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Connect the World

Sharon in Critical Condition; Cannabis Controversy; Rethinking Dyslexia;

Aired January 02, 2014 - 15:00   ET

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

MAX FOSTER, HOST: En route to dry land, after a week on ice the passengers stuck on board a ship in the Antarctic are airlifted out. Their mission to explore climate change froze at the moment. Tonight, what their adventure about the reality of global warming.

Also this hour, as Colorado's marijuana sales prompt mixed feelings about the drug, we take a closer look at the arguments for and against legalizing pot.

And bracing for more snow as 1,700 flights are canceled in the U.S. We'll tell you what's in store for travelers across the globe.

ANNOUNCER: Live from CNN London this is Connect the world.

FOSTER: After 10 days stranded in the Antarctic, all 52 passengers on board a stricken ship have been rescued. This the latest chapter in a saga that began on Christmas Eve after the Russian vessel got stuck in unusually thick ice.

Matthew Chance has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: This is the Chinese helicopter that finally plucked all 52 passengers off the stranded research vessel.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The first of the helicopters to take us home.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thanks everyone.

CHANCE: after more than a week marooned in Antarctic pack ice, the team of scientists and tourists were air lifted to a nearby Australian icebreaker and are now heading into open seas. It's still expected to be mid-January before they make dry land.

PROF. CHRIS TURNEY, EXPEDITION LEADER: I'm not sure if you can see, but just over my right shoulder is the Chinese icebreaker Snow Dragon. It turned up about an hour ago and it's making steady progress at around 2 knots. It should be alongside us if all things go well in the next two to three hours.

There's a lot of relief amongst the team and there's a lot of happy faces.

CHANCE: Since Christmas Eve, hopes were raised repeatedly that a rescue of the ship, the Akademik Shokalskiy was imminent. At least three attempts failed to cut a path through the sea ice.

(SINGING)

CHANCE: But those on board kept their spirits high, putting a brave face on their ordeal, even continuing the scientific experiments on climate change they were there to conduct.

And it was the passengers who helped prepare the makeshift helipad, stomping down the ice to smooth the landing zone.

The 22 member Russian crew of the Akademik Shokalskiy have decided to stay on board. Rescue teams say it could be weeks before the melting pack ice sets them and their vessel free.

Matthew Chance, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: A team of researchers on the ship set out to explore climate change and to retrace the path of Sir Douglas Mawson. Mawson led the first Australasia Antarctic expedition in the same waters more than 100 years ago. The geologist set out to explore more than 3,000 kilometers of Antarctica.

Mawson led a three man scientific expedition, enduring temperatures 60 degrees below zero and winds more than 321 kilometers per hour.

A month into the journey, one of the men died after falling through a crevice in the ice taking 17 dogs, food and supplies with him.

The second companion fell ill and died just a few weeks after they ate the remaining dogs to survive.

Now Mawson managed to make it back alive, bringing with him some of the best scientific results ever retrieved from Antarctica.

Both journeys blighted by ice, that's perhaps not surprising. But some commentators say the plight of the Russian vessel shows global warming is exaggerated. So is there any truth in that?

Joining us now if Professor Richard Alley who served as one of the authors on the UN intergovernment panel on climate change. He's live from Penn State University in Pennsylvania for us.

Thank you so much for joining us, professor.

First of all, we should probably clarify how this ship got stuck in the ice in the first place.

RICHARD ALLEY, PENN STATE UNIVERSITY: It looks like it had bad luck and bad weather. It's a long story of a huge iceberg breaking off of the (inaudible) shelf, drifting around, getting lodged for well over a decade, hitting the Merf's (ph) glacier, breaking a piece off of that and stopping the normal wind flow that makes sea ice and blows it out, so that the sea ice got really thick for awhile. That seems to have broken loose and trapped the ship.

So they just had a piece of bad luck as far as I can see.

FOSTER: Skeptics are looking at this saying it got stuck in ice and there is increasing ice in Antarctic -- in Antarctica, therefore global warming isn't true.

ALLEY: Silliness.

I'm speaking to you from Pennsylvania. It is 5 degrees Celsius below freezing out there right now and it's snowing. If it warms a couple of degrees, it will still be below freezing and it will still be snowing. It might even be snowing harder, because there will be more moisture in the air.

If you want to see the effects of warming on snow and ice, you go to the snow and ice that are almost ready to melt. And if you do that, you see the effects of warming. And you see it in the length of the season that the snow is here in the spring. You see it in how deep the ground gets frozen in perennial frozen areas and in seasonally frozen areas, you see it in river ice, you see it lake ice, you see it in mountain glaciers, you see it in Arctic sea ice, you see it in the warm edge of Greenland.

And so where snow and ice are close to melting, we see them shrinking because of the warming.

FOSTER: So there's been an increase in sea ice, but that's not linked to the sort of degradation of ice that's linked to global warming?

