3 years that would change the world forever. my jillions journey around the world to start september 7th on d. w. ah . ah, this is dw news live from berlin in just the past few minutes reports from russia that former soviet leader, mikhail gorbachev as dodd where the policy of openness and reforms. gorbachev was widely credited with bringing down the iron curtain and ending the cold war. in 1980 not,

we'll discuss his legacy. also coming up tonight. a 3rd of pakistan is under water in the wake of a monsoon on steroids. those the words of the un secretary general describing the catastrophic flooding that has impacted 33000000 people. many of them homeless many more. now, fearing food shortages ah, i'm brink off is good to have you with us. we start with breaking news. russian news agencies are reporting that mikhail gorbachev, the former soviet leader, who helped bring the cold war to a peaceful conclusion has died. he was 91 years old, with policies that promoted free speech and reform within the communist bloc. gorbachev forged a new dialogue with the west. it was one that ultimately brought down the iron curtain that had divide. did europe since 1945. his policies also helped put

germany on the path to re unification. ah, mikhail gorbachev arrived and freedom followed. when he visited east berlin for the g d r's, 40th anniversary celebrations. gorbachev urged a shaneka to implement reforms. he warned the east german leader saying, life punishes those who come too late. a month after his visit, the berlin fell. and with the iron curtain that had divided europe for decades, it was gorbachev's reformers, policies that helped unleash a peaceful revolution across eastern europe with douglas as yet he laid out his agenda and his 1st speech as leader of the soviet union. okay, so a stark contrast to what had gone before. we're also shit, vanya,

we it's for you as though all right, right. every piece and freedom is the most important, basic right of action vigil for our kilobit. gorbachev wanted to change the soviet union to bring it closer to the people. he promoted glass, most openness and perestroika reforms to words that will forever be associated with him. his new outlook was popular with many his policies also applied to the military, despite the resistance of soviet generals issued to us. here we are thought, honest, i'm convinced that we will also have to reform our military. last, we have far too many weapons, law, stately, we have to seek dialogue with other superpowers and reduce our arsenals to a reasonable extent in the gift shop. as a result of that dialogue gorbachev an

u. s. president reagan signed the 1st of many disarmament treaties in 1987. it was the beginning of the end of the cold war. in 1990 gorbachev was awarded the nobel peace prize for his key role in bringing about a new peaceful world order. internationally, he was highly regarded but at home he was increasingly under pressure. the economic situation was dire. the soviet union on the verge of falling apart, communist hardliners stage, a coup against gorbachev in 1091 and put the soviet leader under house arrest and his holiday retreat in crimea. one man stopped the boris yeltsin, the russian president gorbachev was

allowed to return to moscow. but politically, he was ruined. he else in band the communist party and publicly humiliated coverage of you sell the yo yos your initiative. i was with you shortly afterwards, the soviet union was dissolved in december 1991 mikhail gorbachev announced his resignation. his attempts to regain political ground in the new russia failed. many russians held him responsible for the demise of the soviet union. but while his own country turned its back on him, gorbachev was hailed around the world as the man who helped tear down the iron curtain and bring about a peaceful revolution. when i pull in our correspondent roman going jordan, go for more room in one of our viewers know you met mikhail gorbachev. personally, i want to talk about that in just a moment. but 1st i just want to get your reaction like everyone around the world.

we're just hearing about the passing of mikhail gorbachev. what did you think when you heard the news? well, as many i've been expecting that because there were a reports that he was very, very sick and he is 92 years old. and when we had that, so he was an old man and it is no surprise, but still it's, it's isn't that this news is, is, has struck me. i'm, i have to confess because he's such a huge historical figure and historical figure, not just for russia, but all the former soviet republics, including ukraine, where the war is now going on. and of course, for the west, for the whole world. so his legacy is extremely important, it is actually being destroyed by president booting at this very moment during this war and ukraine, i've just referred to there when we talk about collective memory of mikhail

gorbachev. there is the memory that we have of him here in the west. and there's also the memory that has been pushed inside russia. and i dare say that those are 2 very different notions about mikhail gorbachev. aren't they? of course, but things change, you know, go much of was a hero for the soviet people in the late ninety's and early it late eighties and early nineties. so he was the one who gave people freedom who gave freedom of speech, the words glass most and perestroika mean, meaning that change is coming possible with the soviet union oil later russia and other republic could leave in peace with the west. and that's, that was the key message. she gave people the right to travel, actually because the soviet union was a closed empire. so you couldn't just go abroad before him. and millions of people are grateful for that. and later in the ninety's and when potent came to power in

