Egypt and Saudi Arabia’s reconciliation consumes the airwaves
The Arab Summit in Jordan was at centerstage on the airwaves last night, particularly President Abdel Fattah El Sisi’s meeting with Saudi’s King Salman Bin Abdul Aziz and the cold shoulder both leaders gave Qatari Emir Tamim Bin Hamad (more in the Speed Round). The punditocracy has about as much love for the Gulf statelet as we do, so the talking heads were quick to jump on the opportunity to dish out some criticism.
On Kol Youm, Amr Adib took potshots at Qatar’s continued support for the Ikhwan and said that he’d love to sit down with Bin Hamad for a cup of tea to try to understand why he’s such a fan of all things Ikhwan (watch, runtime: 5:37).
An unapologetic Lamees El Hadidy aired the video of El Sisi and his team marching out of the meeting hall as the Qatari Emir gave his speech, which she saidwas meant to send a message to Qatar to express Egypt’s objection to its political choices. “We have suffered greatly thanks to Qatar,” El Hadidy said (watch, runtime: 1:35).
Meanwhile MBC’s Sherif Amer covered the squabble between the judiciary and House of Representatives and followed up on the meeting the Judges Club held yesterday, where they agreed to take the matter up with the presidency.
Meanwhile on Mehwar’s 90 Minutes, the surge in the prices of umrah packages was on the brain. The cheapest package will now set you back around EGP 12,000, according to MP Ahmed Samih, a member of the House’s Tourism Committee, who urged viewers who tend to take the trip often to try and cut down to avoid adding pressure on the economy and give others a chance to make the journey (watch, runtime: 30:27).