funding for this presentation is 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. >> and siemens. >> union bank has put its financial strength to work for a wide range of companies. from small businesses to major corporations. what can we do for you? >> somewhere in america there is a doctor who can peer into the future. a nurse back and access in an instant every patient's past.

and because the whole hospital is working together, there is a family that can breathe easy right now somewhere in america we have already answered some of the nation's toughest health care questions. and the over 60,000 people of siemens are ready to do it again. siemens, answers. >> >> and now "bbc world news." >> the middle east peace caravan stops off in egypt. the face-to-face talks between israelis and palestinians are under way. picking up where they left off in washington, after decades of violence and failed talks, can this time be any difference? welcome to "gmt." i'm george alagiah with a world of news and opinion. also in the program, on parade.

mexican police show how they are catching the big guys in their battle against the drug lords. and keeping up with the apples and blackberrys, can this device make nokia a serious player in the smartphone market? it is midday here in london, early morning in washington and 2:00 p.m. in egypt where the middle east peace caravan has stopped up for the day. the 40-year-old history of attempts to forge a deal between israelis and palestinians going all the way back to school and a resolution back in 1967 is littered with so much failure it is easy to be skeptical about this latest round of talks. u.s. secretary of state henry clinton on site to nudge the two sides along, says the time is right. with the latest on the talks is our correspondents. >> the call this resort city of peace. but it should be the city of

talking about peace. just two weeks after the restart a face-to-face talks, the israeli and palestinian leaders have resumed negotiations. hillary clinton has come from washington to push, pull, or drag the two sides forward. and once more they face a familiar set of problems. it is the issue of jewish settlements in the west bank that threatens to derail the talks moment before they started. there is currently a freeze on new building but it is due to expire in less than two weeks. palestinians say that would be a deal breaker. but the israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu is hemmed in from pressure from his coalition partners. he has offered a compromise but insists the new and complete freeze on the settlement buildings is impossible. on the face, the whole process could collapse less than a month after it restarted. in practice, the obama administration in washington has put to much time and effort into it to allow it to happen.

but it is another reminder the reason the process has failed so many times before. and that is before they got down to sorting out the agenda and the order of the talks and well before that actually started debating the many issues at the heart of this dispute. >> john, is that any reason to think this time will be any different? >> i guess on the face of it, frankly, no. what else is different? we have a very determined to administration in washington that put a lot of stock in it. we do not seem to have a plan b, as far as i can see, so president obama and hillary clinton have a lot riding on it. looking at a slightly perversely -- that always said the definition of an optimist in the middle east is a fool -- but the fact that the two leaders are rather weak. they are not leaders with huge

domestic constituencies. they have rather weak positions in their effectively but coalition governments. in some ways that could draw force them into agreement. nothing else to go for. >> have actually agreed on the top of the agenda? there was some bickering whether they should start with border or security issues. >> have we even got that far yet? have been hovering outside the talks and have not heard of are they got. have been in talks now for one hour. i think the general belief was that they would be dominated by this issue of settlements. whether they get firmly to the issue of the agenda -- i think we all know what the agenda is but it is in what order you deal with things. both sides take it of pugilism bolick importance of what is at stake here is. whether they have got there yet, we don't know and i will doubt that. >> john, thanks never much. let's go to jerusalem and the

israeli foreign minister spokesman. thank you for being with us. is there any reason anyone looking on should be any more optimistic than they might have been in the past? >> if you are looking for guarantees, i am afraid i cannot provide any. no insurance company will sell you insurance on these talks. it you just have to rely on good faith. at least i can assure you that we, in good faith and hoping the palestinians can say the same. all sides are determined -- the american demonstration also determined to -- sloot -- conclusion this time around. we have come along way. a lot of work has been done on the past to rely on. there is also this reality that talking and trying to solve your problems through negotiation is the best option because all other options look very grim.

