As Greeks rush to withdraw cash ahead of a looming default on the country’s international debt payments and a possible exit from the Eurozone, Greece is considering closing its banks on Monday in an effort to stave off a total financial collapse.

Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis tells the BBC that his government is weighing the option at an emergency meeting today.

Meanwhile, Germany’s Foreign Ministry has advised travelers to Greece to make sure they have enough euros on hand before they arrive in the country.

The drama comes as the European Central Bank is in heated discussions about whether to extend Greece’s financial lifeline.

As Joanna Kakissis reports from Athens for NPR, “Some European leaders say the Greek government closed the door on negotiations by calling a referendum. Others are pushing for a compromise to preserve the euro.”

As The New York Times reports:

“The central bank’s 25-member governing council, convened by conference call, was discussing how and whether to extend an emergency line of credit — currently worth more than 85 billion euros, or $95 billion — that in recent weeks has kept Greek banks from collapsing.

“Analysts say that without these funds, Greek banks would not have sufficient money to provide to panicky savers if they opened on Monday. Without a continued flow of money to consumers and businesses, Greece’s struggling economy would probably lapse deeper into recession.”

Greeks began lining up at ATM machines on Saturday, after Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras announced a nationwide referendum for July 5 on an international bailout for Athens – a move roundly criticized by Greece’s creditors as a delay tactic. The deadline for a 1.6 billion euro ($1.9 billion) payment to the International Monetary Fund is Tuesday. But Greece and its lenders have already walked away from the bargaining table.

Reuters says that while some ATMs in Greece were spitting out their last euros, other machines were being replenished. It says a top Greek financial official urged people on Sunday to remain calm and not withdraw all their savings.

Civil engineer Dimitris Kostoulas says he fears bank withdrawals will be limited on Monday. “I believe that everyone is nervous. Not only us. We’ll see what happens,” he tells NPR.

“We are very very close to the edge. What was sometimes seen as scaremongering is something that could happen over the next few days,” economist Platon Tinios says.

If Athens misses its payment, it would likely be forced out of the Eurozone and revert to its previous currency, the drachma. High inflation and years of financial instability would result.

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Police in France are questioning a suspect they believe was responsible for an explosion and the beheading of a man at a factory near Lyon on Friday. Officials reportedly say he took a “selfie” with the slain victim — his boss at the plant — and sent it to an unidentified Canadian mobile phone number.

The suspect, Yassine Salhi, 35, is a truck driver “with a history of radical Islamic ties,” according to Reuters. Authorities believe he caused an explosion by ramming his vehicle into an area at the plant containing flammable chemicals. He then allegedly placed his employer’s severed head on the factory gate along with Arabic inscriptions, Reuters says.

The factory is owned by Air Products, an American company headquartered in Pennsylvania.

Meanwhile, French investigators were trying to pin down the identity of the recipient of the photo sent by phone. Reuters quotes unnamed security officials as saying they believe it to be “an unspecified person now in Syria.”

The BBC says that Salhi was arrested at the Air Products factory in Lyon on Friday morning:

“Later, anti-terror police searched the apartment of Mr Salhi, a father-of-three, in the Moines neighbourhood of the town.

“They took his wife and sister into custody. Another man was arrested but released without charge.

“Agnes Thibault-Lecuivre, spokeswoman for the Paris prosecutor’s office, has said police have so far not found any motive or possible foreign connection, and that Mr Salhi is not speaking to investigators.”

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Across Greece, people lined up outside banks and at ATM machines to withdraw euros today after their prime minister called for a surprise referendum on a proposed international bailout for the troubled country — a move that has pushed Athens to the brink of default and an exit from the Eurozone.

With no solid agreement, the Greek government is set to default on 1.6 billion euros ($1.8 billion) owed to the International Monetary Fund on Tuesday. As Reuters notes: “Its stricken banks have depended on emergency liquidity from the European Central Bank to stay open, and the banking system faces at the very least a further flood of withdrawals after billions have left in recent weeks.

“We have no basis for further negotiations,” German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said today following the announcement of the referendum on nationwide television by Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras.

“Clearly we can never rule out surprises with Greece, so there can always be hope. But none of my colleagues with whom I’ve already spoken see any possibilities for what we can now do,” he said, adding that “there are no more negotiations.”

Germany, home to the European Central Bank and the eurozone’s strongest economy, has led the negotiations, insisting that Athens slash its bloated social welfare net and crackdown on tax cheats.

Joanna Kakissis, reporting for NPR from Athens, says the decision to call a popular referendum came as a surprise. Tsipras, who leads a leftist, anti-austerity party, called for the vote after an emergency cabinet meeting.

“We are facing a historic responsibility to not let the struggles and sacrifices of the Greek people be in vain, and to strengthen democracy and our national sovereignty — and this responsibility weighs upon us,” he said, adding that the proposed bailout is recessionary and would force the country to remain “a debt colony” – forever unable to pay off billions in loans to international lenders.

He set the referendum date for July 5.

But as Joanna reports on Weekend Edition Saturday: “the prime minister didn’t seem to want to take responsibility of rejecting the lenders’ offer and sending Greece into default, so he asked the Greeks to speak.”

As The Associated Press notes: “The call for a vote has strained relations to a near breaking point between Greece and its creditors, some of which say there may be little left to do to save Greece after five months of fruitless and frustrating talks. The sides are haggling over the reforms the country needs to make in exchange for more financial aid but have managed to only increase uncertainty over the country’s future.”

A default and exit from the Eurozone would cause the country to revert to its previous currency, the drachma, almost certainly entailing years of instability, extremely high inflation and poverty.

“And, of course, there will be isolation from Europe, and I think that’s what Greeks fear most,” Joanna says.

It’s not the first time that a Greek premier has proposed a high stakes referendum seeking political cover for an unpopular bailout. In 2011, Prime Minister George Papandreou called for a similar vote, but quickly backed off, yielding to international pressure.

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