this is bbc world news today. i'm lewis vaughan jones. our top stories... the united states suspends a major arms agreement with russia which has been in force since the regan era. it says a new russian missile system violates the inf. russia has refused to take any steps to return real and verifiable compliance over these 60 days. the united states will therefore suspend its obligation under the inf treaty effective february two. the mother of a three—year—old girl, has become the first person to be convicted of female genital mutilation, in the uk. and as four french rugby players die following collisions on the pitch in the past eight months — we ask are players getting too strong for safety? hello and welcome to world news today.

could the world be on the verge of a new nuclear standoff? that's the question being asked, after the us suspended a landmark deal, which has been in force for more than three decades. it's accusing russia of breaking it. the agreement in question outlaws the use of intermediate range nuclear missiles stationed on land. washington says moscow has been breaking it for years. last december the secretary of state mike pompeo set a deadline for moscow to change its ways — and on friday, he said the us had run out of patience. here's how he responded to concerns he'd just pulled the trigger on a new arms race... the very risk you identified is the one we are suffering today. the russians are in violation of the agreement. that has been in place a long time. the russians have been

violating that as they have begun to move towards what it is the risk you actually have just identified. so what's at stake? well, the agreement dates back to 1987, during the cold war, when ronald reagan was in the white house, and mikhail gorbachov was the leader of what was then the soviet union. the deal was seen as a great diplomatic leap forward, and one of the highlights of american foreign policy during that decade. the intermediate range nuclear force treaty, or inf as it's known, banned a whole category of land—based nuclear missiles — the ones with ranges of between 500 and 5,500 kilometres — that's 310 and 3100 miles. but the us says a new russian missile breaks that deal. russia disagrees. we asked the secretary general of nato, jens stoltenberg, how much he supported the american position... we continue to call on russia to come back into compliance

in a verifiable way. of course, we don't want a new arms race. we strongly believe in arms control, the us stated that today, nato believes in arms control, but there has to be agreements, which are respected and fully implemented and that is not the case as russia over the years has violated treaties and it was actually the 0bama administration that first raised this with russia. joining me now is samuel charap, a senior political scientist at the rand corporation. this this the brink of something significant here or is this the brink of potentially a new arms race? i think it is a very dangerous development, people are looking at the broader effect or the potential impact of the broader infrastructure of our arms control that have been built up over the course of over 30 yea rs. built up over the course of over 30 years. these are the agreements that

have been put in place not only to limit potentially dangerous weapon systems but also to reduce the potential of inadvertent escalation and unattended war between the two countries that still control over 90% of the wells in weapons. the us and russia today. that's well pass nuclear weapons. is the case here that simply they think russia is not being applying by it so there are going to pull out. that's rick not abiding by it. there is a question to what the us gets in terms of increasing aggression compliance by withdrawing from the treaty and there is a case to be made that continuing with diplomacy might have been another way forward but the administration chose to take this step which from their perspective opens up the ability to respond

directly to the russian deployment by developing and deploying the us own versions of the same cruise missiles which brings us back to the situation that led to the inf treaty to begin with, the euro missile crisis. which was an extremely dangerous moment in the late 70s and early 80s. what do you think russia does now? i think they have been to a certain extent, if we are to believe what we have been told, it is russia that it's in noncompliance with the us is withdrawing and that that's present russia with somewhat ofa that's present russia with somewhat of a propaganda case to be made that the us is the actor here that is destroying the treaty regime and i'm sure we'll hear a lot about that. and trying to get the support of the us allies in western europe that are perhaps further written some with

disenchanted but this certainly affects them more directly than most given that they weapon systems in question would be targeted at their cities. so i think we can expect that and it the treaty is gone, and six months, i would imagine that russia would continue to deploy more of these inf violated weapon systems. which is not a positive development. we'll keep an eye on those developers. thank you for your thoughts. —— mike developments. the mother of a three—year—old girl, has become the first person to be found guilty, of female genital mutilation in the uk. the 37—year—old ugandan woman from london, was accused of cutting her daughter in 2017. the girl's father was cleared of the same charges. adina campbell's report contains some distressing details. it's a crime that has been illegal in the uk for more than 30 years. today, a mother has been found guilty of cutting her

three—year—old daughter — the first conviction for female genital mutilation in the uk. at the heart of this case is a three—year—old girl who was caused serious injury as a result of her mother's actions. we can only imagine how much pain she suffered and how terrified she was. during the trial at the old bailey, the jury heard the 999 call made by the girl's mother, who claimed that her daughter had fallen onto a kitchen cupboard while trying to reach for biscuits. but the jury did not believe her. the court also heard evidence about the mother's interest in witchcraft. during a police search, two cows' tongues and ingredients used to create silencing spells were found in herfreezer at home, next to the names of police officers, social workers and foster carers involved in this case, and the girl's interviews were also played to the jury. she was heard telling her foster carer that she had been cut

