A couple of years ago a friend of mine, who worked in publishing, emailed me suggesting a guest for CNN. 
The guest was an author doing well in America and was about to start selling her books in Europe. My friend was a big fan of the books but also the author who apparently had amazing story to tell.

Author Stephanie Meyer attending the Los Angeles premiere of The Twilight Saga: New Moon.

I agreed to have the author on the show and I'm glad I did because it became one of my most memorable interviews. I heard how a deeply religious housewife had a dream that she turned into a book. She was caught out by her success but was riding the wave.

Her name was Stephanie Meyer, and her success was nothing compared to what it is now. Its one of those interviews that gets better with age because you know it was the beginning of something huge. See it here and get a sense of just how big the author of Twilight has become on tonight's show.

Also give us your thoughts here on the housewife, writer and, now, Hollywood big-hitter that is Stephanie Meyer.

Landmark news events come in two forms. There are the 9/11s which we remember for all the wrong reasons and there are the Berlin Walls which we remember for happier reasons.

Tell us your memories of the fall of the Berlin Wall.

The Wall was the focal point of the Cold War which could have ended in disaster but didn't, instead it ended in a street party. The people who celebrated on November 9th 1989 on the rubble of the Wall still struggle to describe that night.

They knew they were witnesses to history but they couldn't fathom the extent of it. Those who weren't there but were watching it on TV from afar had the benefit of expert commentary and probably got their heads round it more quickly. Where were you? What were you thinking?

And what do you think of Berlin today? It's been transformed into a thoroughly modern capital worthy of its reputation as Europe's capital of cool. But has it lost its way and its identity? Former East Germans speak fondly of a devided Berlin with a simpler way of life and a greater sense of community.

Your thoughts on Berlin then and now are our talking points for this week's webcast. Send us comments.

If ever there was an example of where the international effort in Afganistan isn't working, it came this week.

British soldiers mentor Afghan police. But has the risk become too great?

Five British soldiers were killed by an Afghan policeman they had been training. It came as no surprise that the Taliban claimed to have infiltrated the police and carried out the attack, but it was still a major dent in confidence of British forces who believe they are making a difference.

Kim Howells, a former Foreign Office minister with responsibility for Afghanistan, said the killings strengthened the case for bringing British troops home early.

The current UK government responded by saying forces will only be withdrawn once the Afghans have been given the training and support they need to protect the country themselves.

But, given possible infiltration, should the training continue despite the risk to more foreign soldiers' lives?

When you consider the victims in a war crimes trial, you don't normally consider the defendant first.

How should the war crimes court handle Radovan Karadzic's trial?

But ex-Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic is trying to play that card in The Hague: he's trying to take control of the proceedings by portraying himself as a victim, denied justice by the West, and sinking under the weight of more than a million pieces of paperwork thrown at him by the prosecution.

I have heard western lawyers suggest that the best thing for everyone is for him to boycott the trial so the prosecution can make its case without further distraction.

But justice should be seen to be done and, vitally, all parties concerned - including Bosnian Muslims and Serbs – need to perceive the trial as fair. How does the court strike the right balance?

Hamid Karzai keeps hold of the Presidency of Afganistan after his main opponent, Abdullah Abdullah, pulls out of a run-off vote.

Tell us what you think of Hamid Karzai's re-election as Afghan President.

Abdullah said the vote would not be free and fair. World leaders, including the head of the U.N., helped legitimize Karzai's position by congratulating him.

The American Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, said Karzai's submission to a second round of voting "bestowed legitimacy from that moment forward, and Dr. Abdullah’s decision does not in any way take away from that."

Saying he is a legitimate leader is one thing, whether the wider public believe it is quite another. We want to know what you, the public, do think so we can refect it in our coverage.

Send us your comments below.

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.

Coco Chanel. How important was she? Did she have more impact than most world leaders?

