>> seized the moment. president obama tells the israeli and palestinian leaders not to miss this chance for peace. as the u.s. combat mission in iraq comes to an end, the american vice-president says baghdad is close to a new government. no regrets from tony blair about his decision to send british troops to invade iraq. very warm welcome to "bbc world news," broadcast to our viewers in the states on pbs and also around the globe, with me, peter dobbie. coming up later for you -- how your name and postcode can affect your chances of getting a job in france. and new pictures of the world's most famous ship wreck -- the titanic in 3-d. the u.s. president barack obama

has urged israelis and palestinians not to let slip an opportunity for peace that he says may not soon return. he made the remark as he opened a landmark peace talks. our middle east editor jeremy bowen reports from washington. >> if it feels as though they have all been this way before. an american president, and israeli prime minister, launching a new attempt at middle east peace in fact -- -- these at the white house and condemning bloodshed. >> there are going to be those who do everything they can to undermine the peace talks. we will remain a stalwart. >> the talks we had were open, productive, serious in the quest for peace. but also centered around the need to have security

arrangements that are able to roll back this kind of terror and other threats to our security. >> thousands of miles away, israel buried its dead. they were killed by hamas, which believes the talks in washington will never produce palestinian independence. she is crying for her father. the killings showed just how dangerous and potentially destabilizing or the political issues that need to be solved. more failure means more violence. in washington, behind their security men, the delegations are preparing for the big meeting between the israelis and palestinians on thursday. the americans have been gathering in washington. these talks are a gamble for president obama as well because if they fail, they could make matters a lot worse.

at the white house, he is having to rescue the talks before they start, finding reasons for the palestinian president to drop his threat to pull out now that israel says it will build more homes on the west bank. and if president obama can do that, 12 months of hard diplomatic slog lie ahead. >> barack obama appeared on the white house steps. >> this will require painstaking diplomacy and trust by the parties. after all, there is our reason at this has eluded previous generations. this is extraordinarily complex and difficult. we know that the status quo is unsustainable. for israelis, for palestinians,

for the region and for the world. it is any national interest of all involved, including the united states, that this conflict be brought to a peaceful conclusion. so even as we are clear about the challenge over head, so, too, do we see the foundations of progress. the israeli government and the palestinian authority are cooperating on a daily basis to reduce violence, to build institutions. among the israeli and palestinian public's, there is wide support for a two-state solution, the broad outlines are well known to both peoples. and even in the midst of this course, ordinary israelis and palestinians, state leaders, civil society groups, doctors, scientists, businessmen, students -- find ways to work together every day. there heroic grass-roots

efforts show the cooperation that is possible and should inspire us all. in addition, these are two leaders who, i believe, want peace. both sides have indicated these negotiations can be completed within one year. as i told each of them today, this moment of opportunity may not seem to come again. they cannot afford to let it slip away. now is the time for leaders of courage and vision to deliver the peace there people deserve. >> united states has marked a formal and u.s. combat role in iraq after seven years, which toppled saddam hussein and produce free elections, although no agreement on a government. president obama has said the u.s. paid a huge price to put its future -- to put iraq's future in its people's hands. we have this. >> live from the white house,

the president who never supported the war declared its end. >> in announcing that the american combat mission in iraq has ended. operation iraqi freedom is over. the iraqi people now have the responsibility for the security of their country. >> more than 4400 american dead, the cost of overt $7 billion. the president said americans had paid a heavy price. he did not say whether it was worth it. the marine who owned these stars and stripes that draped be a statue of saddam hussein in 2003 it believes it was. >> in incredibly proud of what i have seen their -- yes we incredibly proud of what i have seen there. people blow each other up all the time over there, and that is that. but i hope it will go back to a functioning country, however it

decides to function. >> the tyrant has fallen and iraq is free. >> president bush was quick to declare victory, just as iraq was to descend into chaotic civil war. richard armiger it was the secretary of state -- armitage was the secretary of state. >> i am not sorry we invaded, but i am terribly sorry for the manner by which we invaded. we were unprepared. i do not think we took an of counsel from our friends prior to going in. you name it, we did it. >> president bush turned the military doctrine on its head and ordered an increase in trips, the surge. but for cindy sheehan, it was

not just a question of tactics. >> just because america has the force behind it does not mean america can lead the world to really like it has been doing, especially since 9/11. >> the ceremony in baghdad marks the formal end to a conflict that may make america tread more warily, for awhile. >> it is more likely to emphasize containment or to terence or to focus -- deterrance or to focus on true military need. i think these art shifts. i think they are shifts in new wants, rather than -- nuance, rather than real change. >> the president promised the u.s. would strengthen its leadership in the world.

