It was an unusually festive evening on the airwaves, with President Abdel Fattah El Sisi’s attendance at Christmas celebrations in the new administrative capital grabbing the spotlight across last night’s talk shows. El Sisi attended festivities at the Cathedral of the Nativity of Christ, where he extended his greetings to Copts in a speech that emphasized unity and tolerance (watch, runtime 24:50). His appearance was covered by Masa’ DMC (watch, runtime 2:27) and Al Hayah Al Youm (watch, runtime 3:15).

(Tap or click the headline above to read this story with all of the links to our background as well as external sources.)

ALSO- Will Lebanon elect a new president tomorrow? Lebanon’s political deadlock was another hot topic, with Kelma Akhira host Lamees El Hadidi spotlighting the challenges surrounding the election of a new president. Parliament will convene tomorrow to try to end the 26-month vacancy in the country’s top office.

Lebanese Army Commander General Joseph Aoun is emerging as a leading candidate, El Hadidi noted, though analyst Bechara Khairallah told her that Aoun’s election remains unlikely without a prior political consensus (watch, runtime 13:56). Meanwhile, political analyst Jean Feghali said the opposition is backing figures such as Jihad Azour, while the pro-Hezbollah bloc is rallying behind alternative names.

Feghali highlighted how external powers are shaping the race, claiming that Washington supports Joseph Aoun’s candidacy, while Riyadh remains opposed. Faghali predicted that Thursday’s session is unlikely to yield a breakthrough and hinted that the decision could drag on until after the inauguration of incoming US President Donald Trump.

Tags: