this is bbc news. our top stories: thousands take to the streets in venezuela as the self—proclaimed president, juan guaido, calls for the biggest mass protest in the country's history. there is a sense here of celebration. the mood is relaxed but the intent is serious, to send a message to president nicolas maduro that time is up. russia says it will follow the us and pull out of a key nuclear treaty, and start to develop a new range of missiles. virginia governor ralph northam refuses to quit and insists he is not the person in a racist 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 am not the person in that photo. and punxsutawney phil fails to see his shadow. the us can expect an early spring. hello, and welcome to bbc news.

tens of thousands of people in venezuela have taken part in protests aimed at forcing fresh elections, or the resignation of their president, nicolas maduro. he's been facing international pressure to step down following allegations of electoral fraud. at a counter—rally in the capital caracas, mr maduro proposed bringing forward elections, but pressure on him remains. today, a high—ranking air force general switched his allegiance to the opposition leader juan guaido and has called for others to do the same. orla guerin reports from caracas. the opposition calls and from early morning they came. that word, freedom, was on many lips in caracas today.

and we met plenty who believed venezuela's opposition leader, juan guaido, will be the one to deliver it. we are very proud of him, because he has taken us through the right route to have liberty, democracy and what we have yearned for so many years. 20 years, more or less, yearning for this moment. well, there's a sense here of celebration, the mood is very relaxed, but the intent is serious — to send a message to president nicolas maduro that time is up. the opposition has gathered here in numbers. they believe that a process of change is under way in venezuela and that it will not be stopped. a military helicopter passed overhead, but the security forces kept their distance. speakers told the crowd this was a moment of history,

a moment of hope for venezuela. beaming on stage, the man many now look to as a saviour, juan guaido. already being called venezuelan‘s obama, he's a powerful symbol, but an untested leader. today, he tried to court the military with what voice he had left. "welcome to every officer thatjoins the side of the constitution," he said. "we have amnesties, soldier of the nation, you have a role in the recovery of the nation of venezuela." these were the images broadcast by state tv. massive crowds that some claim were suspiciously large. president maduro offered to bring forward parliamentary elections to this year.

that might sound like a concession, but the opposition already control parliament, so he's not given much. back at thejuan guaido rally, venezuelans literally throwing their money away. it's worth little or nothing anyway. the opposition has called for protests to continue until the maduro era is consigned to history. orla guerin, bbc news, caracas. and i've been speaking to orla guerin about the mood in the venezuelan capital during those mass protests. it was a real sense of expectation on the streets among the opposition supporters, a sense of excitement, a feeling of hope. that was the word many people use and they said they had hope that for the first time in many years. one woman told us she had been waiting for democracy to be restored here for almost 20 years. there is a feeling i think now among the opposition supporters that they

have the momentum and that international opinion is on their side. there was a long list of m essa 9 es side. there was a long list of m essa g es of side. there was a long list of messages of support read out today at the opposition rally from various countries that have already recognised the opposition leader, juan guaido, as the interim president. there was a great sense of history being made, that phrase was being used from the state today. we saw some people in the crowd praying, with others in tears. there was certainly a feeling among the opposition supporters that there are time had come. from the stage, juan guaido told them they would have to stay out of the streets and they would have to keep pushing until nicolas maduro was removed. but he also made a very big appeal, a very direct appeal to the members of the security forces reminding them that there was an amnesty on the table and telling them that they had a pa rt and telling them that they had a part to play in the rebuilding of venezuela. i think the armed forces really is the key issue finau, nicolas maduro appears to retain their support unless and until we

see a major shift in that, then i think the struggle is going to continue between the opposition and president maduro. meanwhile, we also saw protests in support of president maduro himself, didn't we? yes, that's right. the divisions here when on display today. we had the opposition supporters rallying on the east side of the city, we had supporters of president maduro on the west side. state tv was broadcasting footage showing very large crowds, huge numbers coming out in support of the president, some local sources have suggested to us some local sources have suggested to us that those crowds were suspiciously large. and that the pictures may have been manipulated. nonetheless, there were some supporters of the president out on the streets today. he appeared, he made what appeared to be a confession, saying that he would bring forward parliamentary elections, which were due to happen

