with just days to go before greece's referendum the i.m.f. says the country needs about the 50 billion euros to stay afloat. ♪ ♪ welcome to al jazerra, i am sami zeidan in doha. also on the show the united states and the u.n. call for a temporary truce in yemen as saudi jets pound houthi targets in sanaa. unesco says key heritage sites in iraq are in imminent dang we are ice fighters gaining ground. plus long distance love. how a mysterious pregnancy

sparked the birth of a new era in u.s.-cuban relations. ♪ ♪ the final day of campaigning in greece for groups supporting either a yes or no vote in sunday's bailout referendum. police in athens used stun grenades for force protesters to leave a european union building and international monetary fund says nerve to any bailout bailout greets would need another 150 billion our owes over the next three years to stay afloat. alex respite sip respite is op sit mystic they will get a new deal. >> if that is the decision of the greek people from fear or pressure or choice, we will respect it. if the know vote is stronger i

assure you the next day i will be in brussels and a deal signed. >> since monday greece has closed all breaks and limited the amount of money people can take out of cash machines jonah hull reports. >> reporter: gasping for air. greece is being strangled by a standoff with international lenders forcing banks to close leaving people struggling to meet their daily needs. in this economy no one is giving credit, cash is king and it's never been so scarce. there are lots of people here, the fish seller explains, but few are buying. they can't afford to. >> translator: what do they want? why have they closed the banks? the banks shouldn't have closed because we we are in europe. europe is one without greece there is no europe. >> reporter: day by day the news isn't good from bad to worse to truly terrifying. the headline here, talking about the possibility of deposit haircuts losing between 20 to 50% of the money you hold in the

bank. in a diminishing economy perhaps even a diminishing country rich. even the newspaper is getting smaller there is an apology on the editorial page that they are running out of pape to prints it on. could this be the answer? the country's first bitcoin machine. with some 150 new registrations each day this week, the virtual currency is being seen by some as a safe half phone their money out of the banks and beyond the reach of the country's creditors. >> translator: it's something very new in greece, but i believe that because it exists and transactions are made all armed the world it's something stable and i believe it may catch on here. >> reporter: there may be less paper for newspapers, but there is paper enough for posters ahead of this weekend's referendum. no to more austerity yes to a future free of bank queues inside the european union the choice seems clear, but the

politics are not. at a bus stop there are angry words. the politicians are all crypt says this man fascist shouts another. >> i am desperate. i have had enough. they are all dirty. all of them. >> reporter: particular anger is aimed at the politicians of the our ozone the architects of saw stair at this, he's drunk your blood for five years says this post he should theposter the message on sunday for germany's finance minister could veal be no more. the united nations envoy to yemen says he's still hopeful a ceasefire can be reached. as the u.s. calls for a halt to fighter during ramadan. on the ground the saudi-led coalition has launched more strikes on the capital. >> reporter: saudi jets pounded sanaa in the early morning hours of friday morning. the u.n. says 20 million people are in need of aid.

surprise are struggling to get through because of the violence. >> reporter: as adults run for their lives scattering from the fighting in an effort to survive, a child lying in the street is carried away. this is aden now. one part junkyard, one part graveyard. one of yemen's most beautiful cities in rav i'med by war. its people in desperate need of help. but the aid isn't getting in. >> in addition to the insecurities and the constant fighting happening on the ground, we have attempted more than two or three times to send big ships carrying fuel and food to the port of aden, but the security situation in the port area itself has forced these ships to back off and return to international waters.

>> reporter: while houthi fighters and supporters of president hadi exchange bullets and blame medicine and nourishment are in very short supply. >> we don't know what exactly is happening. we know there are sounds of bullets and fire shots. in the end the division of the captain of the ship whether it is safe enough for this ship to dock. >> reporter: uncief, the world food program doctors without borders, the world health organization, and many more, all are calling for a ceasefire and demanding the creation of humanitarian corridor. >> we appeal to all parties on the ground to allow this aid to pass to the people of yemen many of them are severely food insecure, that means that they are hungry. >> reporter: more than hungry, yemen has one of the highest rates of malnutrition in the world. nearly 1 million children are

severely malnourished. the fighting has only made their hunger worse. in a country that depends on food imports and where water was running out even before this war, the situation is beyond dire. last week the u.n. warned of a possible famine in yemen. this week, they have declared a level three humanitarian emergency. the highest possible level. despite the pleas. more and more lifelines dry up every day. and things seem to change only for the worse. mohamed, al jazerra,. to syria now where an alliance of rebel groups is reportedly started a major assault to take full control of aleppo. activists say rebels fired hundreds of rockets and missiles in to government-held areas. rebel groups say they want to liberate the city and introduce islamic law. the government controls west of the city while different rebel