I don’t know much about fashion but I did learn how powerful it is today. I went to a regular high street store in London with a fashion expert for the programme. He showed me how in almost every corner of the shop you could find something linked to Chanel; a little black dress; a tweed jacket; the trim on a cardigan; a rack full of fake pearl necklaces; a dark toed-shoe. All these things were either inspired by, or popularised by, Coco Chanel … decades ago. It is fascinating to me that most women in the western world probably have at least one thing in their wardrobe that they think of as classically simple but is, in fact, classically Chanel. It could be nothing more than the cut of a collar but there it is, tucked away in the outfits of millions of women as they go about their day. That means Chanel affected the lives of most women in the western world and many beyond. It may be cosmetic but it also affects the way they feel. How many world leaders can claim to have had such a widespread, and lasting, impact on humanity? Just a thought …

Your comments below, please! We'll read the best ones out on air tonight at 9pm London time.

Is it right that a soldier refuses to go on fighting in a war that (s)he does not believe in, and then publicizes the fact? That's what Lance Corporal Joe Glenton from the British Army has done. He is refusing to go back to Afghanistan and, in the full glare of the media, delivered a letter to the Prime Minister urging him to "bring our soldiers home" from the mission which he claims is being fought in the interests of U.S. foreign policy. His opinions are in stark contrast to his superiors who may accept the mission is not perfect, but who also say there is no better alternative.

The rights and wrongs of the argument over the mission are one thing, the other is whether L/Cpl Glenton is right to let personal feelings and opinions get in the way of his role in the military. If he is allowed to get away with it, where does it end? Every member of the military could come up with one reason or another for avoiding combat. The reality is you sign up to do your duty, not question it. Or are things changing, and for the better?

Take a look at my interview with him below. Your comments have been pouring in - Keep them coming!

Who won the petty diplomatic spat of the year so far? It's North Korea vs the United States?

A statement from the North Korean foreign ministry read; "Sometimes she (U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton) looks like a primary schoolgirl and sometimes a pensioner going shopping." By way of justification the statement reads; "We cannot but regard Mrs Clinton as a funny lady as she likes to utter such rhetoric, unaware of the elementary etiquette in the international community". The rhetoric they are referring to came earlier in the week. In a U.S. television interview, Clinton had discussed North Korea's nuclear programme and said US should not over-react to Pyongyang's provocation. "Maybe it's the mother in me, the experience I've had with small children and teenagers and people who are demanding attention: Don't give it to them."

Was Clinton being patronising? Did she indeed show a lack of etiquette? Or are the North Koreans being personal and rude? You decide. Your responses on Thursday's show - comments below, or on e-mail at ConnectTheWorld@CNN.com please.

The reality is now setting in that the current outbreaks of H1N1 or "swine flu" is not just any flu but a pandemic that is spreading rapidly. What's really worrying the authorities is that in many affected countries, "flu season" is just around the corner - so we are yet to see the worst of it.

Thai women wear masks as they sit waiting to have a medical check-up at a hospital in Narthiwat Tuesday.

The logistics of the pandemic – how many people have been infected, which age groups have been worse hit – are one thing. The other is the message itself. Governments and health authorities don't want to scare people unnecessarily about the risks - but they don't want people to be complacent either.

This point has been summed up by a debate here in the UK. Parents have been told that we are in the early stages of pandemic and that the current form of swine flu is relatively mild and can usually be treated successfully with anti-virals, of which the UK is well-stocked.

But that has prompted some parents to consider exposing their children to the virus now, before it mutates into something more threatening, even organizing "swine flu parties" at which youngsters can catch H1N1. It is something UK health authorities have strongly advised against – but it has left parents feeling that they are receiving conflicting advice about the seriousness of the threat.

The problem is that the right advice for each individual relies on that individual's circumstances – where you live, how you live, who you live around and how well prepared your healthcare system is.

Connects, as always, values your responses and comments. Thanks to those of you who have taken the time to send us your opinions, we really enjoy reading your thoughts and using them on the programme.

That's why we are asking you today what you want to know about H1N1. We'll be putting your questions to a preeminent doctor and expert in the subject who will try to answer your queries. Whatever question you have, whether it’s on the nature of the virus or how best to protect your children, please send them below for today's edition of Connect the World.

Post your questions below or e-mail me on connecttheworld@CNN.com