this is bbc world news today. i'm lucy grey. our top stories. russia reacts to the us suspending a key nuclear treaty — by pulling out of the deal as well. translation: our american partners have announced they are suspending their participation in the deal, and we are also suspending our participation. thousands take to the streets in venezuela — as the self—proclaimed presidentjuan guaido calls for the biggest mass protest in the country's history. protesters want to keep up their momentum, to bring down the fall of a government they detest. tear gas and violence on the streets of paris — as the yellow vest protestors are out for a twelfth weekend. hello and welcome to world news today. president vladimir putin has responded to a decision by the united states

to suspend its involvement in the intermediate—range nuclear forces treaty — by saying russia will do the same. he said russia would also start to develop new mid—range hypersonic missiles, but insisted the door remained open for negotiations. both sides accuse the other of violating the cold war—era accord. from moscow, steve rosenberg sent this report. at the kremlin, vladimir putin and his ministers sent a clear message to washington over the inf treaty — you intend to pull out, do you? well, two can play at that game. translation: our response will be symmetrical. our us partners announced that they are suspending their participation in the inf treaty. so we are suspending it, too. and there was more. moscow, president putin said, would develop new weapons, including a land—based version of this cruise missile, and missiles more than five times the speed of sound.

it's a far cry from us—russian cooperation three decades ago, when presidents reagan and gorbachev signed the inf treaty. it eliminated a whole class of short and medium—range missiles and became a cornerstone of european security. but the chill in relations is palpable. it's beginning to feel like the cold war is back. president putin said that one thing he didn't want was russia being dragged into a costly new arms race. but with both america and russia now having suspended the inf treaty, that is a huge blow to east—west arms control. the inf treaty is breaking apart, and america blames russia. russia has jeopardised the united states' security interests, and we can no longer be restricted by the treaty while russia shamelessly violates it.

america says these russian missiles violated the inf treaty. moscow denies it, and claims washington broke the agreement. a high—stakes blame game for the two biggest nuclear powers. steve rosenberg, bbc news, moscow. as steve rosenberg was saying in his report — the united states has accused moscow of violating the treaty by deploying a new missile system. the novator 9m729 can carry conventional or nuclear warheads, it's a land—based cruise missile. the russians are believed to have first tested it five years ago. it's been developed based on a shorter—range version which can be fired from mobile launchers. nato says the iksander missile system is hard to detect — and reduces warning time, giving countries around it less opportunity to react. the same style of system was deployed last year in kaliningrad, the russian exclave in eastern europe. the intermediate—range nuclear forces treaty bans missiles with a range of between

500 and 5,500km. russia says the range of its system is just 480 kilometres — but the us believes it is in fact four times that. joining me now from our washington studio is richard weitz, senior fellow and director of the center for political—military analysis at hudson institute. . thanks forjoining us. just tell me what you make of this. there is no secret that russia was not a fan of the treaty. 0h, no secret that russia was not a fan of the treaty. oh, no, the russians have been attacking the treaty for at least a decade. the russian defence minister said that the treaty is grossly unfair to russia because unlike the united states, which has friendly neighbours, russia is surrounded by countries that are more difficult to deal with and have, many of them have missiles of this range including north korea,

iran, and pakistan. they've initiated the desire to get out of the treaty and that may be one reason why they decided to violate it, prompting the us to leave. how dangerous, then, is the blame game? we heard in the report, saying that it looks like the cold war is back. right, you know, it's come at the treaty had a useful purpose when it was signed in 1987, eliminating a class of weapon which helped to end the cold war but in the last three decades there have been several developments which have made it less useful in the broader scheme of things. first, as i mentioned, there have been many other countries that have been many other countries that have missiles of this range, in particular china, but also north korea and iran and about 30 others. the other problem is that the technology of weapons has evolved

far beyond what the treaty designers envisioned. now there are many systems that can arguably inflict as much damage as intermediate range missiles, whether they are armed drones, cyber weapons and so on. so where we are now i think is a good opportunity, rather than looking back, look ahead, as the trump administration is trying to do, think about what would be a better treaty, something that could address the challenge we have of new weapon technologies and new countries that have this kind of strategic weapon? we'll leave it there. . thanks for joining us. huge protests in venezuela again today, both for and against president nicolas maduro. he's been facing international pressure to step down following allegations of electoral fraud. today a high—ranking air force general in the venezualan military switched his allegiance to the opposition leader juan guaido and called for others to do the same. 0ur correspondent, james reynolds, reports