in 2020. he offered to bring them forward to this year. but critics are saying really that is not much ofa are saying really that is not much of a giveaway on his part because the opposition already controls parliament. the key issue for the opposition is the presidency. they wa nt to opposition is the presidency. they want to see fresh presidential elections. let's get some of the day's other news. iran has unveiled a new cruise missile during celebrations marking the 40th anniversary of the islamic revolution. the defence minister said the missile has a range of 1,300 kilometres, flies at a low altitude and can be launched at short notice. the former king of belgium, albert ii, has refused to undergo dna testing in a case aimed at proving he fathered a love child in the 1960s. a brussels court ordered the ex—monarch to provide a saliva sample within three months. he denies the paternity claim. 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 pact. 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's 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 the 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. beatrice fihn is executive director of the international campaign to abolish nuclear weapons. i asked just how worried she is by these developments. we are very concerned, it is a very dangerous situation. we have two individuals, trump and putin, bringing insecurity and heightened risk into europe. basically, this is what we are talking about, these missiles are at not meant to be going between russia and the united states. they are meant to be used in europe. and we are hearing president trump saying he wants to negotiate a new deal, hearing president putin saying he is open to negotiations. well, that is great, but we haven't

seen a well, that is great, but we haven't seen a lot of willingness from both of them to address the issues of this treaty. it is a really bad sign. we have seen the us withdrawal from a lot of treaties lately and we need much more emphasis on diplomacy and the wave or wood. what do you wa nt to and the wave or wood. what do you want to happen? what would you like to see happen next? we have two look at the usa and russia and hope they will come to the table and continue this treaty. they have six months until they are formally withdrawn. but that also had to think of the newsta rt treaty. but that also had to think of the newstart treaty. others that might be in big danger of collapsing as well. they had to work to get it on the table again. it needs a lot of countries to come together on this, doesn't it? what should nato be doing? they have said they are going to mirror what russia is doing, but they still talk about needing a viable deterrent. what you see nato doing next? they have a huge

impression on the united states right now, and so far they have not step up. they have just allow the trump administration to unravel key instrument to keep europe secure. they need to move away. it is not a cce pta ble they need to move away. it is not acceptable to rely on weapons of mass destruction, threatening to mass destruction, threatening to mass murder civilians. do you really expect that? absolutely. there are already concert —— conversations in these countries. they are supporting a new treaty that was secured two yea rs a new treaty that was secured two years ago. it will put pressure on russia and the united states. the japanese carmaker, nissan, is expected to announce that it is cancelling planned investment at its plant in the north of england. in 2016, the firm said it would build the new x—trail model in sunderland after its executives met theresa may in downing street and received what they called "support and assurances" about the impact of brexit. our business correspondent rob young has more. nissan runs britain's biggest car plant.

the sunderland factory was due to get even bigger. after the eu referendum in 2016 the government gave nissan confidential reassurances about brexit. that secured a promise to build a new model, the x—trail 4x4, creating about 200 jobs and securing many more. we've been showing nissan and others that we are committed to getting the best possible deal from the future relationship that we'll be negotiating with the european union. part of that promised investment will not now happen. workers at the plant expect nissan to announce it's cancelling the plan to build the x—trail in sunderland. there's disappointment in the city. there's, you know, not a lot that's manufactured here these days, so it is a shame, yeah. it's not good news at all, not for sunderland, because it's a big employer for the region, you know, so it's bad news. nissan isn't saying anything, but there are likely to be various factors at play. some will point to brexit

and the uncertainty it's created. but carmakers are also dealing with a rough patch in many european economies, with many car sales falling. many drivers also seem to be less keen on buying diesel cars. nissan had announced back in late 2016 that the plan would come to the uk. since then, things have clearly deteriorated. a big shift away from diesels across europe has really kind of undermined the business case for the model. the car industry has long worried about potential border taxes or checks if there's no brexit deal. so, this news has been leapt on by some. we've already had bad news coming out ofjaguar land rover and redundancies. again, brexit isjust one of several factors. in the case of nissan, it's probably the largest factor, but there are others too. there's not expected to be a big impact onjobs, but the decision is a blow to uk carmaking and will concern those already worried about its immediate future. rob young, bbc news.

