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Connect the World
Libyan Prime Minister Kidnapped, Released Hours Later; IMF Chief Warns U.S. Default Will Be Global Catastrophe; Edward Snowden's Father In Moscow
Aired October 10, 2013 - 15:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MAX FOSTER, HOST: Tonight, kidnapped and then released. The Libyan prime minister calls for calm after being freed from a brief abduction. How did it happen and why? We go live to Tripoli.
Also ahead, U.S. Republicans hold out an olive branch. They're offering President Obama a short-term debt ceiling proposal.
And this is the turning point in the fight against Alzheimer's disease, or is it? We take a look at a landmark scientific study that holds signs of hope.
ANNOUNCER: Live from CNN London, this is Connect the World.
FOSTER: A failing state plagued by uncontrolled militant factions or a fledgling democracy just trying to find its way.
On Thursday, the prime minister of Libya was kidnapped and then just as surprisingly he was released. Around 4:00 in the morning local time, Ali Zeidan was abducted from a luxury hotel in Tripoli.
Just a few hours later, he was shown returning to his office apparently unharmed.
In a televised addressed, he asked Libyans to show wisdom and to remain calm.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ALI ZEIDAN, PRIME MINISTER OF LIBYA (through translator): I hope we can treat this issue with wisdom and calm, away from tension and escalation. I want to reassure the foreigners inside Libya that this issue happened within the context of Libyan political disagreements and the foreigners are not being targeted.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: Well, the motive for the kidnapping isn't clear. Libya has been overrun by numerous militants groups since the ouster of Moammar Gadhafi two years ago.
CNN senior international correspondent Nic Robertson is in Tripoli. He joins us now live.
What do you make of it, Nic?
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, the general understanding here, Max, is that over last weekend the United States came into Tripoli, special Delta force came in, arrested al Qaeda suspected Abu Anas al Libi, wanted in connection with the 1998 bombing of the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. And most people here believe that triggered this action against the prime minister.
The prime minister is not particularly popular at the moment on a number of issues, but the concerns from government ministers we talked to in advance of his kidnapping just hours before his kidnapping -- indeed I met him and talked with him in the hotel where he was kidnapped from, not indication at that stage of the kidnapping or what was going to happen, although he was concerned about it.
But ministers had been expressing their concern that there could be a backlash against the government, because of the perception that they had supported the United States in the arrest of al Libi.
Certainly today the kidnapping and the rapid release of the prime minister fits that bill in the analysis of most people here.
And what it does, though, Max is highlight the lack of -- the lack of law and order in the country, the lack of a national security force, the lack (inaudible) of the government here and the power of the militias.
Libya's foreign minister has said it's going to take some time to put a national security force together.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MOHAMMED ABDELAZIZ, LIBYAN FOREIGN MINISTER: It takes time for us to recruit our people, to test them medically and to prepare them for recruitment. It takes time for them to be trained.
As you know, the difference between the revolution in Egypt and Tunisia and Libya we are starting from scratch. And I think it will take time.
As long as we have a sustained support on the part of the international community, I think Libya will make it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTSON: But the bottom line here is that militia that kidnapped the prime minister, well, they were sanctioned by Libya's lawmakers here, that's the crux of the problem. It's the militias are beholden to themselves, not the government that they supposedly signed up to -- Max.
FOSTER: And we don't know anything about the nature of the kidnapping or why he was released to quickly and what he went through in any way?
ROBERTSON: He wasn't harmed. There were no shots fired when the 100 gunmen broke into his hotel in the early hours of the morning, a hotel that -- where many government ministers live. It's supposed to be very secure.
But we know that the group that kidnapped him call themselves the Operations Room of Libya Revolutionaries. They owe their power, if you will, to the Libya shield, which is a larger militia which in the end proved to be the more powerful. This smaller group said that they were arresting the prime minister, because he had broken the law by compromising their security of the nation here.
Again, in -- this would indicate in connection with the arrest of al Libi, that's the implication of what they were saying.
But it turns out that this militia wasn't big enough, didn't have enough weight behind it, didn't' have broad support and were quickly pressured by more powerful militias into releasing the prime minister.
But the winners in all of this, if you will, the militias, the larger militias here, the larger militia commanders, because they've been the ones who have been shown here to be the ones who have the power to release the prime minister, which puts the prime minister in a very weak position, Max.
FOSTER: It's extraordinary. Nic, thank you very much indeed for joining in Tripoli.
Well, located on the north coast of Africa, on the Mediterranean Sea, Libya is home to around 6 million people. It is Africa's third largest country by area. Last year, its GDP was nearly $82 billion according to CIA figures. Much of its wealth comes from its vast energy resources.
Libya has proven oil reserves of 48 billion barrels, making it one of the top 10 oil rich countries in the world. And with estimated gas reserves of 1.5 trillion cubic meters, its among the top 25 gas rich countries.
