With Amr Adib returning to the airwaves on Friday, we have just one more night before we resume our normal coverage (although it will admittedly remain Lamees-less for the foreseeable future, with suggestions that the queen of night-time talk is taking her show to a new channel). Luckily Sherif Amer was on hand last night to break up the Ahmed Moussa-fest. Variety is the spice of life and all that…

Latest on settling building violations: Ala Mas’ouleety’s Ahmed Moussa discussed the Fayoum governor’s initiative with the National Bank of Egypt to help citizens settle building violations by providing loans covering 25% of the amount owed. Borrowers would have 10 years to pay back the loans (watch, runtime: 4:08). Members of parliament on Tuesday called on citizens to swiftly settle any violations as the government has stressed that the end-of-month deadline is non-negotiable.

El Sisi calls for new universities: Moussa spoke with the Higher Education Minister Khaled Abdel Ghaffar who discussed President Abdel Fattah El Sisi’s call to build 10 new tech universities across the country. Abdel Ghaffar said that the cost of the universities will vary according to their specializations and required resources, but should average around EGP 3-4 bn each, with a capacity for 10-12k students each in their first years. El Sisi has requested that they be completed in under three years, Abdel Gaffar noted (watch, runtime: 12:21). We have more on this in this morning’s Speed Round, below.

Covid-19 treatment: Mousa spoke with Amgad Talaat, general manager of domestic manufacturer Eva Pharma, which has acquired the license to locally produce covid-19 treatments remdesivir and favipiravir, as well as distribute them to 126 countries worldwide. He said that many African countries have already put in requests to obtain Remdesivir, without providing details. Early results of remdesivir, which has been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration, are already promising, proving at least as successful as in the US (watch, runtime: 27:48).

Covid is weakening in Egypt -health advisor: Yahduth Fi Misr’s Sherif Amer phoned presidential health advisor Mohammad Awad Tag Eldin, who reported that the number of people requiring ventilators has decreased and that the severity of the disease has weakened (watch, runtime: 4:53), (watch, runtime: 2:53).

Arrest of Salah Diab: Moussa also took note of the arrest of businessman Salah Diab, who faces charges of construction violations and is being questioned about alleged misconduct in what authorities said were financial cases (watch, runtime: 6:46). Check out the Speed Round below for more.