this 3 years that will change the world forever. my jillions journey around the world. start september 7th on d w. ah . ah, this is dw news life from berlin. the last leader of the soviet union, mikhail gorbachev is dead known for promoting openness and democracy in the communist state. gorbachev was also credited for helping to end the cold war. we look at his legacy at home and abroad tribute. so being paid around the world,

japanese chancellor had this to say for thinking of mikhail gorbachev and know how important he has been for the development of europe and our country as well in recent years. also coming up a team of international inspectors heads through the separation nuclear power plant in ukraine. the trip comes as fears, grow of radiation leak or potential accident at the site which is occupied by russian forces. ah, i've been fizzle and welcomed the soviet leader who helped end the cold war. mikhail gorbachev has died at the age of 91 after a long illness. gorbachev started policies encouraging openness and reform within the communist bloc and forged woman ties with the west. it ultimately brought down the iron curtain that had divided europe since 1945 and put germany on track to be

unification of while often hailed as a hero in the west at home. his legacy is complicated. 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 to 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. douglas, as yet, he laid out his agenda in his 1st speech as leader of the soviet union. o. so c, a stark contrast to what had gone before. also, she is vanya, we is 40,

was the order, right? right. every piece and freedom is the most important basic right of action vigil for our julia. 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 to us, here we are voters honest. i'm convinced that we will also have to reform our military. but last, we have far too many weapons love steadily. 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 and 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 hard liners, staged 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 new selma jojo sure, issued 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. is the man who help tear down the iron curtain and bring about a peaceful revolution. a german chancellor, olaf hold says, commented on the passing of the last soviet leader, he's what he had to say be. this one does a and then inside your spot, we know that he died at that time when not only democracy has failed in russia. you

cannot describe the current situation there in any other way about 5. but as russia and russian president, putin has created fresh divisions in europe, settled and begun a terrible war against its neighbor ukraine. and because of that, we are thinking of mikhail gorbachev isn't and know how important he has been for the development of europe and our country as well. in recent years, young at you heard of their from ola charlottesville. a chief political correspondent, belinda crane is now he just how keep was gorbachev to german reunification. he was absolutely central, many of the attributes that are pouring in from german leaders referred to him as one of the fathers of a unified germany. and nearly every german who was alive at that time, and many of us who are not german, remember a sentence that he spoke on a visit to east berlin in october 1989. 1 month before the wall fell in which he

said you get into trouble if you don't react to what history, what life deals you and when life dealt him the fall of the berlin wall, the way he reacted was with ultimate restraint. he kept soviet troops in their barracks later on he agreed to withdraw them from the territory of east germany and other eastern bloc countries. thereby ushering in the end of the cold war. and in fact, that we sprayed. and a sense of political reality were central characteristics that he called for in a legendary speech in the summer of 1989 to the european council. where he talked about a common european house based on political risk, read ality and for states restraint. and also out about a europe, whole and free and, you know, been those are terms that we are still using. and i remember vividly as

a young reporter, reporting on the withdrawal of soviet troops from eastern germany and the sense that people had of hope. and also of gorbachev as being a father. so this was a man who was all about peace, no power. and as far as the war in ukraine goes, where do you think he, he stood on that? well, interestingly enough, he had been promised by us secretary of state james baker during the negotiations to establish a unified germany within nato. that nato would never come one inch closer to russian soil, which of course has not played out that way. and he was very critical of that fact of the west and germany. he said he often felt that russia was being scape goaded to the very end of his days. he worried about conflict between russia and the west . but would he have acted? as putin has acted? i think from my point of view, absolutely not. he was always skeptical about military power at the time that the

soviet union was collapsing, he was under pressure to use the military forces and he said he would not consider doing that in a nuclear armed country. it would lead to potential chaos. he himself never served in the military. he was skeptical about about war as a means of politics. and interestingly enough, he also had ukrainian grandparents. so i think it's safe to say he surely would not have resorted to kind of violence that we have seen put in years. but he was critical of the west. like so many russians as well with relations in ukraine as you know will the, the crime. thank you very much for coming in. really interesting, especially the timing of his death. well, earlier we spoke to a man who knew mechanical, but just personally horse tell, chick was a close advisor of him at call and sat at the table. when the 2 statesman negotiated, germany's re unification. he told us on the phone what that moment was like. well,

it was a really exciting moment absolutely surprising . without long explanations, go virtual for a chance to look through the government of the g d r. and the government was, want to be united, how long they want to be, you know, and how far are also surprising. i a know, to go this meeting and a chance to immediately he should try a repeat the

explanation because absolutely fundamental. let's take a look at some other stories making headlines. in pakistan, the death toll from catastrophic monsoon flooding continues to rise. authorities say more than 1100 people have died since may june. 8 efforts are underway to reach millions of people left stranded at homeless. the united nations is appealing for a 160000000 euros in emergency funding. i'm on a. iraqi president ha ha, 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 classes between rival shi factions broke out on monday, influential shia cleric malta, as called on his supporters to in their protests job in ukraine, united nations nuclear experts have left the capital key for the occupied power plant. separation. the people assess the condition of the facility and any danger

near by fighting could pose for europe's largest nuclear power station. lead investigator grossi told journalists, the un experts hope to help stabilize the situation. the plant has been occupied by russian troops in march and has repeatedly been shelled both moscow and keep blame each other for the attacks. dw corresponded, mathias bowling, a is in salary, sheshe. i asked him what the un inspectors will focus on. there has been selling in our gar for now some weeks that some of it has it closely to the plant or 2 electric lines and other important structures near the plan, so they will assess the damage. that's the 1st thing there will assess how the security systems are working. every power plant has a range of systems that are either need to be activated in cases of security or that protect the power plant and that will ensure the cooling keeps on. so there

cannot be no a nuclear meltdown. so this is the 2nd thing they want to do. and the 3rd thing is that they want to talk to the stuff, the ukranian stuff in this power plant and see what they're working conditions are like. and whether this is still sustainable the venice film festival, the world's oldest kicks off to date. after 2 years of covered restrictions, bennett will be mosque free this time with an all star lineup of celebrities and films expected. it also hoping to mark a return to the glitz and glamour of festivals past. oh, when it comes to old world movie magic, no one does it better than the venice film festival. for this year the goal is clear to get film fans excited about going back to the moodle. ah, the buzz around cate blanchett performance as

a driven conductor in tar already has people talking about the oscars. oh. ready ready ready ready jeff are upon a, he won't be in venice. the distant director was sentenced to 6 years imprisonment by the iranian government. his new film, which was shot in secret, explores the struggle of a band artist to live and work in iran, as for the odd with him. if all yeah, love of mine. and as long as we keep moving on to him, was it a little bit damaged? that in analyzing our house, fans will have play to watch in venice this year. the big question is whether the world's oldest film festival can get them off the couch and back into cinemas. you're watching dw used from berlin up next. we take

a look at the man who ruled to after gorbachev full a russian president, boris yeltsin in. now, documentary felt and i forget you can get all the latest news on our website. otherwise, we'll have more news void next out here on the w. bye bye. munich . 15 years ago, the international gathering of peace and cooperation becomes the scene of a horrible tragedy. arab terrors, armed with sub machine guns, went to the headquarters of the israeli team and immediately killed one man. they're all gone out. eye witnesses exp.