The consequences can be felt globally. Oil production has dropped significantly since the fall of Moammar Gadharfi, affecting Europe in particular. And within the region, the UN says Libya's unstable borders are helping to facilitate organized crime and terrorism as well as drugs and arms smuggling.
Former British ambassador to Libya is Oliver Miles. He joins us now live from Oxford.
Thank you for joining us.
That point that Nic was making really brings the point home, doesn't it, that the militia seem to be more powerful than the government, because they were the ones that managed to get the prime minister released.
OLIVER MILES, FRM. BRITISH AMBASSADOR TO LIBYA: Yes. This is a unique problem in Libya. I don't think anyone else has faced this. It arises from the fact that in the revolution in 2011 these militias were formed from young men who took up arms to fight against Gadhafi. They succeeded. They overthrew the regime of Gadhafi. And they feel that the state owed -- that Libya owes them one now, quite understandably. And Libya hasn't really been able to honor that debt, because they haven't had the resources, organization or structure to do it.
What's probably needed more than anything else is jobs for these young men. And there aren't any jobs. So, there's a real serious problem there.
These militias are not in revolt against the government, but nor are they under the government's control. They're in a kind of halfway position.
FOSTER: But there are some parts of the country they actually control things, don't they? For example, blockading the country's oil export terminals. So they are controlling parts of the country.
MILES: Well, I think you mustn't exaggerate that. They have been able to blockade, it's true, they've blockaded oil production and that was, I think, mainly because the people who are being charged with looking with -- protecting the oil facilities were not being paid. And so they took the law into their own hands and said, well, until we're paid we're not going to let any oil out. And that that was more or less successfully negotiated. And now the oil production is recovering, although it's still below capacity.
And there was a similar problem with water. The sort of brief few days it looked as if Tripoli's water supply was going to be cut off, because of a dispute about a particularly unconnected matter, some local militia took the law into their own hands again.
And this affair of the prime minister is the latest and in the international perspective perhaps the most spectacular of these instances, although whether you can really say kidnapping a prime minister is worse than cutting off the water supply of your capital is a moot point.
FOSTER: And it didn't last very long, but as you say it's a symbolic moment perhaps in the power struggle. But how do you get all of the groups involved in government and rally behind the leader? Because every country does need a leader with some sense of authority.
MILES: Yes, well the positive side is that since the revolution succeeded towards the end of 2011 at that time the people who were representing the revolutionaries, and so far as anyone was, drop a roadmap for a constitutional development to the next two or three years leading to elections and a fully democratic government system.
And so far they've stuck to that roadmap to a remarkable extent. So they've have two handovers of power between governments which were without violence, which is very unusual in the region. They've had an election which everybody I think accepted was as fair as it could possibly be in the circumstances.
And so the present Libyan government has a mandate from -- a democratic mandate, which really none of its neighbors have. But they haven't got the power.
FOSTER: OK. Oliver Miles, than you very much indeed for joining us from Oxford.
Live from London, this is Connect the World. Coming up, some hope on the horizon progress as a debt ceiling proposal is made in the U.S. We'll cross live to Washington for the latest.
As while world leaders continue to warn against a U.S. default. Richard Quest has been speaking to the head of the IMF. We'll hear her thoughts straight ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
FOSTER: You're watching CNN. This is Connect the World with me, Max Foster. Welcome back to you.
Now in Washington there's been some progress in the political stalemate that threatens to push the U.S. government into default. President Obama will sit down with the House Speaker John Boehner for talks within hours. Earlier, Boehner and other Republican leaders proposed a temporary deal that would extend the debt ceiling deadline by six weeks. In return, they want substantive talks with the president over reducing the country's deficit.
For now, the debt limit deadline is just seven days away. It's unclear if a deal would address the partial government shutdown, which is now in its 10th day.
If there is no agreement before then, the U.S. government can no longer guarantee it can pay its bills, which is worrying, indeed, not just for America, but the whole world.
Let's get out to senior White House correspondent Jim Acosta for the latest.
So, Jim, what more do we know about this possible deal?
JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Max, what we do know is that House Republicans after a very long tug of war with this White House have basically come out with a peace offering in this standoff between the president and House Republicans. And what they're offering is a six week extension to the nation's debt ceiling, that debt ceiling as you mentioned is set to be hit by the U.S. on October 17. There's the prospect of going into default. And as you mentioned, the U.S. not being able to pay its bills, pay its debts. And so that has sort of been the nuclear scenario that both sides have said that they wanted to avoid.
The president has been saying all along that House Republicans could not attach any partisan strings to that sort of legislation, just as a way, he said, they can't do that with a resolution to reopen the government.