factions are in control in the east. isil has destroyed the a lad figurine weeks after capturing the city. the group has published photos showing the destruction of other artifacts from pal my i can't. palmyra. unesco says they are looting ancients sites on an industrial scale selling the fresh tours middle men to raise cash. the world heritage site in northern iraq is now on unesco's endangered list, it has withstood roman empire invasions but unesco says it's modern day groups such as isil that pose the biggest threat. two other cities are under threat. the ancient archeological city samarra from where jane arraf now reports. >> reporter: 1200 years ago samarra was the capital of an islamic empire stretching from

north at calf to central asia. the distinctive spiral minnesota red was a unique architectural achieve. the great mosque had room room for 80,000 worshipers, openings in the brick walls were designed to echo sound from the minute red. >> we have wig challenges, especially in the current unstable situation. it's relatively secure but needs maintenance and repair. >> reporter: because it was abandoned most it have was intact. samarra is now on the edge of the a battle ground. isil fighters are now just 20-kilometers from here and modern samarra is divided. mostly sunni city surrounding one of the holiest sides in shia islam. the shrine. it's staging ground for former shia militias under commands of the iraqi government. they have left their mark. inside evidence of target practice.

although this was once the most glorious city in the world most iraqis don't know it. now essentially the only visitors are off duty fighters. asked what was here, mahmoud explains it was once a huge mosque. iraqi government is trying to continue excavations here and hopes to restore some of the buildings, but it doesn't have the money or the staff. this was just one of the palaces in what was once a huge city stretching 40-kilometer as long the river. it's considered the best preserved city of this size of its time there are parts it have now, though, that are completely occupied by security forces. this capital was built in the golden age of a rookie innovations from here spread across the world. these were baths. water was brought if by ceramic pipes from the river and then heated. even before isil the site was listed as endangered threatened

by military activity and neglect. with fighting on its doorstep, more than 80% of the city still buried. it's protected mostly by earth and sand. jane arraf, al jazerra samarra iraq. nigeria government official says boko haram fighters have killed 97 people while they were praying. the attacks on several mosques on wednesday night happened in the town it's nearly 200-kilometers north of. [ inaudible ] we have this update from abuja. >> reporter: a member of the civilian joint task force those are ordinary nigerians who have been supporting the military in the fight against boko haram has hold al jazerra that when this attack took place the soldiers were some 11-kilometers away, but they didn't respond to calls for help and rescue. now, we have put this allegations to the military and are awaiting a response. on other details news agencies are reporting that this attack

happened just at the breaking of fast period, of course it's the holy month of random and many people who were caught up in the violence many killed were worshiping when they were gunned down by boko haram. we are told boko haram came with seven vehicles and nine motorcycles. so far the security services have not commented on the details of this reports. emergencies services are not able to tell us what they were doing to treat these people. this will be a blow to the new government that came to power on a ticket of trying to defeat boko haram. much diplomacy has gone in to trying on come one a strategy to defeat the group. mohamed the new president who has only been in power for the last four weeks has traveled to neighboring countries like chad and niger to meet leaders there to talk about the strategy, he's also been to the g7 meeting in germany with the issue you of boko haram and the african union

summit and at the end of july, he will go to the united states to meet barack obama around the 20th of july and it's believed that the whole issue of insecurity in the region will be on the table for discussion. there is a sense however, that even with all the diplomacy and all the efforts being made the pact that have is not being felt ago if the details of these reports are accurate, and boko haram is still a force to be reckoned with. still to come on al jazerra. b.p. agrees to a record pay out of more than $18 billion over the 2010 gulf of mexico oil spill. and we report on the young victims of china's mass migration from the country side to the cities. >> you have kids here who've killed someone? >> award winning journalist soledad o'brien takes us inside

the violent world of kids behind bars. will a new experimental program be their last chance? >> i have to do my 100 percent best so i don't end up in a place like this again. ♪ ♪ ♪ get excited for the 1989 world tour with exclusive behind the scenes footage all of taylor swift's music videos interviews, and more. xfinity is the destination for all things taylor swift.

