Latest news with #LizLee
Japan Today
19 hours ago
- Climate
- Japan Today
Extreme weather turns Beijing into rain trap, kills at least 30
People walk by a damaged bridge after heavy rainfall flooded the area, in Huairou district of Beijing, China July 28, 2025. cnsphoto via REUTERS By Xiuhao Chen and Liz Lee Extreme weather killed at least 30 people in Beijing after a year's worth of rain fell in a matter of days, stretching the Chinese capital's disaster management capabilities and prompting some experts to call the city a rain trap. Much of the rain inundated Beijing's mountainous north near the Great Wall, with 28 deaths reported in the district of Miyun and two in Yanqing, the official Xinhua news agency said on Tuesday. It did not say when or how the deaths occurred. Heavy rain started last Wednesday and intensified around Beijing and surrounding provinces on Monday, with the capital experiencing rainfall of up to 543.4 mm (21.4 inches) in its northern districts, Xinhua said. The average annual rainfall in Beijing is around 600 mm. "The cumulative amount of precipitation has been extremely high - reaching 80–90% of the annual total in just a few days in some areas," said Xuebin Zhang of the University of Victoria in Canada and CEO of the Pacific Climate Impacts Consortium (PCIC). "Very few systems are designed to handle such an intense volume of rainfall over such a short period," Zhang said. The local topography - mountains to the west and north - "trapped" the moist air and forced it to rise, enhancing the extraordinary amount of precipitation, he said. China's usually arid north has seen record precipitation in recent years, with some scientists linking the rainfall to global warming. In the summer of 2023, heavy rain and flooding killed at least 33 people in Beijing. Rainfall in the city of Xingtai in neighbouring Hebei province exceeded 1,000 mm in two days - double the yearly average. Late on Monday, President Xi Jinping said there had been "heavy casualties and property losses" in Beijing and the provinces of Hebei, Jilin and Shandong, and ordered "all-out" search and rescue efforts. More than 80,000 Beijing residents had been relocated, Xinhua reported, with roads and communication infrastructure damaged and power to 136 villages cut off overnight. The most intense rain occurred on Saturday in Beijing's hilly Huairou, which saw 95.3 mm of rain in one hour. In Miyun on Monday, some people were trapped at an elderly care centre as water levels rose close to the roof. Emergency rescue services swam into the building and used ropes to pull out 48 people. On Tuesday, parks, libraries and museums including the Palace Museum at the Forbidden City were closed. Train and bus services in the suburbs and along waterways were suspended. Hundreds of flights were cancelled or delayed at Beijing's two airports, state media reported. 'FLOOD STILL COMING' Heavy rain also pounded the province of Hebei and the city of Tianjin neighbouring Beijing, which are all part of the vast Hai river basin. Four people were killed in a landslide in Hebei on Monday, with eight still missing, as six months' worth of rain fell over the weekend. In two villages in Tianjin on Monday, major roads were flooded, bridges damaged, with only the roofs of single-storey houses visible, China Central Television (CCTV) reported. Heavy rain is expected to persist in parts of Beijing, Hebei and Tianjin on Tuesday, the emergency management ministry said Monday night, adding that "the disaster relief situation is complex and severe." Some residents in the region posted on social media platform Weibo calling on authorities to expedite rescue efforts. "The flood is still coming, and there is still no power or signal, and I still can't get in touch with my family!" a post on Tuesday morning said. © (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2025.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Liz Lee Says She's 'Squashed Beef' with Her Former 'My Life as Liz' Rival as She Plans a 'Nerd Herd' Reunion
'My Life as Liz' aired in 2010 and 2011 Liz Lee is getting some closure on a confusing period in her life. The artist, 34, who was at the center of the 2010 MTV series My Life as Liz, has recently talked about her brief time in reality TV on TikTok. In doing so, she's reconnected with some of her other classmates who appeared on the show, revealing she's even "squashed beef" with formal rival Cori Cooper. "I cannot relay to you guys how healing this has been. Without all of this renewed interest, I wouldn't have found her TikTok, where she started making TikToks about her experience. And it seems pretty awful, what she went through. I just felt so much empathy for her because we were both collateral damage from this machine." After Lee "slid into her DMs," she shared the two had "a really good talk" and encouraged fans to listen to her side of things. Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. On Cooper's TikTok, she opened up about how, much like Lee didn't know she'd be at the center of the show, Cooper didn't know she'd be portrayed as a "villain." "It was very staged. It's not necessarily, it wasn't scripted, but I was told, 'Hey, say this,' 'Hey, do that,' 'Hey, be meaner.' It was just a lot of weird situations to be put in as a child by an adult," she shared. "Yes, I was 18. I signed my own contract. I didn't have to have my parents' permission. I have a lot of people that were, 'I can't believe your parents let you act that way and let you do that.' They didn't let me act any certain way, or do any certain thing. I was told that this was a show about high school life and what it's like to be in high school. And it was not." Cooper said that she didn't see the show until the rest of the world did, and she was "just as shocked" by how she was presented, adding "a lot of the stuff I filmed was never used." When commenters accused her of not taking accountability for her behavior, Cooper replied, "I actually never said that I didn't own it. I never said that I wasn't a bully. I just said that it wasn't... the show was very one-sided. There was stuff that went on, on both parties. I received a lot of backlash and again, I was never told, 'Hey, you're going to go be a bully,' or 'You're going to be made out to be the bad guy.' " Cooper says that she has "grown" from the experience, adding that at 34, she feels she doesn't deserve some of the backlash she gets. It appears that Lee's friends have also been thinking about the show since her TikToks have gone viral. In a video on July 22, Lee revealed that as part of her plan to watch and react to the series live on Twitch, members of "the nerd herd" would be joining her in an upcoming stream. "I reached out to Sully, Troy, Zona, Miles... those who were once affectionately referred to as 'the nerd herd,' the proud, the few. They are going to join me for live commentary on My Life is Liz on Twitch." The pseudo-cast reunion is likely on the slate for next week. In the meantime, Lee is working on getting Taylor Terry to also join in. "Even Cori said she'd be down, so stay tuned, " she concluded. Read the original article on People
Malaysian Reserve
18-07-2025
- Business
- Malaysian Reserve
PEN America Acquires OnlineSOS, Expanding Commitment to Digital Safety and Free Expression
NEW YORK, July 18, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — In a strategic move underscoring their shared commitment to combating online abuse, PEN America, a leading advocate for free expression worldwide, has acquired the website and digital safety resources of OnlineSOS, a pioneering U.S. nonprofit dedicated to supporting people harassed online. PEN America will integrate these invaluable resources into its Field Manual against online harassment, a guide originally launched in 2018 to equip writers, journalists, researchers, and others with the guidance they need to protect themselves and fight back. OnlineSOS, founded in 2016 by Liz Lee at a time when online abuse was largely overlooked, filled a critical gap by providing professional help to people targeted online. As the first U.S. nonprofit of its kind, OnlineSOS provided tactical and emotional support with a focus on mental health, including free therapy and case management, legal resources, and expert-backed content. Its free and accessible online resources were rooted in firsthand experience with supporting journalists, public figures, and everyday Americans in responding to online threats, and also featured contributions from psychologists, lawyers, cybersecurity professionals, and tech platforms. Under Lee's leadership, OnlineSOS grew into a nationally recognized resource trusted by universities, policymakers, and nonprofit and corporate partners. 'Our mission has always been to equip people facing online harassment with the information they need to take action. Online harassment can cause significant psychological harm, making it all the more important that people have options and a sense of agency when so much feels out of their control,' Lee stated. The decision to find a new home within PEN America for OnlineSOS's digital safety tools is part of a natural progression in OnlineSOS's mission to broaden its impact and ensure the long-term accessibility of its resources. PEN America has highlighted and built on the work of OnlineSOS since launching its online abuse defense programming in 2018. 'Liz Lee and OnlineSOS have been trailblazers in this space, sounding the alarm about online abuse and addressing its devastating impacts when few others were doing this crucial work. We're honored to integrate their resources into our Field Manual and to continue supporting writers, journalists, and others facing online harassment,' said Viktorya Vilk, Director of Digital Safety and Free Expression at PEN America. By joining forces and consolidating resources, the organizations aim to provide more comprehensive, accessible, and user-friendly guidance to help those abused online protect themselves so that they can continue using their voices and doing their jobs. Liz Lee will continue in an advisory capacity, providing strategic support to PEN America during the integration period to ensure a seamless transition while OnlineSOS winds down its operations and sunsets in 2025. With OnlineSOS transferring its assets to PEN America, the legacy of Liz Lee's groundbreaking work will be preserved and expanded. 