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.

By Tom Perry CAIRO (Reuters) - Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi threatened on Sunday to take unspecified steps to "protect this nation" after violent demonstrations against his Muslim Brotherhood, using vague but severe language that the opposition said heralded a crackdown. In remarks following clashes outside the Brotherhood's Cairo headquarters on Friday, Mursi warned that "necessary measures" would be taken against any politicians shown to be involved in what he described as violence and rioting.

Two years after toppling Hosni Mubarak, some Egyptian activists say they are having to resort to violence against the ruling Muslim Brotherhood, which they say mirrors the old regime's tactics on dissent. "It's turned into a war on the streets. With every strike against us, we strike back harder," said Farid Sayyed, 24, during clashes between Islamists and opponents outside the Cairo headquarters of the Muslim Brotherhood.