The Rundown -- July 3

Egypt

# Egypt President Morsi rejects Armed Forces ultimatum and countdown to military intervention enters final 12 hours. Morsi insists he is the “guardian of legitimacy.”

# Reuters details alleged Armed Forces roadmap.

# "The Egyptian Opposition’s Deal with the Devil" - Max Strasser, “Foreign Affairs”

# David Rothkopf says recent protests have merely shifted power from one set of elites to another.

Snowden

# Bolivian President's plane diverted to Austria after rumors that Edward Snowden is onboard. Bolivian VP calls President “hostage of imperialism.” Meanwhile, Snowden’s options narrowing. (But this is what they'd look like if the countries were to accept his asylum request.)

Russia

# The shale gas revolution in Russia.

# United Russia and the Star Wars model of Russian politics.

# Interactive feature on HIV/AIDS crisis in Russia.

Central Asia

NOTE: J. Lo coverage stops today (probably)

# “Was J. Lo a Chinese Bribe to Turkmenistan?” - George Camm, “Eurasianet”

# At least now people have heard of Turkmenistan.

# "Myths And Stigma Stoke TB Epidemic In Tajikistan" - Jason Beaubien, “NPR”

# Video - Proton M rocket crashes over Kazakhstan during live Russian TV coverage.

Balkans

# “Let Croatia lead the Balkans into the EU” - Joe Biden, "Financial Times"
# Video - Day of joint prayer in Macedonia

Caucasus

# Cultural heavyweight announces intention to mount presidential campaign in Azerbaijan.

Afghanistan/Pakistan

# Donors not happy with President Hamid Karzai’s appointments to human rights commission.

# “Afghan Army Chief: 'Pakistan Controls Taliban'” - “BBC”

Iran

# “Iran's President Signals Softer Line on Web Censorship and Islamic Dress Code” - Saeed Kamali Dehghan, “The Guardian”

# Fars news agency “exclusive” interview with U.S. official removed from site.

Of Interest

# The world’s 10 "weirdest" languages.

# Infographic: What can you learn from six months of someone’s metadata?

# On creative listening.

-- Glenn Kates