But at the White House press briefing earlier this afternoon, White House press secretary Jay Carney said that the president was happy to hear about what House Republicans are proposing, that he said it is a sign that cooler heads are starting to prevail. And here's what the White House press secretary had to say to that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAY CARNEY, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: The president believes that if there's a recognition that we cannot default, that we must insure that we can continue to pay our bills and therefore the congress must raise the debt ceiling, that they ought to do it for longer than a few weeks. But if clean debt limit bill is passed, he would likely sign it. Again, we would have to see it. We're speaking a bill that does not at this point exist. And it's not at all clear based on what the speaker said that that's what we're going to see.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: So, Max, you heard there a couple of things that were very interesting. Jay Carney saying the president would likely sign it. And that we haven't seen the legislation yet.
The White House is clearly indicating at this point that there isn't exactly the greatest amount of trust that is going on right now between this White House and house Republicans. And so they want to see this legislation first, but at this point it sounds like the president will sign it and that the nation will avoid going into default.
The one other thing, though, that is happening with all of these negotiations going on over the debt ceiling is of course the government is still shut down. We're still in a partial shutdown here in the U.S. and it is quite possible that what you may see emerge here in the next couple of days, Max, is a deal to resolve this issue of the debt ceiling, but the government will remain shut down as House Republicans and this White House go back and forth with each other trying to work out some kind of compromise that works for everybody -- Max.
FOSTER: OK, Jim, thank you very much from Washington.
Let's see how Wall Street is taking all of this in. It's a lot to take in. And it could be series if there isn't a political solution. Here's a live look at the big board right now. The Dow is up 2 percent. So they're seeing those movement in Washington as a positive move for international markets.
Well, the political wranglings continuing in Washington. World leaders continue to urge U.S. lawmakers to come to an agreement. The head of the International Monetary Fund warned the failure to raise the debt ceiling would seriously damage not only the American, but also the global economy. And the U.S. Treasury Secretary said it would be a grave mistake if the nation's debt limit wasn't increased.
Richard Quest has been moderating a CNN debate on the global economy, which Madam Legarde was part of. He joins us now from Washington -- Richard.
RICHARD QUEST, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDNET: Yes, indeed.
The -- obviously everybody seems to accept that a default by the United States as a result of the debt ceiling would be amongst the worst possible catastrophes to befall a global economy at the moment. Serious, very serious damage was how Christine Legarde described it.
The Indian central bank governor said that they'd already felt the effects of things like the threat of tapering in the past. And this would, of course, be just as bad.
So on the panel when asked how concerned she was, the managing director of the IMF left no one in any doubt that looking at the global economy at the moment, this was worrying.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHRISTINE LEGARDE, IMF MANAGING DIRECTOR: And really if we are in the realm of accidents and nobody wants to face it, neither the Spanish economy that is on its way to recovery that has taken a lot of hardship that -- where people have made due -- sacrifices, nor those who hold Treasury bonds and who would rather navigate with them and trade them as smoothly as possible.
So we do have faith. And I hope we won't be let down.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUEST: And that was pretty much the tone that everybody has, "we do have faith." And that faith is based more on the reality that the -- that if there is a default, the consequences would be so drastic and dramatic that no sane and right thinking person would allow it to happen. But what worries them, Max, is the question of the accident.
Now, I agree at this hour with talks taking place this afternoon and with a nascent deal in the offing of a six week delay, the market has certainly rallied extremely sharply, up more than 300 points a short while ago.
Putting it all into context, things are looking a lot brighter now than they were, but there's still some considerable distance to go.
FOSTER: How much has the shutdown debate sort of confuse things and made things worse in terms of the debt ceiling debate, which is what the global economy, as you say, is particularly concerned about?
QUEST: The two have become muddied, and they have become extremely complicated and entwined, which is why this discussion and these potential agreement or this deal starts to pull them apart again, because the Republicans are now accepting that raising the debt ceiling has to be done and it has to be done sooner rather than later, and that preferably needs to be done now.
But they are determined that the government shutdown, which of course is their principle leverage without doing the same destructive damage to the economy of the he ceiling, they can try and divorce the two. And that's the issue.
But whichever way we cut this, Max, whether it's the budget shutdown or the debt ceiling, you are literally just kicking this proverbial down the road. Because what still has to happen is those negotiations on fiscal retrenchment, cutbacks, deficits. And they tried this in 2011. They gave themselves six months. They gave themselves a grand committee. They gave themselves negotiations and it all came to naught.
FOSTER: Richard, we talked about the 2 percent on the Down. Can we say, then, that the markets are factoring in a deal on the debt ceiling, in which case we should be very convened if there isn't a deal and the reaction to that.
QUEST: That 3 percent on the Dow is the debt ceiling deal period. We've had four -- nearly 300, 400 points of losses this week. If this deal falls apart, I wouldn't say the market will fall over but we are in an era and an age of extreme market volatility post 2008 with new high frequency trading, this -- these vast swings happen much more frequently and much more aggressively.
