By Tom Perry and Yasmine Saleh CAIRO (Reuters) - Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi said on Wednesday parliamentary elections could be delayed until October, a postponement which could give his cash-strapped administration breathing space to negotiate an IMF deal. Mursi's original plan was for a four-stage election that would start in late April and put a parliament in place by July.

A pro-democracy activist and opponent of Egypt's ruling Muslim Brotherhood turned himself in to the prosecutor's office for questioning on Tuesday, a day after an order for his arrest. Alaa Abdel Fattah was "temporarily released" a few hours later, a judicial source said. In a tweet sent during his questioning, the young man said he refused "to answer questions because the prosecutor general is not impartial" and mocked the case against him. The investigation against him had been prompted by a tweet he had received rather than sent himself, Abdel Fattah said.

By Tom Perry CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's prosecutor general on Monday ordered the arrest of five prominent political activists accused of inciting violence against President Mohamed Mursi's Muslim Brotherhood, a step the opposition decried as a reversal for democracy. The move seemed certain to deepen mistrust in an already polarised political landscape, further complicating Mursi's efforts to build bridges with his opponents before parliamentary polls the opposition has threatened to boycott.

A warning from President Mohamed Morsi that political figures could be sanctioned if found to have stirred up unrest in Egypt drew the ire of the opposition and newspapers on Monday. "If investigations prove that certain political figures are implicated, the necessary measures will be taken against them, whatever their status," Morsi said on his Twitter account on Sunday, also carried on state television. "If I have to do what it takes to protect this country, I will do it," Morsi said, warning that he would "cut off the hands" of those seeking to undermine Egypt's security.