Athens demands cash reserves from public sector funds

Prime minister Alexis Tsipras's administration is forcing central government entities to transfer cash to the central bank to help keep the country afloat

The Greek government has issued a decree forcing public sector bodies to transfer idle cash reserves to the central bank in a sign of how severe the country's cash crunch has become.

The order came as the country's finance minister, Yanis Varoufakis, issued a stark warning to eurozone neighbours that they were playing with fire as Athens edges closer to a debt default.

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