And so it's to be entirely expected if we get closer and -- if this deal fails and we get closer and closer, the VIX index and the market volatility will return. And it will be more aggressive and it will be more fundamental as it gets closer to the date.
FOSTER: Richard in Washington, thank you very much indeed.
And tonight, another special edition of Quest Means Business in Washington. Highlights form that IMF panel discussion that Richard has been moderating. We'll get perspective on a number of key issues, including the U.S. debt ceiling, the effects of the austerity and tapering and china's economic strength as well.
But next on Connect the World, the team activist shot by the Taliban for advocating for girl's education wins a prestigious prize from the European parliament. Now observers are waiting and wondering if she could become the youngest ever Nobel Laureate.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
FOSTER: You're watching Connect the World live from London. Welcome back to you. I'm Max Foster.
Pakistani activist Malala Yousafzai has won the European parliament's Sakharov prize for freedom of thought. The president of the European parliament calls the 16-year-old girl a brave advocate for education.
CNN's Atika Shubert explains how the teenager won the honor and says there may be more recognition ahead.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, the Sakharov prize is granted to someone who has dedicated their life to the freedom of thought. And the European parliament voted unanimously to give it to Malala Yousafzai. The 16-year-old activist has been campaigning for girl's right to education in Pakistan since she was 11-years-old. Last year, she was shot in the head by a Taliban assassin and miraculously not only did she survive, but four months later, with treatment from doctors here in Britain, she announced she would continue her campaign for universal education by setting up the Malala fund.
Now the Sakharov prize does grant her 50,000 euros, that's about $65,000 for that campaign. And the prize is being seen by many as a bellwether for tomorrow's Nobel Peace Prize. It wouldn't be the first time that would happen. Nelson Mandela and Aung San Suu Kyi are just two examples of Nobel Peace Prize Laureates who were also awarded the Sakharov prize.
But if Malala Yousafzai does receive the Nobel Peace Prize, she would be the youngest Nobel Peace Prize Laureate ever.
Atika Shubert, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOSTER: Well, do hear from Malala in her own words when she speaks with Christiane Amanpour about her story, her future and her dreams. It is a CNN special "The Bravest Girl in the World." and it airs on Monday at 7:00 pm in London, 8:00 pm in Berlin, 10:00 in Abu Dhabi.
Now the Canadian author Alice Munroe has won this year's Nobel Prize in Literature. The Nobel committee called her, quote, a master of the contemporary short story. Her major works include Dear Life and Dance of the Apple of the Happy Shades. The 82-year-old is only the 13th woman to win the prize. And Munroe says she's surprised and delighted to learn she won the Nobel.
And speaking of the prestigious award, the father of the former NSA director -- contractor charged with leaking classified information thinks his son deserves to win the Nobel Peace Prize. Lon Snowden is now in Moscow. He says he has had direct contact with his son Edward since June, but as Phil Black explains he's hoping to see him during this trip.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PHIL BLACK, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: This has been a long anticipated visit, but finally Lon Snowden arrived at the very same Moscow airport his son had lived in for around six weeks earlier this year. He flew in from Toronto. And when he walked out he said he had come to learn more about his son's circumstances, health and legal options.
He said they haven't been in direct contact since his son has been in Russia. And to his knowledge, he hasn't been leaking any classified government information since he's been here either.
But he also wanted to make it clear he does not speak for his son. And said whatever decisions Edward makes now will be his own.
LON SNOWDEN, EDWARD SNOWDEN'S FATHER: I'm not sure that my son will be returning to the U.S. again. That's his decision. He's an adult, you know he is a person who is responsible for his own agency. I'm his father. I love my son. And again I'm here to meet with Mr. Kucherena and learn more about my son's situation. And if the opportunity presents itself, I certainly hope that I'll have an opportunity to see my son.
BLACK: Anatoly Kucherena is Edward Snowden's Russian lawyer. And he said the father and son would be reunited on Thursday somewhere at a secret time and location.
Edward Snowden has been living in secret since walking from the airport on August 1 when he received temporary asylum here. His lawyer says that's because security is still his number one concern. He says that's why he walks the streets in disguise and with bodyguards.
His lawyer says he's been living modestly here, using savings and donations, but he could be looking for work soon.
Lon Snowden said he'd be happy for his son to build a life in Russia. And he wanted to thank the Russian people and its president for ensuring his son's safety and freedom.
Phil Black, CNN, Moscow.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOSTER: The latest world news headlines just ahead. Plus, a big discovery about those little mice could lead to a treatment for Alzheimer's. We'll look at the findings and where they could lead.
