The United States stopped hundreds of millions in aid to Egypt last week, citing concerns about human rights. But as some experts have pointed out, there may be more to this decision below the surface. 

As tensions with North Korea rise, the U.S. is taking a hardline stance against countries who maintain close ties with the East Asian nation - countries such as Egypt.

Close ties between Egypt and North Korea go back to the Cold War era when both nations were part of the international non-aligned movement and showed solidarity with the Soviet Union, according to The Diplomat. Today, Cairo remains one of Pyongyang's leading trade partners in the region, with the two governments maintaining strong economic and security ties.

Heather Nauert, an official spokesperson for the U.S. State Department, said her country had communicated to Egypt the "necessity" of isolating North Korea, in response to questions regarding the recent aid cut.

"Any country that has diplomatic relations with North Korea should be aware that its relations are contributing effectively in facilitating the arrival of finance to the nuclear projects that are being conducted by North Korea," Nauert said during a press conference.

According to the New York Times, U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has made isolating North Korea a primary objective and has pressured world leaders in nearly all his meetings to cut ties with Pyongyang.

Despite changing governments and policies, Egypt's relationship with North Korea has remained strong for decades. 

"North Korean pilots trained Egyptian fighter pilots before the 1973 war with Israel, and Egypt was later accused of supplying Scud missiles to North Korea," Daniel Leone of the Project on Middle East Democracy told the New York Times.

Throughout President Hosni Mubarak's decades' long governance, Egypt refused to enforce United Nations' sanctions against North Korea. Following in his predecessor's footsteps, President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has continued to ignore sanctions.

Egypt's Port Said remains a critical trans-shipment point for North Korean arms exports to Africa, while Cairo has shown increased interest in Pyongyang's military and nuclear technology. The U.S. and Russia both oppose Egyptian ambitions to become a nuclear power, leaving the country to search out other options.

Many hailed and criticized Sisi's seemingly close relationship with Trump, following the U.S. president's inauguration. 

"I just want to let everybody know, in case there was any doubt, that we are very much behind President al-Sisi," Trump said in April. "He’s done a fantastic job in a very difficult situation. We are very much behind Egypt and the people of Egypt."

Due to such lavish praise, many were surprised by the announcement of the aid cut. Trump previously seemed unconcerned by human rights violations, suggesting that Sisi's methods of cracking down on dissent were necessary and justified.

Whether the seeming about-face is related to increased tensions with North Korea, a sudden change of heart regarding Egypt's human rights record or a combination of both remains somewhat unclear. Regardless, Egypt will need to consider making some serious changes if it expects to receive the previously promised $290 million in U.S. aid.

For people in the Gaza Strip, simple modern-day pleasures are considered far-fetched luxuries. Watching movies is no exception.

On Saturday, August 26, hundreds of Gaza residents went to the cinema for the first time in three decades.

Some 300 people, both men and women, gathered in Gaza City's Samer Cinema for a one-night screening of the film Ten Years, a feature-length film about Palestinians in Israeli prisons.

There are currently no operational cinemas in Gaza, which is home to some two million people living under an Israeli blockade.

Samer Cinema, the oldest in the strip, was built in 1944 but shut down in the 1960s. Other cinemas in the city remained open until the late 1980s during the first Palestinian Intifada.

In 1995, calls for the reopening of cinemas were "were met with grenade attacks by radical Islamists," according to The Independent, in reference to a fire at one cinema in 1987 for which radical Islamists are believed to be responsible.

"The rest of the cinemas were scared to show films after that," Ghada Salmi, an organizer, told The Guardian.

Inside the city, Hamas implements conservative Islamic views, so movies require approval before being screened, even privately.

Prior to Saturday's screening, movies had occasionally been screened outdoors or in private halls. 

Actors who appeared in the film attended the screening.

"We as Palestinians need to have a large space for art," actor Nermin Ziara told the Agence France Presse (AFP). "Society needs to develop through films and documentaries."

Ziara added that she does not "think there is a problem with opening a cinema with Hamas as it is a place of art".