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Novak Djokovic Detained ahead of Australian Visa Hearing; Senate Democrats Attack White House COVID-19 Response in Letter; Ukraine Hit by Cyber Attack after High-Stakes Talks End. Aired 3-3:30a ET

Aired January 15, 2022 - 03:00   ET

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

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MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Hello and welcome to our viewers here in the United States and all around the world. I'm Michael Holmes. Appreciate your company.

Coming up here on CNN NEWSROOM, Novak Djokovic detained for a second time. Australia calling the unvaccinated tennis star, quote, "a threat to public order," ahead of his deportation challenge hearing.

Plus, the CDC changing its mask guidance, encouraging everyone to ditch the cloth and surgical masks for an N95 or KN95 face covering.

And "be afraid": that's the warning hackers put on Ukrainian websites after high stakes talks to prevent a Russian invasion stalled.

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

HOLMES: With just days to go until the Australian Open, top-ranked tennis player Novak Djokovic is once again in immigration detention, following the second cancellation of his visa.

The Serbian star arrived at a Melbourne hotel being used as a detention facility earlier. Any hope of competing in the Open on Monday rift rests on the outcome of an appeal hearing set for Sunday. And as Phil Black reports, Australia's immigration minister has introduced new reasons for why Djokovic should be deported.

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PHIL BLACK, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The latest volley landing this match in court, served by Australia's immigration minister, Alex Hawke, canceling Novak Djokovic's visa a second time, citing "health and good order grounds on the basis that it was in the public interest to do so."

In a quickly convened court hearing, Djokovic's lawyer claimed the minister's reasoning is very different from everything argued in this case so far.

"The underlying new rationale is not a direct risk to others. It's that Mr. Djokovic, being in Australia, in Melbourne in particular, will excite anti-vax sentiment. That's the point, a radically different approach."

The matter will likely be heard by a court in detail on Sunday, keeping alive Djokovic's hopes of a quick legal win which would allow him to play in Monday's opening round of the Australian Open.

But no player has ever prepared for a grand slam title like this. Once again, the world's number one tennis player must spend the weekend detained by Australia's border force.

ABUL RISVI, FORMER DEPUTY SECRETARY, AUSTRALIAN DEPARTMENT OF IMMIGRATION: Cancellation means mandatory detention.

BLACK (voice-over): Abul Risvi is a former senior official in Australia's immigration department. He says, politically, the Australian government had no choice but to try again. But it's a high stakes move.

BLACK: Because there is the possibility that, if they push through with this, they lose. And that means more humiliation.

RISVI: Yes. They will be very aware that, legally, they could lose this case and that would be truly embarrassing. It would be a really bad look. I mean the real implication is how bad Australia looks in the eyes of the world if it loses a second court case.

BLACK (voice-over): One immigration lawyer says the minister's powers are wide and not easily changed.

MARIA JOCKEL, IMMIGRATION LAWYER: They would have to articulate very strong grounds that the minister made a jurisdictional error. And under Australian immigration laws, I believe that would be a difficult hurdle for them to jump.

BLACK (voice-over): This unprecedented saga may finally be approaching a resolution, one that could carry powerful consequences for Australian politics and the career of one of the greatest tennis players of all time.

BLACK: A preliminary hearing Saturday confirmed main arguments will be heard in this case on Sunday. But the insight we've received is those arguments are going to be very different this time, because the reasons for canceling the visa on this second occasion are different to the first.

So, unlike the first court hearing, no one's going to be talking about whether or not Djokovic was right in thinking he could travel here exempted from vaccine requirements because he'd recently recovered from COVID-19.

This time, the focus will be on the potential impact of his presence here among other vaccine skeptics and the potential risk that poses to the Australian public -- Phil Black, CNN, Melbourne, Australia.

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HOLMES: The U.S. Public Health Emergency Declaration has been renewed again. It allows for emergency use authorizations of vaccines, access to certain funds and deployment of the military.

And the CDC updated its mask guidance on Friday, urging Americans to wear the most protective mask available, like the N95 and KN95. It comes as the Biden administration is under more criticism for its Omicron response. CNN's Nick Watt with that.

