There is only one story that matters in Egypt this morning: The rough landing accorded White House envoy Jared Kushner in Cairo yesterday. Trump’s son-in-law landed in Egypt just hours after word leaked to the press that the US is withholding some USD 290 mn in aid to Egypt. The Foreign Ministry, which was to meet the delegation to discuss prospects for peace between the Israelis and the Palestinians, said in a statement, “Egypt sees this measure as reflecting poor judgment of the strategic relationship that ties the two countries over long decades and as adopting a view that lacks an accurate understanding of the importance of supporting Egypt’s stability.” Kushner met with President Abdel Fattah El Sisi and then later touched based with Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry.

The order to hold back aid to Egypt came from the very top. The decision was approved by President Donald Trump and is being pushed through by Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, who US media say called Shoukry on Tuesday to tell him of the decision.

Is this all because of North Korea? The aid decision took both policy makers in Cairo and foreign analysts by surprise, particularly in view of the warm rapport between Trump and El Sisi. With the Trump administration having paid only lip service to human rights issues — other than having rather “actively” spirited Aya Hijazi out of Egypt — the New York Times kicked off speculation that this is part of a bid to pressure Egypt to cut ties with the DPRK. It’s a notion that rings fairly true to us. We have full coverage this morning in Speed Round, below.

More platitudes from the UK on restoring flights to Sharm, but at least the head of ICAO likes us: Britain’s ambassador to Egypt John Casson offered more of the on restoring flights to Sharm El Sheikh at a dinner with the press on Wednesday. Progress was made in talks between Egyptian and British officials on the issue, Casson said, according to AMAY. When will the birds fly? Somewhere between “following Brexit” and “on the third blue moon from Tuesday.” (Quotes ours, not Mr. Casson’s.) Meanwhile, International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) boss Bernard Eliot lauded Sharm El Sheikh as an attractive destination for global tourism while touring the city, Al Masry Al Youm reports. Eliot is in town to attend a civil aviation security conference, which wraps up today.

Samsung’s Note 8 launches: Despite being iSheep, we’re excited about the release this week of Android Oreo and of prospects for the upcoming Google Pixel 2. Heck, even the idea that Google could be working on an AirPods clone is cool. But we’re finding it harder to get excited about yesterday’s unveiling of the Samsung Galaxy Note 8 other than to hope it doesn’t explode in anyone’s pants pocket this year. Still, it looks like a beast of a device (spec-wise) and Samsung has in recent years killed it in the screen and camera departments. Better yet, it has blessedly toned-down its TouchWiz nonsense. The WSJ’s Geoffrey Fowler has a nice look.

Finally, the Financial Times has advice from entrepreneurs and CEOs for otherentrepreneurs and CEOs on how to re-enter the world of work after your summer vacation. If you’re reading this morning from Sahel, bookmark this to read the day before your break ends, whether that’s this coming Saturday or on the last day of the upcoming Eid break.