3 declined to do so as he was in school at the time. He later received an official e-mail from ICA on Dec 24, 2022, informing him that his STVP extension application had been rejected. As his STVP was due to expire two days later, he panicked and called Kannan to ask for his help with the extension. Kannan then told V3 to bring his immigration documents and meet him at the void deck of a Housing Board block of flats near Kallang MRT station that day. V3 did as he was told and followed Kannan home. While there, Kannan instructed V3 to submit an STVP extension application via the ICA website. After that, Kannan submitted V3's passport number to his ICA subordinate. He also instructed the subordinate to approve V3's latest STVP extension application and grant the younger man an STVP for a duration of two weeks. The officer did as she was told and at around noon that day, V3 received an official e-mail from ICA informing him that his latest STVP extension application had been approved. The prosecutors said: "He thanked the accused for his help... Thereafter, the accused requested that V3 kiss him, to which V3 declined as he was not sexually attracted to the accused. "The accused persisted in his demands for sexual acts from V3, to which the latter eventually acceded to as he was grateful to the accused for his help in granting his STVP extension application." V3 was also afraid that Kannan would cancel his STVP if he turned down his advances. The two men then went to Kannan's bedroom and the older man performed sexual acts on V3. The court heard that Kannan also committed similar offences involving five other foreign men. Court documents did not state how his crimes came to light, but he was later charged in court in 2023. His mitigation and sentencing are expected to take place on Aug 18.
Newsweek
3 days ago
- Science
- Newsweek
SpaceX Unveils New Version of Mars-Bound Starship
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. SpaceX has moved a new iteration of its Starship model to its Starbase in Texas for preflight testing. The new model, which CEO Elon Musk described as the "V2 Starship," is the latest development in the line of spaceships he hopes will one day take a manned mission to Mars. Newsweek has contacted SpaceX for more information via email. Why It Matters As the only privately owned, fully reusable super heavy-lift launch vehicle under active development, Starship's progress may have a significant influence on government agencies such as NASA—with SpaceX being one of the agency's most important contractors for U.S. space exploration. If successful, the spacecraft could drastically reduce the cost of launching payloads to orbit and enable ambitious missions such as NASA's Artemis lunar program and the eventual establishment of a human colony on Mars. What To Know In an update on Monday, SpaceX shared new images of the V2 Starship being moved to the Texas Starbase for a series of preflight tests. The post, which Musk shared, showed the Starship on a moving platform heading to the launch tower at the South Texas Launch Site, which has been SpaceX's main testing and production location since 2014. In his post, Musk also said he hoped that the next iteration of the model, the V3, would launch by "end of year." Starship moved to the launch site at Starbase for preflight testing — SpaceX (@SpaceX) July 29, 2025 The long-term goal of SpaceX and the Starship line of rockets is to establish a human presence on Mars. In preparation for expeditions to Mars, SpaceX plans to send five Starships on an uncrewed test mission to the red planet during the 2026 planetary alignment. Later missions, targeting the 2028-2029 window, are set to deploy up to 20 ships to deliver equipment and infrastructure, paving the way for prospective human landings between 2030 and 2031. The update comes after a SpaceX launch detonated during a static test fire in June. Parts of the rocket exploded at the test site during preflight testing. The problem was later traced to an issue with the pressurized nitrogen tank in the ship's nose cone. A SpaceX V2 Starship heads to the Starbase launch site in Texas on July 28. A SpaceX V2 Starship heads to the Starbase launch site in Texas on July 28. SpaceX What People Are Saying SpaceX restated its goals for reaching Mars in a March statement: "Expansion of Starship production and launch operations in Florida will enable SpaceX to significantly increase the build and flight rates for Starship, which will be the first rapidly and fully reusable launch vehicle in history. "Access to space is a critical and growing need for U.S. national security, leadership in science, the country's exploration goals, and for the growth of the economy. Starship will ultimately be responsible for sending millions of tons of payload to Mars—building a self-sustaining city to make humanity multiplanetary." What Happens Next The next manned launch of a SpaceX flight is scheduled to take place in August.
