welcome to newsday, reporting live from singapore, i'm monica miller. the headlines. mikhail gorbachev, the last leader of the soviet union, has died at the age of 91. monsoon on steroids — the united nations launches an emergency appeal to help pakistan deal with the worst flooding in the country's history. had the floods not come, they would have something to take to market. they would have a way of looking after themselves. and yet now, they have to sit on the side of the road and wait for food to be delivered. iraq's president addresses the nation, following 2a hours of violence in baghdad that left dozens dead and hundreds injured. and abortion injapan — how men are still

dominating the argument. welcome to bbc news. mikhail gorbachev, the last leader of the soviet union, has died at the age of 91. he oversaw economic reforms known as perestroika, and political ones known as glasnost or openness, which led to the break—up of the soviet union in 1991, and the end of the cold war. russian president vladimir putin has expressed "deep sympathies". our russia editor steve rosenberg looks back at a historic life. he was the kind of russian leader the world had never seen. mikhail gorbachev

smiled, he was relaxed. in the west, he acquired almost pop—star status for helping to end the cold war. but at home, it was a different story. born in the days of dictator josef stalin, gorbachev became a committed communist, rising fast through the ranks of the soviet communist party to the ruling politburo. gorbachev stood out — he was young, energetic, unlike his colleagues. as kremlin old—timers died in quick succession, the ussr was looking more like a cemetery than a superpower. but in 1985, gorbachev became leader and launched perestroika — reforms to reinvigorate the soviet union. at home, there were western—style walkabouts. abroad, he charmed an iron lady and a us president. together, gorbachev and reagan

slashed their nuclear arsenals. with a reformer in the kremlin, eastern europe saw a chance to break free from moscow. when the berlin wall fell, crucially gorbachev refused to intervene to prop up the iron curtain. by now, his own country was breaking apart amid ethnic conflicts and economic chaos. gorbachev was losing control. in august 1991, communist hardliners staged a coup. it collapsed — but soon after, so did the soviet union. president gorbachev resigned and the ussr

was consigned to history. many russians still blame gorbachev for letting a superpower slip away. some of what he changed didn't last — the arms race and geopolitical tension are back. gorbachev will be remembered for at least having tried to end the rivalry between east and west. but i will remember him for this. after one interview, he invited me to play his piano while he sang the favourite songs of his late wife. it was a surreal but special moment that showed the warm, human side of the russian leader who'd struck a chord with millions around the world. mikhail gorbachev, who has died at the age of 91. i asked our russia editor,

steve rosenberg, what people in the country will remember about the former leader. well, many russians blame mikhail gorbachev for the collapse of the soviet union. many see him as having been a weak leader, someone who couldn't keep control of the reforms he started that spun out of control and led to the disintegration of the soviet empire. but the fact is that when mikhail gorbachev set out in the mid—80s to try to reform the ussr, there was no textbook he could pick up entitled how to reform the soviet communist superpower. he tried his best — i think his heart was in the right place, he wanted to change his country for the best and, crucially, he wanted to build a more peaceful world, he believed in peace. he wanted to do everything he could to prevent the cold war turning hot — and he achieved that, he helped to end the cold war.

the situation we have now more than 30 years on is very different — we have an administration in russia determined to embrace conflict and confrontation with the west. in many ways, vladimir putin is the polar opposite of mikhail gorbachev. now mr gorbachev has been very sick for some time and out of the public eye, but had he commented at all on the current war in ukraine? well, a few weeks ago, there were some suggestions from a moscowjournalist that mr gorbachev had expressed his opposition to what was happening. but you're right, he had been ill for some time and he'd been in hospital for two years, and he hadn't been commenting publicly about vladimir putin, about his policies and what was happening in the country.

but certainly what is happening today, in ukraine and what russia is doing there, leads us to the conclusion that, in many ways, gorbachev�*s legacy is in tatters now. gorbachev is a man who believed in ending the cold war, who believed that the east and west could join hands and move into a brighterfuture. but we are seeing a very different present today. to the flooding in pakistan now, and the united nations has launched an emergency appeal to help victims of what the un secretary general called a "monsoon on steroids". pakistan's government says the floods are the worst in the nation's history. more than 1,000 people are known to have been killed, as roads, homes and bridges are washed away. more than 33 million pakistanis have been

affected by the flooding — one in every seven people. the bbc�*s correspondents report from different parts of pakistan — from devastated northern regions to the southern city of sukkur. in a moment, the latest from pumza fihlani. but first, secunder kermani reports from the north—western town of nowsherah. along one of pakistan's busiest motorways, a makeshift camp. poor families forced from their homes, floodwater submerging everything they own. "i'm in so much pain, i can't even express it," says this woman. "we've even lost our honour. where else can we go?" wading through the suburbs of the northern city of nowshera, families trying to reach their homes. "we haven't been able to get to our house. just look at the road,"

