>> you are watching al jazeera on the program. japan's changes to expand the role of the military are pushed through parliament. clashes in athens as greek mps back more austerity measures. and a glimpse of an icy world

far, far away. nasa releases images from its fly-by. yemen's exiled government is coming home after more than three months insaudiin saudi arabia. they have driven the rebels out of the airport and the port. >> translator: we'll announce within the coming few days that we have secured the entire city. the three ministers returning is part of a plan to ensure gradual return of the members of the government as we work towards liberating the rest of the country. >> they suffered more setbacks with heavy fighting with the popular resistance committees. 46 fighters and forces loyal to

the former president have been killed. the dead and wounded after heavy fighting and shelling in residential areas. japan's prime minister pushed through legislation that could see troops sent abroad for the first time since world war ii. mps walked out where thousands of demonstrators are gathered outside. what does this mean, harry? >> reporter: it means that it now goes to the upper house the house of counselors where the upper house can contemplate debate even if they send it back though. abe and his ruling coalition have enough votes in the lower house to make sure this gets enacted on time. that's the commitment he's

already given to his main ally on a visit to the united states in april and may. that is something that in itself caused opposition in japan where people said this shouldn't have happened before the legislation had been debated. there are number of legal experts, some of them who themselves came to the committee saying this was an unconstitutional change. it was a change that was first made last year by the cabinet reinterpreting the constitution to allow for collective self-defense, coming to the aid of an ally under attack, not just being able to defend japan's territory which had been the case up to this point. this legislation will allow to happen in the real world t will allow japanese troops to cooperate with u.s. troops in asia potentially much further afield. that's why it's causing such travis in japan and why it's a

high political cost for shinzo abe. >> and a lot of unhappy people, harry. why? >> >> reporter: this has been one of the postwar settlement. it's a psasifist nation. he doesn't want to challenge that, he does want to see japan become a normal country again. he also says that the security situation in northeast asia has changed after this vote went through. he said the security situation surrounding japan is increasingly severe. these bills are necessary to protect japanese people's lives and prevent a car before a war before it starts. both the united states and japan present a unified fronted against potential territorial conflicts with china. as i say those sorts of

arguments aren't holding much water with the japanese public at large. you see this as a major change to the way the country has conducted its affairs and sees itself after the horrors of world war ii and the years at a preceded it. >> thank you. israel has launched an air strike on the gaza strip. it was targeting hamas facilities. overnight rockets were fired. no casualties have been reported on either side. there were clashes between police and protests in athens. the prime minister, alexis tsipras, says tax rises and cuts would not help the economy but demanded by creditors. there are signs of anger. 38 government mps failed to support the measures. >> translator: this government's commitment is that we will do

everything in our power with the same passion with which we fought this battle abroad for six months now to put this country in order and make the necessary structural reforms. >> the greek government says the priority is to complete the bailout. the eurozone finance ministers begin the negotiations for an emergency bridging loan worth 7 billion euros. the focus shifts to a vote in the german parliament. the bailout deal must be ratified there before it can proceed. greece needs to secure funds by next monday when a 3.5 billion euro payment is due to the european central bank. steven keen is head of the school of economics at kingston university in london, but joins us from sydney. the german prime minister wants to see an early exit.

the greek public thinks it's a bad idea. what sort of deal are we talking at now? >> i think that's the first thing that i agreed with. he caused this disaster through imposing order liberalism philosophy on the greek situation and blaming the crisis on a lack of trust and saying these are necessary to restore trust. frankly, he's right. the only sensible thing is grexit. since he's talking about it openly and saying his party would agree with that, i think the most sensible thing would be to say okay fund this in the transition to grexit and we'll get out. >> if so many people don't believe in the deal and they start pushing for an early exit, you wonder how anything can be

implemented. >> i know. this is the reason why greece didn't go with the grexit in the first place. they were aware of the transition cost of trying to go back to the drocma. i think now seeing what's happened, it's been such a catastrophe from both sides especially the contributions of the european union have been disastrous. if they could rewind the clock knowing what was going to come their way they would try to get the hell out of the disaster the euro has become. >> so what happens now? where do the banks get the money from? who gets what now? >> well, i mean, the simplest thing to do, if a grexit was organized and they ended up being debt write-offs, the french and particularly german government would need to bail out their banks which is all that's happening. 7 billion is needed. and that's to make a