from venezuela's capital, caracas. venezuela's opposition called for the biggest march in the history of south america. tens of thousands of protesters came out — a clear sign of the movement's ambition. for the first time in years, venezuela's opposition feels optimistic. and protesters here want to keep up their momentum to bring down the fall of a government they detest. translation: i'm 17 and i have only seen this government. i don't want to live under it any more. i'm tired of this. many have lived for years with shortages. this woman told me she lost her mother because the family couldn't get her the right medicine. we want a change. we are tired of death. all kinds of bad things that occurred in my country, since at least 15 years ago. the opposition leader, juan guaido, who has declared himself

the interim president, is after further support. this morning, he won an important ally — an air force general defected to his side. translation: 9096 of the armed forces are against president maduro. they are with the people of venezuela. the transition to democracy is imminent. but the government of president nicolas maduro, this afternoon holding its own rallies, still controls this country. his most senior military commanders remain loyal, allowing him to stay in power. james reynolds, bbc news, caracas. it is indeed difficult to predict what will happen in venezuela in coming weeks. 0ur reporter rafael rojas has been monitoring the situation, and says today's protests against nicolas maduro attracted huge crowds. we have seen a large manifestation, large groups of people going out in anti—government protests,

calling for the resignation of nicolas maduro. there have been more people on the streets, just because the last protest, the last day of protests was wednesday, when everyone was at work, they had only scheduled two hours. today, large groups of people were seen in many cities around venezuela. not only in caracas, where the protests normally take place. there was one specific place in the state of lara, where various images of people being allowed to protest by members of the national police were being circulated on social media. that is significant, isn't it, but we've also had these big protests on the side off maduro today as well, haven't we? we have. nicolas maduro was talking just a a few moments ago and he was saying, he was calling for new

legislative elections. that is not what the opposition in venezuela have been asking for. they have been calling for new presidential elections but nicolas maduro is insistent that the revolution was going to continue and that he was going to be the leader of the country for the next five years. yeah, what do you expect to happen? what's your feeling about where things will go? right now, this situation is upforgrabs. there is mounting pressure from the international community, mounting pressure from people protesting on the streets, but there is also a strong backing that nicolas maduro has from the military, and from people around the country that still believe in the project of chavez in venezuela. we had this general, defecting earlier today, didn't we? in his little statement he said

that there were many in the military who felt like he did. that has been a question that has been in everyone's mind. it's what's going to happen with the military. the military really revolting against nicolas maduro? all the footage we've seen so far, especially from the pro—government side, is backing the president. all the videos the government has been showing is the president backed by troops. all these generals we have seen defecting, they have been solely their image on the television, without any troops. that causes concerns from some commentators and analysts. the governor of the us state of virginia, ralph northam, has denied claims that he is the individual in a controversial —

and racist — picture from his 1984 medical schoool yearbook. he says the individual is shown wearing a ku klux klan outfit, which he has never worn. he also said he was not at the party where the picture was taken. the governor of the us state of virginia, ralph northam, i recognise that many people find this difficult to believe. the photo appears with others i submitted on a page with my name on it. even in my own statement yesterday, i conceded that, based on the evidence presented to me at the time, the most likely explanation, that it was indeed me in the photo. in the hours since i made my statement yesterday, i reflected with my family and classmates from the time, and affirmed my conclusion that i'm not the person in that photo. for more on this the bbc‘s chris bucklerjoins me from washington. he said it is disgusting but it

wasn't him, in fact? yeah there's a certain amount of confusion among those who have been protesting about his decision to remain governor and they are asking the question, how could you make this mistake? initially ralph northam admitted and said he was in the picture, which shows a man in a ku klux klan costu me shows a man in a ku klux klan costume standing beside someone who was in blackface, dressed essentially as a caricature of an african—american man. he didn't make layer which he appeared —— he didn't make clear which he believed he was in the picture, which was published ina in the picture, which was published in a yearbook in 1994, —— in 1984, under his name, ralph northam. now he says it wasn't him, that there has been a mistake and he will not step down because it isn't true and

this is a slur against him. stay with us because he revealed there was an incident in his youth which he says he now regrets. i had these shoes come i had a glove and i used a little bit of shoe polish to put on my cheeks. the reason i used a little bit is because, i don't know if anybody has tried that, but you cannot get to polish off. it was a dance contest. i had always liked michaeljackson. i actually won the contest because i had learned how to do the moonwalk. i apologise for what i have done in the past and i can promise you are never do that again in the future. so what it did he say about the fact that he apologised yesterday for this photo which he now says wasn't him? this was a pretty awkward news conference in many ways. he said he took responsibility for the photograph being published in the medical yearbook but he wasn't