♪ welcome back. let's recap the headlines here on al jazerra now. it's the final day of campaigning in greece for groups supporting either a yes or no vote for sunday's bailout referendum. i want national monetary funds says in addition to any new bailout greece will need an extra 150 billion euros over in the next three years. saudi has launched more air strikes on sanaa. coming hours after the u.n. called for a pause to the fighting for hugh humanitarian reasons. boko haram killed 97 people while they were praying. the attacks happened in mosques.

now, all parties the talks on iran's nuke lack program save made roughing progress progress but no deal insight. they have five more days to curb the nuclear activity in exchange for sanctions relief. our diplomatic editor james bays has more from vienna. >> reporter: in a break in the intense negotiations, the iranian foreign minister appeared on the balcony of the luxury hotel once an austrian palace where the talks are being held. are you confident you can get a deal? >> i am hopeful. >> reporter: i have to be hopeful were his words. there was a suck sense of motorcades, as foreign ministers from most the p5 plus one the six countries negotiating with iran headed back to vienna, all had a similar message. >> i don't think we are at any kind of breakthrough moment yet but the work is continuing and we'll dough 'do whatever we need to do to keep the momentum.

>> we are moving forward. not there yet but moving forward. it's going rather well. >> reporter: with the interim agreement with iran extended and now due to expire on the seventh of july next tuesday perhaps the most telling comment came from china's foreign minister, can you get a deal best 7th do you think? >> translator: i think there is high possibility but ill i still need to consult with my counterparts. >> reporter: western hopes that they can a deal done. one senior a iranian official said such deadlines were artificial. he said they would continue to negotiate until they had a good deal. james bays, al jazerra vienna. oil company b.p. has agreed to pay a record settlement of $18.7 billion over a massive oil spill in the gulf of mexico five years ago. when it exploded millions of

barrels of oil leaked in to the sea off the u.s. coast. >> reporter: in april 2010 the deep water horizon rig exploded in gulf of mexico killing 11 workers in. 87 days that followed, oil spewed in to the waters of the gulf prompting president obama to call it the worst environment the disaster in u.s. history. along the coasts of five states lively hoods were ruineds. beaches polluted and wildlife killed and the proceeding complex legal case a judge found that they were closely negligent in the handling of the well. >> instead of battling through a led games black hole we have now forged ahead with an agreement to purchase hope and spur recovery for our entire gulf region. it's not just a solution, but a remarkable achievement. >> reporter: the money will be

divided among the states of texas, alabama mississippi florida and the worst affected louisiana environmental assists say it sends a strong message and will enable states to begin important respiration work. >> if the money starts coming out that we can use to restore our coast that is less damage that we have to repair in the future. so money now is worth more than money in 10 years after a big long legal battle. >> reporter: money will be paid awed over five years to all states including here in florida, end being b.p.'s case with the u.s. government. the company says its costs associated with the spill have now exceeded $40 billion. but shares in b.p. were up when news of the settlement was made public. scientists are still unsure about the long-term effects of such a massive oil spill that may not be known for years but it's hoped that b.p.'s money will hope communities along the gulf of mexico bounce back. malaysia is pushing for an

international tribunal to prosecute those responsible for shooting down the malaysia airlines plane in ukraine last year. 298 passengers died when flight mh17 was showed down, ukraine -- shot down. ukraine and western countries accuse the rebels of shooting it down with a russian-made missile. rescue teams in the philippines are working to find survivors of a capsized ferry. at least 38 people have died. another 15 are still missing. the ferry sanction as it was leaving the port on thursday. gerald tan has the latest. >> reporter: 187 people were on board the ferry when it capsized. survivors say it happened suddenly, minutes after undocking. >> translator: i was with my mother in law and her brother upstairs when it sank, i do not know what happened below the deck. >> reporter: many passengers

were rescued by the coast guard and local fishing boats others managed to swim to safety. the victims were rushed to hospital as some waited anxiously for news of the missing. >> translator: where is my mother. where is my mother gloria? i hope she didn't ground drowned. i haven't seen her next. >> reporter: the it was duh lab date ed in appearance and continued to sink through the day just meet ears way from the port of the city. it's unclear what caused the 33-ton ferry to flip. the coast guard says there was light rain and the waves were strong but no dangerous. the ferry's captain is now in custody for questioning. >> we are looking at the possible human error from the captain of the vessel. captain of the boat. but as of this time, we cannot give any conclusion as to what transpired.