says this woman. "how can we get there? no—one is helping us." this man, a chef, hasjust returned to his home stand for the first time. "no," he says, "i'mjust asking god to help us get enough food for now. "we've got nothing left. "we couldn't save anything, just our children's lives. "look at all of this." livelihoods have been lost and billions of pounds of damage done to the country's infrastructure. wejoin a rescue boat transporting engineers, repairing an electricity line serving 200,000 people. floods happen during the monsoon here every year, but not like this. pakistan is responsible only for a tiny proportion of global emissions, but its people here who are paying the price

for climate change. at a press briefing, the prime minister denied allegations his government had initially been slow to act, appealing for more international help. we will certainly learn from our experience, but i think the global community should stand by us today. it's a yawning gap between our requirements and what we are receiving till this point in time. as the water begins to recede from here, the scale of the challenge of rebuilding is becoming clearer, both for ordinary families and for the country, with the economy already in a dire state. this is a disaster whose impact will be felt for years to come. secunder kermani, bbc news, nowshera. everywhere you look, there is still water.

down below, a food crisis is brewing in pakistan. the truck queues are so long they disappear into the horizon. they help keep life moving, delivering food, petrol, and even aid. when the aid does arrive, the need is so great fight for it. the government estimates that 80% of livestock has been killed. translation: the food has been

expensive since the flood started, and i have to sell four of them just to buy food for the rest. it was a hard decision, but i need to keep them alive. if i don't, i won't survive. it's not only animal feed that has gone up — food prices, too. across the road from the buffaloes, we meet this cotton farmer. herfamily of 15 live in this tent. their crops were all lost to water. "we were farmers back home, and now everything is gone," she tells me. "we don't even have food for the children. "some days, they sleep hungry. "life is difficult," she says. many of the people here are farmers. they work every day for long hours, taking care of their land. it's something they take great pride in. but when the floods came, it took that away from them. the people that you see behind me were cotton farmers, and they also farmed maize. they told me that, had the floods not come, they would have something to take the market and would have a way to look after themselves. now they have to sit on the side of the road and wait for food to be delivered.

on this dirt road to nowhere, the people can go for days without eating. for many of these people, aid is their last hope but there are fears millions will go hungry. pumza fihlani, bbc news, sindh. you're watching newsday on the bbc. calm returns to the iraqi capital baghdad, as the influential cleric moqtada al—sadr asks his followers to call off their protests. she received the nobel peace prize for her work with the poor and the dying in india's slums. the head of the catholic church said mother teresa was a wonderful example of how to help people in need. we have to identify the bodies, then arrange the coffins

and take them back home. parents are waiting, and wives are waiting. hostages appeared — some carried, some running — trying to escape the nightmare behind them. britain lost a princess today. described by all to whom she i reached out as "irreplaceable", an early morning car crash| in a paris underpass ended a life with more than its share of pain and courage, - warmth and compassion. this is newsday on the bbc. 0ur headlines.

the last leader of the soviet union, mikhail gorbachev, has died at the age of 91 — he was seen as one of the architects of the end of the cold war. i'm joined now by steven pifer. from 1978 to 2004, he was a foreign service officer with the us state department and previously served at the united states embassies in warsaw, london and moscow. he was also the former us ambassador to ukraine. thank you very much forjoining us. my colleague was saying that in russia, mikhail gorbachev may be remembered as a failure, but how do you remember him? i

a failure, but how do you remember him?- a failure, but how do you remember him? i think mikhail gorbachev _ remember him? i think mikhail gorbachev did _ remember him? i think mikhail gorbachev did more _ remember him? i think mikhail gorbachev did more than - remember him? i think mikhail. gorbachev did more than anyone else to end the world will —— to end the cold war. ronald reagan deserved credit but it's hard to imagine he could accomplish it with a different soviet leader in moscow, certainly not gorbachev�*s predecessors. in certainly not gorbachev's predecessors. certainly not gorbachev's redecessors. predecessors. in gorbachev, you had someone — predecessors. in gorbachev, you had someone who _ predecessors. in gorbachev, you had someone who was _ predecessors. in gorbachev, you| had someone who was prepared, for example, to let countries to find their own paths forward. tell us a little about what would have been going through his mind, i know he had been sick in the last few years, in terms of the war in ukraine?—