>> one might have said all of those things for any of the previous attempts. really what i am looking for from you is to save what is it israel is going to be different this time around. what is it you might be able to offer that might take the process further than it has gone before? >> you are making it sound it depends only an exclusively on israel. >> i don't mean that. we will talk about the palestinians later. just want to know from you what will israel did that is different. >> without going into the details which need to be negotiated i can tell you that we are prepared to go all the way in order to reach a lasting peace. and a real agreement, final permanent definite peace agreement. of course, i cannot go into the details and tell you, welcome on the question of borders we will go here and not there, on the question of security we would do this and that. that is impossible. >> you said -- sorry to

interrupt. you said you will go all the way but you cannot even say whether you are going to freeze the settlements building, which everybody knows is a stumbling block. >> well, that is a different issue. the settlement is an issue that has to be addressed through negotiations. there are other issues, other grievances, other problems the palestinians could raise and we could raise but there is no reason to extract the best outside the framework of the negotiation and make it a precondition for holding talks altogether. we could say, i don't know, deal with hamas teroor first before we talk to you. we are not looking for pre-tax. i think the question of settlements should be addressed within the framework of the negotiations. where it can find a solution that is within the global framework of the peace agreement. that is the only way to do it. not by imposing things.

>> thank you very much for your time. let us take a look at some of the other stories making headlines around the world today. france faces legal action by the european commission over its handling of roma minorities. over the last few weeks authorities have the board to hundreds of gypsies back to romania and bulgaria as part of a wider security crackdown. let us go live to brussels and dhaka respondents. -- it and our correspondent. it is quite a thing for the european commission to be saying. >> this is more than just a suggestion did one of the strongest work at a tax on a member state i can remember hearing. the justice minister basically called french policy on the roma a disgrace. saying she was personally appalled. came as close as i have ever heard of accusing a french minister of lying to her face by saying that the deportations

were not based on the ethnic origin of the roma. apparently there is a ministerial circular that has now been reported that flatly contradicts that. and it vivien redding said this was appalling and she thought that after the second world war she would never see things like this again in at your work. it very strongly worded attack. >> we got to leave it there. thank you very much. the japanese prime minister has survived a challenge to his leadership after just three months in office. he was reelected as head of the governing democratic party, beating his rival, a veteran politician, by an unexpectedly wide margin. the australian from mr. gillard has been sworn into office, becoming the first woman to have been elected to the post and the nation's history. she led labour to a narrow election victory and she had to

the first minority government australia has seen for 17 years. reports in pakistan says at least eight people were killed and another drum attack in the northwest of the country. the strike, believed to be by u.s. missiles, was the 10th such attack this month. reports say the target was a militant compounds in north waziristan. a few days ago el grande was one of mexico's most. drug lords. not anymore. mexican authorities have been berating him in front of the cameras come evidence they say they are winning the war against the murders took the drug cartels response will for exporting tons of cocaine into the u.s. >> and intelligence tip off led them here, to a palatial home in the city of puebla. when they landed, they took no chances. 50 heavily armed marines set to arrest one man. but in the end, not a shot was

fired. minutes later the target was in custody. but lindsey? -- who is he? his name is enough. the reward offered for help for his capture -- $2 million. a former policeman the, thought to have risen through the ranks of organized crime to meet a faction. authorities say his arrest would have dealt the cartel a major blow. >> the cartel is greatly weakened. the three main operators have now been arrested. we expect this will lead to a reshuffling of leaders. nevertheless the weakening of the group will be substantial. two weeks ago the leader of a rival faction within the cartel was arrested and last december its former leader was killed in a gun battle. but these are only small victories in a long war.

