george. w. . this is d. w. news live from berlin the tit for tat begins russian president vladimir putin says his country will follow washington's lead in suspending a landmark nuclear arms control pact intermediate range nuclear forces treaty put limits on russian and american nuclear arsenals to both sides accuse the other of

violating the agreement is a new arms race inevitable also coming up. and officials seized the biggest fall of the legal i agree it tangle of scale they've ever caught by seen through bluntly disguises. and the big rush song has millions of chinese packed trains to celebrate the lunar new year with their families to take a closer look at humanity's biggest annual migration. i'm married to evanston it's good to have you with us. russia has suspended a key nuclear arms control treaty one day after the united states did the same in a statement released by the kremlin president vladimir putin accuse the us of breaching the cold war era intermediate range nuclear arms pact he's ordered.

ministers not to initiate disarmament talks with washington and said russia would start work on new missiles the tit for tat moves come after america secretary of state and now as the u.s. was suspending the accord. it's the end of months of speculation and tension secretary of state mike pump aoe has officially signaled that the arms control treaty which has helped keep europeans safe could soon and if russia does not return to full and verifiable compliance with the treaty within the six month period by verifiably destroying its i n f violating missiles there launchers and associated equipment the treaty will terminate this is the weapon that the u.s. is talking about the russian built as a c. eight a missile system washington and many experts believe has a range of more than five hundred kilometers which would mean it's a violation of the i.n.f. treaty. but the kremlin says it never intended to violate the agreement a russian foreign ministry spokesperson says the u.s.

ultimatum is part of a strategy to dodge its international legal obligations for many european countries the end of the i.n.f. treaty brings back memories of the cold war and it stokes fears of a new arms race the german chancellor angela merkel called on both sides to continue talks still insists caught us first it's clear that russia has violated the treaty and that's why we must talk to russia on behalf of germany foreign minister haiku muss and myself will do everything to make talks possible again in the next six months. the agreements between the us and the former soviet union banned all land based nuclear missiles with a range between five hundred and five and a half thousand kilometers that marked an end to decades of nuclear instability during the cold war. experts now fear the end of the i.n.f. treaty could not only further damage the transatlantic relationship but also

threaten the future of other arms control agreements. well for more on the story we're joined now by michael barr enough ski he's the director of the german marshall fund office in warsaw michael thanks so much for being with us so what do you believe is likely to happen if the united states doesn't deed exit the nuclear treaty for good. so it's true that you know it is they started the clock on withdrawing from the treaty but we all have to remember that there is that full agreement in nato that it was the russians who first violated broke. by testing and fielding. intermediate nuclear weapons that they have already have stock still here evolved three to four that are useful for bit in the missiles that russia has already if you didn't as you are on this we could hear it

shows that america has full agreement with this so u.s. is with droid no but it's russia that. i don't expect anything you need to give to change rate no because the west does not have to do it used to put in the field it will take years for us to develop such weapons all right so you say that nato has pointed the finger at russia blaming it for violating the treaty you say is going to take a while for the u.s. to develop anything but do we expect to be entering a new arms race. they needed to be. on the western side. it would be and we would kid ourselves he would be lying to ourselves if we thought it you are not enough arms for us right now russia who is developing those weapons both on the nuclear front they have. no grange

nothing to mediate range but also the whole smaller nuclear weapons inside it will take a while for for nato and the us to respond in kind again there is no disagreement among the four states nato countries who is who broke that treaty now it will be what we could see in a shirker if that u.s. or other european powers the sites to field a stronger medium range the weapons there are not lent based there for example seabeds again it will take a long long time to develop based missiles there are no ready. right michael by now ski from the german marshall fund office in warsaw many thanks indeed for your insights. let's get you up to speed now on some of the other stories making news around the world venezuela is bracing for rival protests as opposition leader one

presses president nicolas maduro to call snap elections many european countries have said they'll recognize wydow as interim president if madrone fails to call actions by sunday mornings of people are expected to demonstrate in the capital caracas. floods in queensland australia have entered what authorities are calling unprecedented territory records have been recorded in the city of townsville which has seen over a year's rain in a matter of days australia has also been experiencing record heat waves this summer scientists warn that manmade climate change is creating more extreme weather events . newly released footage shows the wall of mud that swept through a brazilian mining operation in nearby residential areas last week the mining waste came from a retention pond at the mine one hundred fifteen people have now been confirmed dead in the disaster and another two hundred forty eight are listed as missing. in