And a legendary Indian cricketer is set to retire. We'll look at an illustrious career of Sachin Teldukar.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
FOSTER: This is CONNECT THE WORLD, the top stories this hour. The Libyan prime minister Ali Zeidan has called for calm after he was kidnapped and then released within hours on Thursday. There had been international condemnation of his abduction. The motive for the kidnap is still not clear, although there has been widespread criticism in Libya about reports the government tacitly approved the US raid there that seized an al Qaeda suspect.
Top US Republicans are set to sit down with President Obama within the hour to talk about the debt ceiling. House speaker John Boehner says he'll propose a short-term deal to extend the deadline in return for more substantial talks.
Investors have pleaded with the development -- are pleased with the developments. The Dow Jones Industrial average is surging around 300 points in today's trade. It's a sharp comeback after days of modest losses on the markets.
Pakistani activist Malala Yousufzai has won the European Parliament's Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought. The president of the European Parliament calls the 16-year-old a brave advocate for education. Malala is also among the nominees for the Nobel Peace Prize due to be announced tomorrow.
Former Pakistani president Pervez Musharraf is once again under house arrest. Authorities accuse him of being responsible for the deadly raid of a hard-line mosque in 2007. Musharraf's re-arrest comes after he was granted bail in three other cases.
Now, a new discovery which could help find a way to stop the progression of degenerative diseases like Alzheimer's. A study found a way to stop brain cell death in mice, and it could mean big things for humans.
An estimated 21 million people live with Alzheimer's, a form of dementia characterized by memory loss. That figure is set to double in the next 20 years. Earlier, I visited a family who know the daily struggle of this condition.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JAMES MURRAY-WHITE, SON OF ALZHEIMER'S PATIENT: Her retirement present to herself, she went off walking in Tibet and has been a very active hiker and a walker. Very strong-minded person, very independent.
FOSTER (voice-over): That was eight years ago, before Pauline Murray- White was diagnosed with Alzheimer's. Her deterioration has been rapid and heartbreaking to watch.
J. MURRAY-WHITE: It is kind of shocking, thinking about the tough, strong single parent that I grew up with that looked after me and went out to three jobs, et cetera, to keep the house going and made sure it was a very stable environment for me. So, thinking about it over that 35 years or so, it's a heck of a shift.
FOSTER: The life of her son, James, has also changed. A filmmaker who traveled extensively, he now bases himself in Britain, where he's an advocate for Alzheimer's Research UK and can give his mother the support she needs.
J. MURRAY-WHITE: Mum's -- Mum was a potter and an artist and an art teacher, and so has always been a very tactile, physical person. And you'll notice, not to use you as a model, but Mum has a really strong grip still.
And -- from my perspective, Mum is happy when she's with someone, when she's holding a hand or she's got her head on someone's shoulder, so it's - - to try and go into Mum's mind, life is confusing and -- what she sees can be a whole mass of strange stuff, maybe not recognizing this space, maybe not recognizing the people.
FOSTER: Now, 80 years old, Pauline has no short-term memory and can barely communicate.
J. MURRAY-WHITE: You seem a bit grouchy today.
PAULINE MURRAY-WHITE, ALZHEIMER'S PATIENT: He's got something.
J. MURRAY-WHITE: Yes.
P. MURRAY-WHITE: And you've got something.
FOSTER: Conversations are impossible now, but there are moments of clarity that give James a glimpse of the mother he once had.
P. MURRAY-WHITE: There you are. You can do that.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOSTER: The study done by British scientists found a chemical that prevents the death of brain tissue. The compound was given in the form of a pill to mice which had a degenerative condition. It was able to reactive the brain cells' protein production, stopping the disease from spreading and preventing memory loss.
The mice did suffer some side effects, including weight loss and diabetes. The lead scientist on the project was optimistic but cautious.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GIOVANNA MALLUCCI, LEAD SCIENTIST, UK MEDICAL RESEARCH COUNCIL TOXICOLIGY UNIT: The fact that brain degeneration can be stopped and prevented has got to be something that everybody should be pleased and excited about, but it doesn't -- it's not a realistic moment for treatment for the present time.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: Any cure is still a long way off, but this could be a turning point in treating the disease. With me this evening to discuss the findings is Dr. Maria Carrillo, the vice president of the scientific and medical relations at the Alzheimer's Association. She joins us from Chicago.
Thank you so much for joining us. We got the sense that this is very early stage discovery, but do you think it's a turning point?
MARIA CARRILLO, VICE PRESIDENT OF SCIENTIFIC AND MEDICAL RELATIONS, ALZHEIMER'S ASSOCIATION: I think it's an incredibly exciting study from a fantastic group of investigators. Critically important that we pursue each of these leads.
As was mentioned in the fascinating story that you've highlighted, Alzheimer's disease is a rising world epidemic, and every single one of these leads must be pursued in order to find out if we have a disease- altering drug within the next ten years.
