Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption "Nobody has the right to threaten to cut down Greece from its natural geographic body" - Alexis Tsipras 
 
 Greek PM Alexis Tsipras has called on voters to reject "blackmail" when they vote in a bailout referendum on Sunday. 
 
 In a TV address, he insisted Greece's EU membership was not at stake. He later told cheering supporters to vote "No" to "live with dignity in Europe". 
 
 There were scuffles with police as both sides held rallies in Athens. 
 
 A Greek court has rejected a challenge to the legality of the referendum, in which people will vote on the terms of further international loans. 
 
 It comes after tough talks with creditors, and EU leaders have warned that a "No" vote could see Greece leave the eurozone. 
 
 Greece's economy is already being squeezed after its bailout programme ran out on Tuesday. 
 
 Banks have been shut and limits imposed on cash withdrawals. 
 
 The head of Greece's banking association has warned that although the banks have enough funds until Monday, they will be dependent on the European Central Bank thereafter. 
 
 Desperate times 
 
 Image copyright AFP/Getty Images 
 
 It is a scene that speaks of suffering and exhaustion, and one that may well become the lasting image of the Greek debt crisis. 
 
 An elderly man, sitting on the ground outside a bank, was photographed crying on Friday morning. 
 
 The image, taken in Thessaloniki by AFP's Sakis Mitrolidis, was widely shared on social media as soon as it was published. 
 
 The man, whose name was not disclosed, was helped away soon after it was taken. 
 
 His story is not known, but those of plenty of other pensioners are. 
 
 Monthly pensions have gone down to an average of €833 ($924; £594) from an average of €1,350 in 2009, according to INE-GSEE, the institute behind Greece's biggest union. 
 
 Read more: Cost of crisis to pensioners 
 
 Claims by Greek politicians that a "No" vote will strengthen their hand in bailout negotiations have been rebuffed by European leaders. 
 
 Both EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and Jeroen Dijsselbloem - head of the Eurogroup of finance ministers - have insisted a "No" vote will weaken the Greeks' position and that even a "Yes" vote will not mean a deal is easy to agree. 
 
 Several European officials have complained in strong terms about Greece's abrupt decision to hold a referendum on the terms of a bailout offer that they say is no longer on the table. 
 
 But in a ruling on Friday, Greece's top administrative court rejected an appeal lodged by two individuals who had argued that it was illegal to hold popular votes on fiscal matters. 
 
 Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Stefanaki Ioanna: "A yes vote will give Greece a chance" 
 
 Debt 'unsustainable' 
 
 Thousands of "Yes" and "No" supporters gathered in separate squares of central Athens on Friday, and police threw stun grenades in brief scuffles with "No" protesters. 
 
 Mr Tsipras urged Greeks, at a "No" rally later on Friday evening, to say a "proud 'No' to the ultimatums". 
 
 In his TV address, Mr Tsipras referred to an IMF report published on Thursday which said Greece would need an extra €50bn euros ($55bn; £36bn) over the next three years to stabilise its finances and repeated suggestions that Greece needed debt relief. 
 
 The recent negotiations were over the release of a final tranche of bailout funds of €7.2bn. 
 
 Greece's mountain of €323bn debt was "not sustainable", Mr Tsipras said. He said he had called for a 30% "haircut" off the debt and a 20-year grace period for the rest. 
 
 Mr Tsipras urged voters to reject the "sirens of scaremongering", but added that: "Whatever we choose... Come Monday we are all together." 
 
 Mr Tsipras faces vocal opposition at home - with opposition leader Antonis Samaras calling on "every Greek man and every Greek woman above and beyond parties" to vote "Yes", along with several deputies from Syriza's own coalition partner, the Independent Greeks. 
 
 Lenders' proposals: Key sticking points 
 
 VAT (sales tax): Alexis Tsipras accepts a new three-tier system, but wants to keep 30% discount on the Greek islands' VAT rates. Lenders want the islands' discounts scrapped 
 
 Pensions: Ekas top-up grant for some 200,000 poorer pensioners will be phased out by 2020 - as demanded by lenders. But Mr Tsipras says no to immediate Ekas cut for the wealthiest 20% of Ekas recipients 
 
 Defence: Mr Tsipras says reduce ceiling for military spending by €200m in 2016 and €400m in 2017. Lenders call for €400m reduction - no mention of €200m 
 
 Source: European Commission document, 26 Jun 15 (pdf) 
 
 Greek debt jargon explained 
 
 Tsipras and his Greek gamble 
 
 A poll published in Ethnos newspaper on Friday showed the two sides evenly split, with the "Yes" vote at 44.8% and the "No" vote at 43.4%. 
 
 But the same poll showed 74% in favour of staying in the euro, with just 15% choosing a return to a national currency. 
 