The Star
3 days ago
- The Star
Singapore Immigration inspector obtained bribes in the form of sex acts from six foreign men in exchange for his help
SINGAPORE: An Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) inspector obtained bribes in the form of sex acts from six men in exchange for helping them with their short-term visit pass (STVP) applications so they could remain in Singapore. Kannan Morice Rajagopal Jayaram (pic), 55, who committed the offences between 2022 and 2023, pleaded guilty on July 28 to three corruption charges, each involving an Indian national. The three men were between 25 and 30 years old at the time. Another three similar charges involving three other men will be considered during the Singaporean's sentencing. In a statement in 2023, ICA said that Kannan has been suspended from service since April that year. The Straits Times has reached out to the agency to find out if he is still working for it. Deputy public prosecutors Bryan Wong and Benjamin Low stated in court documents that Kannan joined ICA in 1996 and became a team leader at ICA's Visit Pass Unit in 2018. He rose through the ranks and became an inspector in 2021. As a team leader, he was responsible for overseeing a team of around 10 ICA officers who reported to him. Among other things, these officers were tasked with processing foreigners' applications to extend their STVPs. While there were ICA guidelines, Kannan's subordinates also had the discretion to grant or reject STVP extensions if there were sufficient reasons to do so. However, they would usually consult him whenever they encountered difficulties with such applications. In turn, Kannan had the discretion to grant any STVP extension application that his team handled. There were also times when he manned walk-in counters at the ICA headquarters, the court heard. One of the men he targeted was a 26-year-old Indian national, referred to as V3 in court documents. V3 had arrived in Singapore in March 2022 as he wanted to study hospitality management here. He was issued a student pass (STP) in mid-2022, but it was only valid until September that year. As such, he had to repeatedly apply for STVP extensions at ICA headquarters until he could obtain a fresh STP. On Nov 16, 2022, he went to the headquarters and Kannan attended to him. The pair exchanged contact details and Kannan later contacted him via WhatsApp, asking to meet up. However, V3 declined to do so as he was in school at the time. He later received an official e-mail from ICA on Dec 24, 2022, informing him that his STVP extension application had been rejected. As his STVP was due to expire two days later, he panicked and called Kannan to ask for his help with the extension. Kannan then told V3 to bring his immigration documents and meet him at the void deck of a Housing Board block of flats near Kallang MRT station that day. V3 did as he was told and followed Kannan home. While there, Kannan instructed V3 to submit an STVP extension application via the ICA website. After that, Kannan submitted V3's passport number to his ICA subordinate. He also instructed the subordinate to approve V3's latest STVP extension application and grant the younger man an STVP for a duration of two weeks. The officer did as she was told and at around noon that day, V3 received an official e-mail from ICA informing him that his latest STVP extension application had been approved. The prosecutors said: 'He thanked the accused for his help... Thereafter, the accused requested that V3 kiss him, to which V3 declined as he was not sexually attracted to the accused. 'The accused persisted in his demands for sexual acts from V3, to which the latter eventually acceded to as he was grateful to the accused for his help in granting his STVP extension application.' V3 was also afraid that Kannan would cancel his STVP if he turned down his advances. The two men then went to Kannan's bedroom and the older man performed sexual acts on V3. The court heard that Kannan also committed similar offences involving five other foreign men. Court documents did not state how his crimes came to light, but he was later charged in court in 2023. His mitigation and sentencing are expected to take place on Aug 18. - The Straits Times/ANN
CNBC
4 days ago
- Business
- CNBC
China's latest AI model claims to be even cheaper to use than DeepSeek
BEIJING — Chinese companies are making smarter artificial intelligence models that are increasingly cheaper to use, echoing key aspects of DeepSeek's market-shaking breakthrough. Startup formerly known as Zhipu, announced Monday that its new GLM-4.5 AI model would cost less than DeepSeek to use. In contrast to the logic underlying existing AI models, said its new GLM-4.5 is built on what's known as "agentic" AI, meaning that the model automatically breaks down a task into sub-tasks in order to complete it more accurately. The new model is also open sourced, meaning it is free for developers to download and use. At about half the size of DeepSeek's model, GLM-4.5 only needs eight Nvidia H20 chips to operate, CEO Zhang Peng told CNBC on Monday. That's the chip Nvidia customized for China in order to comply with U.S. export controls. The chipmaker said this month that the U.S. will allow it to resume those China sales after a three-month pause, but it's unclear when those shipments will begin. Zhang said the company doesn't need to buy more of the chips as it has enough computing power for now, but declined to share how much spent on training the AI model. Details will be released later, he said. Back in January, DeepSeek had rattled global investors with its apparent ability to defy U.S. chip restrictions and create an AI model that not only rivaled U.S.