Navalny ally attacked, sees Putin's hand
VILNIUS, Lithuania -- A close associate of the late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny accused Russian President Vladimir Putin's "henchmen" on Wednesday of being behind a brutal attack that left him hospitalized.
Police said an assailant attacked Leonid Volkov on Tuesday as he arrived in a car at his Vilnius home, where he lives in exile. The attacker smashed one of his car's windows, sprayed tear gas into his eyes and hit him with a hammer, police said.
Volkov suffered a broken arm "and for now he cannot walk because of the severe bruising from the hammer blows," according to Navalny's The Anti-Corruption Foundation.
He was hospitalized, but later released, and vowed Wednesday to keep up his work.
"We will work, we will not give up," 43-year-old Volkov said in a short video posted on Telegram on Wednesday, speaking with his arm bandaged and in a sling. "It was a characteristic bandit greeting from Putin's henchmen." This seemed to be a reference to both Putin's thuggish style and his stint as a deputy mayor of St. Petersburg in the 1990s when it was considered one of the most criminal cities in Russia.
Police have launched a criminal investigation.
Gabrielius Landsbergis, Lithuania's foreign minister, called the attack "shocking." He wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter: "Relevant authorities are at work. Perpetrators will have to answer for their crime."
3 Egyptian monks killed in South Africa
CAPE TOWN, South Africa -- Three Egyptian monks belonging to the Coptic Orthodox Church were fatally stabbed in an attack at a monastery in South Africa and a suspect has been arrested, police said Wednesday.
The monks were killed Tuesday at the Saint Mark the Apostle and Saint Samuel the Confessor Monastery in Cullinan, a town east of the capital, Pretoria. A fourth person was beaten with an iron rod before escaping and hiding in a room at the monastery, police said.
The suspect arrested was a 35-year-old man. Police did not provide his name or other details. He was due to appear in court today.
The motive for the attack was unclear. It appeared that nothing was stolen from the monastery, police spokesman Col. Dimakatso Nevhuhulwi said in a statement.
The Coptic Orthodox Church has its headquarters in Egypt and dioceses in several countries. It is one of the oldest Christian communities in the world and has been the target of deadly attacks by Islamic militants in Egypt and elsewhere.
The Coptic Orthodox Church named the monks killed in South Africa as Monk Hegumen Takla el-Samuely, Monk Yostos ava Markos and Monk Mina ava Markos. All three were Egyptian nationals.
Osprey aircraft to resume flights in Japan
TOMIOKA, Japan -- The U.S. and Japanese militaries will resume flights of Osprey aircraft in Japan after completing necessary maintenance and training following a fatal crash in southern Japan last November, officials said Wednesday.
The Osprey aircraft, which can take off like a helicopter and then fly like an airplane, has had a troubled history, including numerous crashes.
Japan's Defense Ministry said the two countries have discussed the resumption of Osprey flights in Japan since the U.S. Naval Air Systems Command announced last Friday that the aircraft has been approved to return to service after an "unprecedented" part failure led to the deaths of eight U.S. service members in the crash in Japan.
The entire U.S. Osprey fleet was grounded on Dec. 6, a week after that crash. Japan's military also grounded all of its 14 Ospreys.
Japan's Defense Ministry said each of the U.S. forces will have separate return-to-flight schedules, and that Japan and the United States have "closely" discussed a timeline for the resumption of Osprey flights in Japan. Aircraft that have completed necessary maintenance and training will return to flight as early as today, the ministry said.
It said the crash was caused by a part problem, not a faulty Osprey design, and that similar problems can be prevented in the future by taking steps to mitigate the identified cause. It did not provide further details.
Texas makes trade agreement with U.K.
LONDON -- Britain signed a trade agreement with Texas on Wednesday, the eighth the U.K. has inked with a U.S. state in the absence of a wider free trade deal with the U.S. government.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed the document in London alongside U.K. Trade Secretary Kemi Badenoch. Abbott also met with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who told him it was an "exciting moment."
