• Netanyahu plans to lead his party’s list in October elections.
• Opinion polls sees Bennett as best candidate to defeat Netanyahu.
• Bennett supports Israeli settlements in occupied West Bank. 
  

Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid said on Sunday he would join forces with former premier Naftali Bennett ahead of this year’s elections, in a move aimed at unseating incumbent Benjamin Netanyahu.

Lapid, himself a former premier, said they would run on a joint list in the parliamentary election due in October, with a formal announcement expected later on Sunday.

In a post on X, Lapid said the pair would “announce today the first step in the process of repairing the State of Israel: the merger of Yesh Atid and ‘Bennett 2026’ into a single party led by former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett”.

“The move brings about the unification of the Repair Bloc, enabling all efforts to be focused on leading Israel toward the necessary repair.”

Both have been outspoken critics of Netanyahu’s handling of the country’s wars since October 2023, with Lapid going so far as to label the recent two-week ceasefire agreed with Iran a “political disaster”.

Right-winger Bennett, a longtime supporter of Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, and centrist Lapid previously formed a coalition government in June 2021.

It was replaced at the end of 2022 by the current administration led by Netanyahu, after Bennett said in June of that year that his coalition was no longer tenable and Lapid served a brief stint as caretaker prime minister.

Opinion polls suggest Bennett is the candidate best placed to defeat Netanyahu in the October vote.

The 54-year-old son of American immigrants and a former high-tech entrepreneur, Bennett sold his start-up in 2005 for $145 million (110 million euros).

As a former Israeli commando officer, he has a profile that resonates with part of the country’s younger generation after more than two years of the Gaza war.

Once a Netanyahu adviser, Bennett has over time become a staunch opponent of his former mentor’s policies.

He led several right-wing parties before forming a broad unity government in 2021.

His new running mate, 62-year-old Lapid, is the son of the late journalist and minister Tommy Lapid, a Holocaust survivor, and acclaimed author Shulamit Lapid.

A prominent television journalist, Lapid entered politics in 2012 by founding Yesh Atid, which went on to become the country’s second-largest political force.

He has since served as opposition leader, aside from his brief stint as prime minister.

Netanyahu plans to lead his party’s list in the general election that must be held no later than the end of October.

At 76, the leader of the right-wing Likud party is Israel’s longest-serving prime minister, with more than 18 cumulative years in office across multiple stints.

• Analysts, diplomats say terrorist group stages attacks.
• Russian mercenaries wounded in battle: Russian media.
• Nationwide operations continue to repel insurgents: military.
  

Mali’s Defence Minister Sadio Camara was killed in an attack on his residence near the main army base outside Bamako on Saturday, France’s RFI radio and two relatives said on Sunday.

A relative of Camara’s told Reuters he had been killed, while a Malian journalist known to be a brother-in-law of the defence minister posted about his death on Facebook.

A spokesperson for Mali’s defence ministry and a government spokesperson did not respond to requests for comment on Sunday. A statement by the armed forces said operations were continuing in various parts of the country to repel the insurgents.

A Reuters witness reported gunfire in Kati on Sunday morning.

Major shock for Mali’s military leaders

The United Nations called for an international response to violence and terrorism in West Africa’s Sahel region following Saturday’s assault, for which authorities have not provided a death toll.

“The secretary‑general is deeply concerned by reports of attacks in several locations across Mali. He strongly condemns these acts of violence,” a UN spokesperson posted on X.

If confirmed, Camara’s death would represent a major shock for Mali’s military leaders, said Djenabou Cisse, associate fellow at the Foundation for Strategic Research (FRS), which specialises in West African security.

The current government, led by Assimi Goita, took power after coups in 2020 and 2021 and has pursued closer ties with Russia while spurning Western military cooperation — a strategy Camara promoted.

“As a key figure within the junta and a central architect of the Mali–Russia rapprochement, his removal would underscore JNIM’s capacity to strike at the core of state power,” Cisse said.

Fate unclear of strategic city Kidal

In addition to Kati, Saturday’s strike hit near Bamako airport and in localities further north, including Mopti, Sevare and Gao.

The fate of the strategic city of Kidal, a former stronghold for the Azawad Liberation Front (FLA), was unclear on Sunday.

Ulf Laessing, head of the Sahel programme at German think tank the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, said the attack was a setback for Russia, which backed the military-led government after it kicked out French, US and other Western forces.

“For Russia, the attack has been a disaster,” Laessing said. “They were unable to prevent the fall of the highly symbolic Tuareg stronghold of Kidal and now need to leave this northern city.”

Saturday’s attacks are the latest sign that Mali’s government has failed to deliver greater security despite promising to do so.