bbc news, washington. >> moving on to another aspect of iraq, tony blair said he deeply regrets the loss of life during the war in iraq, but stands by his decision to invade. in a new memoir, he also lays bare the relationship between him and gordon brown, his former finance minister. he criticized his successor for abandoning "new labor." our political editor has been studying mr blair's version of history. >> he finally gives his verdict on the labour years in office, and out comes the definitive story about how bad things got between tony blair and gordon brown. >> it was very difficult and also very close. even though towards the end, i think frankly, it was hard going

on in possible, for a large time when we were in government, he was an immense source of strength. >> long before this public show of french ships in 2005, the two men at the top of government were privately at war. blair agreed to resign, but he said that brown broke his promise to back his policies. >> i was very happy to go after two terms, provided that the program i that was in transit and essential to new labour success and to carry on being a party of government on as significantly continual basis, provide the programs day. >> he says the stress became so great he started to have a whiskey or it gen before dinner and a half a bottle of wine

during it. his memoirs are remarkably candid. he says and how he stopped taking calls from gordon brown. how he even turned to manchester united on advice about sacking a star player. it all ended in of ferocious row, as gordon brown threatened attorney blair if he did not get his way on pension policy. political calculation, yes. political feelings, no periods -- political feelings, no. that is tony blair's assessment of gordon brown. >> i always took the view that if you departed on mm from new labour, you're going to be in trouble. we needed to take it to the next

stage. reform public services, welfare, deepening those reforms. >> it will not be domestic politics, but far more is that will make or break tony blair's reputation. the iraq war transformed him from one of the country's most popular politicians, to a divided party in -- party and country. in his book he says and what i could never have guessed. he said that they did not anticipate the role of al-qaeda or iran. but he also said he had no regrets. >> how can you not feel sorry for people who have died? he would be in human if you did not feel that. when i am asked if i regret the decision, i take responsibility for, but i cannot regret the decision. >> once again he goes to war. it may soon be necessary to confront neighbors in iran. >> i think it is unacceptable

for iran to have nuclear weapons capability. and i think we've got to be prepared to confront them -- >> militarily? >> if necessary, militarily. >> it is clear that tony blair wants to shape the future. his book was published on the day when labour members start voting on the party member who will succeed him and gordon brown. he is clearly backing it david miliband . >> is fairly obvious and we were backing coming in for some reason, you'll have not set. >> it may be obvious, but i have not said it. >> no one wants to be clear to -- close to the former leader. >> [unintelligible] do you think it hinders you to be seen as the heir to blair? >> i am tired of people asking me that.

>> tony blair and gordon brown both make -- but made mistakes. they both lost trust. i am afraid, they have to come out of touch. >> the significance is whether this in the end of the new labour journey or helps to ensure it's a continues. bbc news, westminster. >> you were watching "bbc world news." still to come -- taking a look at an old wreck. robots shine the light on one of the world's most famous shipwrecks. now, a team of divers have begun to salvage bottles of what is thought to be the world's oldest champagne. despite an estimated two centuries in a shipwreck at the bottom of the baltic, the champagne is said to be perfectly preserved. wine experts have valued each

bottle at tens of thousands of dollars. >> not the usual place to pick up a case. at least there is no danger the wind will be war. 50 meters straight down, covered in the dust of two centuries. but the dark and cold of the baltic sea bed means the precious vintage will be intact. >> these ones we have just brought up, which is the first real box -- it seems ok. >> freed from the pressure of the deep, there was a risk the antique corks might pop. even strapped down with tape, they allow a tantalizing whiff

of the aroma to escape. but it did not answer the question what it tastes like. >> later, when we opened some of the bottles, i have to. i am very looking forward to it. >> iraq and its unique cargo lie just off finland's islands. each bout -- each bottle could sell for tens of thousands of dollars, meaning anyone who wants to buy at which need to be as rich as the originally intended recipients, said to be the russian imperial court. bbc news. >> updating the international headlines for you here. president obama told the israeli and palestinian leaders that the direct peace talks presents "a moment of opportunity for peace that must be seized."

mission changed, if not accomplished. the u.s. abandons its combat role in iraq, but 50,000 troops will remain. the world bank has increased funding to help pakistan cope with the catastrophic flooding by $100 million to a total of $1 billion. the funds are being diverted from money already earmarked for pakistan. children have been especially badly affected by the crisis. it is no net more than 10,000 school buildings have been destroyed. chris morris reports. >> flying into the flood zone, the head of the united nations children's fund. how many children are suffering down there, and when can they go back to school? at the relief camp on the ground, people are waiting patiently for supplies. the visitors from the u.n. arrive.

