Investigation claims Credit Suisse handled dirty money

Yahoo – AFP, Erwan LUCAS,  20 February 2022 

Credit Suisse has issued a vigorous denial of the allegations (AFP/FABRICE
COFFRINI) (FABRICE COFFRINI)

Credit Suisse handled billions of dollars in dirty money for decades, an international media investigation based on a massive data leak claimed on Sunday, in the latest setback for Switzerland's second-largest bank. 

The bank held more than $8 billion (seven billion euros) in accounts of criminals, dictators and human rights abusers, among others, according to the investigation by a group comprising dozens of media organisations. 

Credit Suisse rejected the "allegations and insinuations", saying in a statement that many of the issues raised were historical, some dating back more than 70 years. 

According to the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), a non-profit journalism group, the "Suisse Secrets" investigation began when an anonymous source shared bank data with German newspaper Suddeutsche Zeitung more than a year ago. 

That information, covering accounts collectively worth $100 billion at their highest point, was trawled through by 48 media outlets worldwide, including The New York Times, Le Monde and The Guardian. 

Accounts identified as problematic held over $8 billion in assets, the investigation found. 

The accounts included those held by a Yemeni spy chief implicated in torture, the sons of an Azerbaijani strongman, a Serbian drug lord and bureaucrats accused of looting Venezuela's oil wealth. 

It was the largest leak ever from a major Swiss bank, OCCRP said. 

'Tendentious interpretations' 

The leak included information on more than 18,000 bank accounts, many of which "remained open well into the 2010s", said the OCCRP. 

In its statement Sunday, the bank said: "Credit Suisse strongly rejects the allegations and insinuations about the bank's purported business practices. 

"The matters presented are predominantly historical, in some cases dating back as far as the 1940s, and the accounts of these matters based on partial, inaccurate, or selective information taken out of context, resulting in tendentious interpretations of the bank's business conduct." 

About 90 percent of the accounts reviewed were closed -- or were in the process of being closed -- before the press approached the bank, it added. And more than 60 percent of them had been closed before 2015. 

The OCCRP, in a statement on its website, said: "We believe the dozens of examples we have cited raise serious questions about Credit Suisse's effectiveness and commitment to meeting its responsibilities." 

It said the investigation had found dozens of "dubious characters" in the data, including some linked to government officials. 

Among those listed as holding accounts with Credit Suisse were the sons of former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Jordan's King Abdullah II. 

When asked why so many of these accounts existed, current and former Credit Suisse employees described a work culture that incentivised taking on risk to maximise profits, according to OCCRP. 

"I've too often seen criminals and corrupt politicians who can afford to keep on doing business as usual, no matter what the circumstances, because they have the certainty that their ill-gotten gains will be kept safe and always within their reach," said OCCRP co-founder Paul Radu in a statement. 

A series of setbacks 

The international investigation is the latest in a series of setbacks that Credit Suisse has suffered recently. 

In March 2021, the bank was hit by the collapse of Greensill Capital in which it had committed some $10 billion dollars through four funds. The implosion of the US fund Archegos cost it more than $5 billion. 

And in Switzerland, a former Credit Suisse employee is among the defendants in a major corruption trial that has just started and involves alleged money laundering and organised crime in Bulgaria. The bank has said it will "defend itself vigorously in court". 

Experts say draconian banking secrecy laws in Switzerland effectively silence insiders or journalists who may want to expose wrongdoing within a Swiss bank, according to OCCRP. 

A Swiss media group was unable to participate in the investigation due to the risk of criminal prosecution, the organisation said.

'Pandora Papers' expose offshore assets of heads of state, govt

Yahoo – AFP, October 3, 2021

Some 35 current and former leaders are featured in leaked financial documents
analyzed by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) (AFP/Jim Watson)

More than a dozen heads of state and government, including the King of Jordan and the Czech prime minister, have hidden millions in offshore tax havens, according to an investigation published Sunday by the ICIJ media consortium. 

The so-called "Pandora Papers" investigation -- involving some 600 journalists from media including The Washington Post, the BBC and The Guardian -- is based on the leak of some 11.9 million documents from 14 financial services companies around the world. 

Some 35 current and former leaders are featured in the documents analyzed by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) -- facing allegations ranging from corruption to money laundering and global tax avoidance. 