$3.5 million payment to the european central bank. the bank is going to lend the money and say pay it back to us. if there was a grexit and the greek and french governments had to bail out their own banks there would be a more direct version. seems risky. >> i was going to ask you about that. it seems that the focus is on saving german banks in particular. >> it's always about german banks. it's been a shadow play. it's obvious greek is bankrupt. it's because of those debts to banks it can't repay. it does haven't its own currency and the entire bailout is what is called extend and pretend. your bank will lend us money to pay you back again. the next loan is going to be less than the next interest

payment. the imf admits the debt write-offs are necessary. it's about time we went back to saying risk your own banks which america has done in a grand style so has england and let greece out of this trap. the only destination for this trap is beyond abject poverty. the terms will make it worse. you are looking at the rise of the situation that gave rise to the horrors of the 1930s. >> thank you. human rights group amnesty international held a silent protest outside the egyptian consulate in sydney. it's part of its campaign for justice for journalists. we have more from sydney. >> reporter: this event is to raise awareness ahead of the verdicts due on the 30th of

july. members of the group have delivered a petition to officials inside the egyptian consulate with more than 40,000 signatures of people calling for charges against them and 18 other journalists behind bars. they are speaking out against what they call new laws which would further criminalize protest and the freedom of expression in egypt. amnesty international is one of five human rights groups that has written to australia's foreign minister asking her to speak out against what they call the most serious human rights crisis that egypt has seen in decades, a brutal crackdown on any form of decent. the al jazeera case is the most high profile example. >> still to come on al jazeera

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>> hello again. here's a reminder of the top stories on al jazeera. in yemen three government ministers returned from exile in saudi arabia. there are important gains in the port city. however, it's not yet safe enough for the president to

return. japan's prime minister pushed through legislation that could see troops sent abroad for the first time since world war ii. demonstrators have gathered outside parliament. there were clashes between police and protesters in athens overnight as the greek parliament backed more austerity measures. the prime minister said the combination of tax rises and cuts wouldn't help the economy but they were demanded. a historic opportunity that the united states shouldn't pass up, those were president barack obama's words as he defended the deal with iran, saying it makes his country and the world more secure. >> this nuclear deal meets the national security interest of the united states and our allies. it prevents the most serious threat iran obtaining a nuclear weapon, which would only make

the other problems that iran may cause even worse. it's why the alternative, no limits on iran's program no inspections, iran that's closer to a nuclear weapon, the risk of regional nuclear arms race and greater risk of war all that would endanger our security. >> now talks of tehran and washington reestablishing diplomatic ties. but reconciliation won't come quickly. >> street celebrations in tehran as the u.s. and other countries hammer out a deal with iran on its nuclear program. does that mean the u.s. is going to work with the iranian leadership on issues such as isil and the syrian civil war. the iranian foreign minister seemed to indicate perhaps. >> it shows that in our globalized world diplomacy has a much better chance of achieving results than coercion

and pressure. i hope this will be a lesson for other situations as well. >> the building behind me is the old iranian embassy here in washington. it's been closed since 1980. that is when the u.s. and iran broke off diplomatic relations. now, under the vienna conventions, washington is obligated to maintain the block. the u.s. long accused iran of stirring up trouble across the middle east. it supports hezbollah and hamas and is accused of sending aid to yemen. there is talk that the u.s. might be able to use the moment to help end syria's civil war. >> we need to see whether or not the iranians are willing to play ball to correct this situation. to date we have not done that. we have placed our emphasis entirely on the nuclear issue. we have set aside all of these other things. now it's time to pivot and to

pivot very rapidly. >> removing assad could deprive isil a mutual enemy of iran and the u.s. of a recruiting tool. such cooperation runs the risk of increasing tensions between the u.s. and traditional ally, saudi arabia, which views iran as a rival. however, time is running out for the obama administration. with just 17 months before it leaves office. it has a landmark deal with iran, but it's likely to be years before the country is regarded by the u.s. as a friend and not as a potential foe. photos of alleged torture and executions by the syrian government have been shown to the u.s. congress. the pictures were smuggled out by a syrian army defector. >> reporter: these are images of horror that leave little to the imagination, a body scared by

scorching, amputation, starvation. they were taken between 2011 and 2013 in two military hospitals on the orders of the syrian government intelligence service. the unidentified man who claims to have taken the photographs is code name ceasar. he's a former syrian military photographer. last year he appeared before the u.s. congress after defecting with more than 50,000 images of torture. although syria dismissed them as forgeries, the fbi and several independent groups are convinced they are authentic. a sample on display by the u.s. holocaust museum was put on display. a form he detainee, described how he had to walk over dead bodies to be questioned and tortured. >> it took them five hours of beating me to get tired. >> he identified two photos that

were never involved. a senior republican politician says america lost its moral clarity two years ago by backing off military action in response to the first confirmed reports of syrian chemical weapons attacks. >> that was a moment in time for us as a nation to step forward with an operation that could have greatly changed the momentum. >> another condemned the decision to restrict u.s. aid to syrian opposition fighters. >> we are training people and the plans are to train many more, send them into syria to fight only isis and not even vow to protect them against assad's bombing. that, my friends is a shameful, shameful policy. >> it fears it would keep supporting them. >> it was the same base. we know iran's effect.

when i talk to my family in damascus they tell me like we have we see from time to time iranian officers or guards at the checkpoint standing there. >> u.s. military action and senate is moving to document the war crimes for that one time when the victims may get justice. former u.s. president george bush has broken a bone in his neck after falling in his home. the 91-year-old is in a stable condition in hospital and will have to wear a neck brace. bush is the oldest living former u.s. president and has a form of parkinson's disease. the family of a man killed by police in los angeles are seeking an investigation into the 2013 shooting. video footage was released on tuesday. orders from a federal judge.