ukraine? he had served as ambassador _ ukraine? he had served as ambassador -- _ ukraine? he had served as ambassador -- you - ukraine? he had served as ambassador -- you had . ukraine? he had served as - ambassador -- you had served as ambassador —— you had served as ambassador, what would he be thinking about putin's invasion? my guess, one of the accomplishments gorbachev deserves, there was some violence in the baltic states, in georgia, but not a great deal. 0ne in georgia, but not a great deal. one only has to look at the break—up of yugoslavia at around the same time the soviet union collapsed to see just how much violence there could have been. it much violence there could have been. . , much violence there could have been. �*, been. it was gorbachev's readiness _ been. it was gorbachev's readiness to _ been. it was gorbachev's readiness to accept - been. it was gorbachev's readiness to accept that| been. it was gorbachev's i readiness to accept that the countries of central europe would find their own path, and that his own personal decision not to use mass violence made the break much easier. you were in the diplomatic— the break much easier. you were in the diplomatic circles - in the diplomatic circles around the time of the fall of the wall, and one thing mikhail gorbachev had said is he accused the west of arrogance

particularly around nato, can you describe what he was talking about? gorbachev did not like the fact that nato enlarged, in 2015 he said he did not make any agreement with nato regarding it, he said the issue didn't come up... but auain, issue didn't come up... but again. i— issue didn't come up... but again, i think _ issue didn't come up... but again, i think gorbachev was prepared to look beyond the old stereotypes of the cold war. for example, arms control, a real cycle of soviet and us nuclear reductions which substantially reduced the nuclear arsenals. substantially reduced the nucleararsenals. if substantially reduced the nuclear arsenals. if there had not been a global recession when the wall was falling, do you think the soviet union would have fallen? any leading person in charge of a

government takes the heat when the economy goes soft, but do you think if the economy had been stronger in the soviet union, it could have survived? it seems by the second half of the 1980s, the soviet economy was under great internal stress. the economy was suffering because the price of oil... inaudible. it meant less revenues for an economy that was overly dependent on oil and gas exports. you had the need to subsidise... inaudible. and you had a military and defence systems that were consuming as much as 35% of soviet gdp, by some estimates. soviet gdp, by some estimates. so it was an economy really in trouble. i'm not sure the absence of a recession would have saved it. a variety of pressures that led to the

soviet union coming apart, gorbachevjust happens to be the person at the top when that happened. iraq's president, barham salih, has addressed the nation after nearly 2a hours of violence that's left dozens dead and hundreds injured in the capital baghdad. mr salih said that he thought early elections could help resolve the high political tensions. iraq has had no functioning government since inconclusive elections last october. caroline hawley reports. in the centre of baghdad, a second day of deadly violence. here, a rocket—propelled grenade being fired. the worst fighting iraq has been in years. the country's political crisis erupted into street battles on monday. supporters of the powerful cleric moqtada al sadr, who gained the most seats in elections last year, against rival shia factions backed by neighbouring iran. both groups have been vying for power and resources. these are moqtada al sadr�*s supporters on monday after they'd stormed into the republican palace inside iraq's well—protected green zone — briefly enjoying this unaccustomed luxury before, on tuesday, he apologised and announced he wanted them out. translation: | had hoped . for peaceful protests with pure hearts, hearts filled with love for their country, not ones that resort to gunfire.

this saddens the revolution, as this revolution now resembles violence and killing. it is no longer a revolution. and so, his loyal followers obeyed — leaving the green zone as he'd demanded, stood down — calm restored and a clear—up under way. but there are questions now about what both neighbouring iran and its allies and moqtada al sadr will do next. sadr, for all his imaginations, is really more of a nationalist, certainly, than he is iranian—influenced. the divisions in rivalry that led to this bloodshed have not been resolved, and the president has now warned that iraq isn't out of crisis yet. translation: the current situation is no longer - acceptable and cannot continue. holding new early elections i in accordance with the national consensus represents an exit from this crisis instead - of political confrontation.

it guarantees political and social stability . and response to the aspirations of the iraqi people. _ but as long as the political stalemate goes on, iraqis will fear a new wave of violence when most people in the countryjust want security and peace. caroline hawley, bbc news. now, while arguments rage in the united states over the repeal of roe vs wade, injapan, a much less noisy debate is going on over the legalisation of "medically induced abortions". in may, a senior health official told parliament the ministry was finally set to approve an abortion pill combination. from tokyo, our correspondent rupert wingfield—hayes reports. this japanese woman became pregnant after her boyfriend repeatedly refused to use a condom during sex. she then had to ask his

permission to get an abortion, which he didn't want to give. translation: it's strange that i had to ask him - to use contraception. and when he decided not to use a condom, i needed permission from him to abort the baby. i felt completely powerless. i couldn't make my own decision about my own body. japan was one of the first countries in the world to legalise abortion all the way back in 19118, but it's always had this very paternalistic twist, japanese women must get the written consent of their husband or partner. now japan is finally set to approve the so—called abortion pill, something that's been france since 1988, and britain since 1991. but japan's health ministry says women will still need the consent of their partner. it could be very expensive, as much as $700— 800. this doctor