responsible for being in the photograph. he said he never saw the yearbook and he never bought a copy but he should have known it was there and should have asked for it to be removed. he said it was a shock that he was in the photograph. he's asked other questions about his background. he said it wasn't a total surprise to him that some people had dressed up like that in the time and place where he was back then in virginia. he did however say that he wasn't someone who drank a huge amount. he was asked about his drinking and he was asked about a questionable nickname which is best not repeating, and he also talked about the incident when he dressed up about the incident when he dressed up as michaeljackson. reporters asked the question, you may not have beenin asked the question, you may not have been in blackface for that occasion, but what you are essentially admitting is blacking out for a talent contest, and isn't that

wrong? he says he now accepts it was wrong? he says he now accepts it was wrong but he didn't then see it that way and has changed his views. it's difficult for ralph northam because the governor has been staunchly opposed to racism, standing on that platform many times, and within the democratic platform there is pressure for him to stand down. many senior democrats have come out against him including the former vice presidentjoe biden who said he didn't have the moral authority to remain. he has said he isn't going anywhere. that's the point, for the moment, the governor says he's staying in position but you get a sense that he brought out the story of him dressing up as michael jackson of trying to get ahead of the media pack. he's aware people will be looking into his past and probably looking for more pictures. . thanks forjoining us. stay with us on bbc world news, still to come. we'll be going to our sport centre and get the latest on the rugby action this weekend.

this is the moment that millions in iran have been waiting for. after his long years in exile, the first hesitant steps of ayatollah khomeini on iranian soil. south africa's white government has offered its black opponents concessions unparalleled in the history of apartheid. the anc leader, nelson mandela, is to be set free unconditionally. five, four, three, two, one. the countdown to a critical moment. the world's most powerful rocket ignited all 27 of its engines at once and apart from its power, its 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 lifeline to their spaceship. one of them called it a piece of cake. thousands of people have given the yachtswoman ellen macarthur a spectacular homecoming in the cornish port of falmouth

after she smashed the world record for sailing solo around the world nonstop. this is bbc world news today. the latest headlines. russia is suspending a key nuclear weapons treaty following a similar decision by the united states. tens of thousands of venezuelans have taken to the streets in support of opposition leaderjuan gaudio, who's trying to force president maduro from power. from venezuela to demonstrations in france, where what are known as the yellow vest protests are taking place for a twelfth successive weekend. and this time protesters are not only mobilised against president emmanuel macron. danny aebehard reports. it's the 12th week of protests. not just paris, but cities like strasbourg, bordeaux and tours.

they started out as a show of anger about fuel tax rises but have since broadened out to issues such as low wages, democratic representation and a hatred of a government demonstrators see as out of touch. and the protests continue to morph. increasingly, the authorities' response to the demonstration is itself becoming a rallying cry. the use by police of explosive tear gas canisters is one grievance, but rage is directed primarily at the use of the compressible rubber balls, known as flash balls. these have caused serious facial injuries. a court ruled on friday that police can continue using flash balls due to the risk of violence at protests. but images count. 0n the streets again was a high—profile protester, jerome rodriguez, his right eye damage last saturday by what he says was a flash ball. translation: we shoot at the population with a weapon of war.

is that what france is like today? is this the country in which i was educated? is it like that in this country of freedom ? we sought to fill the fridge, we end up with one eye left. the government has to hear this. the protests were generally peaceful, with sporadic clashes. wired police responded to projectiles being thrown with tear gas and water cannon. nothing, though, on the scale of the riots that hit paris in december. officials say that since the demonstrations began, 1,700 protesters have been injured and about 1,000 police. it's a reminder of the delicate balancing act the authorities are facing. they've insisted they will protect public order from a minority of violent protesters but they do so at the risk of adding to grievances and perceptions of an overbearing state. it's proving a hard circle to break. catherine downes has all the sport.

hello and thanks for joining us on sport today. if the match between the ireland and england in dublin was supposed to decide the eventual winner of this year's six nations then england have made a huge statement by claiming victory and in some style too. they beat the defending champions 32—20 to register theirfirst win in dublin in six years. england hadn't even scored a try at the aviva stadium since 2011, but managed four today, with the first of them coming within the opening two minutes. henry slade provided a further two. ireland had never lost at home in the six nations under coach joe schmidt. yeah it was a tough old game, playing one of the best teams in the world and we had to roll our sleeves up, to be tactically good, and we did that. i thought our response in the second part of the first half was excellent, where we probably won the game. we started well and let

them into it but we scored that try just before half—time. scotland made an impressive start to theircampaign, with blair kinghorn scoring a hattrick in their 33—20 win over italy at murrayfield. there were five tries in all for the home side, so that means a bonus point. italy didn't give up and managed to score three late tries but it's still an 18th consecutive six nations defeat for them. west indies have thrashed england by ten wickets in the second test in antigua to take an unassailable 2—0 lead in the three—match series. west indies were eventually bowled out for 306 in their first innings — a lead of 119. england's batsmen once again had no answer to the windies pace bowlers, with kemar roach and jason holder each taking four wickets as the tourists were skittled out forjust 132. the west indies finshed the match off in style withjohn campbell hitting a six. tottenham moved into second in the english premier league — son heung—min struck late to deny newcastle a point at wembley stadium.