The documents notably expose how King Abdullah II created a network of offshore companies and tax havens to amass a $100 million property empire from Malibu, California to Washington and London. 

The BBC cited lawyers for King Abdullah saying all the properties were bought with personal wealth, and that it was common practice for high profile individuals to purchase properties via offshore companies for privacy and security reasons. 

The documents also show Czech Prime minister Andrej Babis -- facing an election later this week -- failed to declare an offshore investment company used to purchase a chateau worth $22 million in the south of France. 

In total, the ICIJ found links between almost 1,000 companies in offshore havens and 336 high-level politicians and public officials, including country leaders, cabinet ministers, ambassadors and others. 

More than two-thirds of the companies were set up in the British Virgin Islands. 

In most countries, the ICIJ stresses, it is not illegal to have assets offshore or to use shell companies to do business across national borders. 

But such revelations are no less of an embarrassment for leaders who may have campaigned publicly against corruption, or advocated austerity measures at home. 

Among the other revelations from the ICIJ investigation: 

-- Family and associates of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev are alleged to have been secretly involved in property deals in Britain worth hundreds of millions. 

-- Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta and six family members are alleged to secretly own a network of offshore companies. 

-- Members of Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan's inner circle, including cabinet ministers and their families, are said to secretly own companies and trusts holding millions of dollars. 

-- Russian President Vladimir Putin is not directly named in the files, but he is linked via associates to secret assets in Monaco. 

The "Pandora Papers" are the latest in a series of mass ICIJ leaks of financial documents that started with LuxLeaks in 2014, and was followed by the Panama Papers, the Paradise Papers and FinCen. 

The documents behind the latest investigation are drawn from financial services companies in countries including the British Virgin Islands, Panama, Belize, Cyprus, the United Arab Emirates, Singapore and Switzerland.

Chinese citizen journalist jailed for Wuhan virus reporting

Yahoo – AFP, 28 December 2020 

Authoroties said former Chinese lawyer and citizen journalist
Zhang Zhan had spread "False remarks" online.

A Chinese citizen journalist was jailed for four years Monday for her reporting from Wuhan as the Covid-19 outbreak began, her lawyer said, almost a year after details of an "unknown viral pneumonia" surfaced in the central China city. 

Zhang Zhan, a former lawyer who arrived at court in a wheelchair, was sentenced at a brief hearing in a Shanghai court for allegedly "picking quarrels and provoking trouble" during her reporting in the chaotic initial stages of the outbreak. 

Her live reports and essays were shared on social media platforms in February, grabbing the attention of authorities, who have punished eight virus whistleblowers so far as they curb criticism of the government's response to the outbreak. 

Beijing has congratulated itself for "extraordinary" success in controlling the virus inside its borders, with an economy on the rebound while much of the rest of the world stutters through painful lockdowns and surging caseloads a year on from the start of the pandemic in Wuhan. 

Controlling the information flow during an unprecedented global health crisis has been pivotal in allowing China's communist authorities to reframe the narrative in their favour, with President Xi Jinping being garlanded for his leadership by the country's ruling party. 

But that has come at a serious cost to anyone who has picked holes in the official storyline. 

The court said Zhang Zhan had spread "false remarks" online, according to one of her lawyers Zhang Keke, but the prosecution did not fully divulge its evidence in court. 

"We had no way of understanding what exactly Zhang Zhan was accused of doing," he added, describing it as "a speedy, rushed hearing." 

In return the defendant "didn't respond [to questions]... She refused to answer when the judge asked her to confirm her identity." 

The defendant's mother sobbed loudly as the verdict was read out, Ren Quanniu, another member of Zhang's defence team, told reporters who were barred from entering the court. 

Concerns are mounting over the health of 37-year-old Zhang, who began a hunger strike in June and has been force-fed via a nasal tube. 

Her legal team said her health was in decline and she suffered from headaches, dizziness and stomach pain, and that she had appeared in court in a wheelchair. 

"She said when I visited her (last week): 'If they give me a heavy sentence then I will refuse food until the very end.'... She thinks she will die in prison," Ren said before the trial. 

"It's an extreme method of protesting against this society and this environment." 

China's communist authorities have a history of putting dissidents on trial in opaque courts between Christmas and New Year in an effort to minimise Western scrutiny. 