The "statement of mutual cooperation" is not a full trade deal because individual U.S. states do not have the power to sign those, but it commits Britain and Texas to improve cooperation between businesses and tackle regulatory barriers to trade.
"Understand that this is far more than a document," Abbott said. "What we signed our names to today is a pathway to increased prosperity."
Police officers patrol near the house of Leonid Volkov, a close associate of the late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, in Vilnius, Lithuania, Wednesday, March 13, 2024. Volkov on Wednesday blamed the government of Russian President Vladimir Putin after he was attacked with a hammer and tear gas outside his home near the Lithuanian capital, where he lives in exile, the late Navalny's anti-corruption foundation said.(AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis)
FILE - Russia's Leonid Volkov, Chief of staff for the 2018 presidential election for Alexei Navalny's campaign, looks on, at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, eastern France, Dec. 15, 2021. Associates of the late opposition leader Alexei Navalny reported on Tuesday night that the politician's close ally and top strategist was attacked near his home in Lithuania. Navalny's spokesman Kira Yarmysh said the assailant smashed a window of Leonid Volkov's car, sprayed tear gas into his eyes and started hitting him with a hammer. (AP Photo/Jean-Francois Badias, File)
A police car is seen near the house of Leonid Volkov, a close associate of the late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, in Vilnius, Lithuania, Wednesday, March 13, 2024. Volkov on Wednesday blamed the government of Russian President Vladimir Putin after he was attacked with a hammer and tear gas outside his home near the Lithuanian capital, where he lives in exile, the late Navalny's anti-corruption foundation said.(AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis)
Police officers patrol near the house of Leonid Volkov, a close associate of the late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, in Vilnius, Lithuania, Wednesday, March 13, 2024. Volkov on Wednesday blamed the government of Russian President Vladimir Putin after he was attacked with a hammer and tear gas outside his home near the Lithuanian capital, where he lives in exile, the late Navalny's anti-corruption foundation said.(AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis)
Police officers patrol near the house of Leonid Volkov, a close associate of the late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, in Vilnius, Lithuania, Wednesday, March 13, 2024. Volkov on Wednesday blamed the government of Russian President Vladimir Putin after he was attacked with a hammer and tear gas outside his home near the Lithuanian capital, where he lives in exile, the late Navalny's anti-corruption foundation said. (AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis)
Police officers patrol the area near the house of Leonid Volkov, a close associate of the late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, in Vilnius, Lithuania, Wednesday, March 13, 2024. Volkov on Wednesday blamed the government of Russian President Vladimir Putin after he was attacked with a hammer and tear gas outside his home near the Lithuanian capital, where he lives in exile, the late Navalny's anti-corruption foundation said.(AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis)
Police officers patrol the area near the house of Leonid Volkov, a close associate of the late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, in Vilnius, Lithuania, Wednesday, March 13, 2024. Volkov on Wednesday blamed the government of Russian President Vladimir Putin after he was attacked with a hammer and tear gas outside his home near the Lithuanian capital, where he lives in exile, the late Navalny's anti-corruption foundation said.(AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis)
Police officers inspect the territory near the house of Leonid Volkov, a close associate of the late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, in Vilnius, Lithuania, Wednesday, March 13, 2024. Volkov on Wednesday blamed the government of Russian President Vladimir Putin after he was attacked with a hammer and tear gas outside his home near the Lithuanian capital, where he lives in exile, the late Navalny's anti-corruption foundation said.(AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis)
Police officers inspect the territory near the house of Leonid Volkov, a close associate of the late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, in Vilnius, Lithuania, Wednesday, March 13, 2024. Volkov on Wednesday blamed the government of Russian President Vladimir Putin after he was attacked with a hammer and tear gas outside his home near the Lithuanian capital, where he lives in exile, the late Navalny's anti-corruption foundation said.(AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis)
Texas Governor Greg Abbott gestures as he speaks to the media outside 10 Downing Street in London on Wednesday. (AP/Alberto Pezzali)