from the himalayas right to d.c., thousands of school buildings have been damaged or destroyed. even ones like this one have been turned into a temporary relief camps. there are very few places where children can go to school. >> there is one room where children can be themselves inside. playing games or drawing pictures about what they had just been through. >> he says that this is his house. i it was washed away and they went to stay with his aunt. >> alongside these child- friendly faces, there is a long- term need for new schools to replace and perhaps improve upon what was lost in the floods. >> we need to rebuild the education system, and it to do it in a way that is good not just for children, but especially for girls. and you create schools that have

the kind of sanitation and water facilities to fight diseases. >> for now, thousands of children will do their learning out in the open. and in further kant's -- but these in camps further south are the lucky ones. bbc news, pakistan. >> three bombs have exploded in the pakastani city of lahore. at least 25 were killed and more than 170 were injured in the stampede that followed. the prime minister of pakistan described the attack as cowardly. the miners trapped underground in chile are having their first hot meal in weeks. experts from nasa are at the mine, including a nutritionist who helped to put together the many. the bbc has failed to block publication of a book revealing the entity of the anonymous are racing driver called the stig

from the "top gear" tv show. ferrari has decided to recall one of its newest models after reports of it catching fire. the 458 battalia was launched in 2009. one in 10 people in france is without a job. in the suburbs, that figure rises to 20%. if you are an immigrant, chances are the situation is considerably worse than that. now there is a film about how some immigrants are getting around the problem, and it is during a lively debate. christian fraser has that's. >> meet dino fabrice. successful, and because of

promotion, and soon to be married. except in his life is alive. he was a french algerian who changed his mind to get a job. >> he decided to have a normal life he would have to change his name. [unintelligible] his parents came from north of africa. >> even the man who plays dino changed his name to win more acting roles. others have been forced into a similar difficult choice. this woman is a second- generation french algerian. her grandfather came to work in the construction industry. >> how many times have you seen your resonate out? >> 100 *. >> how many responses? >> [unintelligible]

>> u.s. had not one positive feedback -- you have not had one positive feedback? she suspects that is because of her arabic name, and said she is going to change its tune a yummy. -- to naomi. >> it is not just the name they are looking at. they are looking at the post code. this district is known in paris as 93. he might be lucky if your cv gets even a second look. whereas if you are here, and the rather more salubrious surroundings, your application is likely to get a much better response. this writer has written about racism in the workplace. he understands what people feel the need to change their name. >> yes, if you want to have a have to beou

excellent. and even if you are excellent, there is something wrong. >> of a few companies are now in whichonymous cv's candidates no longer have to supply a name or address. >> the candidates we get our as -- are as diverse as possible, which is encouraging to those who apply. >> if indian immigration are two -- identity and immigration are two of the biggest teams in france at the moment, and not just on the silver screen. comedy this might be, but to dino's story is a reality. >> there are no pictures of the titanic almost 25 years to the

day it it was discovered. 1500 died when it sank almost a century ago. now things to our robot and high-tech equipment, more of its -- now thanks to our robot and high-tech equipment, more of its secrets are being revealed. >> the titanic, slowly deteriorated into a half miles below the water's surface. 25 years after she was discovered at the bottom of the ocean, scientists have filled the wreck in high-definition with three-dimensional technology. they have virtually razed the titanic. r aised -- raised the titanic. she sank in 1912 on her maiden voyage. more than 1500 people died. the images show the ship's

iconic bowel. the railing is still intact, despite a century under water. these are created by bacteria eating away at the iron. scientists can measure how fast the ship is disintegrating. they say they are amazed at how well she is holding up. it is hoped that cameras can return next month to finish the job. bbc news. >> just time to recap our top story this hour. mr. obama has told the israeli and palestinian leaders that direct peace talks presents a moment of opportunity for peace and that must be seized, he said. mr. obama was speaking at the white house. mr. obama said too much blood had already been shed in the middle east, and that in his words, history had taught there

was another path. >> hello and welcome. >> see the news unfold. get the top stories from around the globe and click to play video reports. go to bbc.com/news to experience the in-depth, expert reporting of "bbc world news" online. >> funding was made possible by -- the freeman foundation of new york, stowe, vermont, and honolulu, newman's own foundation, the john d. and catherine t. macarthur foundation, and union bank. >> union bank has put its financial strength to work for a wide range of companies, from

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