Example made

The sentencing comes just weeks before an international team of World Health Organization experts is expected to arrive in China to investigate the origins of Covid-19. 

Zhang was critical of the early response in Wuhan, writing in a February essay that the government "didn't give people enough information, then simply locked down the city". 

"This is a great violation of human rights," she wrote. 

Rights groups and embassies have also drawn attention to her case, although diplomats from several countries were denied requests to monitor the hearing. 

"Zhang Zhan's case raises serious concerns about media freedom in China," the British embassy in Beijing said, urging "China to release all those detained for their reporting." 

Authorities "want to use her case as an example to scare off other dissidents from raising questions about the pandemic situation in Wuhan earlier this year", added Leo Lan, research and advocacy consultant at the Chinese Human Rights Defenders NGO. 

A United Nations official following the trial also expressed "deep concern" about the verdict. 

"We raised her case with the authorities throughout 2020 as an example of the excessive clampdown on freedom of expression linked to #COVID19 & continue to call for her release," the office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet said in a tweet. 

Zhang is the first of a group of four citizen journalists detained by authorities after reporting from Wuhan to face trial. 

Previous attempts by AFP to contact the other three -- Chen Qiushi, Fang Bin and Li Zehua -- were unsuccessful. 

Related Article:

"Corona 1", Reykjavik, Iceland, Mar, 2020 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Carroll) - 

(>13.46 Min - Reference to the Global Coronavirus crisis)

The New Normal - Election Special

Golden Globes voters hit with antitrust lawsuit

Yahoo – AFP, 4 August 2020

HFPA President Lorenzo Soria is named as a defendant in an antitrust lawsuit
against the group which awards the Golden Globes each year (AFP Photo/Robyn BECK)

Los Angeles (AFP) - The exclusive group of film journalists that awards the Golden Globes was accused Monday of sabotaging non-members while gorging on lavish perks and unparalleled access to Hollywood stars.

An antitrust lawsuit filed against the Hollywood Foreign Press Association said the organization illegally monopolized entertainment reporting in Los Angeles while creating near-impossible barriers to entry for new members.

"All year long, HFPA members enjoy all-expenses-paid trips to film festivals around the world where the studios treat them lavishly and accommodate their every desire," said the suit brought by Norwegian journalist Kjersti Flaa.

"Qualified applicants for admission to the HFPA are virtually always rejected because the majority of its 87 members are unwilling to share or dilute the enormous economic benefits they receive as members," it adds.

The HFPA wields considerable power due to its annual Golden Globes -- one of Tinseltown's biggest and glitziest award shows, which is seen as a key step to success at the all-important Oscars.

Yet its membership -- which exclusively decides who walks away with the coveted Globes each year -- is shrouded in mystery.

Though some members work for well-respected foreign media outlets, many are freelancers writing for obscure publications.

The lawsuit details instances of members being wined and dined by Hollywood studios, including a Disney press trip to a Singapore five-star hotel last year.

"The studios, of course, resent having to lavish enormous sums of money on, and being required to cater to, the desires of a few dozen aging journalists who are regularly heard snoring through screenings, but given the importance of the Golden Globes, they see no way to end the farce," says the lawsuit.

Flaa, the plaintiff, applied for membership in 2018 and last year, but was rejected both times.

In her lawsuit, she accuses rival Scandinavian journalists of blocking her entry even though she is qualified to join according to HFPA criteria.

Any foreign journalist seeking entry must be sponsored by two members, and a newcomer's application can be rejected if one member of the association vetoes it.

The HFPA, which has yet to be served with the complaint, denied the allegations and accused Flaa of "ongoing attempts to shake down the HFPA."

"The HFPA has refused to pay ransom, telling Ms Flaa that membership was not gained through intimidation," the group said in a statement to AFP.

"Ms Flaa and her attorney are now asking a court to order her into the organization and pay her.

"The HFPA takes seriously its obligations as an organization and its dedication to foreign journalism and philanthropy, and it will vigorously defend against these baseless claims."

“Manipulating Fear” – (Kryon Channelling by Lee Carroll)

Kryon.com, April 4, 2020

This live channelling was streamed live for Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Lee Carroll

To help the reader, this channelling has been revisited [by Lee and Kryon] to provide even clearer understanding. Sometime information is even added or condensed. Often what happens live has implied energy within it, which carries a kind of communication that the printed page does not. So enjoy this enhanced message which was streamed live for Toronto.