FOSTER: In terms of the side effects, can I just ask you about them? Because they automatically make this impossible to transfer to humans as treatment, doesn't it? Because you couldn't have side effects like that if you're going to go to humans with it.
CARRILLO: Sure. Some of the side effects were a little bit concerning because in humans, that -- they would actually be show-stoppers in a drug trial. However, there are very, very bright medicinal chemists that actually work with these types of drugs that show some promise in order to alter them to make sure that those types of side effects can be mitigated.
So, these types of drug treatments early on in animals show us that there are possibilities to actually reverse brain degeneration or brain cell death, and that really gives us hope for the future.
FOSTER: When we look at these findings and we -- obviously, the couple that we saw just there, the mother isn't going to be helped by this because all it would at best do is prevent the condition getting worse. But do you honestly think that we're on the road towards a stage where the next generation, perhaps, could benefit from this?
CARRILLO: We are at the Alzheimer's Association incredibly hopeful. We track global progress of Alzheimer's disease research, not only pre- clinical, like the study that you're highlighting, but also in patients that are going through clinical trails today, and we definitely see a road to a potential treatment.
However, the entire globe has to actually work together to address this disease and not sit back and wait for things to happen naturally. We actually have to work together and accelerate progress. We know that we can make progress because other diseases have done it. Other diseases have actually decreased their death rates.
Alzheimer's is on the increase, but we can change that trajectory. We've shown it for HIV, we've shown it for cancer and heart disease. Alzheimer's disease is critically important to address because we're living longer only to get hit by Alzheimer's. So, critically important that we take advantage of every one of these leads and actually move them forward.
FOSTER: And what's the latest thinking on what sparks this in people? Because as I understand it, it's not -- it doesn't seem to have any sort of hereditary link. In terms of the environment and the way we live, have you got any sense of what actually starts this?
CARRILLO: There is still a lot of research that needs to be done, and there are about eight countries with national plans that actually are trying to find the original links of what the causes of Alzheimer's disease are. We need to continue to push to find those links.
However, we have hints. Hints that tell us that Alzheimer's disease is not caused by a single event or single entity, but potentially a combination of hereditary factors, lifestyle, environmental factors that all come together to bring us this disease.
So, I think that it is a very complicated task ahead of us, but we have a lot of fantastic, smart people working on it.
FOSTER: Maria Carrillo, very good luck with your work. Thank you very much, indeed, for joining us.
Live from London, you're watching CONNECT THE WORLD. Coming up after the break, we find out how the ancient art of origami is being turned into a modern seaworthy invention.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
FOSTER: Now, the ancient art of origami comes in all shapes and sizes, and now it can come in the form of a full-size kayak. In this episode of Blueprint, we meet the San Francisco inventors who've been making waves out of paper.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANTON WILLIS, DESIGNER: My name is Anton Willis. I got a master's degree from UC Berkeley in architecture. My business partner, Ardy Sobbani, I met through the California College of Arts in San Francisco, and we're still both based here in the San Francisco Bay Area.
I grew up in a very rural area, and I was always kind of outdoorsy, and when I moved to San Francisco, being in the middle of the city, I found that one way to really easily access nature was to get out on the bay itself. That comes along with the difficulty of storing boats.
So, that got me thinking about whether it would actually be possible to make a kayak that folded up like a piece of paper.
ARDY SOBBANI, DESIGNER: Oru Kayak is this box that turns into a kayak. So, it's an origami kayak that's one sheet of corrugated plastic that opens up and can be used to add a couple of buckles together and become a kayak within five minutes.
WILLIS: When I started really focusing down on the design for this, I figured that there would be some compromises in the product from folding, but actually, I really ended up surprising myself on this. It's a really high-performance boat.
SOBBANI: Our Kickstarter campaign goal was to raise $80,000 to start the company, but we managed to hit that goal in five and a half hours. It was a very magical day.
I guess the shock came in when it would take us two days to make one kayak. Now we have to go make 500 kayaks. We need to scale this up. We need to make sure that we can do it in a short amount of time.
WILLIS: Yves Behar is definitely one of the leading lights in design in the Bay Area, so I'm pretty excited about meeting him and getting his feedback on our product. I think as a designer, I've always admired his work. The leaf lamp for Herman Miller. I was also really inspired by the one laptop per child project.
YVES BEHAR, DESIGNER: Coming in.
WILLIS: Hi.
BEHAR: Hey, how are you?
WILLIS: So, you want to take it out for a spin?
BEHAR: Of course.
WILLIS: Great!
BEHAR: It floats. That's good. That's a good start.
(LAUGHTER)
BEHAR: I may go for a long ride out there.
WILLIS: How is it? Pretty comfortable?
BEHAR: You know, it's a dry one. I've been in kayaks where you get your but wet pretty quickly --
(LAUGHTER)
WILLIS: Yes.
BEHAR: But this is a good one, it's dry, so that's good.
