Mali’s wretched security crisis gets worse, Israel’s opposition leaders join forces in bid to oust Netanyahu, Romania’s PM on the brink

Killing of Mali’s defense minister exacerbates its security crisis

Jihadist insurgents and Tuareg secessionists assassinated Mali’s Defense Minister Sadio Camara at his home in Kati during coordinated attacks across the West African country on Saturday, as the junta faces yet another major challenge amid the 14-year-long nationwide security crisis. Camara was the architect of the ruling junta’s strategy toward rebel groups since coming to power in 2021. The rebels appear to be gaining ground, as they claimed to have seized full control of the northern town of Kidal on Sunday following the withdrawal of the government-backed Russian Africa Corps – the town has been a separatist stronghold. Mali’s security situation has been deteriorating for months, with the Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam al-Muslimin, the jihadist group that has pledged allegiance to al-Qaeda, surrounding the capital Bamako late last year and blocking the supply of oil ever since. The Russian-backed junta’s position, it appears, is only getting more precarious.

Israeli opposition joins forces again in effort to topple Netanyahu

Aiming to finally end the career of Israel’s longest-serving prime minister, Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid – both former PMs – announced Sunday they’re once again joining their respective right-wing and centrist parties together ahead of parliamentary elections later this year. They did so back in 2021, with mixed results: they won the election that year, but their coalition, which included the Islamist party Ra’am, fell apart 18 months later. When announcing the effort, Bennett – who will lead the coalition – spoke of the need for unity while citing the recent defeat of Viktor Orbán, Hungary’s long-time leader, as a cause for hope. While frustrations are growing in Israel over Benjamin Netanyahu’s governance, amid wars with Iran and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, polls still suggest that this Bennett-Lapid coalition doesn’t have enough support to win a majority.

Romania hit with new political turmoil

Talk about strange bedfellows… Romania’s Social Democrats, the largest party in the current four-way governing coalition, haveunited with the far-right opposition to force a no-confidence vote on Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan as early as tomorrow. At issue? Bolojan’s bid to impose austerity measures in order to shrink Romania’s staggering budget deficit, the largest in the European Union. Brussels has already warned that the deficit couldimperil billions of euros in EU financial assistance programs. The upheaval comes as Romania’s economy grinds to a halt and inflation soars. The far-right opposition party in question, Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR), currently tops opinion polls and is eager to force Romania into fresh elections. The AUR candidate won the first round of the 2024 presidential election, but his victory was controversially nullified over claims he had received assistance from Russia and violated campaign finance rules.