Greetings Dear Ones, I am Kryon of Magnetic Service.

We are not oblivious to the elephant under the table. This channel is being given in an auspicious time. It’s a time where many are in fear and others are struggling to stay out of it. Before we go into something that I want you to hear, let’s just take a moment…

There are those right now who are saying goodbye to their elders. That’s difficult. They never thought it would be this way, and it’s difficult. You can be told some of the principles and the esoteric attributes and reasoning of it all, but it doesn’t help when you’ve lost someone. Let’s take a moment of compassionate action to be the Lightworkers of the age, and share the peace and compassion that you have - Light of the world that you are, for those who need it, just for a moment.

Pause

There are those who will say, “How long is this going to last?”  The answer is: Long enough; long enough.

I want to tell you things, given in metaphors. Some of you will understand and some of you will not. Let’s talk about children for a moment.

When children are growing up and they reach a certain age, every balanced benevolent parent knows how to work this puzzle. Let’s say the child becomes afraid. They are afraid of just about everything because they haven’t seen everything yet, or perhaps certain unknown things frighten them, or they just need help. Sometimes the biggest fear is of the dark, and they’ll say, “Dad, Mom, I’m afraid of the dark; I don’t know what’s there. Help me because there could be monsters lurking there.”

Every good parent knows how to handle this. They will tell a child: “Listen dear little one, I’m going to turn on the light here for a moment. When I do, I want you to see there’s nothing there. When I turn the light off again, I want you to understand there’s still nothing there. But if you’re still afraid, even for a moment, I’m still here. I’m holding your hand; just hug me; just hug me.

“Don’t be afraid of what’s not there,” they will say to the child and eventually, through time, the child evolves and grows up. The child balances itself and It knows what the parent knows. Then it’s able to help the children that arrive in the future. It’s classic, absolutely classic: Children go through times of fear when they don’t understand things, but that is so easily correctible with compassion and love, and a nurturing explanation. Every good parent listening or reading here has gone through this and perhaps they even experienced it with their parents as well.

I’m going to give you two scenarios that totally go against this commonsense maturing, but which happen every day. Perhaps it’s inappropriate, but they happen.

SET UP: I want you to imagine that child for a moment - in that state of fear - trying to make sense of things in the dark. They always imagine things perhaps, which might attack them.

Scenario One: What if, instead of a hug, the child saw that the parent was afraid too? When that happens, it’s over for the child and they often check out [no hope]. They check out because it’s just too much to process. They’re afraid of the dark and so are their parents. It scars a child for life. They won’t forget this moment because there’s no hug. There’s no explanation; there’s no light; there’s only fear. Their parents are shaking in fear, as well. It happens. It has happened. It happens during war times when the parent can’t do anything about it.

Scenario Two: This one is even worse, and it represents inappropriate parental control. This is when the child is afraid of the dark and the parent says, Well, you should be! There’s are evil things there! So, you must do this and that. The child grows up with rules about evil, or invisible dark things, and understands that there is no hug for the dark at all. There’s only fear and rules to let you escape the worst.

Everything I’m telling you is a metaphor. Some of you are understanding this already, and some of you are not. Every Human Being listening here, every one of you, has an inner child. Some of those inner children right now are scared to death, and some are not. I know who is listening to this later, dear ones. I know who is listening to this and watching it now. Many very mature old souls, who know exactly where this is going, will say, Well, this message is not for me, I’ve gone beyond it.

Have you? Have you really? How far does it have to go before that maturity breaks down and you start to fear?

I’ll tell you right now, Lightworker, old soul: All of you have nurturing, compassionate tools inside you to soothe that savage beast called Fear. It’s what Adironnda [Marilyn Harper channel] said also; it’s what were all saying also.

If you didn’t hear it already from me, I’m giving you a prediction: One of the things that’s going to radically change when this event (virus) is all over, is the accountability from those who inform you in media. When the dust clears, you’re going to look at this closely and say, All the media made it worse, made it worse!

Dear one, in your life there’s never really been anything like this. Your media information sources are marketing-based media. They are not information-based. Dear ones, you know this. They all compete for your viewership and the more dramatic things they can show, the more humans are attracted. This goes for most of you, the world, and perhaps even Lightworkers. Many of you have to consciously remember to turn off the media, since it is carefully designed to “pull you in.”

