It was a mixed bag of nuts on the nation’s airwaves last night with talking heads covering everything from yesterday’s delays at the Suez Canal, to changes to landline packages and Al Ahly’s win against Wydad in the African Champions League final.

It was a busy evening for the head of the Suez Canal Authority: The chairman of the Suez Canal Authority, Osama Rabie, appeared on Salet El Tahrir (watch, runtime: 6:57) and El Hekaya (watch, runtime: 1:59 |3:00) to discuss yesterday’s events at the canal, where an oil tanker broke down, briefly blocking a single-lane section of the waterway. Al Hayah Al Youm (watch, runtime: 2:05) also had coverage.

Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Ghazouani’s visit to Egypt garnered the attention of most talk shows last night, including Lamees Hadidi’s Kelma Akhira (watch, runtime:5:49), Al Hayah Al Youm (watch, runtime:4:15) and Salet El Tahrir (watch, runtime;2:36). We have more on the visit in this morning’s Diplomacy section, below.

Why doesn’t the government grant more tax and customs breaks to investors, El Hekaya’s Amr Adib asked, during his interview with Pyramids Tire Company Chairman Ibrahim Gouda (watch, runtime: 9:28), in which they discussed efforts to localize the industry and reduce reliance on imports. Adeeb pointed out that the cost of providing a single job ranges between EGP 80-90k, which the state can collect as compensation in the form of taxes or customs with the expansion of investment in Egypt.

Converting landlines to prepaid lines? You may have received such a message from Telecom Egypt. Landline phones have been linked to the prepaid system used by mobile and internet services, Telecom Egypt Vice President Mohamed Abotaleb explained on El Hekaya (watch, runtime: 7:32), allowing the company more flexibility to provide landline, mobile and internet service packages as well as giving customers greater control over consumption.

Also on the airwaves last night:

  • VAT is coming to Google:Google’s introduction of VAT on e-services got air time on El Hekaya (watch,runtime: 4:40), which featured an interview with Sayed Saqr, the Egyptian Tax Authority’s e-commerce head, to explain the changes.
  • Al Ahly are halfway to becoming African champions: Al Ahly’s 2-1 victory over Morocco’s Wydad in the first leg of the CAF Champions League finalin Cairo dominated coverage of several talk shows last night, including Kelma Akhira (watch, runtime: 1:10) and El Hekaya (watch, runtime: 1:17).
  • Details of Pope Tawadros II illness attracted significant attention: El Hekaya (watch,runtime: 2:44), Masa’a DMC (watch, runtime: 3:08) and Salet El Tahrir (watch, runtime: 1:14) all spoke with the Coptic Church’s spokesperson who confirmed that the Pope’s condition is stable.
  • “I am not fleeing,” says Baghdoda: Egyptian wrestler Ahmed Baghdoda, whose sudden departure from Egypt last month sparked speculation, thanked President El Sisi for inviting him to return to Egyptand confirmed that he has not fled the country in a video on his official Facebook page that caught the attention of Kelma Akhira (watch, runtime: 2:48) and Al Hayah Al Youm (watch, runtime:3:28).
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