no to blackmail and ultimatums, the greek prime minister's plea to voters as final rallies take place ahead of the greek bailout referendum. ♪ hello there, i'm felicity barr and this is al jazeera live from london. boko haram is blamed after more than 140 people are killed in attacks in northeastern nigeria. it is the most serious threat to isil, but why the cooperation between the syrian fighting force and the u.s.-lead coalition is being questioned. and the 25,000 mexican

fishermen who are suing the oil giant bp. hello. supporters of the rival sides in greece's bailout referendum are gathering for final rallies in central athens. earlier in a televised address the prime minister called on voters to say no to what he called blackmail and ultimatums and reject the terms offered by international leaders. e.u. leaders kept up the pressure warning a no vote would weaken greece's negotiation position with creditor creditors. [ inaudible ] ask voters where a proposal submitted by the commission should be accepted. the choices are, no not accepted, or yes, accepted.

greece is making final preparations for the referendum. let's take a look. as people try to decide which way to vote the banks in greece remain closed and negotiations with creditors are still on hold. al jazeera's john psaropoulos is live for us now in the greek capitol athens. as the rival rallies begin to take place, the greek people seem as divided as ever. >> that's right. the vote is currently too close to call. three polls that we have seen today all put the yes and no in the low 40s with the difference between them within the margin of error. so no one really is going to be able to predict how this is going to go. this could be interpreted as an advance for the yes camp which before banks were closed was the majority view. but i think it's still too difficult to say.

i think what we can say is that given that the result seems to be very very close one on sunday greece will probably be divided about this austerity package and austerity in general on monday. therefore, i don't know that mr. tsipras will be proven correct in his prediction that once this referendum is done the greek will all be united again. >> translator: whatever choice we make on sunday there will be nothing to divide us the following day. no one questions our presence in europe. no to a non-viable solution doesn't mean a rupture with europe. it means a continuation of negotiation on better terms for the people. i call upon you to say no to the ultimatums, to the blackmails and this campaign of fear. i call upon you to say no to the rupturing, no to those who want to sew panic and prevent you from making the decision with composure. i call upon you to decide for

democracy, and dignity. >> all of those preparations being made for sunday's referendum, there has been some doubts about whether the actual vote is legitimate? >> reporter: well, there has been. i'm not sure that they are entirely serious. they are based on a constitutional quibble about whether the people can be called upon to decide in a referendum on a fiscal matter. article 44 of the constitution doesn't prevent them from holding a referendum on a fiscal issue if you read it closely. it presents people to hold a referendum on a fiscal law that parliament has already passed. that's different. we're not asking greeks to overturn a law that has already been passed by parliament. this is about a fiscal package that's being proposed to the greeks, but i think that it's one of many attempts that have been made to -- to derail or

somehow cancel this referendum. a lot of people simply don't like the fact that it is taking place, precisely because it is so divisive. there's a very large element of anger in the no vote particularly. just consider the fact that four out of five greeks want greece to remain in the europe euro zone, three out of five say they realize this will intaker greece's status within the euro zone, so there are obviously conflicting emotions on this. greeks want to stay on the other hand they are expressing their anger and will risk that status. >> john, thank you. ♪ more than 140 people have been killed in a string of attacks in northeastern nigeria, the armed group boko haram has been blamed for the on slot in

borno state. several mosques were attacked in one town on wednesday night. 97 adults and children were killed there. two other villages were also attacked and on thursday a bomb went off. our correspondent has more from the capitol. >> reporter: some more details are coming out about the nature of these attacks in the northeast. we now know that a suicide bomber was behind the attack and app pair rengly the blast happened a few meters away from a military check point. vigilantes who had been supporting the military tell us on friday morning a contingent of soldiers left the capitol heading to the area to try to investigate what happened. eyewitness accounts are also emerging, and what we're getting is a sense of extreme violence a picture of extreme violence that took place there.

