One of our panelists Chrystia Freeland has an interesting article out in the FT today. Take a look. Chrystia will be on the show later tonight to discuss Obama and the economy. Tune in! 2000 GMT.

We're getting a few notes from our panelists on the swine-flu story.

Here's what Ian Bremmer, President of the Eurasia Group has to say:

"Fear tends to move faster than epidemiological evidence. Before we get answers to the big questions - how easy is it to transmit, how severe is the illness, why is Mexico so much worse than elsewhere - people are going to respond, with or without governmental or W.H.O. guidance. That means decreased travel to potentially infected areas, decreased consumption of pork (even though the CDC maintains that pork consumption is ok, but to be safe it should be cooked to 160 degrees), and internal slowdown of commerce (i.e. people hunkering down in Mexico City and businesses losing billions of dollars).

How is the world dealing with this? What are the international implications?

SARS changed the way we look at these events. International attention to this issue is high but the communication and leadership challenges remain. Calderon was criticized early for not being forthcoming with swine flu outbreak information in mid-March when human cases first appeared. Since then, his response has been pretty robust, and the president of Mexico has considerable powers in clamping down during public health emergencies. However, U.S. coordination with Mexico appears to still be slow and the U.S. CDC appears to have little useful information on the situation in Mexico. Travel warnings now seem to be coming from many countries, hurting Mexico's tourism which accounts for 8% of Mexico's GDP (3rd behind oil and remittances). And travel restrictions will make that considerably worse. This issue is moving very fast and in the absence of overwhelmingly good news, the default at this point is bad news for Mexico's economy and nerve-wracking for the world."

Ian will be on the show tonight to make some more macro observations for us. He's also the author of this report - take a look, it's very interesting, with lots of "Connect" angles.

We also got an e-mail from our panelist Eric Margolis, a veteran journalist, and now a veteran Connects blogger too.

"Having gone through the SARS epidemic, in which Toronto was an epicenter, I'm watching this new swine flu epidemic with some alarm.

As with SARS, my view is that all airline connections between Mexico and the rest of the world should be shut down. The incubation period is only 2-3 days, so departing passengers should be held in a comfortable quarantine and receive medical checks before being allowed to fly onward.

SARS was spread by airline passengers. Here in Toronto, it was one elderly lady who flew in from Hong Kong, where she caught SARS from leaky sewage in her building. She spread the virus to nurses and then the general public. Britain and Europe should declare a travel emergency before swine flu establishes a beachhead.

I also suspect that Mexico City's filthy air and high altitude may have played an important role in making the flu lethal. Mexico's standards for raising pork are horrible. Not as bad as China's, but still grim.

So far, Tamiflu and Relenza, the two anti-flu medications still work. But we can expect the virus to mutate quickly and become resistant within weeks.

Muslim and Jewish strictures against pigs, and Hindu ones against eating meat, continue to make sense."

Eric was on our air last week discussing the Obama administrations deliberations on whether to press torture charges against former Bush administration officials. Here's Eric's article on the topic, titled "America's Shame".

Your thoughts? Fire away below.

A special edition of "connect the world" coming your way today. We are devoting the entire hour to a single threat that many fear could become the next global pandemic. As of writing, seven countries are struggling to contain an outbreak of swine flu - as new cases emerge by the hour. Ground zero is Mexico, where the health minister has confirmed that 149 people have died. While there are no deaths related to swine flu in any other country yet, there is a palpable and understandable sense of concern around the world as governments scramble to get their contingency plans in place should the WHO raise their level of pandemic alert. We'll be speaking to a top virologist in mexico city and asking how long the government there has known and could anything have been done before now to prevent the deaths and the fear. And i'll be talking to Liam Donaldson – the UK's chief medical officer, hot out of the latest cobra meeting about plans to contain any further spread should things get worse.
This is big and it's frightening. We want to hear from you – wherever you are in the world. Get connected and help us make the connections that matter....

Good evening Connectors.

It's a mad dash to the finish tonight. As of writing this is how the show stands;

The lede tonight is a story with powerful international ramifications. We're looking at increasing pressure on U.S. President Obama to push forward moves to prosecute Bush administration officials for incidents of alleged torture.

I'm going to be speaking with Manfred Nowak, the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture, as well as Cori Crider, part of a team of lawyers from Reprieve who represent clients locked up at Guantanamo Bay prisons.

As of this writing, what we are learning is this: Obama as a Commander-in-Chief is an equivocator. His flipflops this week have been remarkable. First he says he won't support prosecution of Bush lawyers who justified torture, then he says it's a decision for the attorney general and not for him. Midweek he says he'd like to see an independent commission if an inquiry is needed at all, only to suggest on Thursday that he's not interested in what some are billing as a "Truth Commission." What does the guy want?

We're exploring that story, and a bunch of others. Tune in - less than an hour to go! We also have a special segment with one of our panelists, Nick Thompson, looking back at the week in Connections.

Our Connect the World panelist Chrystia Freeland made some interesting comments on the protectionism debate on the show last night. Take a look. Chrystia is the U.S. Managing Editor of the Financial Times.

This was a really fun segment we planned for Connect the World. It's amazing how a plate of food has an intricate story to tell, a tale of journeys, adaptation, invention, and nostalgia. Take a look below. We'll have more of these segments coming up on the show in the next few weeks.

Take a look at our special 'Connect the World' panelists on the right. They're our interdisciplinary, 'big thinkers' who've been making some interesting connections and comments on our main stories.

Eric Margolis was on-air last night discussing the use of torture to combat terror - we'll be linking video to that interview soon.

I got a few e-mails from other panelists too:

Shashi Tharoor wrote in on Sri Lanka, our lead story last night:

"The key issue in Sri Lanka is not the well-deserved victory of the Government over a terrorist group, but the well-being of the Tamil populace - the civilians trapped in LTTE territory right now, and the future of the Tamil people in a post-war Sri Lanka. Colombo must fulfil its earlier promises of autonomy and devolution so the Tamil people feel they have a honoured place in their own land, and the spectre of another militant Tamil movement need never rise again."

Eric Margolis weighed in: "This tragedy will not end until the victorious Sinhalese majority assures cultural and political rights of both Tamils and Muslims." He goes on to make a connection with India: "Sri Lanka's government has to keep its eye on India's Tamil Nadu state and its 66 million ethnic Tamil who are following the agony of their Sri Lankan Tamil cousins with dismay and anger."

And on Monday, Nick Thompson connected two of our top stories of the day - Sri Lanka, and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's comments at the Geneva anti-racism conference - "The LTTE were the inventors of the suicide belt and have long used suicide attacks, up through, apparently, the events today. No matter what happens to them, one of their main tactics will remain-and will continue to be at the center of the conflict between Israel, the West, and parts of the Muslim World."

And finally, Oxford University Professor Paul Collier wrote in on South Africa's elections. "Given the dominance of the ANC, South Africa's real election was the ANC leadership struggle between Mbeki and Zuma. The key issue is now whether Zuma will adopt economic populism – and the acid test will be the power retained by Trevor Manuel."

South Africans are at the polls as I write this note. Paul Collier will be with us on air, making some very interesting connections with the situation in Zimbabwe. And that's all I'm going to say right now - join us at 20.00 GMT for details, and many other big story connections for the day!

A late take tonight on what's on the show.

Pro-Tamil protests in Paris, France.

We'll lead with what appears to be the final throes of a civil war that's lasted more than two decades in Sri Lanka.

It's a story that spurs protests in France and defiance here in Britain where a Sri Lankan ex-patriate vows the rebel movement will live on.

Then: Initially the U.S. president said he wanted to leave a shameful past behind.

Now - it seems he could be shifting course. Our next connection begins in Washington - where Barack Obama says he's open to prosecuting Bush-era officials who devised harsh interrogation tactics - including many of those used on terror suspects at Guantanamo Bay.

So when do "harsh interrogation" tactics rise to the level of torture - and is it ever justified?

You'll hear from one of our "big thinkers" - Eric Margolis is one of a dozen or so panelists helping the show team explore the connections - or links - that matter.

Find more on the panelists on the Web site.

And: Anticipation in South Africa over new leadership. The rest of the world is watching and waiting. But not for long.

Voters head to the polls in just hours to choose a parliament.

The South Africa election could have a huge impact across the continent ... and worldwide.

Lots of other good Connections stories in the mix but no time to fill you in so you'll have to watch the show! 9p London time - don't be late.

Remember this is your show - we need your help to better connect us all to the stories that matter around the world.

It's showtime!

Ahmadinejad delivers his speech Monday.

A big warm welcome to Becky's Briefing - the blog that gives you the lowdown on how we're developing the rundown for CNN's daily Connect the World show – the new prime time program that airs at 9p London time.

Every day around this time I'll post my thoughts on the day's best stories and events.

And we're looking for your feedback and the connections - or links that you think matter. Wherever you live, whatever you do - get engaged. Tell us how the stories we'll be reporting are playing out in your region.

TONIGHT: Iran's president torpedoes a U.N. conference in Geneva, accusing Israel of racism, leading many of those attending on behalf of Western governments to walk out.

Difficult though to ignore the cheers from those who stayed - a reminder, if nothing else, that not everyone disagrees with what President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has to say on the subject.

Our Connections take us to Israel, Iraq and Washington tonight as we get a 360-take on this story.

We're also following the fallout from the latest salvo from Sri Lanka as government troops force the mass exodus of tens of thousands of Tamil civilians.

From rare, must-see footage to scenes of mass protests in London by Tamil exiles, we make connections with the people who count in what is one of Asia's longest running wars.

No time for any more tonight as this is late and I've got to help edit the show.

Tune in and GET CONNECTED!

LONDON, England - After months of planning and weeks of rehearsals, here we are. Eight hours from now, Connect the World will go on air.

The Connect team puts the finishing touches on the show.

I know you'll join us on air tonight, but we wish you could feel the buzz in the newsroom right now:  It's electric; the excitement is very palpable.

As of this writing, we have absolutely no idea what our lead will be.  A Connects lead has to have legs that take it around the world.  Let's see what happens.

Back to work, and monitoring the news wires - join us for the launch, we promise it'll be exciting, unique, and entertaining.  Stay connected!