the united states the governor of virginia ralph northam has apologized for appearing in a racist photo in his one nine hundred eighty four medical school yearbook a web site published the image on friday african-american politicians have called the image disgusting it's prompted calls for northam to resign. park rangers are offering tourists a closer look at a colony of elephant seals that took over a popular beach near san francisco california and the roughly sixty adult seals seized drake's beach during the u.s. government shutdown last month and proceeded to give birth to about thirty five pups. now ugandan officials have seized the largest contraband shipment of ivory and pangolins scales they've ever taken in a single operation all told the haul is estimated to have a market value of around eight million dollars gagnon authorities have been

stepping up efforts to crack down on illegal trading in elephant tusks rhino horns and penguin scales especially to asia there they sell for thousands of dollars a kilo for use in ornaments and medicines. the ugandan customs come check every container but they were suspicious about this one because it came into the country via a convoluted route from the democratic republic of congo through south sudan to the ugandan border inside to tropical timber but the tree trunk said be hollowed out and filled with ivory well the book to intercept city are by trying to contain us which us declared shoppin containing oak tree to vietnamese nationals have been arrested and officials believe the ivory was headed for the asian market three hundred twenty five elephants had to be killed for these ivory they were also the

scales of hundreds of endangered pringle limbs. for us this is one of the biggest crutch or interception of boards which are prohibited to today been on the international white life protocol or sites so we believe that this is a vice that's what runs us from the nature of it to suck space that we're having we're now into getting them a tech instance from them the smugglers hadn't reckoned with state of the out scanners at this border crossing but as long as there is a market there will be smuggling. all right some sports news now and bundesliga soccer handovers new coach started with high hopes but his first match and in disappointment thomas dahlan his team suffered a three nil loss at home to rb leipzig life to captain billy or been scored twice for the bulls after their fourth loss in a row hand over stay at the very end of the table all this weekend's bundesliga action series title candidates by an endorsement face tricky away games for table

toppers dortmund a trip to high flying frankfurt awaits while byron make the journey to a leader it was inside it rejuvenated by a new man in charge the results could be crucial in this season's tight title race . play because a need to make up for a poor first half of the season that's why they brought in page of bush's coach during the winter break he faces a tough early challenge in the form of buy in. this isn't a very good scene but so we do much of it will be an interesting game and i think quite intense as well i mean to. play because you have taken forty four shots in just two games under bush and with their high quality attacking players the team could yet play a decisive role in the title race. next in two could a more than of course we could help dortmund but above all we want to help the people of laver cues a little quiz design have. doormen themselves face frankfurt's who have ambitions

of their own when it comes to jumpiness league qualification and they're certainly not lacking in confidence ahead of the clash. if you want to be at the top i think you have to beat one of the top teams to talk to him socially. frankfurt's are currently in fifth place just outside the champions league slots there are potential stumbling block for the league leaders. the world's biggest annual human migration is underway more than four hundred million chinese are on the move to ring in the year of the pig which begins on february fifth that means an estimated three billion trips by railroad an air as people headed home to celebrate with their loved ones. it's the start of a long journey home all these people are hoping to board train k. six one seven headed west to lou new years sees millions leaving beijing for the provinces. inside the trains are over crowded not everyone has

a reserve ation forcing some passengers to get creative. personnel has secured a seat the twenty five year old engineering students going home to see his parents to be the first on the scene of the new year cannot do on a spring festival for the chinese it's like christmas for westerners it is a holy day and everyone reunites with their families so it's really important for us in the city in the hot weather for the shuttle. like many chinese has so you know only gets the seas family once a year parents and children often live far apart and travel expenses a high. and it's no short journey outside the barren landscape of her province inside these girls are killing time but they're in high spirits. they were in beijing for a dance performance now they're heading home and looking forward to the day. we

want to have fun the last thing i'll do is my math homework. everyone a happy new year. and then it's time for lunch apart from singing and eating there isn't that much to do. perhaps some exercise in the oil. well for some it's a chance to catch up on lost sleep. gifts are a big part of the new year ritual. bringing something for the kitchen. after six hours on the train reaches his destination and is ready for the festivities to begin. he's looking forward to the food and fireworks the year of the pig brings with it plenty to celebrate. i'm very happy and excited finally i'm with my family i really miss them home is always the warmest

place on earth for me. at home he's dead he's waiting for her so yeah the journey is over but millions of others a still on the road and looking forward to a fist of time with their families. you're up to date on news stay tuned for shift take on living in the digital age that's coming up next after a short break makes her last. first in school in the. first clueless of. gore's grand moment arrives join the arena tango on her journey. you know we're an interactive dungeon torah and the writing returns home.