Berlin

The German government has approved the deployment of armed forces in a European Union naval mission in the Red Sea to protect merchant ships from attacks by Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi militia, a government spokesperson said on Friday.

Greece, France and Italy are among the countries that will participate in the mission, named Aspides, meaning protector.

The world reacts with shock and condemnation following the announcement of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny's death in prison, triggering a wave of responses from global leaders.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky signed a security deal with Germany on Friday in Berlin, hailed by Chancellor Olaf Scholz as a "historic step" amid Kiev's raging battles against Russia.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky travels Friday to Berlin and Paris where he is due to sign security deals with the two European giants and seek further support for Kiev's battle against Russia.

The solemn ceremony was held in the Presidency building, and the following were honored:
1. Berge Brende, Order of the Serbian Flag, first degree
2. Chen Bo, president of the Chinese Institute of International Relations, Order of the Serbian Flag, first degree

Scientists have found pieces of a meteorite that fell near Berlin just after midnight on January 21. It is a rare find, from an asteroid that was identified just before it entered Earth's atmosphere. Only a handful of such events in the recent past have allowed astronomers to trace an incoming rock's origin in the solar system.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and President Joe Biden urged U.S. lawmakers Friday to approve a long-delayed military aid package for Ukraine, warning that Kiev could not hold off Russia's invasion without it.

"The failure of the United States Congress in not supporting Ukraine is close to criminal neglect," Biden said as he hosted Scholz in the Oval Office.

"It is outrageous."

The Berlin Zoo is mourning Ingo the Flamingo, its oldest resident, who died at what is believed to be at least 75 years of age and had lived there since the mid-1950s.

Germany sent a powerful air s frigate on Thursday to join a European Union naval mission in the Red Sea that will be launched in mid-February to protect merchant ships from attacks by Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi militia.

"I am proud of the fact that I represent a country that is free and independent," he wrote in a post on his Instagram account.
"And no one can order me, anyone, not from Washington, not from Moscow, not from Berlin, not from any other place. Serbia makes its own decisions, not under anyone's influence, I am proud of that policy, that's how it will be in the future," concluded Vui.