President Abdel Fattah El Sisi’s comments last week on the direction of the USD-EGP exchange rate continued to dominate the airwaves last night. The talking heads also dedicated time to the boat that sank in the Mediterranean last week.

The USD lost 5% against the EGP in the parallel market as a result of El Sisi’s comments, Amr Adeeb said on El Hekaya (watch, runtime: 2:26 | 3:32 | 5:05). Economist Mustafa Badra told Ala Mas’ouleety’s Ahmed Moussa that the figure was closer to 10% (watch, runtime: 21:30). El Sisi last week suggested that there would be no further depreciation of the local currency against the USD if it harmed people’s livelihoods.

Rice traders should release any surplus stock they have into the market as global prices are on the decline, Mustafa Al Najari, the head of the cabinet’s rice committee, said during an interview with Al Hayah Al Youm’s Lubna Assal (watch, runtime: 6:53). Ragab Shehata, head of the Federation of Industries’ rice division, called on traders to stop price gouging during an interview with Ahmed Mousa (watch, runtime: 8:37).

There were 43 Egyptians among the survivors of last week’s shipwreck off the Greek coast, including five minors, according to an Emigration Ministry statement. Assistant Emigration Minister Amr Abbas gave the same figures in an interview with Lamees El Hadidi on Kelma Akhira (watch, runtime: 13:37). The number of Egyptians who drowned in the disaster is still unknown, said Emigration Minister Soha Gendy in the statement, offering her condolences to the family members of those who lost their lives. The Foreign Ministry also put out a statement offering its condolences

Some of the family members of those missing after the incident spoke to El Hekaya, accusing Greece of failing to rescue them (watch, runtime: 4:24 | 2:06). The bodies of 78 people have been recovered since the migrant boat sank Wednesday, but hundreds more are feared to have died in the incident.

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