ALLEY: Well, it might be. So, the Antarctic ice is a problem. So to be very clear, there's this continent wide 3 kilometer thick piece of ice up on the continent that we're not talking about, we're talking about the frozen ocean out on the edge. And normally what happens, these cold winds blow down off of the continent. They freeze the ocean water and then they blow it farther out and that opens up new water which freezes and blows farther out.

If you make it warmer, eventually too much warming with slow down that freezing, but there's a lot of cold in Antarctica. And so Antarctic frozen ocean water sea ice depends on temperature, but it also depends on wind and it depends on how fresh the ocean is.

And some of the early experiments that people did with computer models about the Antarctic, in a warming world you get more precipitation, because there's more moisture in the air and that forms a sort of fresh lens on top of the ocean down there. And that fresh water is easier to freeze and to keep frozen.

So in fact, (inaudible) the great modeler in 1992 said we may see a little growth of Antarctic ice with warming before we see shrinkage.

And we're -- by Lou and Curry (ph) in 2010 pointed to that actually happening.

So, what we're seeing in the Arctic we expect warming to melt ice. In the Antarctic it takes a good bit of warming before we're confident it should be melting.

FOSTER: And finally just on this expedition it was meant to be carrying out research into global warming and any effects on the Antarctic. Is it a big blow that this expedition couldn't carry on because it was such a big mission, isn't it, going on these things?

ALLEY: I expect that they learned a whole lot. And that ultimately they will be able to put together a story that tells what changes has happened along Mawson's route that includes the right science.

So, we try very hard not to be fooled by weather when we're looking at climate. And so I expect they'll get this one sorted out.

FOSTER: OK, Professor Richard Alley, thank you very much indeed for joining us from Pennsylvania.

Lots more on how the team on board saw in the new year. Head to CNN.com. With no shortage of ice, some alcohol on board and some high spirits as well, it turns out it was a pretty good night. Check out their celebration video on CNN.com.

Still to come tonight, bomb blast in Beirut, major damage as a residential area is hit. We'll be live with the latest for you.

Also ahead, she calls it a mortifying experience. Celebrity cook Nigella Lawson breaks her silence on the recent trial of her former assistants.

And a personal story form one of Hollywood's most famous names. The issue Robert Redford's son wants to bring tonight. All that and much more when Connect the World continues.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FOSTER: You're watching CNN. This is Connect the World with me, Max Foster. Welcome back to you.

Now, Lebanon's national news agency says at least four people are dead after a car bombing in the capital Beirut. It happened in a residential area known to be a stronghold of the Shiite group Hezbollah. State media say another 77 people are wounded.

Mohammed Jamjoom has more for us now from Beirut -- Mohammed.

MOHAMMED JAMJOOM, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Max, here's what's so concerning about this blast today, not just that this happened that killed at least four people, at least 65 people injured. This is the second blast in less than a week that has rocked Beirut. You had the one today targeting a very densely populated area with a lot of residential towers and a lot of businesses. It's known as a stronghold for militant Shiite group Hezbollah.

But you also had an attack that happened in downtown Beirut, in a thriving commercial district this past Friday that killed a very prominent Sunni politician.

Now the reason I mentioned both of those attacks is because the sectarian divisions here in Lebanon are deepening. And the reason for that is because of the war that is raging next door in Syria. Of course, Lebanon inextricably linked to Syria. The sectarian divisions here mirror those of the sectarian divisions in Syria. And as they have gotten worse in Syria, so have the tensions risen here in Lebanon.

You have now attacks that have been going on for several months targeting not just the Shiite militant group Hezbollah in their base of operations in their stronghold areas here in Lebanon, but also Sunni neighborhoods and predominantly Sunni cities and Sunni politicians. And that's why there is so much concern on a day like today.

Now the attack today, this is the third such attack that has happened in the last several months. In July, in (inaudible), the same neighborhood, you had a car bomb go off. In August, you had a car bomb go off there.

Just in mid-November, you had two bombs to off outside the Iranian embassy, which is in a neighborhood close to the neighborhood where the car bomb went off today.

Now questions are still arising as to the nature of today's attack. There are some Lebanese media reports suggesting it was possibly a suicide bomber inside of this 4x4 that attacked today. We don't know yet.

There's been condemnation from across the political divide. Many politicians in Lebanon calling for a cessation of violence and trying to formulate some sort of unity government to restart a national dialogue here because politically this country, which is based on a confessional political system, is so fractured, is so divided right now and really seems to be getting worse and drawn in more and more into Syria's civil war.

As the attacks increase in intensity and frequency, the tensions here in Lebanon have really been rising. The residents that I'm speaking with all day today very concerned that this very disturbing trend is only going to be continuing in the months ahead -- Max.

FOSTER: Mohammed, thank you very much indeed.

Well, new violence in Iraq as well. And new numbers showing the deadliest year there since the height of the war. The reports of fighting in the city's Ramadi and Fallujah just west of Baghdad in Iraq's Anbar Province. More than a dozen people have been killed in recent days after Sunni militants took control of several police stations. Clashes between security forces from Iraq's Shiite led government and Sunni fighters broke out after troops moved in to take down a protest camp.

