Video shows drone rescuing stranded man during flood in China
BEIJING - A Chinese drone operator was transporting the belongings of villagers displaced by flooding when he spotted a man on a roof. He used the drone to lift the man and move him to safety, the operator told a state broadcaster.
The video, which was widely circulated on social media, showed an area in the Guangxi region, in southern China, flooded with green-grey water, and a man dangling from a long cord attached to the drone, which set him down on a road.
The rescue happened more out of luck than design. The owner of the drone, Mr Lai Zhongxin, normally uses his vehicles to spray fertiliser and transport construction materials, the CCTV report said.
Drones have been used in south and south-western China to provide aid to areas hit by torrential rains this past week. Hoisting large canvas bags filled with relief supplies, they flew over pools of floodwater and traffic-clogged roads, as extreme weather set off mass evacuations and emergency alerts. The drones also sprayed disinfectant on silt-covered fields.
Mr Louis Liu, the founder and CEO of DAP Technologies, a Beijing-based consultancy specialising in air mobility, compared the rescue of the man to an excavator being used to lift someone in a fire in the absence of other tools.
'Normally, people aren't allowed to use an agricultural drone to suspend a person in midair,' he said. 'But in an emergency, if someone is about to drown, that's something the law would overlook.'
'Developing drones specifically for rescuing people is definitely an area for development,' he added. 'Many in the industry are already attempting it.'
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Last week, firefighters in the southern city of Shenzhen carried out a drill using drones that flew up and down a glass skyscraper, spraying jets of water.
Drones are already commonly used in cities like Shenzhen for delivering takeout food and packages. In March, China's Civil Aviation Administration issued approvals that would allow two companies, EHang and Hefei Hey Airlines, to operate drones for commercial passenger services.
The role of drones has become more visible since 2024, when Premier Li Qiang identified the 'low-altitude economy', referring to the use of this technology in airspace under 1,000m, as a national priority. NYTIMES
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CNA
4 hours ago
- CNA
Driven to put Singapore on the world map, ex-GIC scholar co-founded business with Zuckerberg's sister
When Debbie Soon arrived in Los Angeles at the start of 2021, the COVID-19 pandemic had brought the world to a standstill. While family and friends were hunkering down in Singapore, Ms Soon had other plans. Leaving behind a stable role at mixed martial arts organisation ONE Championship – where she worked after completing her scholarship bond and also at Singapore's sovereign wealth fund GIC – she packed her bags and moved halfway across the world to the United States without a job waiting for her on the other side. The 36-year-old: 'I'd always wanted to experience living and working in the US ... I was just, like, 'You know what? I'm going to take a leap of faith and I'm just going to move and I'll see what happens'.' That seemed to be her approach to most things – just take the plunge and see where it would lead. I stumbled upon Ms Soon's profile online and was struck by her varied curriculum vitae and unconventional career trajectory. Curious to learn more, I spoke with her to find out how a Singaporean who once followed the traditional academic track ended up forging such a unique path. While clocking full-time hours at GIC, she opened one of the first boutique spin studios in Singapore. After GIC, she pivoted to the world of mixed martial arts before moving to the US and diving headfirst into the uncharted waters of Web3, a blockchain-based internet that uses decentralised technology to operate. While cooped up in Los Angeles during the pandemic, a chance online meeting with Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg's older sister Randi led to the duo launching HUG, a social marketplace for artists to showcase and sell their digital and physical work. Today, she is the marketing head at Privy, a cryptocurrency wallet provider and startup recently acquired by payment technology firm Stripe. Speaking to me over a video call from her home in New York City on Jul 2, where she's now in the midst of relocating, Ms Soon immediately struck me as a spirited and determined go-getter who doesn't let ideas remain mere ideas. Asked how she would describe herself, she said she was 'definitely ambitious' and 'kind of unconventional'. 