July 5, 2023

*) Gaza under fire after Israeli raid in Jenin Israel has carried out air strikes on blockaded Gaza in what it says was a response to rockets fired from the Palestinian coastal enclave, the army said. The developments came after the Israeli military said it was withdrawing troops from Jenin city in the occupied West Bank late on Tuesday, winding down an intense two-day incursion that killed at least 13 Palestinians, wounded more than 100, drove thousands from their homes and left a wide swath of damage. *) Sudan's army tries to cut off RSF supply lines Fierce battles have broken out across Omdurman, the western part of Sudan's wider capital, as the army tried to cut off supply routes used by its paramilitary rivals to bring reinforcements into the city. The army launched air strikes and heavy artillery, and there were ground battles in several parts of Omdurman, witnesses said. The Rapid Support Forces said it had shot down a fighter jet, and residents posted footage that appeared to show pilots ejecting from a plane. *) China says it resolutely opposes US military sales to Taiwan China resolutely opposes US arms sales to Taiwan and has lodged stern representations to Washington, China's defence ministry said. Spokesperson Tan Kefei said in a statement that the US has ignored China’s core concerns, violently interfered in China's internal affairs and deliberately pushed up tensions in the Taiwan Strait. The US State Department approved earlier the potential sale of ammunition and logistics support to Taiwan in two separate deals valued at up to $440 million, the Pentagon said. *) Taliban bans women's beauty salons in Afghanistan Afghanistan's Taliban authorities have ordered beauty parlours across the country to shut within a month. Mohammad Sadeq Akif Muhajir, spokesperson for the Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, would not say why the order had been given. He said the businesses had been given time to close their affairs so they could use up their stock without incurring