-based OpenAI's ChatGPT, but also undercut it in training and operating costs. DeepSeek claimed training costs for its V3 model were less than $6 million, although some analysts said that figure was based on the company's hardware spend of more than $500 million over time. said that for its new GLM-4.5 model, it would charge 11 cents per million input tokens versus 14 for DeepSeek R1; and 28 cents per million output tokens versus $2.19 for DeepSeek. Tokens are a way of measuring data for AI model processing. Earlier this month, Alibaba-backed Moonshot released Kimi K2, which claimed to beat OpenAI's ChatGPT and Anthropic's Claude on certain coding capabilities. Kimi K2 charges 15 cents for every 1 million input tokens, and $2.50 per 1 million output tokens, according to its website. In late June, OpenAI named Zhipu in a warning about Chinese AI progress. The U.S. has also added the startup to its entity list that restricts American companies from doing business with it. launched in 2019 and is reportedly planning an initial public offering in Greater China. The startup has raised more than $1.5 billion from investors including Alibaba, Tencent and Qiming Venture Partners, according to PitchBook. Aramco-backed Prosperity7 Ventures as well as municipal funds from the cities of Hangzhou and Chengdu are also among backers, the database showed. In the last few weeks, several other Chinese companies have announced new, open-source AI models. During the World AI Conference in Shanghai, Tencent released the HunyuanWorld-1.0 model for generating three-dimensional scenes for game development. Last week, Alibaba announced its Qwen3-Coder model for writing computer code.
The Print
6 days ago
- Politics
- The Print
DRDO successfully tests UAV-launched precision-guided missile ULPGM-V3 in Andhra Pradesh
The social media post read, 'In a major boost to India's defence capabilities, @DRDO_India has successfully carried out flight trials of UAV Launched Precision Guided Missile (ULPGM)-V3 in the National Open Area Range (NOAR), test range in Kurnool, Andhra Pradesh. 'Congratulations to DRDO and the industry partners, DcPPs, MSMEs and Start-ups for the development and successful trials of the ULPGM-V3 system. This success proves that the Indian industry is now ready to absorb and produce critical Defence Technologies,' it added. In a social media post on X, the Defence Minister extended greetings to the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and its industry partners for the achievement. New Delhi: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday announced that India has conducted the successful flight trials of the UAV Launched Precision Guided Missile (ULPGM)-V3 in the National Open Area Range, test range in Kurnool district of Andhra Pradesh. Earlier in May, the Indian Army undertook extensive Capacity Development Demonstrations at key locations across the country, including the Pokhran Field Firing Ranges, Babina Field Firing Ranges, and Joshimath, with dedicated Air Defence equipment demonstrations also scheduled at Agra and Gopalpur. According to an official press release issued on May 31, these field trials were conducted under near-combat conditions, integrating electronic warfare simulations to assess the performance of cutting-edge defence systems rigorously. On May 27, General Upendra Dwivedi, Chief of the Army Staff, visited Babina Field Firing Ranges and reviewed the ongoing demonstrations and interacted with all stakeholders. The demonstrations featured a wide array of advanced technologies developed under the Aatmanirbhar Bharat initiative, aimed at accelerating indigenous capability development. The trials mark a significant step in the Indian Army's roadmap for a 'Decade of Transformation' and are designed to ensure rapid absorption of emerging technologies to meet evolving battlefield requirements. A large number of defence industry partners also took part in the demonstration, reflecting the increasing synergy between the Indian Army and domestic manufacturers. Key platforms undergoing evaluation included Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS), UAV Launched Precision Guided Munition (ULPGM), Runway Independent (RWI) Remotely Piloted Aerial Systems (RPAS), Counter-UAS Solutions, Loitering Munitions, Specialised Vertical Launch (SVL) Drones, Precision Multi Munition Delivery Systems, Integrated Drone Detection and Interdiction System (IDDIS), Low Level Light Weight Radars, VSHORADS (Next Generation) IR Systems and Electronic Warfare (EW) Platforms. This report is auto-generated from ANI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content. Also Read: What India can learn from Israel about atmanirbharta in defence