New video from Iraq's defense ministry purports to show military air strikes against Sunni fighters. Iraqi officials say many of these fighters are part of a militant groups linked to al Qaeda. And new data from the UN confirms more than 7,800 Iraqi civilians were killed in 2013 making it the deadliest year there since 2008.

With more on the growing violence, I'm joined now from Baghdad by journalist William Dunlop.

Thanks for joining us.

How would you put this into context in terms of where we are in this whole process?

WILLIAM DUNLOP, JOURNALIST: Well, there's been -- there's been a rising level of violence since about April of last year. One of the main factors fueling it is widespread disconnect among Iraq's Sunni Arab minority. That manifested itself in the protest movement on one of the sites which was removed on Monday. And it has also fueled attacks by militant groups and used for recruitment.

The violence now is some of the worst that's been seen in Anbar Province in years with militants reportedly controlling half of the city of Fallujah earlier today and also areas of East Ramadi burning several police stations in both cities.

Additionally, Iraqi special forces moved into Fallujah today. And local police and tribal fighters are fighting militants in East Ramadi earlier today as well.

FOSTER: Are they organized in some sort of group across the country, these militant groups?

DUNLOP: There are a variety of militant groups. The ones in this particular case are said to be from the Islamic state of Iraq and (inaudible), an al Qaeda linked group that operates in both Iraq and Syria. Flags often flown by that group have been seen in both Ramadi and Fallujah -- in Ramadi today. Militants were playing songs praising the Islamic State of Iraq as they drove through eastern Ramadi.

So, it appears that they're specifically from that group.

FOSTER: And in terms of them gaining control, militant groups, of major areas, it's a big step backwards in terms of the development of Iraq, isn't it? Things are only getting worse.

DUNLOP: It definitely is. And this has harkened back to previous years where Ramadi and Fallujah were militant strongholds in the insurgency after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion. Apparently in Fallujah, a number of police abandoned their positions yesterday, which kind of cleared the way for these militants to move in.

And now it's really up to the security forces to regain control of these two cities.

FOSTER: William Dunlop, thank you very much indeed for joining us in Baghdad.

African mediators are gathered to talk saying that bringing together rival factions in South Sudan. In recent days, thousands of civilians have fled intense fighting between government troops and rebel forces.

Arwa Damon has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOATPE)

ARWA DAMON: Well, the fighting is still continuing mainly in the two areas that are under a state of emergency, Unity State where much of South Sudan's oil is located. And of course the flashpoint state of Jonglei. That is where the town of Bor is found. And there's been quite a lot of fighting around there, especially intensifying this morning to the south of the town, according to the army spokesperson here saying that rebel forces were trying to advance towards Juba and they were being driven back by government troops.

This has been, as you were mentioning there, especially brutal on the civilian population. The UN now saying that more than 200,000 people have been displaced. And what is a great concern is that only 70,000 of those 200,000 have actually made it to UN compounds. So people naturally very worried. Aid agencies very worried about the fate of those tens of thousands of others who don't have access to food, clean water or medical care at this stage.

The talks are not necessarily are going to bring about an immediate ceasefire either.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: No Kenyan police say 10 people were injured when a grenade detonated at a beach resort south of Mombasa. Police say two attackers on motorcycles tossed a grenade into the crowded bar then fled. No one has claimed responsibility.

Fears about more terrorist attacks are growing in Russia following two deadly bombings in the southern city of Volgograd. The Winter Olympics are just over a month away. Dozens of people have since been detained in a sweeping anti-terror operation.

Diana Magnay has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DIANA MAGNAY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Anti-terror operation whirlwind is underway in Volgograd as funerals are carried out for those who were killed in these twin attacks. President Putin went on New Year's Day to visit the injured in hospitals. He also had a meeting with the local heads -- the governor and the head of the FSB to talk about ramping up security in Volgograd and around. He's also vowed in his New Year's Eve address to annihilate the terrorists.

Now that is a very big call. It would presumably mean taking out chunks of the north caucuses, if he was to get rid of these clusters of militant activity that are tucked away in the mountains of Dagestan. It's also always been these kinds of heavy crackdowns in that region, which have also spurned further militancy and radicalized the young men in those regions.

And there's a lot of talk that even if security at the Olympics is such that it will be difficult for terrorists to target the games themselves, there are many other soft targets in southern Russia and across the country itself which are vulnerable to terrorists. And Volgograd proves that they can strike and strike and strike successfully.

Diana Magnay, CNN, Moscow.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: Medical officials say Pakistan's former President Pervez Musharraf has suffered a mild heart stroke. Musharraf's lawyer says he was admitted to hospital on doctor's orders after falling ill on Thursday. Musharraf had been ordered to show up in court for the start of the trial on treason charges. He could face life in prison or even the death penalty for suspending the constitution and imposing emergency rule back in 2007.