stay with us on bbc news. still to come — floods in australia described as the worst in a lifetime. this is the moment that millions in iran had 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. and the anc leader, nelson mandela, is to be set free unconditionally. four, three, two, one... a countdown to a critical moment. the world's most powerful rocket ignited all 27 of its engines at once. and apart from its power, it's 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 non—stop. this is bbc world news. the latest headlines: 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. russia says it will follow the us and pull out of a key nuclear treaty, and start to develop a new mid—range hypersonic missile. the governor of the us state of virginia has denied wearing a racist costume in a university yearbook photograph. on friday, ralph northam apologised for appearing in the photo — but he now says he is sure it wasn't him, and he wasn't even at the party where the picture was taken. 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. the bbc‘s chris buckler is in washington where he was listening to the governor's statement. he gave me his assessment. there has been a certain amount of confusion among those protesting about his decision to remain governor, and they are asking the simple question, how could you make this mistake? because initially he

admitted and said he was in this picture, with shows a man in a ku klux klan costume standing beside somebody who was in black face, is addressed essentially as a caricature of an african—american man. now, he didn't make clear which he believed he was in this photograph, but he seems to accept that he was in the picture, which was published in this medical school yearbook back in 1984, and it was published under his name. there were pictures, other pig —— other pictures, other pig —— other pictures of him, under the name ralph northam. now he says it was not him, it was a mistake, and he says he will not step down because it simply isn't true and this is a slur against it simply isn't true and this is a sluragainst him. it simply isn't true and this is a slur against him. stay with us, chris, because he did reveal there was an incident in his youth which she says he now regrets?” was an incident in his youth which she says he now regrets? i had the shoes, i had a glove, and i used just a little bit of shoe polish to

put on my cheeks, and the reason i used a very little bit is because i don't know if anybody has ever tried that, iq cannot get shoe 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 i will never do that again in the future. so, what did he say about the fact that he apologised yesterday for this photo, which he now says today wasn't him? well, this was a pretty awkward news conference in many ways. he said that he took responsibility for the photograph being published in the medical yearbook, but that he was not responsible for being in the photograph. he says he never actually saw the yearbook, never bought a copy, but he should have known it was there and should have asked for it to be removed. he said it came as a shock to him that he was in this photograph. he has asked their lot of other questions about his background. —— he was asked a lot of other questions. he said it

did not come as a total surprise to him that some people had dressed up like this in the time and place that he was in, back there in virginia. he did however say that he was not someone who drank a huge amount. he was asked about his drinking. he was also asked about a questionable that aim, which is probably best not to repeat. and he was also talking about that incident, when he dressed up about that incident, when he dressed up as michaeljackson. there were reporters asking the question, you may not have been in blackface for that it -- may not have been in blackface for that it —— that occasion, whenever that it —— that occasion, whenever that was taken, that might not be you, but what you are admitting is essentially blacking up a talent contest, and that is in itself something that is wrong. he said he accepted now that it was wrong, but then he didn't see it that way, but that he has changed his view. that was chris buckler, in washington. thousands of yellow vest protesters in paris and across france have been demonstrating against the living costs and policies of president emmanuel macron for the 12th consecutive weekend. this time they're focusing

on their anger over the police's use of crowd—control guns. they're billed as non—lethal and shoot large rubber balls which have injured many protesters with some losing an eye. a top court ruled on friday that police could continue using them because of the threat of violence at protests. floods in the north—east australian state of queensland have reached what officials are calling catastrophic levels, unseen in most people's lifetimes. the tropical monsoon rains have already destroyed buildings, forced evacuations, and swept away cars and livestock in a large area centred on the coastal city of townsville. heavy rain is expected to continue and majorflood alerts are in place. phil mercer reports. forfour for four days, parts of northern queensland have been battered by the heaviest monsoon rains in memory. the main reservoir in townsville is so full that vast amounts of water

have had to be released, causing major flooding. the city has been declared a disaster zone. many homes are submerged and streets turned into rivers. dozens of people have been rescued and thousands more moved to higher ground. when we use the word is unprecedented and uncharted, we use this for a reason. we have not been in this scenario before. there has been a lot of rain that has been falling, especially over the townsville catchment. and some of these levels are unprecedented. there is a warning that the worst may yet be to come. the heavy rain is expected to continue until at least monday. there is, though, some good news. there is, though, some good news. the tropical monsoonal conditions are likely to bring much—needed relief to drought parts of queensland to the of townsville. as we've seen over the last few days