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DR. JONATHAN REINER, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: This administration placed all of their eggs in vaccination.

NICK WATT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: There are doctors who agree with those Democratic senators that the Biden administration has been too reactive to Omicron, not proactive.

DR. BERNARD ASHBY, FLORIDA STATE LEAD, COMMITTEE TO PROTECT HEALTH CARE: We saw South Africa getting ravaged with this virus. We knew it was highly transmissible, but we didn't ramp up our testing capacity.

WATT (voice-over): Reasons to be cheerful: West Virginia's COVID-19 positive governor is feeling better.

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WATT (voice-over): Saying, without question, "The fact that I chose to get vaccinated and boosted saved my life. That's all there is to it."

And this was the map beginning last week. Cases raising almost everywhere except Maine. Today, there's a lot less deep red, most of the Northeast looking better.

REINER: I'm very encouraged these counts are dropping now in this area, unmistakably.

WATT: Still, nationwide averaging nearly 800,000 new infections every day. There are now twice as many new infections a day than there are people getting their first vaccine shot.

Walgreens and CVS now temporarily closing some stores on weekends due to staff shortages. The National Guard deployed to hospitals in some states and one Maryland school district now asking for guard members to drive school buses.

New York City's new mayor determined to keep schools in person is now open to other options.

MAYOR ERIC ADAMS (D-NY), NEW YORK CITY: If we're able to put in place a temporarily remote option, we're welcome to do so.

WATT: We do now know how you can get your hands on some of those free at-home tests promised by the Biden administration. Covidtests.gov, the website, launches next Wednesday.

But they are limiting you to four tests per household and say, once you place your order, it's going to take them 7-12 days to ship that order out -- Nick Watt, CNN, Los Angeles.

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HOLMES: Turning our attention to Europe now, where 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 on Friday.

The Netherlands is 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. It's also, he says, a risk.

And I'm joined now by CNN's Melissa Bell in Paris.

Melissa, when you think about it, Europe still grappling with Omicron and it's not peaked yet in most places.

MELISSA BELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's not peaked yet and you mentioned the Netherlands a moment ago. What the health ministry explained is he announced some of those relaxations of the rules, beauty salons able to open from Saturday. It was about learning to live with this particular variant longer term.

It is spreading faster than any other we've seen, more widely than any other we've seen so far, with records set in Germany, France, Spain, the Netherlands. And that peak still ahead of us. Authorities believe it should come before the end of the month where we should see the peak in hospitalizations and ICU entries.

But what we're also seeing everywhere is, while it is spreading more widely, there are fewer strains on hospitals than there have been with previous variants.

So, it's all about finding a way to keep the economy, as the Dutch have just decided, in terms of those reopening from this Saturday, keeping the economy as open as possible while trying to get as many people vaccinated as authorities can.

And that's really the focus here in France. In the early hours of the morning, overnight, the French parliament finally passed a very controversial bill -- and one that's seen a great amount of difficulty -- that will turn the vaccine pass -- until now, you've been able to have a PCR test rather than be vaccinated to get this pass that allows you to get into restaurant, bars, cafes, cinemas.

From next week, once it finishes its parliamentary progress -- and that will now happen since it heads to the senate -- it will be a purely vaccine pass. That means, if you haven't been vaccinated, you can't PCR-test your way out of it. You can't get into those venues without being vaccinated.

A final, last, determined push to get the recalcitrant to go and get their shots. That is what the French authorities are doing and what authorities across Europe are trying to do, as they hope, as best they can, to come out of this latest wave, not so much a wave, said the health minister a couple weeks ago in France, as it is proving to be a tsunami, Michael.

HOLMES: Melissa Bell in Paris for us.

We're going to take a quick break. When we come back, after a week of high stakes talks, there's no signs of easing tensions between Russia and Ukraine. Up next, what the U.S. says Moscow is planning, to justify an invasion of its Western neighbor.

Plus, the British prime minister apologizing again over parties held at Downing Street during COVID lockdowns, this time apologizing to the queen herself. That's coming up when we come back.