apparently when boko haram attacked they stormed a mosque where they killed men and boys who were praying. they went on to burn the corpses of those they had killed. they then attacked people in their homes, mainly women and children in some cases gunning down these women and setting ablaze many homes and businesses in the area. this latest violence will be a huge worry to the new government who came to power on a ticket of eliminating boko haram. there has been much diplomatic effort by the new president to try to work out a strategy to defeat the group, which is involving regional partners like chad and niger, but reports of these attacks will make many feel that all of the efforts being made by the new government are not being felt on the ground if boko haram is still able to launch these kinds of attacks. a nigerian senator in the

national assembly says boko haram's new tactics are challenging the nigerian military, but progress is being made. >> it is too early to judge the administration. he is just very few weeks in power, and he has done a number of things to address the problem, one of which is reaching out to neighboring countries, and also given confidence to -- to the people. he is prepared to fight and also doing all he can to see that he boost the morale of the military, and also provided them what they need to fight. and it is unfair to expect result within the next few days. this is something that has been entrenched and going on in the last six years. it is very much impossible to expect him to [ inaudible ] within few days when he has taken power. but i believe the strategy he has taken will produce result.

>> reporter: the syrian army has launched raids in the northern city of aleppo in response to a major assault by an alliance of rebels. a syrian military source said the attack had been repelled. the government largely controls the west of syria's largest city, while different rebel factions are in the east. the syrian kurdish fighting correspondent is now near the isil declared capitol. the kurds are the u.s.-lead coalitions only partners on the ground, but syrian arabs are questioning that cooperation. zana hoda reports now. >> reporter: they have been expelled from their homes. syrian kurds are no longer welcome in isil's capitol city. families move north to the

border town which was under isil's control only two weeks ago. living under isil the kurds were forced to pledge allegiance to the group. after the ypged a advanced towards the area they accused the kurds of cooperating. >> translator: they gave us 24 hours to leave or they would behead us. they are afraid of the ypg. >> reporter: the ypg with the help of u.s.-lead coalition air strikes, closed the route from turkey, but it's main strong hold is far from being under siege. the ypg has no plan to advance towards the mainly arab city. the kurds have said any future battle here would have to be lead by arab forces to avoid ethnic tensions. some activists believe isil

could be easily defeated if the coalition cooperates with syrian rebels. >> translator: ypg is not interested in taking the city. there are main stream syrian opposition groups in the area who are ready to fight isil but they need air support. and the coalition doesn't seem willing to support them. the coalition only supports the kurds. >> reporter: if syrians accuse the kurdish force of taking advantage of the territorial gains by cleansing the area of arabs and only fighting isil in areas that they consider western kurdistan. for now the kurds are being treated by the west as the only viable and reliable partner on the ground in syria, which is angering the arabs. zana hoda, al jazeera, on the syrian turkish border.

the muslim brotherhood in egypt says another of its members has been killed by security forces. he was in charge of the brotherhood's development commit see the. he disappeared more than two weeks ago. his family said his body had injuries con advertise enth with torture when it was returned to them by the government. funerals have been held for 13 muslim brotherhood leaders killed on wednesday. one was a lawyer and former mp. the government says the men fired shots. a claim the muslim brotherhood denies. a group of egyptian activists and opposition politicians met in london to call on the international community to stop supporting the sisi government. they said there must be an independent inquiry into the killings. >> we call for an investigation by the united nations and human rights organizations and the human rights council of the united nations into the extra judicial killings that have

recently taken place as well as the early massacres that took place in 2013. we repeat in the last few days some extra judicial killings have happened of innocent opponents in egypt. the [ inaudible ] egypt call is inciting people to exterminate a particular political group, namely the muslim brotherhood. 25,000 fisher member who's livelihoods were destroyed by the gulf of mexico oil spill are taking bp to court. the day after the oil giant reached a $18 billion settlement with the united states the fishermen are hoping to be next in line for compensation. >> reporter: this fisherman heads out to sea, but he doesn't expect to catch anything. and predictably his net comes up empty. >> translator: in all of my 50 years of fishing, i have never