The world is attracted to drama, so after the media gives you information that may be totally correct and accurate, they then “spin” the fearful side of it without you even being aware that they are doing in. Not only that, they depend on repetition to make certain you hear it many times. Did you know it’s possible for you to turn on the media when you wake up, then turn it off when you go to bed, and hear the same thing over and over 30-40 times? How does it make you feel? How does your inner child feel when all you’re seeing is that the adults are afraid too?

The media is not yet aware of something else they are doing automatically within their programming: In-between the designed drama they are giving you, they then are playing advertisements which create even more inappropriate ideas. The advertisements are often about medicine and drugs you need because you’re old, or medicine you need because you’re young and have pimples, or medicine you need because right now you are in anxiety (which they created), or medication you need just because you stand there as a Human Being, aging every hour. In other words, you’re never normal! You always need something to medicate you. Or perhaps you need an attorney to help you after the medication went wrong?

I don’t think that those media outlets are really putting together what they are doing: They are responsible for scaring the planet to death. That will change. Watch for it. The demand for Accountability for this scenario will eventually create “hope channels” of media. There will finally be room for the good news channels.

Lets call them TFH channels: (My partner’s term for TRUTH-FACTS-HOPE). They will present facts that are confirmed, then go to show things which are balanced and uplifting around those facts. Then you can see that which is, and is not, happening. There is so much good news that none of you know about, dear ones! None of you see it because that is not in the scope of what they do. Your media is currently in the drama business, and not the truth business.

The planet is going to demand this: You’re going to look at those in charge of your media and say, “Bad job! You didn’t do it well. You didn’t do it right. You gave us entertainment and drama. You didn’t give us anything that helped our hearts. You didn’t hold our hands when you could have, and you didn’t hug us enough. You didn’t do any of that.”

The media will defend itself and say, “It’s not our job to hold your hand. It’s our job to inform you.” Dear ones, welcome to the New Normal. Your media indeed should invest itself in giving you hope, as well as truth. There are two sides to the news, not just the drama. This is what will change, and what is next.

That’s one thing that you’re going to see change, Dear Ones. That’s a reboot. The earth will probably take a while for all of this, but you’re going to start seeing things differently and more truthfully. The main thing is that this will represent a paradigm change. Many will start getting their broadcast news from those who also tell “the rest of the story.” That will be the new, attractive thing that you will not expect. Humanity will start to become more wise about the manipulation that takes place “on the air.”

The Experiment

I want to tell you something else: I want to tell you something about an experiment done with children many years ago. It’s an experiment that probably would not be allowed in today’s rules, but it was a classic: Some psychologists know of this, and some nutritionists have studied it. It’s an experiment done with children and food.

The experiment: The children are given a buffet three times a day – breakfast, lunch and dinner, where they can select anything on the buffet, as much as they want of it, without anyone saying anything. No parents allowed.

The buffet is beautiful and nutritionally complete. It starts with vegetables and goes to the rice, the carbs, the fruit; and so on. All the food groups are represented, and it’s the standard wonderful healthy buffet for the culture of the children. And, of course, at the end of the buffet there are the desserts. Except these deserts are are more for kids. There’s the candy, the cookies, the cake, and the pie. It’s all there. It’s all there.

So, the children are turned loose at breakfast. What are they going to have? What do you think? The children all run to the end and stuff themselves with the cookies and cake!

Surprised?

Lunch time: They did the same thing. I mean, really! How how could a turnip compare with a candy bar?

Dinner? They did the same.

The next day, they were all sick. Surprise, surprise!

So, over a period of meals, what happened in this experiment is that the children started eating the vegetables, the rice, the fruit, and all the things they passed over before (even the turnip). The desserts were eaten in moderation (but they still loved them).

The innate part of the Human Being demanded the balance; not the junk, but the balance. It was interesting because the experiment showed that even children who desire sweets and don’t know any better, have an innate which starts to balance itself when given the right choices.

I want you to analyze what’s going on right now on this planet. I’m going to make a statement: You are not being given the right buffet. Dear Ones, right now on this planet, there are no vegetables and there is no fruit. I think you understand what I’m saying. That is going to change.

