egypt's army is under attack a day after president sisi vowed to crack down on terrorism. ♪ you are watching al jazeera. coming up in the next half hour greece offers concessions to creditors in a bid to secure a bailout, but it may be too little too late. china passes a new law, giving the state tighter controls over cyberspace. tinkering with time a leap second had been added to the world's clocks.

we'll explain why. ♪ we begin with developing news out of egypt and a major battle that is ongoing in northern sinai. egyptian helicopters are carrying out strikes there. a group calling itself the sinai province is attacking check points and security installations. we're told by medical sources that 30 soldiers have been killed. we understand the road linking two cities is being targeted by armed men. they are planting bombs along the highway to stop the military from sending reinforcements. security in sinai is a significant problem for egypt's president. attacks there are growing, but this is the biggest we have seen in months. more now from omar. >> reporter: the attacks come a day after egypt buried its

public prosecutor who was killed in a car bomb attack on monday. president sisi has ordered his cabinet to change current laws to face what he is calling terrorism. violence in sun sinai has increased. in 2014 the group became known as province of sinai, and swore allegiance to the islamic state of iraq and the levant, and proved to be one of egypt's biggest threat. the military intensified its security campaign carrying out attacks against what it says was terrorist hideouts killing dozens of fighters and arresting others. [ explosion ] >> reporter: the egyptian government has demolished

hundreds of houses near the border of the gaza strip and israel it says it is creating a buffer zone to stop smuggling. sinai problems are not new, residents there complain of government negligence under development, unemployment and poverty. well the attack is raising concerns in neighboring israel and palestine. our correspondent has the latest from west jerusalem. >> reporter: israel has closed its two main border crossings with egypt. the israeli military, we have been told is closely monitoring the situation in sinai after this deadly attack. we also understand that the israeli military is also monitoring the border area that gaza shares with egypt as well.

all of this really just underscores the concern that israel has about the violence in egypt. the two countries have had what has been described as a cold peace since 1979, but the relationship between egypt and israel was thoroughly tested in 2012 during israel's campaign in the gaza strip which resulted in the deaths of a number of civilians. the then egyptian president, mohammed morsi pulled its envoy from israel but in the last few weeks, the current president, sisi, has sent a new ambassador back to israel. it would appear this cooperation between israel and egypt is certainly much better than it was a few years ago, and it also really just underscores, again, what we have been saying that israel does have concerns about the situation in the sinai, an

area in which they built a huge fence which stretches for other 200 kilometers standings at around 5 meters high, and is covered in razor wire. greece has offered concessions to its creditors in order to secure a bailout deal. the prime minister has written that he is willing to accept most of the bailout conditions. barnaby phillips has the late esz. >> reporter: this man has a difficult job, telling pensioners they have to wait. they are allowed into the bank one by one to collect some money. they have been here for hours. all of this is not help for the greek government. it says it still wants compromise with creditors. >> we are trying to remedy the situation. we want an agreement, because we think that an agreement is good for both sides, whereas the opposite, the lack of agreement

is going to be devastating, we think, both for the euro zone and our country. >> reporter: the greek prime minister has accepted most of the creditors conditions. but the germans say there's nothing to talk about until after the greek referendum. >> translator: we're waiting for the referendum talks on an aid package can't take place until after the referendum. >> reporter: while europe's leaders bicker what do tourists think. tourism is vital to the greek economy. >> i heard that the bank might have been closed so i just brought some cash from home basically. >> i know there's problems over here, but no just carry on as normal as far as we're concerned. >> reporter: for the greeks themselves the situation is much

more worrying. they can't escape the financial crisis, and yet for all of the tensions and disagreements in this country, the vast majority of greeks have dealt with the situation with great patience. 120,000 greeks have declared bankruptcy in the past five years, but what can this woman possibly tell them now? >> even as lawyers, we are afraid about what will happen next. there is a lot of insecurity and uncertainty at the moment so we just say wait and see. we have a referendum at the end of the week. maybe some things will happen. maybe not. we will see. >> reporter: somehow amidst all of this greeks have to make a momentous decision in the coming days about their country's future. barnaby phillips al jazeera, athens. italian police have arrested

ten people suspected of supporting isil. the suspects include italians,al -- albanians and one canadian. civilians have been killed in the yemeni city of aden in a houthi mortar attack. 17 people were killed when at least six shells hit the district. the violence occurred after human rights watch called for an investigation into saudi-lead air strikes against civilians. they say the strikes appear to violate international law. kristen saloomey has more. >> translator: my wife and four daughters died all of them. >> reporter: this man lost a total of 27 members of his extended family most of them children, when his home in

