(Channel 4 News: 1200 PST, February 21, 2011) There are rumours that the ruling regime in Libya is on the brink of collapse and that Gaddafi himself may have fled the country, as the army reportedly opens fire on protesters and key supporters resign.

Why, after 41 years of Gaddafi's reign, have protests escalated so quickly and violently in Libya? Jonathan Rugman reports.

With all the challenges confronting the world as a new year begins, it is more important than ever to be engaged with and connected to every part of the globe. That’s why it is our New Year’s resolution at Link TV to bring you even more fresh voices, independent views, and inspirational stories from different countries and cultures.

We’re kicking off the New Year with the Link TV's groundbreaking documentary series Doc-Debut, showcasing a new international film every Sunday evening. Our first premiere is Niko von Glasow’s powerful film NoBody’s Perfect, a look at the physical and psychological barriers facing twelve people born disabled due to Thalidomide poisoning. The filmmaker, also affected by Thalidomide, brings these strangers together to confront their disabilities through a nude photo shoot.

Tune in next week for The Unwinking Gaze, a unique behind-the-scenes look at the daily life of the Dalai Lama. Filmmaker Josh Dugdale had unprecedented access to His Holiness for a three-year period, showing what this extraordinary figure is like in his private life and the grueling work that goes into taking on a world power on behalf of an entire people.

Next, travel halfway around the world to the slums of Rio de Janeiro in Favela Rising. Former drug trafficker Anderson Sá has sparked a social revolution through music, helping kids in one of the most dangerous places on the planet have a positive outlet and alternative to gang life. Filmmaker Jeff Zimbalist (The Two Escobars) provides a visually stunning and musically dynamic documentation of Anderson's life and impact in the favela.

While Anderson Sá was transforming his community through music in Brazil, José Antonio Abreu was doing the very same thing with his youth orchestra in Caracas, Venezuela. Starting January 12th, Link TV will be broadcasting his inspirational speech as part of our ongoing TED Talks series. We are proud to be a part of the TED Open TV Project, helping spread these important ideas from these innovative talks and charismatic speakers.

The powerful Dollar a Day series also continues in January with the premiere of The New Silver. This six-part international series documents what life is like for the billions of people living in poverty around the world. The New Silver chronicles the transitioning economy of Bolivia and how access to capital changes lives and nations.

On a lighter note, 2011 continues on with the new season of Arab Labor. The hit Israeli sitcom, dubbed “The Seinfeld of the Middle East,” pokes fun at the cultural similarities and differences between Palestinians and Jews and looks at life in the holy land from a different angle.

Algeria: Quitting Terrorism, from the United Nations’ 21st Century series, is another documentary bringing a fresh perspective on an age-old issue. Much has gone into figuring out why people turn to terrorism, but this film takes a unique look at why an Algerian man has given up violence.

That, in a nutshell, is what Link TV is all about: challenging established assumptions about how the world works by exploring different viewpoints and perspectives. We hope you join us throughout 2011 for many more groundbreaking shows, insightful stories and brand-new programs to come.

This week as Venezuela shut down its border with Colombia, cargo trucks bringing perishable food sat in park on the highway. It was a perfect image to capture the state of affairs between Venezuela and Colombia: a standstill, with potential for spoiling.

For the last several years, Colombia's Alvaro Uribe has maintained a tricky alliance with both the U.S. and Venezuela, maintaining strong economic and diplomatic ties with both countries. While the U.S. continues funneling military aid to Colombia through Plan Colombia, Colombia has maintained a huge export business with a longtime adversary of the U.S. government, Venezuela. Chavez and Uribe’s friendship has paid off over the years, particularly when Chavez helped broker the release of dozens of FARC hostages back in 2003.

Yet the recent agreement by Colombia to allow seven of its military bases to be used by the U.S. for counternarcotics and antiterrorism operations has soured relations. As of this week, Venezuela has closed its borders for some Colombian exports, and Chavez has pulled his ambassador out of Bogota. Chavez has stated that he will "freeze" relations with Colombia, and that Venezuela is not dependent on the country for imports. In the wake of the report, the Colombian peso fell in value for the first time in a month, after having been the world’s best performing currency for four months.
 
However, even as Chavez says that Venezuela can survive without Colombia’s imports, the standoff seems like it would hurt his country much more than Colombia. Venezuela has been the main market for Colombia’s non-traditional exports in plastics, poultry, textiles, and other exports. In the first five months of ’09, Venezuela absorbed 33 percent of Colombia’s exports, followed by the U.S. taking in 19.6 percent. Analysts quoted by Bloomberg News stated that Venezuela would suffer in worsening food shortages, which would increase the country’s already high inflation and put more pressure on their deficit. Then there’s the effect on Venezuela’s petroleum industry. Venezuela looks to Colombia for imports of 300 million cubic feet of natural gas a day, and that gas is required for the country’s oil reservoirs to increase pressure and boost production, and as raw material for the petrochemical industry.

The question now becomes whether either country will flinch. Uribe has garnered sympathy for the new bases from Uruguay and Brazil. Also, Uribe has built up foreign investment in his country by building confidence in counternarcotics and antiterrorism programs that the U.S. has funded. In 2007, BusinessWeek hailed the new Colombia as the most “extreme emerging market” in the world, because Uribe had successfully changed the country’s image from a haven for drugrunners to a center for investors. If Uribe can find alternatives to Venezuela for the country’s exports, he may not need to continue relations with Chavez.
 
And if so, the Colombian truckers now stalled at the Venezuelan border may find cause to turn around and never look back.