WILLIS: Get it out.
BEHAR: It feels really light.
WILLIS: It's very light.
BEHAR: It doesn't give you a sense that it's going to fold too easily. You can see the fold lines and it creates a structural look with it, but it doesn't look like it's made of something delicate, which I like.
So, watching you put it together gave me a couple of ideas. Put this at the spine and it runs all the way down the middle. I think in a way, that could also be in a color that matches your brand --
WILLIS: Right.
BEHAR: The orange color.
WILLIS: Yes.
BEHAR: It really increases the length and the beauty of it.
WILLIS: It's also -- that's the only seam in the whole boat.
BEHAR: I think origami is like a big idea for you. The whole story is the foldability, but I do think that there's many other products that would benefit out of foldable system. Bicycles, cars.
WILLIS: It was great to hear Yves' validation about the origami and the folding and portability, and we may end up doing products that are very different from kayaks but still relating to that core idea.
SOBBANI: We can't wait to get back to work.
(LAUGHTER)
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOSTER: Coming up after this short break on CONNECT THE WORLD, all good things must come to an end. A sporting icon hangs up his bat. We'll tell you why, just ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
FOSTER: He is the most prolific run scorer in cricket history, but after an international career spanning a quarter of a century, Sachin Tendulkar is hanging up his bat for good. The Indian sporting icon has announced he'll retire next month after playing against the West Indies. It'll be his 200th and final test match. Amanda Davies takes a look back at his career.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
AMANDA DAVIES, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): His life has played out like a Bollywood blockbuster movie. The humble Mumbai kid cracking it in the big time. Sachin Tendulkar made his professional debut at 16 and his international career lasted an astonishing 24 years. He became revered around the world for both his elegance and power at the crease and became the only batsman to score an incredible 100 hundreds in internationals.
(CROWD CHEERS)
DAVIES: Milestones have fallen, but they've never been important to the Little Master.
SACHIN TENDULKAR, INDIAN CRICKET LEGEND: I don't play for milestones. I play cricket and I want to enjoy cricket, and somehow this perception or -- it's created by possibly a few of you guys sitting here because you write. I don't play for milestones. While playing, this is a journey where you end up breaking records and all that, but I don't play for records.
(CROWD CHEERS)
DAVIES: One of Tendulkar's finest moments was winning the World Cup with India in 2011. In front of an adoring home crowd, the hosts beat great rivals Sri Lanka, sending over a billion Indians into raptures. But despite all his success, it's Tendulkar's humility that's bowled people over.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What he has achieved as a cricketer is phenomenal, but same thing as a person. I think he's a fantastic guy, especially with one billion people's expectations on his shoulders. That's something that you have to admire.
DAVIES: Tendulkar has broken nearly every run-scoring record there is, and it's not surprising over his career he's had phenomenal commercial success. Forbes put his earnings for 2012 alone at $18.6 million. But for the fame and fortune, it's living his childhood dream that's brought him the most joy.
TENDULKAR: I remember when I first held a cricket bat when I was maybe four or five. And the love for cricket only grew bigger and bigger after that and it hasn't stopped. Every outing is a special one, and that is what I've dreamt of as a kid, and I'm living that dream.
DAVIES: One record Tendulkar doesn't hold is batting average. That's held by another giant of the sport, Australia's Don Bradman. But when the Little Master calls it a day after the home series against West Indies, few would argue against him being ranked alongside Bradman as the greatest batsman in history.
Amanda Davies, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOSTER: "World Sport's" Alex Thomas joins me now in the studio. And Alex, you went back to where he was brought up a couple years ago, didn't you? It really is an extraordinary story.
ALEX THOMAS, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: It is because India is easily the most cricket-mad nation on this planet, and in Mumbai, this was ahead of the World Cup, that's the one-day form of the game, which India won. Tendulkar was in that side, and all the hopes hang off him.
And he's just an absolute mega star in the same way Tiger Woods is with golf or David Beckham has been in the world of soccer, Tendulkar is every bit as big as they were. In fact, came before them. Huge sponsorship deals, very, very lucrative.
We spoke to his former teacher. He said that he was so -- he was quite small when he was growing up, but as a kid was even smaller, and his pads were so big that he couldn't really run very well between the wickets, so he would just hit fours and hope to not have to run.
And now, he uses all his wealth for good causes. We visited a charity project in one of the slums, and he's just tried to stay away from the spotlight because he gets mobbed so much. But he's never begrudged it, never complained about it.
In all the tributes we've seen from other great former cricketers and current cricketers have said he's just a humble guy off the pitch as well as on it, and bowlers who face him said he pretty much was impossible to bowl at. He had no weaknesses, and if he wanted to, he could bat all day.
FOSTER: So, that fever, that cricket fever that exists in India, do you think because his career has been so long, he's been there as it's grown, he's pretty much part of that. And now he's gone from the scene.