the south korean forward benefitted from a martin dubravka error with seven minutes left. newcastle were well organised throughout and rafael benitez‘s side had chances of their own but son's ninth goal in his past 10 spurs appearances helped his side to a valuable three points. football, sometimes you score early and sometimes you score late, sometimes you score easy and sometimes you score easy and sometimes you score difficult goals but i think football is played over 90 minutes and you have to be patient. the time was right. in the first half we were unlucky, we had a lot of chances. sometimes you must be patient for the right moment. meanwhile after their biggest league defeat in more than 20 years on wednesday, chelsea have responded with a big win against bottom of the table huddersfield. 5—0 at stamford bridge with gonzalo higuain getting his first two goals for the club. borussia dortmund have

extended their lead at the top of bundesliga to seven points despite dropping points in a 1—1 draw at eintracht frankfurt. that's because bayern munich lost 3—1 at bayer leverkusen, their fourth in the league this season. borussia monchengladbach are now second after their win at schalke. in spain barcelona were held to a 2—2 draw at home to valencia. barca were actually 2—0 nil but two lionel messi goals salvaged a draw. barca are still six points clear at the top. sevilla could go third, ahead of real madrid, if they win their match against celta vigo. that's all the sport for now. customs officials in india have

detained a passenger after they found a month—old leopard cub hidden in his luggage. officials at chennai airport found the cub when they heard noises coming from the 45—year—old man's bag. the animal appeared weak and in a state of shock and has been taken to a wildlife park to be cared for. authorities are investigating whether the man, who travelled from bangkok, is part of an international smuggling ring. don't forget you can get in touch with me and some of my team on twitter. there is plenty more on our website. thanks for watching. after friday's snow drama, a calm

and sunny day across much of the uk. plenty of blue sky but under the blue skies, temperatures dropping away quickly. coldest overnight where there is no on the ground. when to be showers, rain, sleet and snow to the north—west of scotland. those in east anglia will fade away and skies will clear, may be the odd patch of fog. some icy patches where there has been rain. the main story overnight is how cold it will be. a widespread hard frost. snow on the ground in southern england, it may be —10, and in northern scotland as well. we start with sunshine for many of us on sunday but you can see whether france from the west. going through the day that is going to bring cloud. rain preceded by sleet or snow, mostly on the hills, in

northern ireland, scotland, northern england and into north wales. south of that the cloud is going to increase, east anglia and the south—east will hold onto most of the sunshine. scotland brightening up the sunshine. scotland brightening up with one or two showers in the afternoon. northern ireland, cloud returning later from the south and temperatures, less cold. the far south of england may reach 10 degrees as the wind turns to a south—westerly. a milder direction but you can see going into monday morning, more wet weather pushing over the uk with a strengthening wind and the likelihood of more snow into the pennines, southern uplands, into the pennines, southern uplands, into the pennines, southern uplands, into the islands where the highest amounts may be 15 centimetres of new snow, prolonged snowfall lasting for much of monday although it will start to move east. elsewhere on monday when you get rid of the early rain it will brighten up, some sunny spells and temperatures for monday a little bit higher. there will be a gap between weather systems on

monday night, high—pressure the isobars. under clear skies, another frost into tuesday morning. weather systems gathering in the atlantic. they will come in as the week goes on, and it will be unsettled in the week ahead. if you can take one thing from the chart, look at the temperatures. turning much milder. this is bbc world news, the headlines: russia has announced it is pulling out of a cold war arms control treaty, and says it will develop a new hypersonic missile. it mirrors a move to withdraw from the treaty by the united states on friday. tens of thousands of venezuelans have taken to the streets in support of opposition leaderjuan gaudio, who's trying to force president maduro from power. large crowds also turned out in separate protests in support of the government. the french interior ministry says around seventeen thousand people took part in 12th weekend of yellow vest protests. most of the demonstrators were in paris, where police used tear gas to control the crowd. the governor of the us state

of virginia has denied wearing a ku klux klan outfit in a university yearbook photograph. on friday ralph northam apologised for appearing in the photo, but now says it wasn't him.