The first meeting of the national dialogue board dominated the airwaves last night: The session saw the 19-member board of trustees agree on its bylaws, Diaa Rashwan, the general coordinator of the dialogue said, according to Masaa DMC (watch, runtime: 7:43). Rashwan clarified that there is no time frame nor an agenda set for the dialogue. And although the national dialogue prides itself on being all inclusive, it will not allow for the participation of “those who have blood on their hands, topped by the Muslim Brotherhood group and rejecters of Egypt's 2014 constitution,” he said. The dialogue received wide coverage from Al Hayah Al Youm (watch, runtime: 6:53), Yahduth Fi Masr, who interviewed MP Ahmed El Sharkawy (watch, runtime: 3:34) and Kelma Akhira, who had on board member Amr Hashim Rabea, (watch, runtime: 8:52). Board members will reconvene on 19 July after the Eid break.

Need a refresher on the national dialogue? You can read our explainer here.

Say Hello to polymer banknotes: The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) yesterday released the new EGP 10 polymer banknotes and it got the talking heads talking. Yahduth Fi Masr (watch, runtime: 4:26) and Al Hayah Al Youm (watch, runtime: 3:29) gave coverage, explaining that their introduction of the new notes will not impact the use of paper EGP 10 notes. And you don’t have to worry about ATMs not accepting the new banknote: ATMs across the country are able to hand out and accept polymer notes, a central bank official told the Middle East News Agency.

Covid was back on the airwaves for the second consecutive night: Both Yahduth Fi Masr (watch, runtime: 3:33) and Al Hayah Al Youm (watch, runtime: 1:38) reminded us that the virus is still very much present and we need to take the virus more seriously. Recent figures showed that cases rose 7% last week, which the ministry attributed to the outbreak of omicron sub-variants, a decline in immunity, and lax adherence to precautionary measures.