THOMAS: No, he's inspired India, because they've always been cricket mad. But their team wasn't that great when he came on the scene, and he's inspired such a huge generation. They are great at producing young Indian batsmen and they've all been inspired by the likes of him. And he changed our perception of how many runs you could score.
Don Bradman, the Australian, has a better average per game, but as far as total numbers of runs in test matches or one-day crickets, there's no one's beaten him.
FOSTER: An argument between India and Australia for the next two years.
(LAUGHTER)
FOSTER: Thank you very much, Alex. Tendulkar's retirement is making headlines across the globe. On "The Times of India's" home page, the main article reads, "Sachin Tendulkar is a perfect role model in a star-starved India," praising his controversy-free image.
The UK's "Guardian" has a quick poll asking if Tendulkar was the greatest batsman of all time, and with around half the votes, it seems its readers agree. "Forbes" describes his statement as "humble as always," quoting, "I have been living this dream every day for the last 24 years."
On Twitter, fellow Indian cricketer Ashoke Dinda writes, "Sad after hearing Sachin's retirement. Yet to sink in. Just want to say thank you, Sachin paaji for every memory."
And comedian Khamba writes jokingly, "Breaking: Sachin Tendulkar decides to focus solely on advertisements." Cashing in.
The team at CONNECT THE WORLD wants to hear from you, facebook.com/CNNconnect. Have your say. And you can tweet me @MaxFosterCNN. Your thoughts, please, are most welcome.
Now, a woman has died after falling from a roller coaster in the US state of Texas. Experts are now investigating whether her larger-than- average weight caused the tragedy. Ed Lavandera has the details.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's supposed to be the first thrilling moment of the Texas Giant: climb the peak and race down what Six Flags hails as the steepest drop of any wooden roller coaster in the world.
(CROWD SCREAMING)
LAVANDERA: This is where Rosy Esparza tumbled to her death. The medical examiner says Esparza was sitting in the third row and fell 75 feet. Her body struck a metal support beam, and then landed on the metal roof of a tunnel. A terrifying sight for Carmen Brown, who saw it firsthand.
CARMEN BROWN, WITNESS: It didn't hit me until we got down -- back down to the bottom, and I said, she was no bigger than I was. That could have been me, and I like -- I lost it.
LAVANDERA: As Six Flags begins investigating, the company says it won't speculate about the cause, but a lot of attention is focused on whether Rosy Esparza's larger size should have kept her off the ride. Roller coaster experts say most thrill rides, like the Texas Giant, are designed for people who weight about 180 pounds and don't take into account the various shapes and sizes of riders.
And it's just not about weight. Sergeant James Hackemer, an Iraq War veteran who lost both legs in battle, died when he was thrown from a roller coaster in New York two years ago. Bob Swint is CEO of ATA Associates and specializes in reconstructing accidents.
BOB SWINT, CEO, ATA ASSOCIATES: It could be something with the ride, it could be something with the operator, it could be something with the weight, it could be something with the design. So, I think this is what, ultimately, I think we'll find out when this accident reconstruction is completed.
LAVANDERA: Swint's company created this animated analysis of how passenger size can affect how seat restraints work. On an average-sized rider, the T-bar restraint, similar to what's used on the Texas Giant, rotates further down. Now watch how the T-bar functions when someone who is perhaps too large rides. Swint says at some point, the restraint stops working safely.
SWINT: There are various positions that that bar can be placed in to accommodate the different ranges that you can expect to see in that seat. This bar is used as a primary mechanism to keep the body of the occupant stable and controlled so it doesn't become ejection.
LAVANDERA: But witnesses say Rosy Esparza told a Six Flags employee she was worried the restraint wasn't locked properly, so the accident could also be a mechanical failure or negligence. Regardless, tragedies of this magnitude are rare, and people keep coming back to experience the thrill of rides that take you to the edge.
LAVANDERA (on camera): Six Flags' CEO says the company is working with outside investigators to figure out what went wrong in this tragedy, but Six Flags officials will not say how long it will take to complete that investigation.
Ed Lavandera, CNN, Arlington, Texas.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOSTER: Finally, tonight's Parting Shots, it seems crime pays for Rock Star Games. Its "Grand Theft Auto V" videogame has smashed six Guinness World Records and a seventh for its trailer. The game lets you run rampage around the city of Los Santos on a robbing and killing spree, edging your way into the world of organized crime.
According to the Guinness World Records log, it is the best-selling videogame in 24 hours, the biggest grossing game in 24 hours, and the fastest game to gross $1 billion. This is what it ousted as the fastest- selling game of all time: war-themed shoot-em-up "Call of Duty." The new version, "Ghost," due out in November could reclaim the crown.
I'm Max Foster, that was CONNECT THE WORLD. Thanks for watching.
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