'I think I always look to do things a little bit differently from other people. And deep down, I'm pretty optimistic. Even if, in the moment, I feel like things are really bad, at the back of my mind, I (still) believe in a better future and a better outcome.' A combination of these traits and her appetite for risk – which she tells me is 'more calculated than people think' – has shaped every chapter of her life. GROWING UP IN THE LITTLE RED DOT The younger of two children and the daughter of a civil servant and lecturer, Ms Soon spent most of her childhood living in Clementi. Throughout her schooling years at Raffles Girls' School and Hwa Chong Institution, she picked up several co-curricular activities and hobbies, from robotics to choir, being a librarian to building her own websites. She also played football and was in the drama club. As she spoke candidly about the various things she had dabbled in or pursued, it soon became clear to me – over two hour-long conversations on separate days – that she was immensely curious about many things and this likely underpinned her career choices after her scholarship. Despite her interest in the arts in school and technology outside of it, Ms Soon decided to take up a GIC scholarship to study economics at England's University of Cambridge, followed by a postgraduate degree in financial engineering at Columbia University in New York. 'I think it's quite common in Singapore, and just in Asian upbringing, to always pick the practical path. So even though my favourite subjects in school were history and literature, I think I ended up picking the most practical thing to study, which was economics, and then, became a GIC scholar.' While at GIC, Ms Soon worked as a portfolio manager on the global equities team covering consumer brands including luxury goods conglomerate LVMH, fast-food chain McDonald's, sporting goods company Nike, as well as e-commerce giant Amazon. Her interest in entrepreneurship, she said, came from her work at GIC after spending time speaking to the higher management of various companies. Her role involved gathering as much information as possible from stakeholders in order to assess how their businesses were performing. 'And while I think I was decent at stock picking and pretty good at making calls, there was definitely a part of me that felt a bit like a fraud. What made me think that I, as a 20-something-year-old, can have a better idea of how to run a company than (these) very senior executives, and I've never even run a company myself?' FIRST TASTE OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP A few years into the job, Ms Soon still felt unfulfilled despite doing 'all the right things' to do well at GIC. So midway through her bond, she opened 7Cycle with a colleague. The pair rented a three-storey shophouse along Boon Tat Street – a five-minute walk from her office. 'Back in the day, I had no idea what I was doing. I didn't know all of the things that I didn't know … I was just so young and had so much bravado that I was, like, 'Oh, this is so easy, I'm sure anyone can do it, right?',' she said. 'But I mean, that ended up being probably the best experience of my life.' Besides running the operations of the indoor cycling salon, she also doubled up as an instructor. 'I was originally not planning to be one of the instructors, but ... I thought, 'this seems really fun, I feel I could do it and I think I'd be pretty good at it',' she said, punctuating that sentence with her signature laugh. Her optimism and can-do attitude were infectious. I often feel self-conscious about being bad at new hobbies, but listening to her, I found myself inspired to adopt the same mindset to simply give things a go. Even with her go-getter spirit, Ms Soon knew she had to call it quits on the spin studio in 2015 – which she sold off – when it was too difficult to juggle her full-time job and side hustle. Somehow, she could not shake the feeling that something was still missing at work despite ticking 'starting a business' off her list. 'For the first 20-plus years of my life, everything was very extrinsically motivated in terms of needing to check every single box and doing the sensible and realistic thing,' she said. With that lingering sense of dissatisfaction, Ms Soon eventually left GIC to become chief of staff at ONE Championship – a move she saw as a 'great opportunity' to learn from its chief executive officer Chatri Sityodtong. Over three years, she led multiple projects, including helming the company's expansion into e-sports, overseeing its consumer merchandise arm and setting up its e-commerce store, which later thrived during the pandemic. CHANCE MEETING WITH A ZUCKERBERG When the pandemic struck and live sports events were put on hold, Ms Soon said she had the time to reflect on what she really wanted out of life. She recalled how much she had enjoyed living in the US when she was in university and realised she still wanted to work there. With just two suitcases and her dog Guinness, she took a one-way flight to Los Angeles. She had set aside six months of savings, fully prepared to go without employment for that period. Asked what her family thought of her move, she said: 'I think they would definitely think that I take risks.' Although she would deem herself a risk-taker, the risks she takes are 'calculated' and she's 'totally prepared for the downside', she said. Although she had already had her first taste of entrepreneurship, Ms Soon was determined to push this even further. In the US, she was accepted into a Founder in Residence programme, an initiative by a venture capital firm aimed at supporting early-stage entrepreneurs by providing resources to develop and scale their businesses. This opened doors to potential investors and business mentors. One such mentor she met there introduced her to the world of cryptocurrency and sparked her interest in the emerging field because it was a refreshing change from the traditional finance background she had. 