I think the wild card in all of this will be those who are going to step up and change it, and say, Look we’ve got some good news here. There’s hope. That’s the balance you have been craving. No wonder all of you are sick!

The Incredible Bias of Virus Reporting

I want to show you the bias. I want to show you the bias of your media that is hidden. If you look at the virus information channels, they’ll give you all the charts of the infected and the deaths. Over and over - the infected and the deaths. For every state or country, the infected and the deaths. I want to ask you, Where is the RECOVERED column? It’s not there, is it? That’s a bias. That is a drama bias. Did they tell you that over 99 percent of those who catch the virus recover completely? Where is that number? Do you also know that those who recover have natural immunity for a few years? Where is that information? These are the heros of your time! Did they tell you that? Where are the parties for the recovered?

THEN: There is all the economical doom and gloom that they’re telling you: Not since the depression, they say, have we seen this kind of economy. They are comparing your virus situation to the horrors of 1929 – yet nowhere are they saying: “Wait a minute – wait a minute... this was created! You told us to stop working and stay home! This is not an economic depression like 1929. It’s a temporary situation. The factories and markets didn’t collapse. We are just not allowed to go out and work!

Dear ones, the world economy will slowly return, and the stock market will also. It’s poised and ready. This is not the end of the the automobile industry or the manufacturing industry. It’s not. This is a bump. Are they saying that to you? Or are they comparing it to the worst of the worst, and you tune in and hear: “There’s no vegetables, no fruit. There’s just junk. Prepare to be sick for a long time.”

Historians, generations from now, will look at some numbers which are very telling. Humanity in general has increased its life span attributes. There was a time, even in this country, when you would live to 45 or 50 years old, and that was your life expectancy. You weren’t really expected to live that long. There was too much disease and bad nutrition. All of things have evolved so now you’re seeing a slow increase of life span because of nutrition and especially knowledge. This allows you to live well into the late 80s and even approaching the 90s. (First world nations)

But historians in the future will see something odd: Generations from now, they’re going to look at the life charts and say, “What is this dip here? How is it that for a little while, Humans didn’t live as long?”

They’re going to name it The Corona Dip.

The dip they may see is for an entire generation of humans, and it had nothing to do with being infected by the virus. They will determine that by the millions, fear shortened their lives. Fear shortened their lives! That’s how profound this media bias is.

Historians may eventually report that when they do all the accounting for what really happened, that fear killed more people than the virus.

Dear ones, are you going to be one of them? Or are you going to stand tall and say, “This is a hump, and we’ll get over it? It’s temporary. We’ll mourn when we have to mourn, but we’re coming back because it’s temporary.”

That’s what I wanted to tell you. The truth is not really being shown. As bad as you might say this is, the real truth is not being shown. The up-side is not even on the radar of the media. Not yet. There’s going to be a reckoning for that. You’ll see.

I am Kyron, in love with humanity. Two steps forward, one step back. You’re in the step back at the moment. Old souls, you were built for this. This is where you shine. You have the Akashic experience and the compassion factor that others don’t. That’s why you can show it to others, and let them find the innate balance that will keep fear in its place. This saves lives.

The time is now, to go to work.

And so it is.

KRYON

China to expel US journalists as media freedom row grows

Yahoo – AFP, Laurent Thomet, with Shaun Tandon in Washington, March 18, 2020

Wall Street Journal reporters Josh Chin (right) and Philip Wen were expelled after an
op-ed headline in the newspaper that China deemed racist (AFP Photo/GREG BAKER)

Beijing (AFP) - China on Wednesday announced it would expel American journalists from three major US newspapers in one of the communist government's biggest crackdowns on the foreign press, escalating a bitter row over media freedoms.

The move against The New York Times, The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal came as the superpowers also feuded over the coronavirus pandemic, with US President Donald Trump provocatively branding it the "Chinese virus".

Beijing said the expulsions were in retaliation to Washington's decision to cut the number of Chinese nationals allowed to work for its state-run media on American soil.

"They are legitimate and justified self-defense in every sense," the foreign ministry said of the expulsions.

It said the journalists at the three newspapers must hand back their credentials within 10 days, and highlighted they would also not be able to work in the semi-autonomous cities of Hong Kong and Macau.

