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Asian economies are tightening borders and in-country restrictions despite evidence of variant’s milder impact.

A Chinese parody of the ‘James Bond’ series mocking western intel agencies was noticed by the UK’s spy chief

MI6 head Richard Moore tipped his hat to Chinese state media for giving his agency “free publicity,” after Xinhua News produced a satirical video poking fun at London and Washington’s intelligence services.

Entitled ‘No Time to Die Laughing,’ the oddball ‘James Bond’ mock-up centers on two ‘MI6’ spies – Agents 0.07 and 0.06 – who are seen discussing the agency’s fixation on China as a “top priority” over a sitcom-like laugh track. Responding to the “leaked video” on Thursday after it was posted by Xinhua, Moore thanked the outlet for its “interest” in the MI6, as well as “the unexpected free publicity.”

Thank you for your interest (and the unexpected free publicity!). For those able to access the link, you can read the full speech here: https://t.co/sXZiTMzJc4

— Richard Moore (@ChiefMI6) January 5, 2022

Moore also shared a link to a hawkish speech he delivered at the International Institute for Strategic Studies last November, in which he dubbed Beijing the “single greatest priority” for the spy agency, apparently giving inspiration for the satire.

“This is not just about being able to understand China and Chinese decision making. We need to be able to operate undetected as a secret intelligence agency everywhere within the worldwide surveillance web,” Moore argued at the time, blasting Beijing as an “authoritarian state” with “different values from ours.”

First published earlier this week, the clip also takes shots at the United States, playfully highlighting the global spying apparatus created by its National Security Agency (NSA), as well as the harsh treatment of whistleblowers and journalists like Edward Snowden and Julian Assange. Of Washington’s 17 major intelligence outfits, none have yet acknowledged the video or thanked China for the limelight as Moore did.

READ MORE: China accuses MI6 chief of pushing ‘fake news’

The parody goes on to defend Chinese telecom Huawei from allegations that it surveils its customers using secret “back doors,” with ‘Agent 0.06’ calling the idea “nonsense.” While former US national security adviser Robert O’Brien previously claimed Washington has evidence that Huawei can “access sensitive and personal information” on user’s devices, he made none of it public, and US officials have declined to say whether they have ever observed the company using the alleged back door.

Two countries look to deepen long-standing defence ties amid uncertain regional outlook.

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Amid a spike in Omicron infections, Israel is retiring it ‘red list’ of travel destinations

Israel has lifted its strict Covid-19 travel ban against ‘high risk’ countries, such as the US and UK, acknowledging that the spread of the Omicron variant has rendered such restrictions obsolete.

Nachman Ash, the director-general of Israel’s Ministry of Health, revealed on Thursday that travel would resume to and from ‘red list’ countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom, and Switzerland – which are considered by Israel to be some of the “highest risk” nations in the world.

Israeli citizens and residents were previously prohibited from leaving Israel for red list countries, while non-citizens from red list countries were prohibited from entering the country.

The change in restrictions will apply to Israeli citizens, residents, and tourists alike, however all travelers will have to provide evidence of vaccination or recovery from the virus. The red list countries – namely the US, the UK, Switzerland, Ethiopia, Mexico, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, and Tanzania – will join the orange list, which requires travelers to undergo 24 hours of quarantine upon arrival in Israel, and the state will still advise people against traveling to those places with “high local infection rates.”

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Israel unveils effects of 4th Covid jab

Ash – who received his fourth Covid-19 vaccine dose this week – suggested on Thursday that the omicron variant would soon “take over” as the dominant strain, with Covid-19 cases reaching 50,000 cases a day, making present red list restrictions redundant.

Some 66% of Israelis have been fully vaccinated against Covid-19, while 47% have received an additional booster dose, according to the NYT tracker. Israel also recently announced a 4th vaccine dose for those aged 60 and above. Despite intense vaccination efforts, coronavirus cases in Israel have been on the rise, and the country recorded its highest daily rise in infections on Wednesday since the beginning of the pandemic.

A French privacy watchdog accused the tech giants of making it difficult for users to opt out of tracking their activity

France’s online privacy regulator has ordered Google and Facebook to cough up some €210 million ($237 million) between them, fining the firms for their questionable use of data-tracking ‘cookies’ on their sites.

The French National Commission on Informatics and Liberty (CNIL) announced the move in a statement on Thursday, saying Google will be made to pay €150 million and Facebook another €60 million within a period of three months, or else face additional fines of €100,000 per day.

The commission said the way the companies employ ‘cookies’ – or small amounts of data generated while users browse websites that can be used to track their activity – “affects the freedom of consent,” as Facebook and Google make it much easier for netizens to authorize that data-tracking than to decline it.