'The thing that made me really excited about crypto was that people were really open to meeting people on the internet, because it's still a very native internet community type of thing, which was reminiscent of those days when I was in secondary school and I had my websites and I was meeting all these strangers on the internet,' she said. At the same time, unable to meet people in real life because of lockdowns, she began to get active in online communities. It was also in one of these communities with an interest in Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) on the Discord platform that Ms Soon first got acquainted with Ms Randi Zuckerberg. Ms Soon had published a post sharing that she was keen to move into working full-time in crypto. She included a summary of her background and appealed to the community, asking if anyone was looking for a collaborator or knew of any openings. Ms Zuckerberg responded to her post and the pair quickly hit it off over a Zoom call. 'I think we were both really excited by crypto at the time it was taking off,' Ms Soon said. 'Obviously ... now we know it is a much more volatile industry. But at the time that we met, crypto prices were soaring and it was like a bull market,' she continued, adding that they saw the potential to build a profitable business. The two of them discovered a shared passion for the intersection of art and technology. Ms Zuckerberg had already spent about seven years working on Broadway since leaving Facebook and they both agreed that NFTs seemed like the 'perfect' way to blend art and technology. This led to the birth of HUG, a consolidated social marketplace allowing creators to showcase and sell both physical and digital works, including NFTs, through a single storefront – a business Ms Soon described as 'Facebook meets Etsy'. Things swiftly picked up momentum. Together, the pair ran the business for about three years until it was acquired at the start of this year. They no longer run a business together now but they are still in touch. Around a year ago while working on HUG, Ms Soon relocated from Los Angeles to Miami to live in her then-boyfriend's hometown. PUTTING SINGAPORE ON THE WORLD MAP In the meantime, Ms Soon's active presence on social media platform X posting about crypto caught the attention of publishing house Wiley, which approached her about writing a book on the subject. Titled Digital Mavericks, her book was published earlier this year and serves as both a guide to the crypto industry and a collection of interviews with people in the space. Outside of work, Ms Soon developed a keen interest in 'vibe coding', a practice where technology powered by artificial intelligence generates code that is based on user prompts. She used this to create an online personality quiz promoting her book. In an almost serendipitous turn of events, Ms Soon said she built the quiz using Privy, a crypto startup specialising in e-wallet infrastructure that was recently acquired by digital payments giant Stripe. This initial connection eventually led to her joining Privy earlier this year, shortly after she and Ms Zuckerberg sold HUG. Today, Ms Soon is preparing for her next move to New York City, where she will work in person at the Privy office. It is a move that brings her almost full circle, back to the city where she once studied as a postgraduate, and a dream she has held onto ever since then. On what motivates her to continue making her mark in the digital and crypto space, Ms Soon said she remembered how during her college years, there were people who did not even know where Singapore was. 'In some ways, that always motivated me to want to do something bigger. It also made me hungrier for working on things on a global scale,' she added. 'Growing up in this small, (often) overlooked country, the little red dot ... it's always been the underdog. 'And I feel very motivated to put Singapore on the world map ... I think (that) could mean different things to different people. To me, I definitely feel like I'm working in an industry where there is the opportunity to really shape things. 'I don't know what the end state looks like, but I think at the end of the day, I want to be working on meaningful things.' Ms Soon also loves hearing people 'say nice things about Singapore' while she is in the US. Admittedly, she once felt slightly self-conscious about being a Singaporean, but she now begins every self-introduction by proudly stating that she is 'Singapore-born and raised'. 'At the end of the day, Singapore for me will always be home. My parents are there, my brother is there, my two young nephews are there. 'As I've grown older, my perspective has changed a lot. I'm very proud to be Singaporean and I will talk about it any chance that I get.'
