Talk shows were gripped by a fresh controversy over the AstraZeneca vaccine yesterday, after the pharma company admitted in a legal document that its Covid-19 vaccine could lead to blood clots. A visit from the Kuwaiti emir to Cairo and the Belarusian prime minister also received airtime yesterday.

“Clotting as a side effect of some vaccinations is a well-known and recognized issue since 2021, but this symptom is very rare and amounts to three cases in every mn,” Health Ministry spokesman Hossam Abdel Ghaffar told Lamees Hadidi on the Kelma Akhira (watch, runtime: 11:36). The spokesperson reassured listeners that “the chances of getting clots after vaccination are almost as likely as getting clots after being infected with the virus,” adding that “since 2021 until now, nobody — be it the European Meds. Agency or the World Health Organization — has issued recommendations to stop using the vaccine, because its benefits far outweigh the risks of harm.”

“The chances of developing clots from the vaccine are 10 times lower than getting clots from the virus itself,” Abdel Ghaffar explained. “What’s more, the exposure to clots lasts no more than two months after vaccination… there is no scientific evidence to show that I could take the vaccine in 2021 or 2022 and get a clot in 2024.”

Yesterday’s visit from the Kuwaiti emir will soon be followed by another high-level visit, said the Kuwaiti ambassador in Cairo, Ghanem Saqr Al Ghanim, on a phone call with Ahmed Moussa on Ala Mas’ouleety after the Emir of Kuwait Sheikh Meshal Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah met with President Abdel Fattah El Sisi yesterday in Cairo (watch, runtime: 3:48). The next visit — which was promised by the emir of Kuwait during yesterday’s meeting — will convene a higher joint committee between the two countries to discuss the details of potential Kuwaiti investments in Egypt, he added. We have the story in the news well, above.

The prospect of increased economic cooperation with Belarus also caught the attention of the nation’s hosts: “The most important features of industry in Belarus are agricultural tractors, trucks, agricultural equipment, and silos, and we seek to cooperate with them in these aspects,” Secretary General of the Federation of Chambers of Commerce Alaa Ezz said on a call with Mohamed Shardi on Al Hayah Al Youm following the Belarusian prime minister’s trip to the country (watch, runtime: 6:51).

“Egypt has been manufacturing these tractors since the Soviet Union era,” he added. “What we are currently seeking is to remanufacture them locally, and to export them to neighboring countries and the European Union.” Talks with Belarus yesterday also dealt with establishing grain silos in Egypt to serve the Egyptian market and export to other countries.

The two countries are currently studying a direct flight route between Minsk and Egyptian destinations to attract more tourists and medical tourists from Belarus, Egyptian co-chair of the Belarusian-Egyptian Business Cooperation Council, Ahmed Kilani told Moussa on Ala Mas’ouleety (watch, runtime: 7:21).

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