[gunshots] >> officers shot him because they feared he was reaching for a gun. police tried to keep the video from the public. president custer addressed the national assembly calling for a new relationship with the u.s. the two countries are set to reestablish diplomatic ties, opening embassies. castro called for the u.s. naval base to be returned to cuba, something the u.s. insists is not on the agenda. mexico's oil industry has entered a new era of competition with contracts auctioned to international companies for the first time in decades. it's part of a wide ranging reform program by the president. but the sale fell short of its

goal. only two of the 14 oil fields up for sale were purchased. we have more from mexico city. >> reporter: for more than 80 years, the national oil company has been the only player in the oil sector here. that changes now because earlier on wednesday the government opened up 14 exploration blocks for bidding. it's already attracted some attention, but it shows that now we are entering an era of competition along state run monopoly is no longer a monopoly. an oil analyst said this is a game changer. >> it effectively breaks up the monopoly. it's the first stone in transforming an industry to a market. >> all throw there hasn't been so much interest in the first round of bidding there will be subsequent rounds of bidding. and that will have the crown jewel for companies to bid on

deep water projects. they will attract a lot of attention. up until now this country has been unable to truly take advantage of reserves in deep waters in the gulf of mexico. although they benefited for decades by being a monopoly on oil in this country it could find a silver lining. if they can produce more and more, one analyst says it will be better to have part of something assured than a hundred percent of a resource that had been dwindling under their watch. a powered plane attempting to circle the earth has been grounded for nine months. the impulse suffered battery damage during its 118 hour flight from japan to hawai'i. it is a major setback. they do intend to complete the journey once repairs are carried out. an engineer in afghanistan is harnessing the power of the sun for different mode of

transport. he's done the first solar powered car in his backyard. >> reporter: while he had a dream, to use something kabul has something plenty of, sunshine. so he started building his country's first solar car. >> two problem in afghanistan. one is environment another problem is we have an oil mine. >> gasoline. >> yes. >> reporter: a professional engineer, he knew what he wanted to build. but the materials and money weren't always available. >> for the glass very expensive. i haven't money. >> reporter: to finance the project, he sold his own car. when that money ran out he looked for donations. a friend he met on-line gave him a thousand dollars to finish it. it took a year and a half and $5,000 to produce his dream car. >> and this is the only one in

afghanistan? >> yes only one in afghanistan. first car. electricity from the back. cloudy night, you can use electricity and will charge. >> reporter: he used what parts he could find at the local market like motorcycle wheels and welds the car together as best he could. this is a basic model. there is no room for storage no air bags and not a lot of maneuverability. it's not the ideal car for kabul traffic. driving in kabul is chaotic and aggressive. cars challenge each other to get ahead. he only takes his car on the road on weekends. armed with the phone number of the head of the traffic police in case he's stopped. summer driving brought a new problem. the brake fluid gets too hot and

he has his first accident. despite the difficulties, he's hoping some day to produce the cars here. so far there have been no interested investors. he says he got a free education in afghanistan and he would like to give something back to his country. nasa's fastest unmanned spacecraft is sending back the clearest pictures of pluto ever. >> reporter: this is pluto as never seen before. nasa's new horizon spacecraft sailed past the planet. >> three two one! >> reporter: the probe was watched by scientists at the johns hopkins university as it passed between the owe orbits of

pluto and its primary moon, sharon. >> fasten your seatbelts new horizon arrived at the pluto system. >> yesterday america's space program took another historic leap for humankind. today the new horizon's team is bringing what was previously a blurred point of light into focus. >> pluto is the last major unexplored body in the solar system. already they have learned something new. >> we discovered that pluto is larger than we anticipated. we now have good measurements of its diameter and radius. it's radius is

>> just remember, you can catch up with the news on our website. >> i'm ali velshi. "on target" tonight far from perfect. i'll talk about the big problem that the nuclear deal in iran doesn't solve. plus money versus power how iran had to choose economic prosperity over nuclear ambition. the nuclear option is off the table. now comes the hard part: the u.s. has to decide whether to turn its iranian partners into friends. i can tell you this, it's