Pilotless passenger drones and driverless taxis as China pushes boundaries of how we travel
Have you ever dreamed of flying in an unmanned drone, from city to city?
It sounds like the stuff of fantasy, but in China pilotless passenger drones are a reality.
You can’t catch them like a taxi just yet. But a company called EHang is waiting for the government to approve a commercial licence to start operating short flights around the city of Guangzhou.
EHang’s vice president, He Tianxing, says: “We believe the future must be an era of low altitude, and every city will gradually develop into a city in the sky.
“All human beings aspire to have a pair of wings, and everyone wants to fly freely like a bird.”
Currently, the battery of the two-seater EH216-S allows it to fly for about 25 minutes.
There is no pilot and the craft follows a pre-programmed route.
Sky News watched it take off from the company’s headquarters in Guangzhou, fly over a port and land again.
Its blades whizzed noisily, but it appeared to fly effortlessly, leaving those on the ground itching for a ride on board.
EHang’s first model was called EH184. “It looked like an octopus, very cool, but more importantly people saw a drone that could carry people,” Mr He says.
He Tianxing, vice president of EHang
This is part of what China calls its “low-altitude economy”. This refers to making money from passenger and delivery drones at an airspace of elevations of up to 1,000 metres.
The government is handing out financial incentives and licences to develop the sector.
Inside a driverless taxi in Wuhan
Wuhan’s different vision for public transport
More than 600 miles away from Guangzhou, the city of Wuhan has a different vision for its public transport.
It’s betting on driverless taxis and has a pilot programme operating around 400 in the city, reportedly aiming to reach upwards of 1000.
The process goes like this: order the car with an app on your phone, it shows up within minutes, you punch in a pin and away you go.
A driverless taxi on the road in Wuhan
US fears over Chinese technology
With no driver at the wheel, it veers seamlessly through the traffic. Occasionally it was a bit jerky. But overall, it was a relaxed novelty drive through the city.
But the technology behind it is so intelligent and sophisticated that the US is moving to ban Chinese and Russian driverless technology from the country.
The US says it is necessary for national security, because the censors and cameras inside the cars can collect critical information.
China though is not worried. It has millions of customers at home.
Speaking earlier this year, Chinese premier Li Qiang said: “We will consolidate and enhance our leading position in industries like intelligent connected new-energy vehicles… and the low altitude economy.”
Read more: ‘World first’ driverless bus service in Scotland axed
On the streets of Wuhan, Mr Kim is catching a driverless taxi for the first time with his young daughter and believes in its reliability.
“We don’t worry because we trust it. It can show how high-tech our city has become,” he says. “We are proud of it.”
But taxi driver Mr Deng is less convinced.
“It’s certainly not as convenient as cars operated by people, because we can react on site,” he says. “If there’s no driver, the roads will be paralysed.”
China is steering its high-tech industries into a bold new world and pushing the boundaries of how we travel.
A British-Israeli soldier has been killed while fighting in Gaza, Israeli media reports said.
He was named locally as Sergeant Yisrael Natan Rosenfeld, 20, from the city of Ra’anana.
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office said it is “looking into reports that an IDF soldier who died in combat in Gaza is a British national”.
The IDF soldier, who served in the 601st Combat Engineering Battalion, was killed by an explosive device on Sunday, the Times of Israel reported.
The paper said Mr Rosenfeld moved to Israel from London with his family 11 years ago.
More than 860 Israeli soldiers have been killed since Israel’s war against Hamas began on 7 October 2023, more than 400 of them during the fighting in Gaza.
The war began when the militant group launched an attack on Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking around 250 hostage.
Israel’s offensive in Gaza has devastated the enclave and killed more than 56,000 people, according to the Hamas-run health ministry, which does not differentiate between civilians and combatants in its count, but says more than half of the dead are women and children.
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It came as Donald Trump called for progress in ceasefire talks in the war between Israel and Hamas.
“MAKE THE DEAL IN GAZA. GET THE HOSTAGES BACK!!!” the US president wrote on social media on Sunday.
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On Friday Mr Trump raised expectations by claiming there could be an agreement within the next week.
World
Pictures reveal inside of Bayesian sunken superyacht after it was resurfaced for full examination
The inside of the superyacht that sank off the coast of Sicily almost a year ago has been seen for the first time after it was resurfaced.
British billionaire Mike Lynch, 59, his daughter Hannah, 18, and five others died after the 56-metre (184ft) Bayesian sank off Porticello on 19 August 2024.
Images reveal what the inside of the British-flagged vessel looks like now – after it was resurfaced and placed in a manufactured steel cradle in Termini Imerese.