it's been a pretty brutal winter for much of the united states. the polar vortex leading to record low temperatures and lots and lots of snow. but how long will this cold weather last? someone who, it's claimed, has the answer is punxsutawney phil, the famous groundhog. so what's his verdict? the bbc‘s tim allman will tell us. for more than 130 years they have been coming to gobblers knob. the aim is to glean some vital information from a small, furry mammal who appears to be blessed of an extraordinary gift. this is punxsutawney phil, well, not the original one, of course. the groundhog and pa rt—time meteorologists. every year he is asked, can he see his own shadow? if

he can, it is said winter will last another six weeks. it is not immediately apparent how he conveys this information. we have a prediction! but convey it does. so, is it early spring more forecast? stop the music. here is my forecast. faithful followers, there is stop the music. here is my forecast. faithfulfollowers, there is no shadow of me. a beautiful spring it shall be! all hail groundhog supremacy. if i were you i would go out and start buying some swimsuits. before you do, you might want to bearin before you do, you might want to bear in mind that statistical analysis suggests punxsutawney phil is actually wrong more often than he is actually wrong more often than he is right. he really doesn't look like he is enjoying that, does he? 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 cup when they heard noises coming from the fortified old man's bag. the animal appeared weekend and is eight of shock and has been taken to our wildlife park to be careful. authorities are investigating weather the man, who travelled from bangkok, is part of an international smuggling ring. that is all from me. 20 more on all of our stories on our website. just go to bbc.com/news. you can reach me on twitter. i'm @lucyegrey. hello. snow has been the most

prominent feature of the weather over much of the last week, at least on saturday, the sunshine came back. but that's going to be harder to find through much of sunday, as cloud increases, some of us will see a bit more wet weather. that comes after quite a hard frost to start the day. in fact, some places could well be ten minus double figures, where this though is deepest. you can see the extent of the frost as well, even in town and city centres it isa well, even in town and city centres it is a cold start to the day. for many of us there will be some sunshine, but from the word go, northern ireland and western scotland, more cloud around here and some rain, sleet and snow, courtesy of these weather fronts coming in from the atlantic. slowly pushing their way a bit further east as we go through the day. now, the early wet weather should be fairly soon out of the way in northern ireland. a dam start here. again, the rain preceded by a bit of sleet and snow in places, and in that process moves across scotland and to northern

england and may just fringe across scotland and to northern england and mayjust fringe north wales. south of that it should stay mainly dry. cloud increasing, but still some sunny spells towards east anglia and south—east england. behind the wet weather it brightens up behind the wet weather it brightens up again in scotland. it says cloudy in northern ireland. further outbreaks of rain coming back going into the evening. temperatures a little bit higher. parts of south—west england could be up to 10 celsius. a freshening south—westerly wind. stronger through sunday night and into monday morning, as it feeds in more wet weather, while most of us will see rain out of this, a bit of snow falling into the pennines and southern uplands, that especially into the high ground north of the central belt in scotland, where we could see 5—10 centimetres building up as we go through monday. it will be quite slow to —— slow to clear, and in much less cold start day on monday. some rainjust much less cold start day on monday. some rain just affecting much less cold start day on monday. some rainjust affecting parts much less cold start day on monday. some rain just affecting parts of south—east england as monday starts. it may not clear the far south—east. it may not clear the far south—east. it looks like we will hold onto an area of cloud in east anglia. snowy weather slowly pulling away from

northern scotland, and many other areas will see things brightening up on monday. temperatures again will bea on monday. temperatures again will be a bit higher, some of us in south—west england getting into double figures. they will drop again on monday night and this ridge of high pressure with clear skies, there will be another frost going into tuesday morning. low pressure gathering to the west, setting the scene for quite an unsettled week to come. there will be some sunny days, but there will also be some wet days. it will often be windy, but it will take one thing from this chart is those temperatures had upwards. more of us at times will see temperatures in two double figures, and of course that is going to feel very different comparator what we have had over much of the past week or two. a change for the milder in the week ahead. this is bbc news, the headlines: tens of thousands have taken to the streets of venezuela in rival mass rallies. the head of the opposition, juan guaido, is trying to force president maduro from power. the president also spoke at a rally in support of his leadership and the current government. russia has announced that it's 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. and the governor of the us state of virginia, ralph northam, has refused to resign, after he was accused of being in a racist photo in his yearbook. he says the person in the photo is not him. those are the latest headlines. now on bbc news, a special programme from yemen on the escalation of america's covert war against al qaeda. in an investigation for bbc arabic, safa al ahmad has uncovered evidence