Countries from five continents formally signed up Monday to the China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank -- a potential rival to the Washington-based World Bank -- as Beijing steps up its global diplomatic and economic role.

Australia was the first country to sign the articles of association creating the AIIB's legal framework at a ceremony in Beijing's Great Hall of the People, an Agence France Presse journalist saw, followed by 49 other founding members. 

Asian equities and the euro tumbled Monday on fears Greece will crash out of the eurozone after Athens called off debt reform talks and announced a referendum on creditors' proposals next weekend, days after a repayment deadline.

Markets in mainland China plunged again, with Shanghai falling more than seven percent after losing about 20 percent from their recent peaks over the past two weeks. A weekend central bank interest rate cut was unable to offset profit-taking and a tightening of trading rules.

European nations urged Sunday their nationals to carry cash with them when vacationing in Greece as the country hurtles towards a banking crisis.

The German foreign ministry recommended that tourists "take sufficient amounts of cash" when visiting Greece, a top vacation spot for Germans, keep tabs on the evolving situation and check for any updates to its travel recommendations.

Greek banks and the Athens stock market will be closed on Monday and capital controls will be imposed, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras announced, pleading for calm after anxious citizens emptied ATMs in a dramatic escalation of the country's debt crisis.

In a statement, Tsipras on Sunday said the Bank of Greece had recommended a "bank holiday and restriction of bank withdrawals" after international creditors refused to extend the nation's bailout beyond its June 30 expiry date, sparking default fears over an IMF loan repayment due the same day.

In Sousse's once-bustling medina, Tunisian craftsman Ali Soltani nervously leafed through a newspaper on Saturday looking for more details about the deadly gun attack on a popular resort nearby.

"All hope is lost. It's a fatal blow for tourism," he sighed.

Eurozone ministers meet in Brussels on Saturday for a crunch meeting after a shock call for a referendum by Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras threw a push to avert a default by Athens into confusion.

Greece will vote on July 5 on the outcome of negotiations with its international creditors that have dragged on since January, when Tsipras's Syriza party first took power on a promise of ending austerity.

Christine Lagarde has crossed the Atlantic to swap her job as a French minister for a place in the global economic elite at the head of the International Monetary Fund.

But she has never been able to leave behind one extreme headache: Greece.

U.S. online giant eBay said Friday its board approved the planned spinoff of its PayPal online payments unit, which will trade as an independent company July 20.

The plan calls for the distribution of PayPal stock to eBay shareholders on July 17, with the financial unit starting to trade under the symbol PYPL on July 20.

Air France on Friday denied a report that it was preparing to lay off 3,300 employees as part of continuing cost cutting at the French flag carrier.

An email sent by the company said Air France "formally denies information published in the press" Friday, when the Le Monde daily reported the airline was preparing "3,000 ground crew departures and 300 among pilots."

Greece is being put before a "clearly unviable" agreement by its EU-IMF creditors but remains committed to staying in the eurozone, Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis told Irish radio on Friday.

"The Greek side has bent over backwards to accommodate some rather strange demands by the institutions. It is now up to them to come to the party," he told the public broadcaster RTE.