Formula One champion Michael Schumacher has spent a fifth day in hospital. Schumacher is in a medical induced coma after a weekend skiing accident in the French Alps. He suffered serious injuries after falling and striking his head on a rock.

Celebrity cook Nigella Lawson says the recent trial of a former assistants was a mortifying experience. It is the first time she's spoken out since the case in which Lawson admitted she had used cocaine. Her assistants were cleared of fraud and she says details about her private life were distorted.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NIGELLA LAWSON, CELEBRITY CHEF: To have not only your private life, but distortions of your private life put on display is mortifying. But, you know, there are people going through an awful lot worse. And to dwell on any of it would be self-pity. And I don't like to do that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Lawson added that some time she felt like she was on trial.

Live from London, this is Connect the World. Coming up, a sign of the tough road ahead, Israel's Prime Minister's questions the Palestinian's commitment to peace during a visit by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry.

But first, if you're planning on traveling to the U.S. east coast, stay tuned for a weather update as a major storm is threatening to cause chaos.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FOSTER: Well, a blizzard is heading for the northeastern corner of the United States. New York city may get 10 inches of snow. Nearly 100 million people are on the path -- or in the path of the storm and travelers out there are already feeling the impact with 1,700 flights canceled today. Jenny Harrison is at the CNN World Weather Center. This is serious.

JENNY HARRISON, CNN WEATHER CORRESPONDENT: Big storm, Max, yes. And of course not coming at the right time where people of course beginning to think about traveling back to where they are -- where they've started from if they're coming towards the end of their Christmas and New Year holiday.

But you can see in the last few hours this is what is going on. This is the culprit here, this huge mass of dark cloud. It's an area of low pressure which is bringing this very severe weather.

Already, of course, some very heavy snow has come down. Chicago, 18 centimeters, 18 have gone across in Detroit. And then in Indianapolis so far 12 centimeters of snow.

Then you factor in the cold air. The temperatures are way below average, particularly up there in Canada. Ontario, minus 39 in Thunder Bay. This is the morning low this Thursday. The average is minus 18 for this time of year. Winnipeg at minus 34. The average is minus 21. You get the general picture. But it is bitterly cold.

So it's this combination of the two, an area of low pressure and the bitterly cold air coming from this area of high pressure that says that what we call a nor'easter. So basically this system will be developing in the Gulf of Mexico. And of course bringing with it some very, very warm air, or really fueled by the warm water underneath and then being steered by the Gulf Stream. So it works its way across the eastern seaboard. And usually, of course, stays off shore. This very, very cold arctic air is then plummeting across much of the country behind this system and then we have at the same time these very persistent and at times very strong northeasterly winds.

So this is where it gets its name as a nor'easter.

So it stays off the coast, but because of that, and this bitterly cold air with all this moisture laden air that is up there, it comes down and of course in the cold air it turns to snow.

The winds not quite as strong as they could be, because it's offshore, but even so we could well have some gusts in some areas over 70 kilometers an hour.

So this is the forecast as we continue Thursday into Friday. And you can see, by the time we reach late on Friday it's pretty much all but gone this particular storm. But in the meantime, look at all these warnings and watches that are in place. Nearly 100 million people are under some form of watch or advisory. We could see blizzard condition into Long Island and Cape Cod with the winds being so strong. And of course the snow that is going to continue to accumulate. 29 centimeters there in Portland in Maine.

Boston, Massachusetts 22 centimeters. And then Halifax, Nova Scotia 46 centimeters, nearly half a meter of snow is due to come down in the next 48 hours.

Temperatures are going to stay well on the low side. Toronto minus 14. The average is 2. New York minus 8. The average is actually 6 at this time of year. And so we cover that, all the snow that's coming down will stay on the roads.

And you mentioned, of course, Max, about the flights, the delays now over 1,700 of them. And this is an area showing in fact, this is taken up into Canada. You can see all these areas, these are the plans currently that are up there, this isn't flight explorer. You see the Mid West, the Great Lakes, and you can see all of those cancellations -- and all of those flights that are up there right now. But not as many as we would normally have, certainly not for this day and this time of year.

So, as I say, plenty of cancellations. They could continue to cancel those flights into Friday. And there are the Friday temperatures: minus 8 in New York, minus 4 in Washington -- Max.

FOSTER: Jenny, thank you very much indeed.

The latest world news headlines just ahead.

Plus, an update on the condition of the long ailing Ariel Sharon. An Israeli hospital says the former prime minister's organs are now failing. We'll go live to Jerusalem.

Plus, marijuana users in one U.S. state line up for a historic legal high, but critics of legalized cannabis say it's a mistake.

And a family matter. Why Robert Redford's son is raising awareness of dyslexia.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FOSTER: This is Connect the World. The top stories this hour.

Lebanon's national news agency says at least four people are dead after a car bombing in the capital Beirut. It happened in a residential area known to be a stronghold of the Shiite group Hezbollah. State media says another 77 people are wounded.

