Diplomacy dominated the discussions on last night's talk shows, as the nation’s talking heads focused on President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi’s meeting with Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia' Al Sudani, who is currently visiting the country as the head of a high-level Iraqi government delegation.

At the Alamein palace: The pair discussed bilateral cooperation, focusing on boosting mutual investments and collaborating in areas such as infrastructure, urban development, tourism, energy, transportation, and industry. They also stressed the need to de-escalate regional tensions. The story got airtime on Ala Mas'ouleety’ (watch, runtime: 5:36) and Salet El Tahrir (watch, runtime: 1:39).

ALSO ON THE AIRWAVES- Gov’t penalizes 36 Hajj tourism companies: Tourism Minister Sherif Fathy yesterday issued a number of decisions to revoke the licenses of 36 travel companies that were found to have facilitated unauthorized Hajj trips for pilgrims using visit visas not designated for Hajj during the last Hajj season. This move follows the deaths of hundreds of Egyptian pilgrims in a heat wave last season, Salet El Tahrir’s Faten Abdel Maaboud explained (watch, runtime: 8:22).

Remember: The government’s task force set up to investigate the tragedy said that the pilgrims died because they were not provided with medical services or accommodation from the travel agencies and had to access Mecca on foot via desert roads during the heatwave to avoid being caught by Saudi authorities as they were not on an authorized trip.

Some think the move was a bit too heavy-handed: "This is the harshest measure ever taken in the history of the tourism sector," Ihab Abdel Aal, a member of the Supreme Hajj and Umrah Committee said in a phone call with Faten Abdel Maaboud. He explained that these companies did not organize the Hajj trips themselves. Instead, they facilitated the processes for intermediaries and brokers by issuing barcodes for the Hajj and Umrah portal and assisted with accommodation using the personal visit visas that were issued.

Heavier penalties to come? In addition to the license cancellations, the owners of the companies will be referred to the Public Prosecution for legal action, which could result in imprisonment, Abdel Aal said.

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