For millions in the developing world, water can be as dangerous as it is life saving, spreading life-threatening diseases such as diarrhoea and cholera.

Every day men, women and children are forced to drink, bathe and wash clothes and utensils in fetid supplies ripe with sewage.

One such slum is Kibera, part of the Kenyan capital Nairobi – but residents there hope that a low-tech solution is at hand.

Locals now collect water from infected tanks, pour it into clear plastic bottles and then leave them on tin rooftops for at least six hours.

Laboratory tests reveal that the sun kills dangerous disease-spreading bacteria by zapping them with UV radiation and heat through a process known as solar disinfection.

An estimated two million people around the world are now using solar disinfection to draw clean water.

Is enough being done to ensure that the developing world has clean water? Are low-tech solutions losing out to higher-cost developments?

Let us know what you think and we will use some of the comments on tonight's show, when you can also watch David McKenzie’s report from Kibera.

It's that time of the week again!

Get your thinking caps on, we're handing down our Six Degrees challenge.

All you need to do is connect two newsmakers who have hit the headlines in six moves.

This week we want you to link Ben Bernanke, the chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve who was nominated for a second term this week, to Vogue editor-in-chief and star of the new documentary "The September Issue," Anna Wintour.

Leave your submissions in the comments section below, and the team will pick the most creative connection, and I'll announce the winner on Friday's show.

Still need some inspiration? Check this out ...

Last week's winner was Sally, who connected superstar runner Usain Bolt to Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai. Here’s how she did it …

Usain Bolt has trained with...

football star Cristiano Ronaldo, who played for Portugal under...

Luiz Felipe Scolari, who managed a Brazil team that included...

Teddy Sheringham, who played for Tottenham Hotspur under...

Jurgen Klinsmann, who has been interviewed by...

Becky Anderson, who has also interviewed...

Hamid Karzai.

Reckon you can do better? Then try your hand at connecting Ben Bernanke and Anna Wintour. Remember: you need five other people between those two: no more, no less. If you want your friends to take the challenge as well, then click the "share post" button below.

To see previous challenges, click here. Happy connecting!

As 17-year-old Mike Perham from England looks set to become the youngest person to sail solo around the world, a young Dutch girl four years his junior is already setting her sights on eclipsing that record.

However, Laura Dekker, 13, faces a court battle as welfare services in the Netherlands bid to stop her quest.

Laura's parents support her plans but the Dutch Council for Child Protection believes the trip is too dangerous and wants temporary custody of the teen.

What do you think? Is it irresponsible to allow a child of this age to embark on such a challenge or should her spirit of adventure be supported?

Let us know your thoughts below — and we’ll use them as part of our coverage in the show tonight.

Football coach Jose Mourinho, ever the headline creator, has caused further outcry this week after he substituted Ghanaian midfielder Sulley Muntari from his Inter Milan side in an Italian league game against Bari.

Taking a tired player from the field of play was hardly breaking news - or at least it wasn't until Mourinho revealed the move had been prompted because the player's perceived "low-energy levels" were as a result of fasting.

Muntari is a practising Muslim who, like many of the same faith around the world, is currently not eating during the hours of daylight to mark the Ramadan holy period.

A clearly irked Mourinho said at a post-match press conference: "Muntari had some problems related to Ramadan, perhaps with this heat it's not good for him to be doing this (fasting). Ramadan has not arrived at the ideal moment for a player to play a football match."

Muslim leaders in Italy have criticized the opinions of the coach known as the "Special One" - but Mourinho did not rule out the possibility of dropping the player for the Milan derby, between arch rivals Inter Milan and AC Milan, this weekend for the same reason.

Elsewhere in Italy, fellow Muslim and Siena striker Abdelkader Ghezzal, added to the debate by revealing he cannot fast and play at the same time.

"I've always observed Ramadan but I have had to change my habits for health reasons from the first year that I became a professional," he said. "Before that I played at Crotone [while fasting] but after two weeks I felt ill and had to stop."

Is Mourinho right to take account of how religious practices may affect his players' performance? Is it wrong to drop a fasting footballer whose energy levels may be lower than his teammates? Or can a player of faith perform better in a period of self-enforced discipline? Can sport and religion be separated in a satisfactory way?

Let us know your thoughts below - and we’ll use them as part of our coverage in the show tonight.

Americans outraged at the release of the Lockerbie bomber are being urged to boycott Scottish products, including Scotch Whisky - an industry worth over £3 billion a year.

The call comes from a newly set-up American Web site which calls the release of al Megrahi by the Scottish government an "outrageous miscarriage of justice and a betrayal of the victims' families."

It will put more pressure on the ruling party in Scotland, the SNP, which decided to free al Megrahi, and which today is being forced to justify the decision to a specially convened meeting of the Scottish Parliament.

Connect the World tonight at 2000 GMT will follow the Scottish debate and examine the possible effects of a boycott of Scottish goods and services. What's your view? Is the boycott call a gross over-reaction, or a justified response to a major blunder by Scotland's political leaders?

Will you consider giving up Scotch? Send us your thoughts, and we'll use them as part of our coverage tonight.