sa'dah city was hit by a bomb. >> translator: on that night, someone came to ask for my daughter's hand in marriage. i didn't even have time to be happy for my daughter before the strike happened. >> reporter: he was interviewed by human rights watch as part of their investigation that found at least six homes in sa'dah were struck by the saudi-lead coalition. they found no evidence the homes were hiding fighters. >> the military target would have to be of such a high value that it would justify a high level of collateral damage. with a number like 27 civilians killed it's very hard to see how that would be justified. >> reporter: five markets an empty school and a crowded petrol station were also hit in sa'dah, the focus of the investigation. the coalition is attempting to

prevent the houthi rebel group from taking over the government. if there was a legitimate reason to strike the target saudi arabia has yet to reveal it. neither they nor the united states have yet to respond to the investigation. nor have they jazeera. with no functioning government in place, the united nations says it's focus is on finding a political solution to the conflict. >> all of the violence all of the -- the sort of destruction that we have seen is quite serious, which is why we're trying to push our efforts to get the parties to have a ceasefire or at the very lease a humanitarian pause. >> reporter: in the meantime human rights watch says all sides must follow the rules of war. with no end to the fighting in

sight, the hope is to spare civilians. kristen saloomey al jazeera, the united nations. at least one police officer has been killed in a gun battle in burundi. the violence is the latest in weeks of unrest. people are waiting to hear the result of monday's parliamently elections. haru mutasa filed this report. >> reporter: there was gunfire overnight and continued into pretty much of wednesday during the day. the police came into the area and started going house-to-house, door-to-door. they say they have information that some of the opposition members are arming themselves with grenades and other weapons, so they will come in and try to take the weapons. when they try to do that the civilians who were said to be armed started firing back. a grenade was thrown just down

the road after that there was an exchange of gunfire. we are told one police officer was killed and several civilians have also been killed. but we'll confirm that number later. things are very tense at the moment. today is independence day. but most people say they don't feel like celebrating because things are still tense. moreover, they saw one more election, they are waiting for the parliamentary results to be released soon the presidential election is on the 15th of july where the president is determined to run for a third term despite it to be unconstitutional, opposition members are saying they will do whatever they can to stop him from doing that. coming up thousands march on hong kong. and cuba and the united states prepare to make a major announcement on their next step to restore diplomatic ties.

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♪ welcome back. the top stories here on al jazeera. more than 30 egyptian soldiers have been killed in northern sinai. an armed group attacked a number of check points and security installations at the same time. there is also heavy fighting in another area. at least one police officer has been killed in a gun battle in burrundi. people are waiting to hear the

results of monday's elections. greece has made significant concessions in order to secure a bailout deal. the prime minister has written to international creditors saying he is willing to accept most of the conditions. let's go to john psaropoulos who is standing by for us in athens. john tsipras now willing to concede to some of the terms. tell us which ones he is wanting to change. >> reporter: he is conceding, really to his own plan. this was being finessed when tsipras walked out of those talks on saturday. his deputy issued somewhat of an explanation in the last few hours saying the creditors were shifting on their vat position. they were not going to stick to what was referred to during the week, and they were raising

consumer taxes. but we are where we are. now four days later, mr. tsipras seems set to have let's say not an easy victory, if the no vote is still not what he really wants. since the referendum was announced the no vote has fallen to 46%, and the yes vote has risen a little to 37% according to the polls. the distance seems to be narrowing, and i think it is going to be too close to call. either way the government doesn't standing to gain i would say, because the no vote would keep the doors closed while a yes vote would be a public censure on its policy

choices. >> how has this affected tsipras's political standing? >> reporter: well greeks are ashamed today. they feel this whole negotiation strategy has been bungled, which it has. and what they are having to say is all right, we cap it late to a third bailout loan, they're asking for a third year to pay the debt. they are hoping for that form of bankruptcy protection just to stabilize the economy which is now sliding back into recession, and once that is done they say they will kick back in to repaying the debt as well. but by then i think greece will also require a restructuring of those debt payments to be paid not over the next 16 years, but

rather several decades, because it is unsustainable because of the way in which the repayment period has been structured. it's simply too short of period. the greeks are essentially saying all right, we want back into the program, we want bankruptcy protection, we will pay everything in full and we agree to at least the austerity positions. >> john thank you for that. china has passed a new law giving the government more control over cyberspace. they outline tougher measures against online attacks. adrian brown filed this story from beijing. >> reporter: china's government is obsessed with security so in

many ways the passing of this law is not surprising. it will allow the country's vast security apparatus to now police the internet in any way they see fit in the name of national security. it is a far-reaching law that covers everything from cyberspace to outer space. but the wording is vague. for instance, we don't know what happens to violators. also it's not clear how you know if you have broken this new law. human rights groups say that vagueness is what worries them. for instance, is criticism of the government now tantamount to subversion. also commentators say is this the response of a government that feels secure and confident or the opposite? on the day this security law was passed thousands of taxi drivers have been staging a strike here in beijing in response to online competition