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HOLMES: Welcome back.

Ukraine says Russia is likely behind a cyberattack that hit scores of its government websites. Officials say as many as 70 sites were targeted with a threatening text warning, quote, "Be afraid and wait for the worst."

It comes just days after high stakes talks between the U.S., NATO and Russia ended with no real progress. Meanwhile, the U.S. says it has information that Russia is preparing a false flag attack to justify invading Ukraine. For more on all of this, let's bring in CNN's Sam Kiley live in Kiev for us.

So, Sam, firstly, what to make of these false flag allegations?

What's the reaction there?

SAM KILEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Michael, it very much is in the Russian playbook. We've seen it back during the Chechen wars, with attacks on Russian civilians blamed on the Chechens -- arguably conducted by an "other" -- that finger, in those days, pointing at the Kremlin.

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KILEY: Similarly, we're seeing U.S. intelligence saying they have information that covert units based in the Donbas, that area of Eastern Ukraine that's been under Russian tutelage effectively since 2014, Russian-backed rebels nominally in control, Russian forces undercover there, that there are plans, they believe, to conduct a false flag, an attack on their own side effectively, that the Russian rebels would then blame on the Ukrainian government and use that as a causus belli.

Simultaneously with that almost, Ukrainians also came out with a statement that they had intelligence over a similar planning for an attack on Russian troops in Moldova, where there are also Russian troops based there.

All of this coming at the same time as this very significant cyberattack, a cyberattack, more of perhaps symbolic importance than one that actually caused any kind of infrastructural damage or a massive penetration or an intelligence leak.

But as you say, 70 websites shut down in what was a pretty sophisticated attack via third-party servers outside the country, we understand, according to government sources here, against these government websites with these threatening messages.

All building up the level of pressure, Michael, on the Ukrainian government after the failure of those talks that were all over European capitals and Geneva over the last week, Michael.

HOLMES: Sam, thank you. Sam Kiley there in Kiev for us.

Now the office of the British prime minister, Boris Johnson, apologizing to Queen Elizabeth after a new report detailed parties held at 10 Downing Street last April while COVID restrictions were still in place.

One of the gatherings held the night before Prince Philip's funeral. The next day, the queen sat alone at her husband's 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 underway. Perhaps unsurprisingly, officials in Mr. Johnson's government say it's 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. (END VIDEO CLIP)

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

The former Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu is negotiating a possible plea deal in his corruption trial. That's from two sources involved in the matter, who spoke with CNN. Under the deal, the most serious charge against Netanyahu, bribery, would likely be dropped.

The sources say the biggest stumbling block is the possible sentence. If it's longer than three months, he could be barred from politics for seven years. Netanyahu denies any wrongdoing.

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.

Now 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.

A chilling day for the news media in El Salvador. A report from two groups specializing in cybersecurity allege the phones of dozens of journalists and other members of civil society were hacked using the spyware known as Pegasus.

El Salvador's government is denying responsibility. At least 22 journalists from an influential news outlet were targeted. Pegasus is a controversial military gauge spyware created by the Israeli company NSO Group.

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.

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HOLMES: 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. Travelers who went to visit the Notre Dame cathedral will not have to

wait until it reopens in 2024, thanks to virtual reality. A new immersive experience in Paris, allows visitors who wearing 3D headsets to experience Notre Dame's history, from its construction to the fire wrecking the landmark in 2019, through its reconstruction.

Created by the virtual reality start-up Emissive, the project took two years to complete and lets visitors dive into a 45-minute trip full of visual and sound effects.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): It is quite impressive. I would say you're a bit anxious at the start and then you completely forget about the fact you are in an enclosed space because the environment is absolutely magnificent. You'd better not be afraid of heights, however. It gives quite an unusual feeling.

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HOLMES: The exhibit, opening to the public today, about $34 per person. More locations expected to pop up later in other cities, across the world.

I'm Michael Holmes. If you're with us here in North America, I'll be right back with more CNN NEWSROOM. For the rest of the world, "AFRICAN VOICES: CHANGEMAKERS" is up next.