what fire power rivaling that of small armies, most clashes with the drug gangs lead to this. and the government's attempts to cross them have claimed 28,000 lives since 2006. as mexico began celebrations to mark the 200th anniversary of its independence from spain, it has a long way to go to be free of the violent. bbc news. >> still to come, the austrian woman held captive of for more than eight years in a cellar. she tells her story to the bbc. now, when is a stoppage not a strike? truckdrivers in greece found a way around a court order banning them from industrial action but all in the warning -- wording. they decided to stay away from work for a second day and parked up their glories on the side of the road. >> for mile after mile, the line

of lorries -- getting the moving again is as big a challenge as jump-start ink the fragile economy. the truckers behind thenot a st the court's ruling issued after the state's december protests last month means that would be illegal. a instead they are calling it an indefinite work stoppage. >> on august 15 we had a strike. their requisitions our trucks and we had no right so we found another way, work stoppage so they did not take our licenses. >> the drivers are furious at the greek government's plans to open up the habit to closed profession to more competition. it hopes that by allowing new drivers to go into business, freight cost will fall and bus boost trade. though the truckers have been careful not to block roads, many greeks have rushed to stock up on fuel for fear the supply might be cut off.

after a long way to fill up, few had much sympathy for the truckers. >> what is important is these people should not be be a in this way. in other words, enough is enough, for goodness sake. >> greece's prime minister papandreou introduced harsh austerity measures as part of a deal to get a large bailout from the e you and i ems. the truckers is actually just one of many battles government must win to persuade the people the pain will be worth it. >> this is "gmt" from bbc world news. i'm george alagiah. israeli and palestinian leaders opened a second round of direct peace talks with the americans saying progress if it is possible.

mexican authorities claim they are winning the drug war as they -- their latest arrest, el grande. more problems for japanese exporters. >> the likes of sony, toyota, canon, honda, are feeling the pain. the japanese yen is holding at a 15-year high following the victory of the prime minister over the leadership challenger. both contenders of course had stressed the need to revive japan's economy. the strong yen is not helping the cause because japan relies on its powerful exporting firms. they are hurt by the strong currency that makes their exports less competitive on the global market. let us go straight over to tokyo. senior economist at fujitsu research. let me ask you this. it is prime minister kan seemed to be doing enough to combat the

high yen considering we saw fresh 15-year highs reached after this election? quite simply, what does retaining the leadership implied for the currency? >> he has been extremely reluctant in making any strong comments on the yen. also very reluctant in pushing the ministry of finance or the bank of japan into intervention. the reason is very few in asia actually want to seem intervention -- want to see intervention into the yen especially since the chinese government is not appreciating their currency. they might stop when japan intervenes. >> we know the yen has been high for some months and obviously it hits the exporters and they feel the pain. explain to me, how hard hit have they been and what are the implications to the japanese economy? >> the only growing part in the japanese economy so far is the export sector.

it is overseas demand. japan and the major corporations are actually not exporting that much anymore. what they do is they produce and they earn their income overseas. what a strong work yen does for corporations right now is it deteriorated the income. the income they are repacked trading to japan. and it is a big problem. more of a problem for profits than for trade and sales right now. >> very briefly, the challenges facing the prime minister it is enormous. largest public debt in the industrialized world. aging population. deflationary. how tough will it be? >> this is a prime minister who has now won an important battle and has support in the major part of this party. he has more support than prime ministers before him. but this being japan and the last years, it does not mean much. he still has a split parliament and still has to fix many issues in his party and with lawmakers.

so i would not expect too much action from his side any time soon. >> martin schulz from fujitsu institute. let us talk about technology. in particular, mobile phones. nokia world of kicks off and it is a chance for the mobile phone company to show off its latest gadgets. it is desperate to make progress in the smartphone market where it certainly has been left trailing by the apple iphone as well as phones using the enjoyed operating system. today it is showing off three new phones it hopes will revamp its image. of course, changes at the top because only last week it appointed a new chief executive and on monday a senior executive departed. technology reporter -- aston about these management changes. >> it is been a turbulent week for nokia. at the end of last week they got

a new ceo that came from microsoft, which surprised analysts because microsoft has tried to break the smartphone market and has not been successful. there had of mobile -- there head of mobile stepped down eight weeks ended july. in july he said the fight back starts now. eight weeks later, he is gone. >> and the chinese car maker is planning to build up to three plants in china to build all zero cars. it bought a volvo from ford earlier this year. it will be able to build around 300,000 volvos a year. 2009 the swedish car maker lost $350 million. let's take a quick look of the market. evidence of a faltering economic recovery in europe coming thick and fast tuesday. house prices in britain fallen sharply in august despite inflation.