Independent Singapore
10 hours ago
- Independent Singapore
5 genius ways Singaporean Gen Zs can turn side hustles into six-figure careers with just $5 or less and a smartphone
SINGAPORE: In the year 2025, having a side hustle isn't just trendy—it's practically survival. With inflation chewing away at salaries, student loans lurking like debt-shaped shadows, and basic necessities costing more than they used to, it's no surprise that an article on Forbes reports that a whopping 71% of US workers are also seeking extra income streams. And what about for our fellow Singaporeans? Perhaps, we can also take some pointers from them to survive our brutal economy. No group is embracing this hustle culture harder than Gen Z. Around 40% of them have already picked up side gigs, not necessarily because they love it, but because they need it. And here's where it gets inspiring: many of these young workers are turning what began as side hustles into full-blown six-figure careers. Let's dive into how they're doing it—and how we in Singapore can also replicate that. The rise of the solopreneur: AI, branding, and bootstrapped brilliance Andy Kurtzig, CEO of , sees something bigger than just economic survival. He calls it a 'generational pivot in real time.' These modern-day 'solopreneurs,' as he dubs them, aren't just delivering food or freelancing on weekends. They're taking the very tech that's displacing traditional jobs and flipping it into tools for independence and innovation. 'They're using AI to re-imagine career paths, build brands and monetize skills that traditional workplaces often overlook,' Forbes quotes Kurtzig as saying. 'What used to take funding, mentorship, and institutional access, they're now doing with a laptop and a chatbot.' Singaporeans, especially those who are tech-savvy and entrepreneurially inclined, can take a cue here. You don't need venture capital, a trust fund, or an MBA. You just need a Wi-Fi connection and the drive to create. Just like what Kevin Quah, a Singaporean young millionaire, did, when he peeled back the hood on what it actually takes to build a million-dollar business — and spoiler alert: it wasn't a trust fund, or market timing wizardry. Photo: YT screengrab/@AsianBoss 'I'm not a stock market expert,' he said, adding that what financially worked for him most was building something useful and meaningful, such as connecting AI with real-world, everyday needs, including empowering senior citizens, people with disabilities, and underprivileged communities. See also DeepSeek: A Chinese cat among the US pigeons in the AI world If you'd like to explore deeper how Kevin made his first million, you can read it over here: 'You don't need to be a stock market expert to get rich' — Young Singaporean millionaire reveals how solving problems of others with AI led to his first million Investing: The underrated side hustle with million-dollar potential Gen Z power duo Eve Halimi and Anam Lakhani, who co-founded their Alinea Invest company and even made it to Forbes' 30 Under 30, said, you don't need a second job—you just need smarter money moves. They believe investing is the secret side hustle nobody's talking enough about. For example, they explain how their platform is resonating with Gen Zs, which is something Singaporeans can also take some tips from: Low-effort: Set up automated investing in under five minutes. Then let AI do the heavy lifting. Set up automated investing in under five minutes. Then let AI do the heavy lifting. Low-barrier: Start with just $1 and get personalised help for just $10/month. Start with just $1 and get personalised help for just $10/month. Values-driven: You can invest based on causes you care about, from climate action to diversity. 'Gen Z side hustle culture has been about reclaiming financial agency,' Halimi and Lakhani told Forbes contributor Dr. Bryan Robinson in an email. But now, they say, it's time to evolve—turning hustle into long-term wealth. 'It's about smarter money, not more hours worked.' And here's their five-step cheat code we Singaporeanised a little to build a six-figure future—even if you're starting with spare change while surviving Singapore. 5 genius ways Gen Zs can turn loose change into long-term wealth 1. Start with what you've got—even if it's just $5 'You don't need to be rich to start building wealth, you just need to start,' the co-founders insist. Thanks to fractional investing, you can now own slices of global companies, such as Nvidia, Tesla, Google, or Apple, for less than the price of your morning kopi or evening teh tarik. The earlier you begin, the more your money can snowball through the power of compound growth. Even investing $5 per week could mean retiring with a cool million in the future. 2. Personalise with tech instead of guessing with gut Gone are the days of blindly picking stocks based on hearsay. Halimi and Lakhani explain that modern investing apps use AI to build portfolios tailored to your age, income, and risk appetite. See also Som Hyein splits up with girlfriend There are many local investing apps you can explore to do the same. For example, if you want to support women-led businesses or eco-conscious companies, your portfolio can reflect your values and your goals. 