8.49am BST

Welcome to Middle East Live. Follow live updates as the clock ticks down on President Mohamed Morsi after the army issued a 48-hour ultimatum to resolve Egypt's political crisis.

Here's a roundup of the latest developments:

Egypt

• Barack Obama has urged President Mohamed Morsi to respond to mass opposition demonstrations and said the political crisis could only be resolved by talks, Reuters reports. The White House issued an account of a telephone call that Obama made to Morsi. "President Obama encouraged President Morsi to take steps to show that he is responsive to their concerns, and underscored that the current crisis can only be resolved through a political process," it said. The White House statement added: "Democracy is about more than elections. It is also about ensuring that the voices of all Egyptians are heard and represented by their government, including the many Egyptians demonstrating throughout the country."

• Morsi's aides have indicated Egypt's president would not give in to the threat of a military coup just hours after the army gave him two days to placate the millions who have taken to the streets calling for his departure. An aide said: "Obviously we feel this is a military coup. But the conviction within the presidency is that [the coup] won't be able to move forward without American approval."

• Follow how a hectic Monday unfolded in yesterday's Middle East Live. These were the main events of the day:

Protesters ransacked and looted the Muslim Brotherhood's headquarters in Cairo

Up to 10 ministers resigned from the Morsi's government

The army said it would give politicians 48 hours to resolve the crisis, but later denied it was capable of a coup.

The opposition National Salvation Front welcomed the army's statement saying it would lead to a more inclusive government.

• The army's statement was a reminder that it remains the ultimate arbiter of power in Egypt, writes Ian Black.

In the past, the army has also intervened in limited, tactical ways. But Sisi warned explicitly on 23 June that it would step in if clashes between government and opposition supporters span out of control and threatened to lead the country into "a dark tunnel of conflict". With the sustained mass protests of the Tamarod (Rebellion) movement that moment has now arrived. Egypt's soldiers have taken their country's fate into their hands again.

• Morsi has broken his contract with the electorate, argues the Egyptian novelist Ahdaf Soueif.

Could we have waited for parliamentary elections and used the dismal performance of the presidency over the last year to vote the Brotherhood out of office? It is accused of fixing the electoral districts in a way that privileges the party. We now know that a large proportion of the judiciary (who will oversee elections) are Brotherhood supporters. And in the tug of war between the presidency and the constitutional court over the election law, no one is sure how often the elections will be postponed.

• Anti-harassment groups have recorded a new wave of sexual assaults by groups of men targeting women during anti-government protests in Cairo's Tahrir Square. Operation Anti-Sexual Harassment/Assault, which patrols the square, said a record 46 assaults were recorded on Sunday in Tahrir.

• GuardianWitness is still inviting readers in Egypt to share their stories. Please help us document what's happening by sharing your eyewitness accounts, photos and videos.

Egyptian opposition supporters take part in a protest demanding that Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi resign. Photograph: APAimages/Rex Features

Syria

• Rebels in the northern province of Aleppo have threatened to seize two Shia Muslim villages that back President Bashar al-Assad unless they surrendered to the opposition, Reuters reports. Activists say both Nubl and Zahra villages had been reinforced by Assad's allies in the increasingly sectarian war, among them fighters from Iran and Lebanon's powerful Shia guerrilla group, Hezbollah.

• Iraq, Jordan and Turkey have restricted border crossings for Syrian refugees, leaving tens of thousands of people dangerously stranded, Human Rights Watch has warned. Only Lebanon, which has limited control over its own borders and is now hosting over half a million refugees, had remained open to refugees, it said.

• A Syrian Catholic priest has been beheaded by rebels at a monastery in the northern Syria, the BBC reports citing the Vatican. Father Francois Murad, 49, was beheaded on 23 June when militants attacked the convent where he was staying.