'With the PEN America partnership, our resources are in great hands,' Lee expressed. 'We're particularly excited that integrating with the Field Manual, which is also available in French, Spanish, Arabic, and Swahili, will bring OnlineSOS's resources to communities around the world.' For more on the OnlineSOS transition, read Lee's statement on the former OnlineSOS webpage. The collaboration represents not just a continuation, but an amplification of OnlineSOS's mission, ensuring that its valuable resources remain accessible and impactful for years to come. About OnlineSOS:OnlineSOS is a San Francisco–based nonprofit organization founded in 2016 to create a digital safe haven for individuals experiencing online harassment. Through mental health services, legal support, and educational resources, OnlineSOS has been a pioneering force in empowering victims of online abuse. After the completion of an asset acquisition by PEN America, OnlineSOS will sunset in 2025. About PEN America:PEN America stands at the intersection of literature and human rights to protect free expression in the United States and worldwide. We champion the freedom to write, recognizing the power of the word to transform the world. Our mission is to unite writers and their allies to celebrate creative expression and defend the liberties that make it possible. Learn more at
Yahoo
18-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Chinese travel thousands of miles to flee Iran overland
By Joe Cash and Liz Lee BEIJING (Reuters) -The first Chinese evacuees from Iran have started sharing on social media their desperate efforts to reach the Islamic Republic's borders and the safety of Turkmenistan, Armenia and Azerbaijan, as the Israel-Iran air war entered a sixth day. Several thousand Chinese nationals are thought to reside in oil-rich Iran, according to state media reports, highlighting Beijing's efforts to deepen strategic and commercial ties with Iran over the past two decades. "My heart was pounding but amid the haze of war, everything became clear: I packed my bags and tried to evacuate to the embassy," wrote a Chinese travel blogger under the alias Shuishui Crusoe, a nod to Daniel Defoe's fictional castaway, Robinson Crusoe. The travel blogger had decided to leave after sitting through Israel's overnight bombings last Friday when the conflict began, even as the embassy advised her to stay put. Emboldened by news of fellow citizens who made it across to Armenia, 750 km (500 miles) from the Iranian capital Tehran, she chose the same route, arriving by bus in the Armenian capital Yerevan on Monday, a day before China's embassy officially urged its citizens to leave Iran. China started evacuating its citizens from Tehran to Turkmenistan by bus on Tuesday, a distance of 1,150 km, state-run China News Service reported Wednesday. Guo Jiakun, a spokesperson for China's foreign ministry, said Beijing had not received any reports of Chinese casualties. "Seven hundred and ninety-one Chinese nationals have already been relocated from Iran to safe areas, and over 1,000 more are in the process of being evacuated," he told a regular news conference. While the embassy emphasised evacuation, some other Chinese netizens still in Iran shared video compilations showing an orderly scenario of well-stocked grocery shops and fruit stalls, with only a couple of clips of large purchases of bottled water. Most Chinese in Iran are engineers who moved there to work for Chinese firms that have invested just under $5 billion in the country since 2007 - primarily in its oil sector - according to data from the American Enterprise Institute think tank. If the regime in Tehran is severely weakened or replaced, Beijing loses a key diplomatic foothold in a region long dominated by the U.S. but vital to President Xi Jinping's flagship Belt and Road initiative and its aim to link the world's second-largest economy with Europe and the Gulf. China, the world's leading energy consumer, has also benefited from importing heavily discounted Iranian crude, despite Washington's sanctions aimed at curbing the trade.
CTV News
17-06-2025
- Politics
- CTV News
Chinese embassy in Israel urges citizens to leave
BEIJING — The Chinese embassy in Israel has urged Chinese citizens to return home or leave the country via land border crossings as soon as possible, on grounds that the security situation has deteriorated and Israeli airspace remained closed. 'At present, the Israeli-Iranian conflict continues to escalate, with civilian facilities damaged and civilian casualties increasing, making the security situation even more severe,' the embassy warned in a Tuesday notice on WeChat. The notice recommended Chinese citizens to leave via the land crossing towards Jordan. Reporting by Liz Lee and Ryan Woo; Editing by Jacqueline Wong.