russia, the attitude changed. most of most people disliked gorbachev. and they blame him for the collapse of the soviet union based thing that he was too soft to were the west that the west betrayed him. this is what most russians think today. for a minority in russia, he's still a hero, and they are still very grateful to him for, for giving the russians and the other peoples of the former soviet union just would have just said freedom. first of all, the right to travel, freedom of speech and democracy. so, and i do hope that maybe in 10 or 20 years, we don't know how russia is developing. but i think that it would and, and it was garbage of, could change as well and come back to the roots where it all started. it is a historic figure. and how can you imagine how russia is going to

mark is passing a media. he was leader of the soviet union. normally we would expect there to be some type of state funeral for someone like mikhail gorbachev. is that something that you expect in a russia that is being led by vladimir putin? it is difficult to imagine a big or est funeral because he is very much disliked by, by the majority of russians. but you never know there was a when his or when, when, when boris yeltsin this excessive from gorbachev was president of russia. and the 1st president of russia died there was kind of a state funeral, but it was not a soul so big and huge. i would say, so we're going to expect something like that here. now, in this case, ah, we do not know how russian propaganda will try to use it, but we have to remember this war in ukraine. i've mentioned in the beginning of our

conversation is actually about dismantling what gorbachev created. it's about turning back the clock and trying to restore the soviet union by force, something which are all expert work experts i've talked to and, and people i've talked to are very have they didn't happened in the early ninety's when, when the soviet union collapsed and peacefully and a 30 years later, we are relieving a kind of with that collapse with, with a lot of loud and dying. and this is, this is very tragic, actually, actually roman talk to me before we run out of time and talk to me about when you met mikhail gorbachev. well, he was, it was, i was very lucky to meet him in moscow in 2009. we were talking about the in full of the burning wall in germany and why he didn't use force at that time. and i

asked him, or if he was pushed by maybe some military to use force. and he said, no, i was very popular. and people supported me not to use force in eastern germany. and i think this is also something that germany will remember him for, for being for, for, for letting the urine if occasion happen for letting the burling wall fall. and this is his historic achievement, and he will be remembered for that. he w correspondence roman gone to ranko on the passing of former soviet leader mikhail gorbachev. roman thinking what an eye the head of the un antonio garish is calling for action to help pakistan cope with the consequences of devastating floods. one 3rd of pakistan is under water prompting the country and the you went to appeal for $160000000.00 in emergency 8. the un cheap says that

climate change caused this catastrophe. a village underwater in pakistan, sind province, one of several key agricultural regions that now resemble small oceans. many people here were poor before the floods came. now they've lost almost everything in those areas that are dry, makeshift camps. how's those displaced by the water and farmers salvage what they can from their fields? pakistan's climate minister says the flooding is apocalyptic, and that her country is bearing the brunt of climate change caused by more develop nations. because then is less than one was sent in the global emissions up by if you like a we hardly contribute any of emissions to the broader emission blanket that

makes so for greenhouse gases to turn our climates into a living hill. in the northern pakistani city of la horror, the effects of the floods are being felt in soaring price as for food and other basic goods, can pay their rent, which will get there, can even pay electricity. bill should i have the old prices of w. i back got a sec, they're supposed double mendoza. the floods could not have come at a worse time for pakistan where the economy was already in crisis. now the government says it needs more than $10000000000.00 to recover from this latest climate catastrophe. let's take a look now at some of the other stories making headlines this hour, the president of iraq has called for early elections to settle a political crisis which is triggered some of the deadliest violence in years. at least 30 people have been killed since clashes between rival shiite factions broke

out on monday. the influential shiite cleric, mac tada al saunter, it's called on his supporters to end their protest. you as president joe biden held a rally in pennsylvania to day where he demanded action on gun cries, buys, and says that he is determined to ban assault weapons in the united states. his remarks come ahead of november's mid term elections. pennsylvania is a key battleground state. former us president donald trump. he will host a rally there. this coming saturday we his thirty's years. and here's a reminder. the top story we're following for you. former soviet leader mikhail gorbachev has died at the age of $91.00 with policies that promoted free speech and reform within the communist bloc. gorbachev forged a new dialogue with the west that ultimately brought down the iron curtain and brought about german reunification. stephen beardsley is up next. when he w business news, i will see you tomorrow with

a tea. this is a hot spots in germany here in the world dw treno extremely we're in.