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Novak Djokovic Detained ahead of Australian Visa Hearing; Ukraine Hit by Cyber Attack after High-Stakes Talks End; Investigation into Downing Street Events Is Underway. Aired 12-12:15a ET

Aired January 15, 2022 - 00:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): Live from CNN Center, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Michael Holmes.

MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to CNN NEWSROOM. I appreciate your company.

Now with days to go until the Australian Open, top ranked tennis player, Novak Djokovic, once again, in immigration detention, following the second cancellation of his visa.

An appeal hearing, on Sunday, will be the Serbian star's last chance to avoid deportation. The Australian immigration minister says he revoked the visa because the unvaccinated star could cause an increase in anti-vaccine sentiment, among other reasons.

Now this latest visa cancellation coming days after a court had restored it. Serbia's president calling the process unfair.

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ALEKSANDAR VUCIC, SERBIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): I am amazed at the fact that such decisions can be made by the executive and after the valid decisions of the judiciary.

They often preach to us about what the rule of law is.

Why do you mistreat him and make fun of him?

Not only him but also with his family and an entire nation that is free and proud.

Do you need it to win some elections?

Do you need it to please your public?

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HOLMES: Ukraine says it was hit by a cyberattack just days after high stakes talks between the U.S., NATO and Russia ended with no real progress. [00:05:00]

HOLMES: Scores of Ukrainian government websites were targeted with a threatening text warning, quote, "Be afraid and wait for the worst."

Ukraine's foreign ministry says Russia was most likely behind the attack. Officials report no personal data was compromised.

Meanwhile, the U.S. says Russian operatives are in place to set up the pretext for an invasion. An American official telling CNN, there is evidence Moscow will stage a false flag attack on its own proxy forces to justify an offensive against Ukraine.

Ukraine's defense ministry made a similar allegation. Have a listen to what the Pentagon said on Friday.

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ADM. JOHN KIRBY (RET.), PENTAGON PRESS SECRETARY: We have information that they've preposition a group of operatives to conduct what we call a false flag operation, an operation designed to look like an attack on them or their people -- or Russian speaking people and Ukraine, again, as an excuse to go in.

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HOLMES: But Russia says those allegations are unfounded. CNN's Matthew Chance has more for us from Moscow.

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MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The Russians have categorically denied the allegation that they were organizing some kind of a false flag operation in Eastern Ukraine to justify an attack against that country from the tens of thousands of troops they've got gathered there in the east.

The fact that that allegation was made and put out there by the United States was a pretty dramatic end to a week of intense negotiations, which has ended, I think, on a pessimistic note; at least that's what's the message you get is, if you listen to Sergey Lavrov, saying at the end of those negotiations -- he's the Russian foreign minister -- that he wants a written response that with -- in detailed explanations about what is acceptable and what is not acceptable in terms of Russia's core demands that the main demands, of course, to halt a further expansion of NATO eastwards toward Russia's borders.

There have been a number of compromises that have been proposed by Western officials and the United States as well that it's hoped could perhaps keep the Russians at the negotiating table and perhaps satisfy their security concerns.

But Sergey Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister, ruling that out, saying they didn't ask for their demands, only to settle for something less. They take those core demands about NATO's expansion very seriously. And that is what they say they are continuing to focus on. And even when it comes to the construction of Ukraine, Sergey Lavrov

said, it doesn't become part of the NATO alliance, the fact that countries like the United States and Britain are helping build military bases in the country is also a threat to Russia's national security, the Russian foreign minister said.

Back to that idea, though, of a false flag operation, actually, Sergey Lavrov is saying that it's the West that is using this crisis in Ukraine as a pretext for a buildup and for a strengthening of their forces of their own. Take a listen to what he had to say.

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SERGEY LAVROV, RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTER (through translator): We have reason to believe that those statements made with great pomp in the West, that if Russia does not submit to the West, to the Western demands about what it should do with its own troops in its own territory, which is absurd, then, in the next two or three months, the West will step up its rapid response force and its operations next to our border.

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CHANCE: In terms of what Russians are going to do next, it's a big question that's unanswered for the moment, because Vladimir Putin, the man who will decide what course of action Russia will take -- will it go for more negotiations, will it continue to rattle the diplomatic tree and see what falls out in terms of compromises -- or will he process the button of what he calls a military technical response, we still don't know.

He hasn't made any pronouncements on that yet. But again, it is the Russian president in the Kremlin, who will decide what the next steps will be -- Matthew Chance, CNN, Moscow.

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HOLMES: The office of the British prime minister, Boris Johnson, apologized to Queen Elizabeth on Friday, after a new report detailed parties held at 10 Downing Street last April while COVID restrictions were still in place and the country was mourning Prince Philip's death. One of the gatherings was the night before his funeral.

The next day, the queen sat alone at her husband socially distanced memorial. Meanwhile, the former head of the U.K.'s COVID task force apologized for hosting an event when she left her job in December 2020.

An investigation into lockdown breaching gatherings is now underway, perhaps unsurprisingly,

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HOLMES: Officials in Mr. Johnson's government say it is time to focus on other issues.

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LIZ TRUSS, FOREIGN MINISTER, UNITED KINGDOM: He has apologized. I think we now need to move on and talk about how we are going to sort out issues.

I have spent the last 24 hours with the E.U., talking about sorting out the situation for the people of Northern Ireland. And we now need to get on with that and, of course, wait for the results of the Sue Gray inquiry.

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HOLMES: A recent poll found only 20 percent of the British public had a favorable view of Johnson, the lowest level since he took office.

The latest on the pandemic for you now. France says a record number of classes were canceled on Friday due to soaring cases among students and teachers. The country has seen record high numbers of new cases this week.

Spain reporting nearly 1 million new cases in the past week and the second highest number of new daily cases since the pandemic began, more than 162,000 cases reported on Friday alone.

The Netherlands now relaxing some of its COVID restrictions. Nonessential stores, hairdressers, beauty salons and other service providers will be allowed to reopen on Saturday. The prime minister says it's a big step but also a big risk.

North Korea says it test-fired two ballistic missiles on Friday. According to state media, they were launched from a rail car and hit their intended target in the water off the Korean Peninsula.

It's the first of a series of missile tests in recent days. Secretary of state Antony Blinken condemned the launch, saying it violates multiple U.N. Security Council resolutions. North Korea says it will be forced to take a, quote, "stronger reaction" if the U.S. chooses to take a confrontational stance.

Denmark's former defense minister has been charged with leaking state secrets. Officials have not released details on those charges. But in a statement, the current opposition lawmaker says he's being charged for, quote, "violating the limits of my freedom of speech."

He added that he only spoke out on a political issue and nothing that would harm his country. This comes days after Denmark's former spy chief was charged and arrested for similar allegations.

Here is a creative commentary on climate change: a 3-ton iceberg suspended over Sydney Harbor in Australia. Artists have been performing on it for 10 hours a day as it melts in the hot sun. The 3- day display called Thaw is part of a city festival and highlights the threat of climate change.

With northwestern Australia recording its highest temperature in 62 years on Friday, the display seems rather timely. Thanks for spending part of your day with me, I'm Michael Holmes, you

can follow me on Twitter and Instagram @HolmesCNN. Stay tuned for "MARKETPLACE AFRICA" and I'll see you a bit later.