It was a mixed bag on the airwaves last night, with a little bit of everything from diplomacy to the latest legislative decisions — and even some business news. Cabinet Spokesperson Nader Saad spoke with Kelma Akhira’s Lamees El Hadidi (watch, runtime: 23:32) on plans to revoke subsidies from those who illegally build on agricultural land, where he also said a bill would be introduced to ban them from taking on positions as civil servants. Meanwhile, Education Minister Tarek Shawki phoned into Ahmed Moussa’s Sada El Balad (watch, runtime: 11:15) to defend proposed amendments to the Education Act that were struck down last week by the House of Representatives. Shawki said the plans to fine parents of truant children had been aimed at addressing the issue of students dropping out of school entirely, not those who miss classes or sessions.

FAB’s play for EFG Hermes also featured: First Abu Dhabi Bank’s (FAB) offer to buy a majority stake in leading financial services corporation EFG Hermes in an acquisition that would value the company at EGP 18.5 bn got some airtime from Kelma Akhira (watch, runtime: 15:07), with veteran economist Hany Tawfik and CI Capital’s Monsef Morsy phoning in to offer their takes.