3. Automate your hustle—Let your money work while you sleep 'Side gigs require time, but investing doesn't have to,' they say. Using a strategy called Dollar Cost Averaging , commonly known as DCA , you can set up recurring deposits—say, $160/month—and let the app manage everything. Based on the past performance of the S&P 500, doing this consistently for 40 years could yield over $1 million! That's the kind of passive income we can get behind. 4. Match your money with your morals Gen Z isn't just about profits—they care about purpose. 'Whether it's climate action, racial justice, or women-led innovation, your investments should fit your priorities,' the duo advises. For example, if you're someone who's worried your investments may lead to climate change or even animal cruelty, then the Vegan Climate ETF (Ticker: VEGN) offers an opportunity for investors to invest in the stock market through a low-cost index fund or exchange-traded fund like the S&P 500, but minus the companies that exploit the environment and animals. You're far more likely to stay committed when your money is backing causes that matter to you. 5. Don't go solo—Invest socially Investing doesn't have to be a lonely, spreadsheet-filled struggle. 'Learning and growing together is a game-changer,' Halimi and Lakhani emphasise. Platforms like Alinea , for example, now offer investment communities, workshops, and shareable portfolios. Celebrate wins together. Learn from each other's mistakes. And keep the motivation flowing. You can also explore local platforms that offer similar options, catering to your specific needs. Bonus wisdom: 10 tips to avoid tanking your hustle, according to a head analyst Adam Nasli, head analyst at BrokerChooser , offers ten golden rules which we have localised to keep your investments on the success track: Do your research: Use trusted sources and comparison tools to pick your platform wisely. Set clear goals: Know why you're investing—early retirement? Buying a house? Getting that car without a loan? See also Robert Pattinson is not working out during quarantine Watch out for fees: Choose low-cost brokers and funds. Small fees can eat up big profits. Diversify: Don't put all your roti canai or nasi lemak in one basket. Spread your investments across industries. Don't time the market: 'Time in the market beats timing the market every time,' says Nasli. Don't overtrade: Stick to your plan. Tinkering too often is like overwatering a plant—it can backfire. Understand what you're investing in: Avoid cryptic, high-risk products unless you really know what you're doing. Mind the taxes: Uncle IRAS is always watching. Know how your returns are taxed. Keep emotions in check: Don't panic-sell or FOMO-buy. Stay disciplined. Pick the right broker: The right platform makes investing easier, especially if you're just getting started. From hustle to legacy So, can a side hustle really become a six-figure income? Absolutely! If you play it smart, that is. Gen Z is redefining hustle culture by fusing tech, values, and financial literacy into a blueprint for wealth. It's no longer about grinding 18 hours a day. It's about using the right tools, making values-aligned decisions, and letting compound growth do the heavy lifting. As Halimi and Lakhani put it: 'Financial freedom doesn't require a side gig, just access and a little support.' And maybe a good app. And while you're at it, you can also take a cue from Jaedyn Choo, a Gen Z individual who flipped the script—instead of working to travel, she started travelling while working. While most 19-year-olds spend their holidays bingeing on Netflix or catching up on sleep, Jaedyn was backpacking across six countries and 18 cities, and how the heck did she do that? Nope, it wasn't with her parents' money, and not with some fancy scholarship. It was just elbow grease, side hustles, and a lot of time, often spent in 10-hour shifts. In her own words, 'I worked 10 jobs to see the world, and now I travel for free!' — 19 y/o Singaporean student shares how Gen Zs like her can solo travel too This article is for educational purposes only. It should not be considered Financial or Legal Advice. Investors should conduct their own due diligence before making major financial decisions
Business Times
12 hours ago
- Business Times
Trump says US will start talks with China on TikTok deal this week
[NEW YORK] US President Donald Trump said on Friday (Jul 4) he will start talking to China on Monday or Tuesday about a possible TikTok deal. He said the United States 'pretty much' has a deal on the sale of the TikTok short-video app. 'I think we are gonna start Monday or to China, perhaps President Xi or one of his representatives, but we would pretty much have a deal,' Trump told reporters on Air Force One. Last month, Trump extended to Sep 17 a deadline for China-based ByteDance to divest the US assets of TikTok. A deal had been in the works this spring to spin off TikTok's US operations into a new US-based firm, majority-owned and operated by US investors, but it was put on hold after China indicated it would not approve it following Trump's announcements of steep tariffs on Chinese goods. Trump said the United States will probably have to get a deal approved by China. When asked how confident he was that China would agree to a deal, he said, 'I'm not confident, but I think so. President Xi and I have a great relationship, and I think it's good for them. I think the deal is good for China and it's good for us.' REUTERS