spends most of his time treating women who are pregnant, but he will also prescribe the new abortion pill. inaudible. translation: �* . inaudible. translation: , ., y ., translation: in japan, if you take the pill, you _ translation: in japan, if you take the pill, you have to - take the pill, you have to be keptin take the pill, you have to be kept in hospital so we can monitor the patient. it takes even more _ monitor the patient. it takes even more time _ monitor the patient. it takes even more time than - monitor the patient. it takes even more time than a - monitor the patient. it takes i even more time than a surgical abortion. sexual health activists, this woman has designed this kit to teach japanese schoolchildren how not to get pregnant. she says there is still huge resistance from japan's male dominated elite to women getting proper sexual education, modern contraception and easy access to abortion.

translation: it and easy access to abortion. translation:— translation: it takes two eo - le translation: it takes two people to _ translation: it takes two people to get _ translation: it takes two people to get pregnant, - translation: it takes two | people to get pregnant, and translation: it takes two - people to get pregnant, and yet injapan, it people to get pregnant, and yet in japan, it feels like people to get pregnant, and yet injapan, it feels like the only person who is persecuted is the one with the ovaries. a lot of decisions are made by old men who don't carry a child. , ., , ., child. they need to listen to the voices — child. they need to listen to the voices of women. - child. they need to listen to i the voices of women. activists note it has takenjapan over 30 years to approve the abortion pill but tookjust years to approve the abortion pill but took just six years to approve the abortion pill but tookjust six months to approve the male impotency pill viagra. japanese women will never have control of their own bodies while they must ask men for permission to end an unwanted pregnancy. and before we go — the duchess of sussex says she upset the "dynamic of the hierarchy" of the royal family "just by existing". in an interview with us magazine the cut, meghan said it "ta kes a lot of effort to forgive" — following her and prince harry's move to the united states. one comment led to a source

close to prince charles to say that he loves both his sons, and that he would be saddened if prince harry thought their relationship was lost. that's all for now, stay with bbc world news. hello there. i'm sure many people have been making the most of this generally dry weather with some sunshine — we had a lot of sunshine actually around on tuesday, and we've got more of the same for today. we start, though, with temperatures on the whole in double figures early on wednesday morning. but it'll be a bit colder, i think in the northeast of scotland, could be down to 3—4 celsius here. now many places will start wednesday, dry and sunny, but there's cloud coming in off the north sea to bring a few showers into the far north of england, and with the cloud bubbling up in eastern england, there could be the odd, light shower here. but on the whole, it'll be dry for england and wales. quite windy in the south, especially through the english channel. not as windy for scotland and northern ireland, a sunnier day than it was on tuesday — but temperatures not changing

very much, so again, we're likely to make 2a in southern parts of england and south wales. now high pressure extends all the way down from the arctic circle, and that's keeping it generally fine and dry. the fly in the ointment on thursday is that area of low pressure and weather fronts that threatens to bring some heavier showers, notjust for the channel islands, but now perhaps into the far southwest of england. otherwise, some lengthy spells of sunshine, some patchy cloud bubbling up here and there, probably not quite as windy for southern areas. it may be a bit warmer widely, temperatures into the low—to—mid—20s on thursday. so, we've got a couple more days of this quiet, largely dry weather with some sunshine, but by the end of the week and into the weekend, things may look a little different — we've got some rain in the forecast. and that's because pressure will be falling — we've got this low pressure heading up towards the english channel weather fronts sliding in from the atlantic, and the two sort of bumping into each other and combining. so, we'll find some patchy rain coming into the northwest of the uk. these showers, though, moving up from the south, from the english channel, look a little more widespread. some of them could be heavy and possibly thundery. there'll still be some sunshine

away from those showers, and those temperatures peaking again at the mid—20s. now, we started the week with high pressure, we'll end the week with low pressure — and that low pressure will be dominant into the weekend, as well. central and to the west of the uk, a couple of weather fronts on the scene. no doubt those will come to rest in a slightly different place, but you've got this idea of a couple of bands of wet weather that could be heavy and thundery. some sunshine either side of that and a bit of warmth still, but some stronger winds will keep most of the rain away from scotland. 20 celsius here, 2a in the southeast.

this week, we will catch up with an olympic superstar hoping to help women exercise smarter. i'm trying to run for a gold medal here, but i'm also very aware that i've just started my period. chris is braving the cold.

still, he has some furry friends to keep him warm.