 The European Commission, the European Union's executive arm - one of the "troika" of creditors along with the International Monetary Fund and the European Central Bank - wants Athens to raise taxes and slash welfare spending to meet its debt obligations. 
 
 On Tuesday, the previous eurozone bailout expired, depriving Greece of access to billions of euros in funds, and Athens missed a €1.5bn repayment to the IMF. ||||| Democracy is messy. The Greeks know this better than most, having essentially invented the concept. 
 
 But by unexpectedly calling for a public vote on its latest bailout proposal, the Greek government—in the name of democracy— has triggered a highly uncertain sequence of events that it seems ill-equipped to manage. The latest brinksmanship led Greeks to empty their bank accounts over the weekend, fearing for the stability of the country’s teetering financial system. 
 
 To stem the tide, banks will be closed on Monday (June 29), with withdrawals at cash machines likely limited to just €60 per day when they do reopen. These drastic restrictions are necessary to keep the banks afloat, and more importantly, to keep Greece in the euro zone. The euro itself took a bit of a beating in early Asian trading. 
 
 The turmoil unleashed by the unexpected referendum—made visible by long queues at cash machines across the country—threatens to sever the bailout lifeline on which Greece has relied for the past five years, once and for all. Already in a deep depression, things could get even worse in Greece. In fact, a prominent Greek politician once warned about holding such plebiscites: 
 
 If the Greek prime minister himself tries to have the people face such dilemmas… the Greek banks and the Greek economy will collapse before we even reach the voting booth… because of the possibility that the people may face such a dilemma, they might vote “no.” 
 
 That politician was the current Greek prime minister Alexis Tsipras, who back in 2011 criticized the then-prime minister for the recklessness of calling a referendum on a previous bailout agreement (the vote was eventually cancelled and cost the leader his job). 
 
 Now that Tsipras is in power and campaigning against his own advice, it’s no wonder that the outcome of the latest chapter in Greece’s bailout drama is so hard to predict. 
 
 What the hell happened? 
 
 Tsipras blindsided everyone by calling a national referendum on whether the government should accept or reject its creditors’ latest proposal to prolong the country’s bailout. 
 
 Reuters/Alkis Konstantinidis Brinksmanship personified. 
 
 Tsipras announced the referendum in a televised address in the wee hours of Saturday (June 27). The vote will be held on July 5, he said, which would require a short extension of the current bailout agreement beyond the end of June. But later that day, euro zone finance ministers rejected the extension request. For once, negotiators appeared to honor a deadline. 
 
 Although the logic of the Greek government’s referendum gambit is understandable—in essence, let the people pick their poison—its execution is clumsy, to say the least. There is the surreal possibility that, on July 5, Greeks will vote on a proposal that is no longer on offer. 
 
 And now? 
 
 Greece is broke—on this we can all agree. On Tuesday (June 30), when Greece’s bailout agreement expires, the country owes the IMF some €1.5 billion ($1.7 billion) in loan repayments. This is the first of many bills Athens faces in the coming weeks that it almost certainly cannot pay without unlocking additional financial aid. A default now seems inevitable. 
 
 The actions of the key players—on both sides—feel improvised at best, incompetent at worst, and incoherent throughout. 
 
 Although unwelcome, stiffing the IMF is not considered a default by the main credit ratings agencies, which are focused on debt held by private-sector lenders. The IMF also gives late payers warnings and some time to clear their arrears before publishing an official notice of default. 
 
 Clauses in Greece’s debts to the euro zone’s rescue fund and the ECB include provisions to call in loans if the country misses a payment to other creditors, but officials suggest that they wouldn’t be quick to enact these clauses as long as there is hope of reaching some sort of deal that would keep Athens afloat. 
 
 Are the banks about to go bust? 
 
 If this all seems very confusing, that’s because it is. And the biggest source of confusion is about whether the Greek financial system can function if the country’s bailout agreement is allowed to expire. 
 
 If it cannot, and no help from euro zone institutions is forthcoming, the only way to prop up bankrupt banks and pay the state’s other bills might be to ditch the euro and start printing drachmas, which unlike the euro would be wholly under the control of the Greek state. 
 
 Shunned by the markets, Greek banks’ only affordable source of ready cash to meet rising withdrawals comes from so-called “emergency liquidity assistance” from the European Central Bank. After progressively lifting the amount of emergency support it would provide to Greek banks, today the ECB said that due to the breakdown in bailout talks it would instead freeze its support at current levels, which simply isn’t enough. 
 
 That means the only way to stem the outflow of cash from banks is to impose these new capital controls. In announcing the measures tonight, Tsipras dubbed the ECB’s cap on emergency bank liquidity an attempt to “stifle the will of the Greek people” ahead of the referendum. 
 
 So, what happens next? 
 