Fierce fighting in South Sudan continues as government forces try to stop rebels advancing toward the capital. The latest outbreak of violence comes as talks are set to begin in an effort to end the recent unrest.

Dozens of passengers who were trapped on a Russian research ship have now been rescued. A Chinese helicopter had to air lift them to an Australian vessel after their ship got stuck in Antarctic sea ice 10 days ago. The passengers are expected to arrive in Australia some time in mid-January.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry says reaching a Middle East peace deal is not mission impossible. He arrived in Israel today meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Then he heads to the West Bank to talk to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.

Close family members of former Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon are at his bedside as he clings to life in hospital, a hospital outside Tel Aviv. Sharon has been in a coma since 2006, but his condition has rapidly deteriorated in the past few days.

Doctors say his vital organs are now failing. CNN international correspondent Nic Robertson is following the story from Jerusalem.

As we know he's been ill for some time, Nic. But it's this escalation in his condition.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it really is, Max. (INAUDIBLE) the doctors has described today as over the past eight years they say that the former prime minister's condition in a coma, in a vegetative state, has gone up, gone down.

But now they say over the past 24, maybe 36 hours, that his organs have begun to fail. His kidneys, other organs, and they say they're not going any sort of measures of intervention. They're not giving him dialysis for renal failure. The general outlook seems to be the impression that doctors are giving is that he perhaps only has a few days left.

And that's really where it seems that the doctors are underlining that his family are there at his bedside. The doctors say his family have no intention of leaving his bedside. So this really does certainly from the medical perspective give an indication that these may be the last days of Ariel Sharon.

However, saying that, just last year, doctors were measuring activity in his brain and he responded to images of his family, the voice of one of his sons. So this is a significant downturn, critical condition and maybe only days left, Max.

FOSTER: And so many people are fascinated by this man, aren't they, and they're so keen to hear his story because he's got this particular place in history in that region.

ROBERTSON: Huge. I mean, this is a man who was, during his career, known as the bulldozer. Eighty-five years old, a military man, fought in every major war Israel involved in, '48, '56, '67, '73, a general in the army in '73. He's seen by Israelis as really saving the situation and driving the Egyptian army out of the Sinai, back across the Suez, back towards Cairo, almost disobeying orders.

Then he switches to politics, disgraced when he was the minister of defense, 1982, hundreds of Palestinians refugees in Lebanon, killed in the Sabra and Shatila refugee camp then. He was seen as indirectly responsible, had to step down from his position, a man who is seen as sort of creating the settlements, if you will, but at the same time the man who pulled the settlers out of the Gaza Strip.

So while many Israelis would see him as a very strong figure, many Palestinians don't view him that way, have a very, very negative view of this man, Max.

FOSTER: OK, Nic, thank you very much. Do stay with us.

I want to get to another big development in Israel today, the renewed push for Middle East peace by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry. He arrived in the region for a four-day visit, meeting first with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Kerry acknowledged the serious challenges ahead as he tries to help narrow the differences between Israelis and Palestinians.

It's a quick reminder of where things stand on efforts to achieve a two- state solution.

After a three-year hiatus, direct negotiations resumed in July after heavy pressure from the United States. As a precondition to talks, Palestinians dropped the demand for halting construction of new Jewish settlements. In exchange, Israel agreed to release 104 long-serving Palestinian prisoners.

But little progress is being made on resolving the biggest sticking points. Talks are due to end in April after a nine-month negotiating period.

We're going to go back to Nic, because, Nic, right off the bat today, Prime Minister Netanyahu said this, a growing doubt in Israel that Palestinians are committed to peace. And that just wasn't seen as helpful.

ROBERTSON: Indeed. And these were his first comments within hours of Secretary of State John Kerry arriving, a short news briefing they gave together, just a few short comments.

But in that, in those comments, Prime Minister Netanyahu really making a personal attack on the Palestinian leader, President Mahmoud Abbas, saying that this was a man Israelis had lost faith in, that he was serious about peace and criticizing for the way that he'd responded to the prisoner releases of some of those prisoners who'd been released.

This is what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, PRIME MINISTER OF ISRAEL: A few days ago in Ramallah, President Abbas embraced terrorists as heroes. To glorify the murders of innocent women and men as heroes is an outrage.

How can President Abbas says -- how can he say that he stands against terrorism when he embraces the perpetrators of terrorism and glorifies them as heroes?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTSON: And this doesn't really sound like conciliatory language, one of the other things that Netanyahu went on, Prime Minister Netanyahu went on to say was that Israel must be recognized by the Palestinians as a Jewish state.

And this is something at least one former Palestinian negotiator who quit the talks a couple of months ago has said is absolutely impossible for Palestinians to do. Secretary Kerry will go and see Mahmoud Abbas tomorrow; that's expected again to take place behind a lot of secrecy.