eu statistics showed industrial production in the eurobond was flat in july. we were expecting an increase. and german business sentiment went into the negative for the first time since march of 2009. >> thanks very much. she was just 10 years old when she was abducted on her way to school. for more than eight years natasha kampusch was held captive in the basement of my house and a quiet suburb -- the suburb of vienna. she managed to escape in august 2006 and now age only 22 she has written the full story of our captivity. our reporter asked her about the media frenzy that greeted her when she emerged into the outside world. >> yes, in fact, it was a very confusing time. it made me unsure of myself to try to pick up where many people have left off. and his criticism of may was very strange. it made me feel very settled and

felt like i'd like to freedom as well -- i lacked freedom as well because it was an incredible burden that everything i said was put under a microsoft -- microscope and very unpleasant. >> i suppose one of the things people find difficult to understand is when they read that there were opportunities once or twice possible for you to escape -- when the kidnappers took you shopping or it took you on a skiing trip and they do not understand why you did not run away. >> yes, indeed, but have to point out it is very easy for people on the outside to say that it would have been easy for me to escape. at that time, you must not forget i was very intimidated and i had very little courage. i almost did not realize these opportunities existed. i was afraid of so that

something bad would happen to me if i did try to escape. >> if she did, her kidnappers said he would kill her and other people. access to the seller was through the -- grimes, along a passageway and through a series of anti rooms and doors, one made of heavy concrete. she says in her book she realized she would never be found. >> it was a very complex relationship that you had with him because your life depended on him. if he did not come back and set you free, you would have died in the house. yet, at the same time, he was someone presumably that you hated. >> not any more, thank goodness, i have to say, because he is no longer alive. but i did have the feelings of hatred because of the dependent role he put me in, i was

dependent on him and he took that freedom. this is different from people will voluntarily choose roles of situations where they are dependent on others. i did hate him for what he had done to my parents. them eight years. a terribly long time. have you been able to reestablish the emotional and family relationships you had when you were 10 years old? >> yes, i am once again in contact with my family. and i think those connections are indeed so strong that the eight years i was gone and do not way that much or factor that much into the equation. there are regrets on both sides about what happened. we have to suffer so much. but, of course, we are very happy on the other hand that we have been able to regain at least partially what had been lost.

>> thank you very much for giving us your time. i am sure people want to wish you the very best. thank you. >> champagne makers in france can reflect on a bumper crop this autumn. all because six years ago they introduced a new environmentally friendly technique to stop their grapes falling prey to hungry birds. >> late summer in northern

benti of falcons from america, employed to keep precious fields free of great eating predators. the birds task is not so much to catch the play but to create stress so that the starlings, for russia's, black birds instinctively stay away. they used to use nets to protect the vineyards but it was impractical and expensive. six years ago they turned to birds of prey, and its awards. now is the moment the falcons are most needed because the grapes are at their tastiest. >> it is a period when the grapes take on the sugar and the moment there is less acidity. it is more tasty to these little birds who want to eat them. >> any day now, it is harvest time in champagne. not until then candies vigilantes' of them bind relax of their eagle eye. >> that is almost it for this edition of "gmt." israelis and palestinians opened a second round of direct peace talks. earlier i spoke to an israeli foreign ministry spokesman the tells me there is no guarantees but israel is willing, in his words, to go all the way. plenty more to come. but now, let us get a taste of what is coming up later on bbc world news america.

mexico is pulling out all the stops to celebrate 200 years of independence. that is from world is america -- news america. stay with bbc world news. plenty more to come. >> hello and welcome. -- >> union bank has put its financial strength to work for a wide range of companies.

from small businesses to major corporations. what can we do for you? >> somewhere in america, there is a doctor who can peer into the future, there is a nurse who can access and an instant every patient's past. and because of all hospital is working together, there is a family that can breathe easy right now. somewhere in america we have already answered some of the nation's toughest health care questions. and the over 60,000 people of siemens are ready to do it again. siemens, answers. siemens, answers.