seen anything like this. there had always been plenty of fish but since 2011 we have seen a dramatic decline. it's a disaster and enough to make you cry. >> reporter: this is what he and tens of thousands of mexican fishermen blame the shortage on the 2010 bp oil spill around 5 million barrels of oil spilled into the gulf of mexico that summer. u.s. fishermen have received $1.8 billion in compensation. mexican fishermen? zero. now 25,000 mexican fisherman are suing bp in a u.s. court asking for $50,000 each. it's the first lawsuit against the british company by someone outside of the united states. >> translator: we feel they have given priority to those affected in the united states. >> reporter: bp refused to comment on the case but fishermen say there is evidence

everywhere. >> translator: it's simple we have seen dead fish turtles and dolphins with oil all in their insides. >> reporter: fishermen have long shared these waters with mexico's national oil company. they admit there has been contamination before but they say it ever affected their catch. >> reporter: fishermen say these waters were so rich that they could go out for a couple of hours and bring back a ton of fish but now some don't even bother to go out at all. this is one of those who stays on shore most days. his wife asks him every day if he has caught anything or brought home food. >> translator: she gets upset and says what is wrong? we are not going to either what? as much as i would like to have something for her, what can i do? >> reporter: he has two disabled grandchildren to care for. whether it's at sea or doing odd

jobs on land he heads out every day looking for something to bring home. adam raney al jazeera, mexico. still to come on the program, on the edge of a battle ground, how iraq's government is trying to save its unique heritage. and how the an inchenth path that was the setting of shakespeare shakespeare's play is bringing unity to cyprus. this is a great place to work. not because they have yoga meetings and a juice bar. because they're getting comcast business internet. comcast business offers convenient installation appointments that work around your schedule. and it takes- done. - about an hour. get reliable internet that's up to five times faster than dsl from the phone company. call 800-501-6000 to switch today.

perks are nice. but the best thing you can give your business is comcast business. comcast business. built for business. ♪ ♪ ♪ 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. ♪ hello, welcome back and a reminder of the top stories here on al jazeera. final preparations are underway

for sunday's greek referendum on the international bailout. the prime minister called on voters to say no to what we called blackmail and ultimatums. more than 140 people have been killed in a string of attacks in northeastern nigeria. the armed group boko haram has been blamed for the killings in borno state. and 25,000 fishermen who's livelihoods were destroyed by the gulf of mexico oil spill are taking bp to court. they are hoping to be next in line for computation after the oil giant reached a settlement with the u.s. the united nations envoy to yemen is hopeful a ceasefire can still be reached between the country's warring sides. the comments come as the united states called for a humanitarian halt in fighting during ramadan. but on the ground the saudi-lead coalition has launched more air strikes on the yemeni capitol. saudi jets pounded sana'a in the

early hours of friday morning. but one yemeni city has managed to keep the fighting at bay, troops and local tribes have joined together to fortify positions against houthi forces. >> reporter: a bustling market is a rare site in yemen these days. it's rush hour. there has been heavy fighting correctly near the city. they call themselves popular resistance forces and say they have prevented shia houthi fighters from closing in on their city. they have established check pointed and monitor all traffic in and out of the city. >> translator: at the fronts where fighting goes on we're still resisting. it's a happening 20 kilometers from the city. it's fortified and safe except for shelling by houthi militia and saleh gangs. the power comes from the yemeni

army, and thank god there is also the support of tribes from within and outside the city. >> reporter: tribes warned the government last year of a possible advance from houthi fighters. yemeni army soldiers were stationed alongside the tribal fighters to defend the city. many other provinces in yemen have fallen to houthi fighters. here tribes and troops have stayed loyal to the elected government of president hadi from exile in saudi arabia. >> translator: the city is different from other cities. there are a lot of fronts here and thank god all of the fronts are resisting the enemy with the help of the army and the tribesmen from the province. anyone who tries to attack the city will be defeated. >> reporter: houthi fighters

have captured some areas nearby. and the popular resistance is trying to recapture them. the saudi-lead coalition has also carried out several air strikes. the gunners appear calm for now, but there is tension. the people here continue to hope for peace and prepare for war. the islamic state of iraq and the levant has destroyed a famous statute of a lion in the ancient syrian city of palmara. a unesco is meeting in to discuss the destruction. after taking control of the northern city last year they published photos. earlier the group bulldozed