It's that time of the week again!

Get your thinking caps on, we're handing down our Six Degrees challenge.

All you need to do is connect two newsmakers who have hit the headlines in six moves.

This week we want you to link Usain Bolt, who smashed two world records in Berlin this week, to Afghanistan president (for now, at least) Hamid Karzai.

Leave your submissions in the comments section below, and the team will pick the most creative connection, and I'll announce the winner on tonight's show.

Still need some inspiration? Check this out ...

One of our recent winners was Brian Petersen, who connected golfer Tiger Woods to comedian Sacha Baron Cohen. Here’s how he did it …

Tiger Woods played golf at age two with …

… entertainer Bob Hope, who played alongside …

…comedian Steve Martin in “The Muppet Movie,” who wrote a movie called “Traitor” starring …

… actor Don Cheadle, who helped carry out a heist in “Ocean’s 11″ with …

… actor Brad Pitt, who starred in “The Devil’s Own” with …

… actor Harrison Ford, who was interviewed by Sacha Baron Cohen’s character Bruno in the film of the same name.

Reckon you can do better? Then try your hand at connecting Usain Bolt and Hamid Karzai. Remember: you need five other people between those two: no more, no less. If you want your friends to take the challenge as well, then click the "share post" button below.

To see previous challenges, click here. Happy connecting!

The contest for the future of Afghanistan is coming to a head. Crucial elections are scheduled for Thursday. Ahead of the vote, NATO forces have been ratcheting up their efforts to flush out the Taliban. But, at what cost?

President Obama reminds us that the fight against the Taliban is a fight to destroy the forces that harbour elements of Al Qaeda and, as such, is a fight to defend the US’s national interest. This week, I want to hear your thoughts on the future for Afghanistan. To kick start the discussion, here are the thoughts of one of Connect the World’s “big Thinkers” – panelist Eric Margolis.

“I do not believe AQ is growing in Afghanistan. There are many anti-American groups in the region, but the real, hard-core AQ remains tiny, almost invisible. Most AQ have gone to ground in Pakistan. AQ never amounted to more than 300 members at its peak in 2001. Today, it's down to a handful – but there are many sympathizers.
Osama Bin Laden was given refuge by the Taliban because he was a hero of the anti-Soviet jihad. Taliban knew nothing about his plans to attack the US, but after 9/11 refused to turn him over to Washington without a legit extradition process.
It is a serious error to confuse Taliban with AQ. AQ helped Taliban in its fight against the Afghan Communists, but that was the extent of their cooperation."

Send me your thoughts: email me at ConnectTheWorld@CNN.com or reply below. We’ll use as many of your comments as possible on the show this week (CTW, daily at 2100 London time)

Becky

New Zealand animal lovers are up in arms over the news that an Aukland man, who hails from Tonga, killed and cooked his Staffordshire terrier with the intention of eating it. 

Under New Zealand's Animal Welfare Act, it is legal to kill and eat an animal if it is slaughtered swiftly and painlessly, but now local activists are demanding a change in the law.

Is this different to generations of farming families in Europe killing and eating their pet lambs, chickens or ponies? Are animal cruelty activists trying to end a barbaric practice, or interfering with specific cultural values?

Let us know your thoughts. Connect The World will report from New Zealand, explore the issue and use your feedback in the show.

Do you believe in UFOs or mermaids?  Have you ever seen an alien being or a mysterious beast?

Tonight on Connect The World we're exploring the weird, the supernatural, and the downright fishy.  A town in Israel is offering a reward of $1 million to anyone who can prove there's a mermaid in the Med, after several reported sightings.

Meanwhile, strange lights seen in British woods in the 1980s, reported as a UFO sighting and known by sci-fi enthusiasts as "The Rendelsham incident," turns out very likely to have been a prank, according to classified documents just release by the Ministry of Defence.

On Connect the World we'll explore both stories and ask why, despite the lack of evidence, we still believe in the existence of supernatural beings, whether out there in space, or deep under the waves.

Your thoughts and comments below, please, or e-mail us on ConnectTheWorld@CNN.com

It's forty years ago this week that hundreds of thousands converged on a plot of land in New York state and became part of a now legendary event. The organisers were businessmen and were out to make money but they could never have predicted the numbers that would flock to the site. The gates were thrown open and it ended up being a free festival epitomising the zeitgeist of peace and love, plus a bit of sex, drugs and rock'n'roll. The story was epitomised by one performer. Melanie was a relative unknown in the music business but she asked the organisers if she could get involved. Just before she went on stage, candles were being handed out as part of an unrelated silent protest. As Melanie nervously picked up her guitar, the enormous crowd was so taken by her performance, they started waving their candles. In the decades that followed, music fans would relive that moment time and again at their own concerts, with lighters rather than candles.
On Thursday's Connect the World, I sit down with Melanie in a famous London Sixties hangout and relive Woodstock and everything that comes with it. Was it really that special? Why is it just as fascinating for people who didn't go as for those that did?
Your thoughts would be much appreciated so we can use them in our coverage.