In one picture, a lounge area can be seen, complete with sofas and other furniture, while another shows the hatch down to the lower deck.
The tragedy last August claimed seven lives
A full examination of the yacht is being carried out
The incident has puzzled maritime experts
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Who was on the superyacht?
Diver dies during work to recover yacht
How will the tragedy be investigated?
Now the boat is back on land, a balloon-like instrument will be used to lift its 72m (236ft) mast after it was cut off with a remote-controlled tool to rest on the seabed.
While salvage workers continue a “full sweep” of the ocean floor nearby, a full examination of the yacht will look at what could have been done to prevent the tragedy.
The UK Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) will then publish a report into its investigation.
Salvage teams managed to raise the vessel and bring it ashore
The boat had lain on the seabed at a depth of 50 metres
The family of the Bayesian chef Recaldo Thomas, who was among those who died, says “lessons need to be learned”.
In a statement through the Thomas family lawyers Keystone Law, they said they want the investigation to “establish the truth of what happened” and “bring those responsible to justice”.
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Bayesian superyacht raised from seabed
Simon Graves, an MAIB investigator, said of the investigation previously: “When the wreck is brought ashore, we’ll be completing a full examination of the wreck and we’ll be finding out all of the elements that might have contributed to the safety of the vessel.”
Things like the vessel’s “escape routes” will be included in the final report, Mr Graves added.
“Once we get access to the vessel we’ll be able to tell a fuller picture of activities on board and the sequence of events.”
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A UK inquest will look at the deaths of Mr Lynch, Miss Lynch, Morgan Stanley banker Jonathan Bloomer, 70, and his wife Judy, 71, who were all British nationals.
US lawyer Chris Morvillo and his wife Neda also died.
Fifteen people, including Mr Lynch’s wife Angela Bacares, were rescued.
Serbian riot police have clashed with anti-government protesters calling for snap elections and an end to the 12-year rule of President Aleksandar Vucic.
The protest by tens of thousands of demonstrators was held in Belgrade on Saturday after months of persistent demonstrations led by Serbia‘s university students that have rattled Mr Vucic’s grip on power.
The crowd chanted “We want elections!” as they filled the capital’s central Slavija Square and several streets around it.
Students gave speeches. One, who didn’t give her name, said: “Elections are a clear way out of the social crisis caused by the deeds of the government, which is undoubtedly against the interests of their own people.
“Today, on June 28 2025, we declare the current authorities illegitimate.”
Tens of thousands joined the protest. Pic: AP
Pic: AP
Tensions were high before and during the gathering.
Riot police had been deployed around government buildings, parliament and nearby Pionirski Park, where hundreds of Mr Vucic’s loyalists from across the country have been camping for months.
As the protest ended in the evening, some demonstrators threw bottles, rocks and flares at the police who were preventing the crowd from approaching Pionirski Park and confronting Mr Vucic’s backers.
Skirmishes between riot officers and groups of protesters lasted for several hours, with police firing tear gas to disperse crowds in several locations across Belgrade’s city centre.
Police said they detained several dozen demonstrators. Pic: Reuters
Police detained several dozen protesters, while six officers were reported injured in the clashes, Dragan Vasiljevic, the director of police, told a news conference late on Saturday.
Responding to the violence, President Vucic said in an Instagram post: “Serbia always wins in the end.”
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University students have been a key force behind nationwide demonstrations that started after a renovated rail station canopy collapsed, killing 16 people in November last year.
Many blamed the concrete roof crash on government corruption and negligence in state infrastructure projects, leading to recurring protests.
President Aleksandar Vucic. File pic: Reuters
President Vucic and his right-wing Serbian Progressive Party have repeatedly refused the demand for an early parliamentary vote and accused protesters of planning to spur violence on orders from abroad, which they have not specified.
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A former extreme nationalist, Mr Vucic has become increasingly authoritarian since coming to power more than a decade ago. He formally says he wants Serbia to join the European Union, but critics say he has stifled democratic freedoms and strengthened ties with Russia and China.
While demonstrations have shrunk in recent weeks, the large showing for Saturday’s rally suggested that the resolve persists, despite relentless pressure and after nearly eight months of almost daily protests.
The scene in Slavija Square. Pic: AP
Pic: Reuters
Serbian police, who are tightly controlled by Mr Vucic’s government, said 36,000 people were present at the start of Saturday’s protest.
An independent monitoring group that records public gatherings said a total of around 140,000 people were in attendance.
Serbia’s presidential and parliamentary elections are due in 2027.
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