But Secretary Kerry has said both leaders at this time have got really tough decisions ahead of them.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN KERRY, SECRETARY OF STATE: The time is soon arriving where leaders are going to have to make difficult decisions. We are close to that time if not at it. And I think we understand the circumstances within which we are working.

I know -- I come here with no illusions. I know that there are many who are skeptical of whether or not the two parties can achieve peace.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTSON: So just to recap, nine months given for the talks, five months in, four months to go. And really Kerry coming with a major push on what he's describing as what a potential breakthrough, if what he calls a framework agreement that would sort of nail down what the final peace agreement would look like, that both leaders could get a view of and perhaps better sell to their people, this would seem to be what Kerry is pushing for now, that people, particularly State Department officials, are playing down expectations that they may get this agreement on a framework which is sort of step one of a two-step way to -- of getting a final peace agreement. So I think expectations; we've heard some of the rhetoric already. Expectations are sort of reasonably set low at the moment, Max.

FOSTER: Nic, thank you very much indeed.

Live in London, you're watching CONNECT THE WORLD. Coming up, controversy over cannabis. One U.S. state legalizes pot but critics say it's likely to cause trouble. We debate the issue.

And "Rethinking Dyslexia," the movie that's challenge preconceptions and how the stuff of Hollywood legend is behind it.

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(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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FOSTER: Business is booming in marijuana dispensaries in the U.S. state of Colorado. And a world first, pot can now be legally purchased for recreational use there.

CNN's Casey Wian caught up with crowds who called it an historic day.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CASEY WIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This married couple rang in the New Year by waiting outside the Evergreen Apothecary at 2 in the morning, six hours before recreational marijuana sales began in Colorado.

WIAN: Why was it important for you guys to be here so early and be first in line?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Because we're pioneers.

WIAN: Some 800 people took a number at this store on day one alone, some waiting in the snow to select their preferred strain of pot.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So this is going to be a Cross OG Push (ph), Vanilla Push (ph) and Sweet Tooth.

WIAN: And the first legal deal was done. It's been a long time coming. Since the sale of alcohol resumed after the end of prohibition 80 years ago, marijuana has been on the target of authorities.

"Reefer Madness", a propaganda film from the 1930s, portrays the decent of high school pot smokers into crime and insanity but attitudes and laws have since changed.

Colorado first allowed medical marijuana in 2000. It took 12 years before voters here approved Amendment 64, legalizing recreational pot use and sales over the opposition of the state's governor.

MICHELE WOLD, CUSTOMER: I mean this is the forefront. And to be a part of history and to -- prohibition has ended.

WIAN: Colorado residents age 21 and over can purchase up to one ounce of marijuana. Out-of-staters can buy a quarter ounce.

MIKE OWENS, CUSTOMER: I'm excited, I've been dreaming about this since I started smoking.

WIAN: There are other rules: no taking marijuana out of state, no consumption in public. And the main concern for law enforcement, no driving stoned.

JACK FINLAW, CHIEF COUNSEL, COLORADO GOVERNOR'S OFFICE: If someone is drinking and driving, they are driving too fast or aggressively; if you're under the influence of marijuana, you're likely to be slow.

But, frankly, we've had medical marijuana in Colorado for about 13 years, so we're used to dealing with people who are driving and consuming marijuana.

WIAN: For new recreational retailers, the big concern is demand exceeding supply and the possibility of shortages and higher prices.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Candy like taste to it.

WIAN: Here it's already going for $50 per eighth of an ounce -- Casey Wian, CNN, Denver.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: Well, while Colorado has made history with this new pot, it isn't available everywhere in the States. Many communities have emphasized their right to ban the shops. And whilst marijuana users are comparing Colorado's legalization to the end of Prohibition, others are warning of the health dangers and social costs of all this.

Joining me now to debate the issue are Dan Riffle. He's director of federal policies for the Marijuana Policy Project and Dr. Bertha Madras. She's a professor of psychobiology at the Harvard Medical School and an expert in studying how drugs affect the brain.

Professor, first of all to you, you've described this as a potential plague going in our youth.

What do you mean by that? How serious is this threat, do you think?

DR. BERTHA MADRAS, HARVARD MEDICAL SCHOOL: I think it depends on the user. But it's very serious for young people, for adolescents, for anyone who says they won't be able to have access to marijuana can only look at what's happened with tobacco and alcohol.

Underage drinking and underage smoking is a major public health problem.

Why is it dangerous for a youth? Because young people, the younger they are, the much more likely they are to become addicted to marijuana; the much more likely they are to suffer the consequences, psychological, psychiatric, subsequently when they grow into adults.

So for the young people, it's a major problem; for the adults, there's a major problem with regard to consequences for them in the workplace, on the roads and in public health.

FOSTER: Dan, young people aren't meant to be able to buy it in Colorado. But if they want to get hold of it, they're probably going to be able to.

So this age limit doesn't really represent much.