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Russia hits Google with record fine

“When you accept cookies, it’s done in just one click,” said Karin Kiefer, who leads the commission’s data protection and sanctions team. “Rejecting cookies should be as easy as accepting them.”

The watchdog org added that those practices violated the French Data Protection Act, and ordered the companies to “provide Internet users located in France with a means of refusing cookies as simple as the existing means of accepting them, in order to guarantee their freedom of consent.”

Both Google and Facebook issued statements vowing to work with French authorities to sort the issue, though the latter firm insisted its “cookie consent controls provide people with greater control over their data,” disputing the consent issues raised by the CNIL. Google, too, argued that “people trust us to respect their right to privacy and keep them safe,” but nonetheless said it would pursue “further changes” to comply with the order.

Mostly Muslim minority find themselves target of renewed military intimidation over ties to rebel armed group

US Justice Department charges Pierre Girgis with acting as a foreign agent for Egypt without notifying US government.

Two journalists in Haiti were killed Thursday by a gang operating on the outskirts of the capital Port-au-Prince, according to the radio station that employed one of the victims.

Two of Donald Trump’s most vocal supporters in Congress are seeking answers from the FBI and attorney general

Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Florida) and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Georgia) theorized on the anniversary of the January 6 Capitol riot that the federal government may have played an active role in the day’s events.

During a Thursday press conference, the two firebrand Republicans once again rejected Democrats referring to the Capitol riot as an “insurrection,” a specific crime no one jailed for January 6 is currently facing. 

“We know January 6 last year wasn’t an insurrection. No one has been charged with insurrection. No one has been charged with treason, but it very well may have been a Fedsurrection,” Gaetz told reporters. 

Gaetz made clear he and Greene, who was recently suspended from Twitter, were not there to “celebrate” the events of January 6, but to hopefully “expose the truth.”

GAETZ: “Congresswoman Greene and I are not here to celebrate January 6th. We are not here to obsess about it, but we are here to expose the truth, to ask key questions…January 6th last year wasn’t an insurrection…but it very well may have been a fedsurrection.” pic.twitter.com/TyxKvLVt1m

— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) January 6, 2022

The truth, according to the lawmakers, may lead straight back to the FBI. “Director Wray was asked under oath before the Congress about the federal assets and agents that were on the ground on January 6th, and he wouldn’t provide clear answers,” Gaetz said.

Tucker Carlson Calling Out Sen @tedcruz & The GOP For Repeating The Talking Points Of AG Garland About January 6th & Ignoring The Ray Epps Story

“What the hell is going on here? You’re making us think that maybe the Republican Party is as worthless as we suspected it was.” pic.twitter.com/HYumHcOoRM

— The Columbia Bugle 🇺🇸 (@ColumbiaBugle) January 6, 2022

Gaetz repeatedly referred to Ray Epps, an ex-Marine that some conservatives have theorized was an FBI plant, filmed goading people into entering the Capitol and crossing police barriers.

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As evidence emerges of provocateurs inciting the Jan 6 Capitol riot, was an asset working on behalf of the FBI to stir up trouble?

A man who resembles Epps could be seen in videos recommending protesters go into the Capitol, though he’s not always met with a warm welcome, with some even referring to him as a “fed” at one point.

Epps has refused to answer questions about his involvement in the Capitol riot or conspiracy theories around his involvement with the FBI, telling Daily Mail last summer when they confronted him at in Arizona to “get off my property.” 

Gaetz claims Epps’ potential involvement in instigating the riot can be partly backed up by his name allegedly being removed last year from the FBI’s Capitol Violence Most Wanted list. “Attorney General Garland was asked in the judiciary committee by my colleague Thomas Massie about Ray Epps. He could have cleared up that circumstance and resolved all of these questions, but he declined to do so,” Gaetz said.

In a Thursday interview with journalist Brendan Gutenschwager, Gaetz also mentioned Epps as one of multiple potential “instigators” on January 6. 

“I’m starting to think this was less of an insurrection and more of a fedsurection” Matt Gaetz says of the January 6th Capitol riot at a press conference with Marjorie Taylor Greene one year later #January6th pic.twitter.com/Lk3lWrGr5j

— Brendan Gutenschwager (@BGOnTheScene) January 6, 2022

Greene also referred to Epps when speaking, recalling a recent visit to jailed Capitol rioters in Washington DC. 

“When I went through the DC jail, I’ll tell you who I did not see. I did not see Ray Epps,” she said.

READ MORE: White House reveals whether Biden wants DOJ to charge Trump with ‘insurrection’

Gaetz and Greene also performed a march from the White House to the Capitol to mark the one year anniversary of the Capitol riot. In a Thursday morning interview on Steve Bannon’s podcast, Gaetz said he and others are not “ashamed” of their efforts on January 6.