to operators of uber. it's not clear for the moment whether this action will end on thursday or continue into friday. this sort of spontaneous action worries china's government, and it's one of the reasons why they pass laws like the one being passed today. tens of thousands of people have taken part in prodemocracy marches in hong kong. this was the first large-scale protest since they voted against electoral reforms. >> reporter: much smaller numbers at this year's march, estimated in the tens of thousands compared to the 500,000 who came out last year. in part because of protest fatigue. this city has gone through a

tumultuous year disrupting life here for several weeks. there is a feeling of disillusion about what has been achieved at the end of all of it, with hong kong having as little say in its political affairs as it did under british rule. but the authorities have been determined that the anger will not spill out into street occupations once more. this is umbrella square at the heart of the movement last year. it was occupied for a number of weeks. the police are determined at the end of this march tonight the traffic will still be running here. >> relations between u.s. and cuba have been frozen since the early 1960s, but the two countries will startly announce the opening of embassies in each other's capitol. this follows historic talks

between barack obama and raul castro in april. let's go live outside of the cuban interest section in washington, d.c., where the future cuban embassy is expected to be. take us through some of the preparations expected ahead of this announcement. >> reporter: as you pointed out, there have been discussions between the two governments that have been going on for many many months almost two years. but in recent months we saw a flurry of activity happening here. we saw the repaving of the driveway, fresh coats of paint, but most importantly we saw the erecting of a flag pole which we presume once this announcement is made by the president in about 40 minute's time, that we will see the cuban flag raised. something we have not seen in

washington, d.c. in decades. >> reporter: what has been the general reaction to this news in the united states? >> reporter: well i can tell you, it's still very controversial. and this is an incremental step. it underscores the limits of his power to what he can do to reestablish reestablish diplomatic ties. what people are really looking for inside cuba as well as here in the united states for many is the lifting of that economic embargo on cuba. that is something that can only happen with an about of congress and i can tell you given the controversial relationship that has eksz cysted that is going to be a very difficult step. there is a lot of pushback because there is still the issue of unresolved property claims for many u.s. businesses and as

well there is also concern too about the progression of human rights inside of cuba. so there are a lot of outstanding issues. the president can make this announcement, but there's still a lot he needs to do to see the full establishment of relations, and that will involve congress something that is very complex between the white house and congress right now. indonesia's president has promised a review of the country's aging air force fleet. at least 130 people are now confirmed dead after the military transport plane crashed. the president has ordered a thorough investigation into the cause of the action. stephanie decker has more. >> reporter: the military has now updated the number of passengers on the plane that went down on tuesday. they said it was 113 people on board. now that number is over 120. all of them presumed to have

died in this crash. the rescue operation is ongoing. they are trying to get the bodies out of the wreckage. horrendous stories we're hearing of body parts. so it will be a lengthy process of trying to identify them. this is the sixth fatal military crash in the last 10 years, so it raises questions of concern as to how this could have happened. there has also been political action in parliament on tuesday. politicians questioning whether the military was flying planes that were too old. the hercules c130 is an aircraft with an extremely strong safety record, so this will need to be addressed. why did it go down in the air force says they will stop flying the hercules c130 until the investigation is complete. now we have had six military

aircraft going down in civilian areas in the last ten years, so very serious questions will need to be addressed to try to figure out how this will never happen again. the governor of new jersey chris christie has joined the race to be the next president of the united states. christie is the 14th republican to seek nomination. >> america is tired of hand wringing and indecisiveness and weakness in this the oval office. we need to have strength and decision making and authority back in the oval office and that is why today i'm proud to announce my candidacy for the republican nomination for president of the united states of america. [ cheers and applause ] >> we want to take you now live to athens where the prime minister is speaking. let's listen in. >> translator: -- our decision for a referendum that process

we will put on the table and for the need to restructure them [ inaudible ] have until friday. we didn't [ inaudible ] proposed our own proposals, and for this ready -- reason europe was [ inaudible ] which will discuss today in the afternoon. if there's a positive end, we'll directly respond. in any case greek government remains at the negotiation table, and will remain at the negotiation table until monday straight after the referendum on better terms for the greek side. because always the people's verdict is a much stronger from the will of government. i want to repeat that democratic choice is the nucleus, the center of european traditions.

in the most important moments of european history. the people with the referendums, ta took critical decisions. it happened in france and other countries for the europe institution referendum, in ireland where the referendum temporarily canceled [ inaudible ] treaty and there was renegotiation and ireland got their terms. unfortunately in the case with -- personally i would never expect for democratic democratic -- not to understand the need to give time and for people to take time to decide. there was a rule of the extreme conservative circles and the consequences, the strangulation of the banks, and they want to -- to pull that [ inaudible ] from the government, to each

citizen. it's unacceptable really. in the europe of consolidarity and respect to have these images of shame. to close the banks because the government decided to give way to the people, and to lead to trouble so many people which the government is part of this strangulation ensured through the payment of the pensions straight away to their accounts. we owe an explanation to these people to protect your own intentions would give this fight for so many months to protect your right to have a dig -- dignified pension and not just an allowance. they want us to sign this proposal. you h