CAIRO: An Egyptian newspaper editor is under investigation for allegedly insulting President Mohamed Mursi, a prosecution source said on Wednesday, a day after a similar probe was launched against a comedian.

State prosecutor Talaat Ibrahim ordered the investigation into Abdel Halim Qandil, editor of the Sawt al-Umma newspaper and a critic of Mursi, after a political activist sued him for allegedly insulting the president.

On Tuesday, the prosecutor ordered in investigation into satirical talk show host Bassem Yousef, also on charges of insulting Mursi.

The prosecutor was also weighing a complaint filed by the presidency against the leading independent Al-Masry Al-Youm newspaper, after it mistakenly reported on its website that Mursi was to visit the hospital hosting ousted dictator Hosni Mubarak.

Last month, Ibrahim ordered a probe into three top opposition leaders accused of trying to incite Mursi's overthrow amid mass opposition rallies against the Islamist president.

A controversial new constitution, voted for by Egyptians in a December referendum, became the focus of Egypt's worst political crisis since Mursi came to power in June.

Human rights activists and opposition groups said the new charter, drafted by an Islamist-leaning panel close the president, potentially curtailed freedom of expression and basic rights for minorities.