Hello Australia!! - The Brazil dam collapse as you've never seen it before - The US gives up on a key nuclear treaty - Tallying the trouble caused by the Polar Vortex - And more in your CareerSpot Global News Briefs:

US is suspending the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, a key pact with Russia that has been a centerpiece of European security since the Cold War.  "For years, Russia has violated the terms of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty without remorse," said US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, "Russia's violations put millions of Europeans and Americans at greater risk."  The INF Treaty, signed by then-US President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev in 1987, was the first to reduce nuclear arsenal, eliminating thousands of missiles in Europe. 

The world's largest free trade agreement came into force in Europe and Japan on 1 February, covering 635 million people and almost one-third of the world's economy.  The EU-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement removes duties on almost all agricultural and industrial products and opens up the service sector and procurement.  Simultaneously, the deal protects 'Geographical Indications' such as English Cheddar, Kobe beef and Scotch whiskey.  Japan and the EU began negotiations in 2013, but the talks gained urgency after Donald Trump and his protectionist policies moved into the White House.

The Queensland LNP has expelled its state MP Jason Costigan over a harassment complaint.  Acting party president Dave Hutchinson said the disciplinary action might hurt its chances at the 2020 state election:  "The LNP fully recognises the significance of this action and understands that removing a sitting MP will make the challenge of winning the next state election much more difficult," he said.  Costigan denies harassing the woman who made the complaint and described his former party's action against him as a "stitch-up".

Horrifying video is emerging from Brazil showing the size and speed of the Vale SA dam burst.  The torrent of toxic, rust-red muck appeared to move dozens of meters per second and quickly overwhelms trucks and trains in its path.  Another angle shows the disaster engulfing a valley.  The death toll is now 115 people lives lost with another 248 people still missing, making the tailings dam collapse in the town of Brumadinho likely Brazil's deadliest mine disaster.  The Folha de S.Paulo newspaper reported that an internal study showed Vale knew last year that some of the areas swamped with toxic mud were at risk if the dam burst - which it did.  Vale says that report was just a routine risk assessment.

The Polar Vortex that caused a deep freeze worse that the polar regions to set in over Chicago and the greater Great Lakes region has killed at least 26 people.  One of those was a 69-year old man who was found frozen to death between two trucks at his job for a package delivery service in western Illinois - which tells you what you need to know about retirement security in America these days.  An Iowa college student was found frozen to death outside a dorm.  Hospitals treated hundreds and hundreds of cases of frostbite and hypothermia, dozens of broken bones from slipping on ice, and several cardiac events from folks who were not physically prepared for shoveling the volume of snow that came down.