The Madbouly Cabinet’s approval of a draft Data Protection Act during its weekly meeting yesterday was the main topic of concern for the talking heads last night. We have all the details on the legislation and other key decisions taken by the Council of Ministers in Speed Round, below.

The legislation is meant to improve data security within Egypt and regulate the cross-border transfer of data (whatever that means), Cabinet Spokesperson Ashraf Sultan told Yahduth fi Masr’s Sherif Amer (watch, runtime: 2:32). The ICT Ministry’s legislative committee head Mohamed Hegazy also recapped some of the main features of the bill on Hona Al Asema (watch, runtime: 9:16), while House Rep. Nedal El Saeed phoned into Masaa DMC to tell Osama Kamal that the House of Representatives will begin its review of the legislation in October (watch, runtime: 4:27).

Trade Minister Amr Nassar issued a decision to repeal a levy on sugar exports that had been imposed by former Minister Tarek Kabil last year, Al Mal reports. Exporters had been required to pay a EGP 3,000 tax per tonne of sugar they exported.

Industry figures are divided on what the move means for the market: Federation of Egyptian Chambers of Commerce head Ahmed El Wakil thinks the move is several months too late, since Egypt has had a surplus of sugar for some time now, which could have been exported earlier. Former head of the Federation of Egyptian Industries’ sugar division Rafat Rozeika, meanwhile, says Egypt imports as much as 1 mn tonnes of sugar to meet local consumption needs, meaning the levy should have remained in place. Repealing the tax may require more imports and could even risk a repeat of the 2016 shortage, he told Hona Al Asema (watch, runtime: 11:25).

Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan’s visit to Cairo yesterday was also a main topic point for Ittihadiya Spokesperson Bassam Rady on Masaa DMC (watch, runtime: 6:46), while Yahduth fi Masr’s Sherif Amer and Al Hayah fi Masr’s Kamal Mady (watch, runtime: 1:44 and runtime: 6:25).

Plans to reduce the number of workdays for state bureaucrats stems from a general dissatisfaction with the level of performance coming out of state bodies, Rep. Abdel Fattah Mohamed said on Masaa DMC, because, you know, MPs really have got it together. Mohamed confirmed that the idea is still under study and noted that Parliament hasn’t been involved in any discussions since it is currently on its summer recess. He did not clarify whether parliament’s sign-off on the final strategy would be required (watch, runtime: 5:22).

Authorities should gradually allow fans to attend football matches again, starting with university students, Rep. Farag Amer told Masaa DMC’s Osama Kamal. Amer argued that tighter security measures inside stadiums will make it possible for fans to return without problems (watch, runtime: 7:42).

Hona Al Asema’s Dina Zahraa held a roundtable discussion on the future of print journalism in a digital era with Press Syndicate head Abdel Mohsen Salama and Dar Al Hilal Publishing House Chairman (watch, runtime: 22:08).