>> reporter: dozens of people die in ferry accidents a is contract philippines each year. frequent storms, over crowded and poorly maintained vessels are often blamed. gerald tan al jazerra. in china a suicide pact by four slick lesion last month has raised concerns about child welfare their parents abandoned them to find work else where. the mass migration of the people from the country is a side to the cities have seen an estimated 60 million children left behind by their parents that's about 22% of china's children. most are part of an estimated three to 4 million children living in extreme poverty. nearly 13 million have stunted growth. some rural areas more than half of children tested suffer from anemia or lack of iron. our china correspondent adrian brown reports from the southwest. >> reporter: it's a landscape that offers some of the most beautiful scenery in china.

but it's also a region now synonymous with tragedy and poverty. this is the house where police say four young children, three sisters and a brother committed suicide last month after being abandoned by their parents both migrant workers. they swallowed pesticide. the youngest was five. their death is highlighted the plight of china's so-called left behind children. >> translator: those four children, what they ate was worse than the food you give to pigs. raw corn, every day. no one took care of them. >> reporter: she is vague about why no one here seems to have raised the alarm sooner. this case is about more than just poverty. it also concerns the issue you of child welfare in china. and raises a number of troubling questions. how is it possible for four children to live in this house for so long without anyone, a neighbor, a teacher at the local

school, the police, local government officials not realizing what was going on? one of the reasons, there is simply nothing unusual about children living apart from their parents in today's china. her two grandchildren live with her because her son works hundreds of kilometer as way. she says their mother left five years ago to escape the poverty all around them. >> translator: she went back to her hometown. she thought life was too hard and poor here. she doesn't want to come back. >> reporter: poverty is a sensitive issue in china. which is why local government officials were soon onto us. following our every movement. they were worried because the president had been in this same province a few days earlier. telling people that poverty was nothing to fear. we were, though, allowed to visit the vellum school.

out of its 93 students, we were told around 20 live with their relatives, grand parent mostly. strict rules to control the flow of people mean they only see their parents once a year. before we talk to the teacher our minder spoke to her. >> translator: it is not a big problem because most of the children can talk to their parents by phone once a day in the worst case it's once a week. >> reporter: a poster with an urgent message buildup confidence to battle poverty. in the city, they are constructing new factories and offices that, in theory, could one day provide jobs that could help keep local families together. the deaths of four children last month is a reminder of why such an investment can't come soon enough. adrian brown, al jazerra in southwest china. the renewal of diplomatic ties between the u.s. and cuba

this week followed two years of secret negotiations, focusing partly on a prisoner swap. one of them was cuban spy gerardo hernandez who was serving two life terms in an american jail. lucia newman explains how he played a key role in the deal. >> reporter: the man you see arriving in havana, seems an unlikely central character in a drama that changed diplomatic history. cuban intense gel officer gerard o'hearn dez had been sentenced by a miami court to two life terms the last thing he expected what is to suddenly arrive home for a hero's welcome. >> i learned about it in december 16th, the day will before. >> reporter: hernandez had spent the last 16 years in u.s. maximum security prisons. a cuban spy implicated in the killings of four american pilots shot down by cuban fighters fighter jets. his wife adriana had repeatedly

been denied a visa to travel to california to visit him in prison. so cubans were dumbfounded when they saw that she was nine months pregnant when her husband arrived. >> translator: i had frozen my eggs anticipate that go when the time came it might be too late. >> reporter: the name means jewel, was born shortly after her father's return to cuba six months ago. what no one knew was that she was conceived as a diplomatic gesture of goodwill. the u.s. government had allowed mrs. hernandez to undergo fertilization treatment in panama with her husband's sperm flown in from prison in california. a small part of top secret negotiations leading to a start thinking announcement. >> i have instructed secretary kerry to immediate by begin discusses with cuba to reestablish diplomatic relations that have been severed since january of 1961. >> reporter: two years earlier both governments had begun

exploratory talks but cuba demanded its release of its agents before moving forward. the freedom of the cuban intelligence officers and an american contractor imprison ed in cuba alan gross had suddenly become key to end being decades of hostilities between both nations. >> for us it was such big news personally that we not even realized the consequence that it might have. >> reporter: hernandez's release has outraged many in florida's exiled community. but at home he's been treated as a hero. still loyal to his government. even after spending 16 years in prison. >> i see myself trying to recover the time with my family. my little girl and my wife and the rest of my family. and i see myself serve paying country, which is my only goal, my only dream. >> reporter: a country that is ending the half a century old cold war with its northern

neighbor. a landmark decision in which gerardo and adriana hernandez and their new baby inadvertently played a role. lucia newman, al jazerra havana. an amazing store there. you can get more on it if you head over to our website as well as all the other stories. i'm david shuster, in for ali velshi "on target" tonight. >> the free world cannot allow iran to have a nuclear weapon. >> how much could faces trust the united states. >> this morning iran's president offered the same wild states. >> we seek a comprehensive diplomatic solution. >> this will not change iran for the better. >> one of the most difficult and long-lasted security problems we faced in a long time.