 Expect a bitter week of recriminations, unease, and fear. Greece’s creditors blame Greece for breaking off negotiations, and further aid will not be forthcoming without a drastic change of heart from the Greek government. In the meantime, the ECB’s emergency support is capped, but not withdrawn, ensuring a low level of life support for banks that are clinging to cash by closing their doors and restricting transfers. This is the backdrop for the run-up to the referendum. 
 
 Reuters/Yves Herman Feeling the pinch. 
 
 For his part, Tsipras is poised to push for a “no” vote via a “campaign with nationalist-populist overtones and based on messages of defiance, resistance against ‘foreign intervention,’ oppression by [creditors] and giving a say to voters,” says Wolfango Piccoli, an analyst at research group Teneo Intelligence. These are the themes that propelled Syriza to power in the first place, and for which it maintains high approval ratings. 
 
 But polls show that a majority of Greeks also want to stay in the euro zone. Indeed, Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis admitted to reporters that there is a “very high probability” that Greeks may vote “yes”—that is, approve the lenders’ proposals against the wishes of the government. 
 
 Needless to say, this would put the government in a difficult spot, and almost certainly require a leadership reshuffle or possibly a fresh election. The opposition will point to the panicky queues at cash machines and shuttered bank branches as signs that the government is pushing the country out of the euro and into uncharted territory. Analysts also expect volatility across European markets, with investors retrenching to the safest assets and dumping the euro. And history shows that capital controls tend to remain in place for a long time without drastic action. 
 
 And so the Greek people have been thrown into the deep end, their financial future more uncertain than ever. In a week’s time, they will be asked to make a choice that will determine the economic path of their country, with both options bringing different sorts of pain onto a people who have already suffered greatly. 
 
 Like so much else to do with the dealmaking over the past several months, the actions of the key players—on both sides—feel improvised at best, incompetent at worst, and incoherent throughout. ||||| European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker unleashed a number of home truths to Greece and its Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras on Tuesday, after the country overwhelmingly voted "No" – or "OXI" – in the country's bailout referendum Sunday. 
 
 He said there there will be no deal reached today and that all parties must discuss "what 'respecting Greek vote' means." 
 
 Tsipras is set to unveil new bailout proposals at an emergency meeting of eurozone leaders in Brussels on Tuesday. 
 
 "The Greek Prime Minister knows that the question asked in the Greek vote was no longer valid. I'm against a Grexit but we must discuss what 'respecting the Greek vote' means," said Juncker in a speech Tuesday morning. 
 
 "I'm very saddened that the Greek delegation left the negotiating table — you don't do that in Europe. It was a big mistake. We must try and find a solution. It can't be done today — that would be to simplistic. Today we'll pave the way, through talks and mutual understanding, to put things in order. The ball lies in the Greek government's court." 
 
 Greeks had to vote either "Yes" or "No" to bailout conditions given to the government before June 30. However, the situation radically changed when Greece defaulted on its €1.6 billion (£1.1 billion, $1.8 billion) payment to its creditors that day. 
 
 Now, a "No" vote means Greece is likely to default on almost all its remaining debt and run out of money because the European Central Bank will not lend the country anymore cash. 
 
 On July 6, in a research note entitled "Greece: Time for the Adults to Speak," BAML's analysts pretty much say the "No" vote was pointless, as all it did was make the country's economy worse. 
 
 That means Greece is even more desperate for cash than it was before the vote and therefore in a much weaker negotiating position. Greece has another payment due to the European Central Bank coming up later this month. ATMs are close to running dry. 
 
 On July 5, Barclays' analysts warned that this will mean Greece will run out of liquidity as of July 20, and therefore certainly default on its debt, maybe exit the EU, abandon the euro and therefore will re-adopt its old currency, the drachma and use IOUs to recapitalise its banking system.
– Greece's top court has declared that Sunday's referendum on a bailout is constitutional, meaning the vote with huge implications for all of Europe will proceed. The latest polls show a dead heat, reports AP, as leaders on both sides try to rally support—especially Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, whose political life may be at stake. “I ask you to say no to ultimatums, blackmail, and fear-mongering,” he said in a TV address. “No to divisions, no to those who want to spread panic.” He sought to downplay the notion that a "no" vote could lead to Greece leaving the euro zone. Instead, he said, the referendum is about giving him more leverage to get a better deal from creditors. It's the only way Greece can "live with dignity in Europe," he said, per the BBC. The Washington Post has a primer on the financial reasons behind the vote, but a story in the New York Times casts it in more personal terms. It's largely become a referendum on Tsipras himself, and the story suggests that's why European leaders itching to get rid of him limited emergency funds to Greek banks this week. The move set off a panic among people scrambling for cash, and his popularity tumbled. “I don’t see how anybody can believe that the timing of this was coincidence,” says a US economist. “When you restrict the flow of cash enough to close the banks during the week of a referendum, this is a very deliberate move to scare people.” Tsipras initially said he would step down if the "yes" vote prevails, but he has since backed down from that position.