The Foreign Correspondents' Club of China (FCCC) said the move means at least 13 American journalists currently working in the country would be expelled.

Beijing also ordered the papers, as well as Voice of America and Time magazine, to declare in writing their staff, finances, operations and real estate in China -- rules similar to those recently imposed on Chinese state media by Washington.

The foreign ministry said these were "entirely necessary and reciprocal" moves that China was "compelled to take in response to the unreasonable oppression the Chinese media organizations experience in the US".

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Beijing was wrong to equate state-run 

Chinese media with independent US outlets (AFP Photo/NICHOLAS KAMM)

The row was ignited last month after China expelled three other Wall Street Journal reporters -- two Americans and one Australian -- over what it deemed a racist headline in the newspaper.

The headline, "China is the Real Sick Man of Asia", was on an opinion piece that the three journalists were not involved in writing.

Those were the first outright expulsions by China of a foreign journalist since 1998, according to the FCCC.

The row escalated as the US reclassified Chinese state-run media operating in the United States as foreign missions.

On Wednesday, the FCCC said it "deplores" the measure and warned: "There are no winners in the use of journalists as diplomatic pawns by the world's two pre-eminent economic powers."

US asks China to reconsider

Following the latest expulsions, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said China was wrong to equate its state-run media, which answer to Beijing, and independent US news outlets that can freely report and ask critical questions.

"I regret China's decision today to further foreclose the world's ability to conduct the free press operations that, frankly, would be really good for the Chinese people in these incredibly challenging global times, where more information, more transparency are what will save lives," Pompeo told reporters.

US President Donald Trump speaks during a daily press briefing on the

coronavirus pandemic (AFP Photo/Brendan Smialowski)

Dean Baquet, executive editor of The New York Times, called China's move a "grave mistake" and voiced hope that Washington and Beijing would quickly resolve the dispute to let journalists keep working.

The executive editor of The Washington Post, Marty Baron, said the move was "particularly regrettable because it comes in the midst of an unprecedented global crisis".

Matt Murray, editor in chief of The Wall Street Journal, called it an "unprecedented" attack on press freedom.

Rights groups also slammed the move, with PEN America saying it was "stunningly misguided and a grave risk to public safety."

Human Rights Watch expressed alarm that the ban on the expelled US journalists extended to working in semi-autonomous Hong Kong, where the mini-constitution enshrines free speech.

The move is "further encroaching upon Hong Kong's limited freedom under the 'one country, two systems' arrangement", HRW said.

The coronavirus has already divided the US and China, with Trump and Pompeo repeatedly speaking of the "Chinese virus" or "Wuhan virus" -- a reference to the city where cases were first detected.

Beijing has condemned the use of those terms, saying it is "a kind of stigmatisation".

But Trump has defended his terminology, telling reporters: "It did come from China, so I think it's very accurate."

China virus crisis deepens as whistleblower doctor dies

Yahoo – AFP, Laurent THOMET, Jing Xuan TENG, February 7, 2020

Medical staff walks past a makeshift memorial to the late ophthalmologist Li Wenliang
at the Houhu Branch of Wuhan Central Hospital on February 7 (AFP Photo/STR, STR)

Beijing (AFP) - A Chinese doctor punished after raising the alarm about the new coronavirus died Friday after being infected by the pathogen, sparking an outpouring of grief and anger over a worsening crisis that has now killed more than 630 people.

At least 31,000 have been infected by the virus that ophthalmologist Li Wenliang brought to light in late December -- before becoming its latest victim.

The virus is believed to have emerged from a market selling exotic animals in Wuhan before jumping to humans and spreading across China and abroad as millions travelled for the Lunar New Year holiday.

Researchers at the South China Agricultural University have identified the endangered pangolin as a "potential intermediate host" for the disease, as the genome sequences of viruses found on the scaly mammal are 99 percent identical to those on coronavirus patients.

The virus has since spread across China, prompting the government to lock down cities of tens of millions of people, and panic has spiralled around the globe as more than 240 cases have emerged in two dozen countries.

The media keep watch on the Diamond Princess cruise ship with over 3,000 

people on board as it sits in quarantine at Yokohama port (AFP Photo/Kazuhiro NOGI)

Hong Kong, meanwhile, announced it would forcibly quarantine arrivals from mainland China beginning Saturday, warning that anyone caught breaching the new rules faces up to six months in prison.

Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump, whose countries have tussled over trade and human rights, spoke on the phone about the health emergency.

"We talked about, mostly about the coronavirus. They're working really hard and I think they're doing a very professional job," Trump told reporters at the White House.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Friday the United States would offer up to $100 million to China and other impacted countries to combat the fast-spreading coronavirus.

Beijing has been angered by bans on arrivals from China instituted by the United States and other countries.

A laboratory technician works on coronavirus samples at "Fire Eye" laboratory 

in Wuhan (AFP Photo/STR, STR)

Li, 34, died early Friday, Wuhan Central Hospital said in a post on China's Twitter-like Weibo platform, an announcement that triggered deep sadness on social media over a doctor hailed as a hero.

"He is a hero who warned others with his life," a fellow Wuhan doctor wrote on Weibo.

There was also a rare collective bout of anger at the authorities and bold demands, including the hashtag "we demand freedom of speech", which was censored.

"Those fat officials who live on public money, may you die from a snowstorm," wrote another Weibo user in a comment that was later scrubbed.

In a sign that the criticism has shaken the Communist government, its anti-graft agency announced that it was sending a team to Wuhan to "conduct a comprehensive investigation into issues involving Dr. Li Wenliang reported by the masses".

A deserted street in Shanghai, as fear of the spread of the virus impacts 

cities across China, even those not in lockdown (AFP Photo/NOEL CELIS)

The foreign ministry and the National Health Commission expressed condolences for his death.

Death censored

Li's death has also highlighted the enormous risks that frontline doctors have taken to treat patients in overwhelmed and under-equipped hospitals in Wuhan, the quarantined city of 11 million people where the virus emerged in December.

Medical staff are overstretched and lack sufficient protective gear, the deputy governor of Hubei province admitted Thursday.

Li sent out a message about the new coronavirus to colleagues on December 30 in Wuhan but was later among a group of people summoned by police for "rumour-mongering".

He later contracted the disease while treating a patient.

Censors appeared to struggle with how to deal with his death.

Striking medical workers demand Hong Kong close the border with China 

to contain the virus (AFP Photo/Philip FONG)

State-run newspaper Global Times and state broadcaster CCTV first reported on Weibo that Li had died late Thursday, only to delete their posts after the death rapidly surged to be among the top topics on the popular platform.

Analysts have said local authorities played down the extent of the outbreak in early January because they were holding political meetings at the time and wanted to project an aura of stability.

The first fatality was reported on January 11. The death toll has since soared to 636, with 73 more reported on Friday and an additional 3,000 new infections.

Global spread

To control the spread, authorities have placed some 56 million people in Wuhan and surrounding cities under virtual lockdown.

Posters warn residents in Beijing to take protective measures against the
coronavirus (AFP Photo/GREG BAKER)

Authorities in Wuhan are "combing" communities to find people suspected or confirmed to have the virus and place them in quarantine, state media said.

Major airlines have suspended flights to and from the country, while several countries have advised their citizens to leave China.

But cases keep emerging.

Two cruise ships carrying thousands of holidaymakers in Hong Kong and Japan have been placed under quarantine as authorities test people for infections.

On Friday another 41 people tested positive aboard the Diamond Princess in Japan, bringing the total number of infected cases on the ship to 61.

Timeline of events leading to the death of coronavirus whistleblower 

Chinese doctor Li Wenliang. (AFP Photo/Gal ROMA)

Another cruise ship carrying a passenger suspected of infection with coronavirus will not be allowed to dock in southern Japan, the government said Friday.

In Hong Kong, 3,600 people are facing a third night confined aboard the World Dream, where eight former passengers have tested positive for the virus.

While global concerns mount, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned that that world was facing a "chronic shortage" of masks and other protective equipment.

Apple contractor Foxconn said Friday it would start making face masks alongside iPhones at its Shenzhen factory, aiming for 20 million by the end of February.

At least 31,000 have been infected by the virus that ophthalmologist Li Wenliang 

brought to light in late December -- before becoming its latest victim

The death of a whistleblowing doctor who was reprimanded for warning about the new coronavirus has sparked rare calls for political reform and free speech in China https://t.co/sSQVtqwdDy

— AFP news agency (@AFP) February 9, 2020