DAN RIFFLE, MARIJUANA POLICY PROJECT: Well, I think the doctor's absolutely correct. We should look at our experience with tobacco and with alcohol. Government data released last week shows that both are on the decline. And in fact, fewer teens are smoking cigarettes today than are using marijuana, which just goes to show that regulating marijuana is a much better approach to reduced teen use than prohibition has been.

Quite frankly, anyone, anywhere in this country who wants to buy marijuana can ,except only in Colorado are people who are purchasing marijuana paying taxes and purchasing from licensed, law-abiding, regulated businesses.

Everywhere else, they're purchasing from criminals and fueling drug cartels. So Colorado has found a smarter approach. And we expect Americans around the country to embrace that approach and for more states to enact similar measures.

FOSTER: So you think by making it available will help reduce its use?

RIFFLE: Well, there's really no evidence to believe that making it available is going to increase use. You look at other jurisdictions around the world; Portugal and the Netherlands, which each have much more lenient policies with respect to marijuana, teen marijuana use rates are actually lower there than they are in the United States.

Even in the United States, when you look at similar jurisdictions with different laws, in Maine, marijuana is decriminalized but teen use is lower than it is in neighboring New Hampshire, where there are harsh penalties.

Same with Mississippi, where it's been decriminalized; but teen marijuana use rates there are lower than they are in neighboring Alabama, which has harsh penalties.

So there's just no evidence to believe and there's no reason to believe that kids are somehow picking up or going to the law library and picking up criminal code books to take their cues.

They take their cues from parents and their peers. And parents should talk honestly with their kids about marijuana.

FOSTER: Professor, you've presumably been looking at the same evidence and come out with a different opinion.

MADRAS: Yes, of course. There is strong evidence that the decriminalization as well as the legalization of so-called medical marijuana has increased the use of marijuana amongst youth. The latest national surveys, which has been monitoring the future studies, as well as the national survey on drug use and health, this is an accumulation of over 110,000 people that are surveyed, show that the trends are that states that have had lenient laws have much higher use amongst youth.

The other issue is that once you decriminalize, once you legalize and once you advocate for marijuana as medicine, it sends a message to young people that marijuana is safe. And therefore they're more prone to use.

As to the issue of whether or not decriminalizing or criminalizing a drug alters drug use patterns, it's very clear that the most widely used drugs in our world are those that are legal, which alcohol and tobacco; whereas the far less widely used drugs, marijuana, cocaine, heroin, hallucinogens, designer drugs, the use is much lower even though the psychoactive effects are more profound. And the use is lower because they reside in a red zone that is illegal.

Illegality works.

FOSTER: On your theory, making these drugs legal, would you then approve of Class A drugs, cocaine and heroin, then being made available legally as well?

RIFFLE: No. I work at the Marijuana Policy Project, not the Drugs Policy Project. We're simply focused on marijuana, which available scientific evidence shows by any objective measure, is significantly less harmful than alcohol. So why in the world would we have policies in place that steer, be it adults or children, towards a more dangerous substance like alcohol? I think what the evidence shows is that Americans are sick and tired of the public policy disaster that is marijuana prohibition. They're ready to see a tax and regulated in a manner similar to alcohol. And the statistics show that there's no reason to believe that teen use will increase. Colorado is a great example. The doctor just mentioned government research and statistics on teen use. In Colorado, from 2009 to 2011, the number of medical marijuana patients in that state quintupled from 20,000 to 100,000; there were more dispensaries than Starbucks.

And yet the CDC data shows that teen use dropped in Colorado from 2009 to 2011, more than any other state in the country. So there's just no basis for that evidence.

FOSTER: Thank you very much, Dan, and thank you very much indeed, Dr. Bertha Madras.

We're going to see the evidence for ourselves, aren't we, with this what is effectively at the moment an experiment in the U.S. in terms of other states also looking at it to see how Colorado handles this and what the effects really are. So a lot to learn from Colorado right now.

For more on Colorado's historic move, do visit our website. You can find answers to 10 questions about the state's legalization of recreational marijuana. Further links are our home page, CNN.com.

Robert Redford is one of Hollywood's greatest stars ever. Now his son wants to make an impact behind the lens. And he's doing it by bringing a very personal issue to light. We'll have more, next.

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FOSTER: What do Albert Einstein, Agatha Christie, Jay Leno and Cher all have in common? Well, apart from being leaders in their chosen fields, they were all dyslexic. It's an issue a new movie is hoping to raise awareness of, one that's been directed by the son of a Hollywood legend. Becky has the details.

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BECKY ANDERSON, CNN HOST (voice-over): Robert Redford is one great talent of American film. Today, though, it's the star's son, James Redford, who's making an impact on the film industry, behind the lens. James released "The Big Picture: Rethinking Dyslexia," inspired by the experience of his own son, Dylan.

I couldn't do what other kids were doing.

ANDERSON: Your son (INAUDIBLE) in this movie. He's pretty brave.

How did he feel about that one?