by an old lady, someone she referred to as a witch, while being held down by her mother. the girl was treated at this hospital in east london. when doctors saw her, she was lying on a towel, soiled with blood. her injuries were severe, with three separate cuts on her genitalia. for legal reasons, we can't name the girl's mother. she is 37 and originally from uganda. the girl's father, a 43—year—old man from ghana, was also on trial for the same offence, but cleared of all the charges against him. today's guilty verdict has resonated with those who have also suffered this type of abuse. this woman was cut when she was six years old. a lot of people are afraid of it, because they are attached to a colour, attached to different religions, attached to different communities and that is what we fight about. do not attach it to anything except child abuse. the girl's mother is now facing up

to 1a years in prison. she will be sentenced next month. adina campbell, bbc news. let's take a look at some of the other stories making the news... the fact checking website snopes has said it's cutting ties with facebook. snopes is one of more than 30 fact checking services which has been working with the social media platform. media reports last year suggested that several fact checking firms have been frustrated by facebook‘s lack of transparency. the italian authorities have impounded the last charity rescue ship operating in the central mediterranean. the sea watch three was detained after being allowed to disembark 47 migrants in the sicilian port of catania. italy's populist government has been trying to stop humanitarian groups from bringing rescued migrants ashore. donald trump has hinted at declaring a national emergency to obtain funds for a us mexico wall, at a white house event on friday. such a move would get around

opposition from the democrats, who have used their control of the house of representatives to block mr trump's request for funds. that of course led to the partial government shutdown. but mr trump says construction of a wall is progressing with "funds on hand" and the administration is "ready to give out contracts". we'll be looking at a national emergency because i don't think anything will happen. i think the democrats don't want border security. and when i hear them talking about the fact that walls are immoral and walls don't work, they know they work. let's stay in the us because the race to replace president trump is already under way. the already crowded democratic nomination process got a little more complicated today, with cory booker throwing his hat into the ring for the 2020 election. he's a 49—year—old senator from newjersey, and used to be the mayor of the state's largest city, newark.

he's also been a highly vocal critic of president trump. here's a little of what he said about why he's right for the top job. people in america are losing faith, that this nation will work for them, that and they are beginning to believe that too many folks are going to get left out or left behind, the forces that are tearing us apart are stronger than the forces that bond us together as a people and a country. i am running for president because i want to address these issues. so let's take a look at his democratic rivals. it's already quite a crowded field, and here are just a few of the people who've already said they want to be commander in chief: from california, there's senator comma—la harris — there's senator kamala harris — a former attorney general who's risen to national prominence afterjust two years in congress.

from massachusetts, there's senator elizabeth warren, who was the first to jump into the race and is seen to be on the left of her party. and kirsten gillibrand, who's been a new york senator for a decade, has also launched an exploratory committee. and there are those some still expect to run, but who haven't yet shown their hands. you may rememberjoe biden as barack 0bama's vice president — as delaware senator before that, mr biden ran for the democratic nomination twice. and if you follow democratic politics, you won't have forgotten bernie sanders, the vermont senator who ran for the party's nomination in 2016. stay with us on bbc world news, still to come: the eu says that following brexit, uk citizens should be granted visa free travel — even in the event of a no deal exit. details coming up. this is the moment millions in iran

have been waiting for. after his long years in exile, the first hesistant steps of the ayatollah on iranian soil. south africa's white government has offered it's black opponents concessions unparalleled in the history of the parties, and the anc leader, nelson mandela, is to be set free unconditionally. the countdown to a critical moment. the worlds most powerful rocket ignited all 27 of its engines at once. apart from its power, it is this recycling of the rocket, slashing the cost of a launch that makes this a breakthrough in the business of space travel. two americans have become the first humans to walk in space without any lifelines to their spaceship. one of them called it piece of cake. thousands of people have given ellen macarthur a spectacular homecoming in the cornish port after she smashed the world

record for selling solo around the world nonstop. this is bbc world news today. i'm lweis vaughan jones. the latest headlines. the united states suspends a major cold war arms agreement with russia, saying it's violated the treaty with a new missile system. the mother of a three—year—old girl, has become the first person to be convicted of female genital mutilation, in the uk. right let's bring you up to speed with all things brexit. plenty of wranglings behind the scenes today. let's start with the diplomatic row that's erupted over how gibraltar — a british 0verseas territory which lies on the southern coastline of spain — is described in official eu documents. the uk's ambassador to the eu used a meeting of diplomats to object to the british territory being described as "a colony"