parts of the city that dates back centuries. and there are fears that the archaeological remains samarra. >> reporter: 1200 years ago this was the capitol of an empire. the was a unique architectural achievement. it has room for 80,000 worshippers. openings in the brick walls were designed to echo sounds. >> translator: we have big challenges especially in the unstable security situation, thank god the site is now relatively secure but needs maintenance and repair. >> reporter: because the capitol was abandoned in the 9th century rather than destroyed, most of

it is still intact. but it is now on the edge of a battle ground sflshgs isil fighters are just 20 kilometers from here. and the modern city is divided. the city has become a staging ground for former shia militias under command of the iraqi government. they have left their mark. inside there's 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. this man explains this was once a huge mosque. the iraqi government is trying to continue exka lagss here, and hopes to restore some of the buildings, but it doesn't have the money or staff. this is is just one of the palaces in what was once a huge city. it is considered the best

preserved city of this size of its time there are parts now that are completely occupied by security forces. this capitol was built in the golden age of the islamic empire. these were baths in one of the palace complexes. water was brought in by ceramic pipes from the river and then heated. before isil the site was listed as endangered. with fighting on its doorstep, the more than 80% of the city still buried it's protected mostly by earth and sand. jan arraf, al jazeera. the renewal of diplomatic ties between the u.s. and cuba follows two years of secret negotiation hinging partly on a prisoner swap. >> reporter: the man you seay

riving in havana seems an unlukely central character in a drama that changed diplomatic history. he has been sentenced by a miami court to two life terms. the last thing he expected was to suddenly arrive home to a hero's welcome. >> i learned about it in december 16th the day before. >> reporter: he has 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 fighter jets. his wife 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 month's pregnant when her husband arrived. >> translator: i had frozen by eggs anticipating when the time came it might be too late.

>> reporter: her name means jewel, and was born shortly after her father's return to cuba six months ago. she was conceived as a diplomatic gesture of goodwill. the u.s. government lou lou -- allowed her to undergo pregnancy proceedings with her husband's sperm being flown in from the united states. two years earlier, both governments had begun exploratory talks, but cuba demanded the release of its agents as a condition for moving forward. the freedom of the intelligence officers, and an american contractor imprisoned in cuba had suddenly become key to ending decades of hostilities between two nations.

>> for us it was big news personally, that we not even realized the consequence. >> reporter: his release has outraged many in florida's community, but at home he's being 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 by little girl and my wife and the rest of my family. and i see myself serving my -- my 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 they inadvent antly played a role. and finally, an inchent tower in cyrus which was the

setting for shakespeares play oh the low is now bringing unity to the divided island. caroline malone explains. >> reporter: greeks and turks in a rare show of unity on the divided island. standing invitation, we'll ensure proper security divisions and make sure you enjoy beautiful and great celebrations during the upcoming olympics. othello power was named after shakespeares play. the tower had started to crumble after 600 years under different rulers. the republic was formed after british troops left the island. the island has been divided after turkish forces invaded following a coup in 1974.

islanders from both sides recognize the site's importance. >> it's a kind of -- it's a value of cyprus and so we are sharing it together. >> reporter: as delegates from the european union which funded the project gathered the greek leader spoke in brussels of progress in peace talks. saying it may only be a matter of months. >> renewed talks are taking place in a very very positive atmosphere. there is renewed hope for reunification. and we celebrated cooperation and slel bracing. >> reporter: the tower is once again open to the public. but the project grew into so much more, focusing on the importance of saving a part of

the island's past for future generations. caroline malone al jazeera. and a quick reminder you can always find out much more on most of our stories on our website, that's what the page looks like at the moment. the address to click on to is aljazeera.com. aljazeera.com. the nation on high alert, a warning from homeland security and the fbi this holiday weekend. cutting a deal with iran talks intensify in vienna as the deadline for a nuclear agreement looms. [ explosion ] pollution in the sky, fireworks are a 4th of july favorite, of course but that is not all that fills the air. ♪