JAMES REDFORD, FILM DIRECTOR: The film, when we did it, was going to be a very humble effort. It was going to be given out in pediatricians' offices and maybe a few university settings. Nobody really understood that it would have the reception that it's had.

It's asking a lot of all the kids in the film to speak openly about something that historically has been taboo and shameful. And I think I -- my hat's off to my son and the other kids for having the courage. But I also think it's a turning point that if I tried to make this 20 years ago, I'm not sure I could have made it.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Imaging has made dyslexia visible.

(INAUDIBLE) our kids are born with it. Most go through life never achieving their potential.

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ANDERSON: What more can be done to ensure that dyslexic people fulfill their potential?

REDFORD: The most important thing is to understand that you can teach dyslexics to read. That doesn't mean that it's going to be easy. They can learn it and use it as a tool to get where they want to go.

But you have to learn in a certain way. Dyslexics do much better with multisensory learning techniques, such as Horton Dillingham (ph) method and others like it. They break words down specifically by sounds.

But right now it's really hard to get that technique. And it's expensive and for a child who has the resources, then they can get that help. But the problem is right now, we've got a problem facing 20 percent of the children on this planet that don't -- that don't necessarily get that.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I remember faking being sick all the time.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The words would just come out wrong.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I would look at the blackboard and it was just gobbledy-gook.

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ANDERSON: It makes a real difference when the Richard Bransons of this world talk openly about his dyslexia, Orlando Bloom, Keira Knightley, how that Einstein, Muhammad Ali -- and I could go on.

Do you think the challenges of dyslexia make people more resilient?

REDFORD: In learning to deal with dyslexia, it exercises a muscle in the brain. You develop like any other resistance training.

ANDERSON: That is something that Richard Branson has famously talked about in the past, his headmaster, I think, at 16, when he was at school, warned him that, and I quote, "You will either end up in prison or a millionaire."

REDFORD: It's true that there's a disproportionate amount of dyslexics in leadership positions. But you also see a disproportionate amount in the prison system. And that's about whether or not there's been the right family environment, the right opportunities, the right resources, the right abilities to learn.

So dyslexia presents a challenge and if you meet that challenge, great things can happen.

But if you don't meet it, it can be defeating.

ANDERSON: Do you still get time to play guitar for Olive and the Dirty Martinis?

REDFORD: I wouldn't give that up for anything.

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REDFORD: It's my (INAUDIBLE).

ANDERSON: (INAUDIBLE) you.

REDFORD: It is my midlife crisis, guilty pleasure. I'm proud of it.

ANDERSON: Lovely.

REDFORD: Playing the electric guitar since I was 12 years old. And it will be the last thing I do. I hope to be buried with my guitar in my coffin.

ANDERSON: Does your son play?

REDFORD: He has the same passion. It's being expressed in the 21st century manner. But it's a strong -- it's a strong connection to the two of us.

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FOSTER: James Redford, talking about his film, "The Big Picture," that was released at the Sundance Film Festival in 2012. If dyslexia is an issue that's affected you, please get in touch with us here at CONNECT THE WORLD. You could share your thoughts at Facebook.com/CNNConnect. You can tweet me as well, @MaxFosterCNN.

Now before we leave you, this Thursday, a look ahead to a special CNN series.

This coming November will mark the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. We are recognizing the occasion by re-airing our 24-episode landmark series, "Cold War." It begins on Saturday; it continues every two weeks. "Cold War" is an unparalleled look at the events that shaped the second half of the 20th century from the people who were on the front lines in the battle between capitalism and communism. It's a look at what's in store for the first episode.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): Britain's prime minister, Neville Chamberlain, trusted that Hitler would listen to reason.

NEVILLE CHAMBERLAIN, FORMER BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: When I was a little boy, I used to repeat, "If at first you don't succeed, try, try, try again."

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): In September 1938, Chamberlain flew to Munich. War seemed close, as Germany prepared to invade Czechoslovakia. But Chamberlain went determined to appease Hitler.

At Munich, Britain, France and Italy licensed Hitler to seize the Czech Sudetenland, with its German minority. Czechoslovakia's allies had abandoned her.

In Moscow, Stalin drew lessons from Munich. The Western democracies, he concluded, would never stand up to Hitler. Stalin planned a desperate stroke of diplomacy. The fascist and Communist arch-enemies were about to embrace.

Hitler flew his Foreign Minister Ribbentrop to Moscow. The Nazi-Soviet Pact was signed by Soviet Foreign Minister Molotov. The West was appalled.

SERGO BERIA, SON OF SECRET POLICE CHIEF (through translator): After the pact was signed, I heard this from Stalin's lips -- he was often at our home.

He said, "We need to win time -- at least two years' time. Only then will the Soviet Union be able to defend itself against Germany."

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FOSTER: What happened next went on to change modern history. And you can watch the first installment of "Cold War" here on CNN this Saturday. It's at 8:00 pm in London or 9:00 pm in Berlin.

I'm Max Foster. That was CONNECT THE WORLD. Thank you for watching.

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