with "controversial" status. it's included in draft legislation which would allow british passport holders to travel to the eu visa—free after brexit. gibraltar‘s chief minister expressed his displeasure at madrid. we consider this language to be unnecessarily provocative and i don't know what spain is playing at and how they think this enables us to build a strong relationship going forward , to build a strong relationship going forward, the spanish repeatedly say they want gibraltar to become spanish, what here is good evidence of why the juh brought terry and someone of why the juh brought terry and someone that. at every opportunity, oui’ someone that. at every opportunity, ourgiant someone that. at every opportunity, our giant neighbour takes whatever opportunity it might to stick his finger in her eye. —— mike here is a good evidence of wide gibraltar wa nts good evidence of wide gibraltar wants the opposite of that. the document will now be discussed by the european parliament and the european commission before becoming law. a spokesman for the european commission gave more details on the visa regime for short—term travel, in the event

of a no—deal brexit. 0n the 13th of november, the commission proposed to amend the visa regulation and it would mean that that uk citizens would not need a visa when travelling to the eu for short stays. 0n the condition that the uk grants reciprocal visa free travel to all eu citizens. let's get the sport now, with ben croucher. thank you. the west indies have taken firm control of the 2nd test against england on day two in antigua....despite the pitch still displaying a few demons.... the windies have moved onto 262 for six, that's a lead of 75. john campbell and kraig brathwaite came close to a half century for the hosts. stuart broad has picked up three wickets for england. moeen ali a couple too. still the patient west indian batting frustrating the touring side.

the odd ball is worrying the batsman. roston chase got pretty much a pea roller but batting all day on that wicket no mean feat. you can follow the proceedings on the bbc sport website and app with the cricket social team... from antigua to canberra and the first test at the new manuka 0val. and australia christened it with a destructive display of batting against sri lanka. despite being 28 for three in the first hour, travis head's 161 and joe burns unbeaten 172 have put australia in a commanding position in the capital. the two put on 308 for the fourth wicket was australia's highest ever against sri lanka. it's also the first time in 70 years two batsman made 150 or more in a day. they'll resume in a couple of hours on 384 for four. to a remarkable story in the uae where qatar have won the asian cup for the first time in their history. they beat four—time winners japan 3—1 in the final. not a bad goal to score in it too. almoez ali broke the record of goals scored by a player

at a single asian cup — that spectacular strike was his ninth of the tournament. qatar will host the next world cup in 2022. so qatar lift their maiden title. and our reporter mani djazmi has followed their progress throughout the tournament in the united arab emirates. catarrh have been the only consistent team in this competition. they have won all their games, scored 19 goals and conceded just one and have the goal in boot and the highest assist provider and of course more importantly, they have the trophy. there were they deserve to win this match and the tournament and they have been a revelation. the bright technical ability has shown through what has been a pretty drab competition to be —itis. now come at their years out, almost four years out from the next world cup, they are going home for the first time in their 49 year history as the champions of asia. and the only conceded the one goal.

deontay wilder says a heavyweight rematch with tyson fury is ‘100 percent on'. the pair fought out a controversial draw last december and the american says an agreement is in place for the rematch to take place in april or may this year in either las vegas or new york. we will see what happens. this fight will definitely happen. we have to keep it coming. the heavyweight division is very lit right now and we have to make sure we do our part to give that a excitement coming. the most successful female skiier of all time — lindsay vonn — has announced that next week's world championships — will be her final event the american has struggled with injury over the last few years and says "my body is screaming at me to stop and it's time to listen". the 2010 olympic downhill champion was hoping to break ingemar stenmark‘s longstanding record of 86 world cup victories, but she's four short of that mark. the 2019 rugby six nations tournament is under way — france are hosting wales at the stade de france in paris in the opening game and it's the french who hold the advantage

at the moment. they lead the welsh. louis picamoles and yoann huget with the tries for the hosts in tricky, wet conditions. england's women have opened their tournament by beating ireland. that's all the sport for now. thank you. let's stay with rugby in france because the sport is currently under a shadow cast by the deaths of four players — two of them professionals — in the last eight months. as hugh schofield reports, there are growing calls for reforms to make the game more safe. last august, in a match, he was caught in a crunch tackle at chest height and his heart stopped. today his girlfriend comes regularly to stay with his parents where he grew up near montpellier, they find it

helps to be together. she was at the stadium when he died. translation: in the changing room he lost consciousness twice. he collapsed again after vomiting. but they couldn't revive him after that. he was gone. if his death had been a one off it could be called an accident, but it wasn't, in fact he is won of four players in the last eight months who have died after a collision on the pitch. the series of deaths has prompted much soul—searching at the top of french rugby. what has gone wrong to make the game in france so much more dangerous, people are asking, and what are the possible remedies that could make it safer? it's not as if they haven't been warnings. this neurologist said he saw it coming, the sheer size of players has increased so greatly in recent years, but it is all muscle, organs and bones haven't changed. translation: today a player is 90 to 95 kilos of muscle, but the rest