The government has recently pursued closer ties with Washington, which has sought to rebuild cooperation on security and explore mining opportunities.

• Trump safe after shooting at correspondents’ dinner.
• Suspect wielded a shotgun, says FBI official.
• Trump previously targeted by two assassination attempts.

President Donald Trump and officials in his administration were the likely targets of a suspect who fired on a security agent guarding the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner in Washington, US Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said on Sunday.

The man fired a shotgun at a Secret Service agent at a security checkpoint in the Washington Hilton hotel before being tackled and arrested. Trump and first lady Melania Trump were rushed out of the dinner.

“It does appear that he, he did, in fact, have set out to target folks that work in the administration, likely including the president,” Blanche told NBC News’ “Meet the Press,” adding that the suspect likely travelled by train from Los Angeles to Chicago and then to Washington.

The suspect will be charged in federal court on Monday with assault of a federal officer, discharging a firearm and attempting to kill a federal officer, Blanche said, adding he did not know if there was an Iran connection to the attack.

Condemnation of shooting

Trump told reporters at a late-night White House briefing that he believed he was the target of the attack. He said the Secret Service officer was saved by his bulletproof vest and was in “good shape.”

US Secret Service spokesperson Anthony Guglielmi confirmed the officer had been released from a hospital.

Around the world, leaders condemned the attack, and expressed relief that Trump and all present were safe, demonstrating solidarity with the United States. Nato leader Mark Rutte called it an attack “on our free and open societies” and leaders stressed violence had no place in a democracy.

The British embassy, which is preparing for King Charles’ visit to Washington starting on Monday, said in a statement that discussions were taking place on whether the incident may affect planning for the visit.

Suspect thought to be ‘lone wolf’, says Trump

A law enforcement official identified the suspect as Cole Tomas Allen, a California resident about 31 years old. Little was immediately known about Allen’s background, but social media postings suggested he was a teacher in Torrance, near Los Angeles.

Washington interim Police Chief Jeffery Carroll said the suspect was armed with a shotgun, a handgun and multiple knives. He was taken to a local hospital to be evaluated but it was too soon to say what his motivation was, Carroll said.

Based on preliminary information, he was believed to have been a guest at the hotel, Carroll added.

The chaotic events from around 8:35pm (local time) raised fresh questions about the security of top US officials, many of whom were gathered in the hotel’s expansive ballroom.

A focus of the investigation is likely to be how the gunman was able to smuggle the shotgun into the hotel, which hosts the annual White House Correspondents’ Association dinner, a marquee fixture of Washington’s social calendar.

The black-tie event was attended by many members of Trump’s cabinet and other senior administration officials amid heavy security. It was the first time Trump attended the event as president, having boycotted it in previous years.

The site of the dinner was the scene of an attempt on the life of President Ronald Reagan, who was shot and wounded by a would-be assassin outside the hotel in 1981.

Closed-circuit TV footage released by Trump on Truth Social showed the suspect running rapidly through a security checkpoint, momentarily catching security personnel off-guard before they drew their weapons.

No shots were fired at the gunman who got through two checkpoints before being brought down.

“You know, he charged from 50 yards away, so he was very far away from the room. He was moving. He was really moving,” Trump said after the gala dinner was cancelled.

Officials believe he is a “lone wolf,” Trump said.

How it unfolded

Video footage shows Trump and his wife sitting at a banquet table on stage in conversation with someone when a commotion at the rear of the ballroom — caused by the noise of gunshots — triggers a ripple of gasps through the room.

People started screaming, “Get down, get down!” Many of the 2,600 attendees dressed in tuxedos and ball gowns took cover under tables as security personnel drew their weapons, with some pushing cabinet secretaries to the floor and covering them with their bodies while others formed a protective cordon.

Security personnel in combat fatigues stormed the stage pointing rifles into the ballroom as Trump, his wife Melania and Vice President JD Vance were evacuated. Cabinet members who had been sitting at tables dotted around the vast room were escorted out by their security details one by one.

While most guests crouched down below table level, some people began chanting “USA, USA!”

Trump stayed backstage for about an hour after being hustled from the stage, a source told Reuters. He later said he had not wanted to leave the event, a remark that echoed images of him defiantly pumping his fist after narrowly escaping an assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania, in 2024.

In that attempt, Trump was wounded in his upper ear by a 20-year-old gunman, who was shot dead by security personnel.

Just over two months after the Butler shooting, Secret Service agents spotted a man wielding a gun while hiding in bushes at the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida, while Trump was on the course. It was deemed an assassination attempt, and the suspect was sentenced to life in prison in February.