of the physiology hasn't changed. it's like putting a formula 1 engine into a family car. if you run into something the chassis is going to break. but in france there may be another factor, the style of playing. here at third division rennes they are going back to the traditional throwing game. but the top clubs like toulon are still looking for players who bust their way through the opposition. translation: french rugby has been played like bumper cars. we have been seeking out the biggest and most powerful. it is inevitable that some day something like this would happen. the crisis is taken seriously at the top of french rugby, not least because of a sharp decline in youngsters taking up the sport because parents are worried. there is talk of changes around the rules of tackling. last month saw another funeral,

nicolas chauvin, killed in a tackle. in french rugby, more and more people are saying that something has to change. after one of the coldest snaps in living memory, temperatures are beginning to rise in the united states. at least 21 people are believed to have died from the sub—zero weather. and while things might be warming up a little, officials say conditions will be dangerous for at least another 2a hours. chris buckler is in chicago. chicago has the feeling of a city that is getting back to normal, commuters have been going back to work today and it feels pretty bustling. i was speaking to a woman who has not been out of her house since saturday. that is all because of this extreme cold.

but it is getting back to normal now. even the temperature. saying that it is still at —10 celsius, although they are used to a bit of winter here in chicago. notjust the kind of temperatures we saw in the last few days, remember it got as low as —30 celsius. in the coming days, it will actually get much warmer here in chicago and right across the midwest. we will go from temperatures of about —30 celsius up to potentially plus 10 celsius. that kind of rapid thaw after such an extreme cold, that could cause problems in itself. obviously, there are dangers about flooding in some places, there is a lot of ice and snow all over the place. beyond that, also there could be potholes in the streets and also concerns about burst water mains. there have already been pipes that have burst. actually, here last night at union station, a sprinkler pipe burst and spread water all over commuters as they were

trying to get home. there were not many people then of course, there are many more people in the city at the moment. just looking towards the days ahead, they are concerned that there could could be problems by the rapid thaw. also looking a few weeks ahead, there is the danger of yet another cold spell coming. just not as cold as this. remember, people have referred to this as having temperatures lowest for a generation and certainly it will be a cold spell in chicago that they remember. in the chilly city, rather than the windy city of chicago. don't forget you can get in touch with me and some of my team on twitter — i'm @lvaughanjones you are watching bbc news. i'll be back with the headlines in a few minutes. goodbye. hello. the first disruptive snow of

the season. quite a white every yet ina the season. quite a white every yet in a populated area has led to some disruption. the culprit is this area of low pressure, a sting in its tail, this weather front is springing for their pretty heavy snow to central southern england and the southeast, through this evening. with further snow and lying snow, ice will become a problem. take extra ca re if ice will become a problem. take extra care if you're heading out. the heavy snow across the south should clear away during the course of the night, we'll see further snow showers. and across the eastern side of england. it should be dry elsewhere. it is a cold night to come hence the risk of ice. pretty widespread. heading into the weekend, many place to start dry and bright would sunshine but we will see further what your showers across northern and eastern areas. i better

looking picture in the central part of england. sunshine and a liner showers running down the irish sea. we could to see some wintry. accumulations on the north of england, plenty of snow showers piling into scotland but for the rest, a fine morning. a lot of chris with her sunshine. in the afternoon, it stays dry. away from the north. it will be a cold day, temperatures no higher than for a 5 degrees for most of us. heading onto saturday night, we continue with the snow showers across northern eastern areas and you can see largely clear skies to the temperatures will fall like a stone, and other cold and frosty night to come. another risk of ice northern and eastern areas. and sunday, a change to come of this little area of low pressure moving in off the atlantic to bring a brand of clout are rated there will be some hail snow at times. we will see

he'll snow across northern ireland through the morning and that banner brain pushing on towards western britain and we will see snow over the high ground. in towards the pen nines and across scotland. some of it will be heavy but it will be mainly over the hills. it brightens up mainly over the hills. it brightens up behind it. ahead of it, he should stay dry until after dark. for that we and a lot of chris with her around, looks like on sunday we will see a ban of rain with snow moving this is bbc news world headlines. this is bbc news world headlines. this has been if i spent three decades. and i think the move, mike pompeo said that russia had six months to say that it complied. a british court has not at 37—year—old mother guilty of female genital mutilation. this is the first time that anyone has been convicted of the fence in the uk. if but it has amazed of a dam collapsed in brazil.

0ver amazed of a dam collapsed in brazil. over 100 amazed of a dam collapsed in brazil. 0ver100 people had been confirmed dead following that disaster. in new jersey senator cory booker said that he is running