Germany news: Carnival security threat level remains high

Germany's luge specialists continued their domination at the Winter Olympics, claiming the team relay gold on Thursday ahead of silver medalists Austria and hosts Italy. 

The luge team relay incorporates national teams of six athletes completing four runs, women's and men's singles and women's and men's doubles. 

Julia Taubitz ran the women's singles, Dajana Eitberger and Magdalena Matschina ran the women's doubles, Max Langenhan ran the solo male leg, and two legends on the ice, Tobias Wendl and Tobias Arlt, also ran in tandem. 

The win, in what will likely be Wendl and Arlt's last Olympic competition, is the duo's seventh Olympic gold since the 2014 Games in Sochi, plus one bronze for good measure, recorded in the men's doubles this year. That total is Germany's Winter Olympic record. 

"Our last Olympic run was once again really great," Arlt said on ZDF television. "We are now enjoying the moment. This is the grand finale." 

In five luge events, Germany has now claimed three golds, a silver and a bronze, the best overall haul of any competing nation in the discipline. 

German woman Jasmin Schmidt is expecting twins — again.

The 36-year-old from Fuerth in northern Bavaria said the experience is not as extraordinary for her anymore, after giving birth to two sets of twins already. Her partner, Andreas Rittner, agreed, saying he immediately assumed it would be two babies again.

The couple's twin girls are due in early June. Twins Daniel and Emilio were born in late summer 2023, followed by twins Simone and Anastacia in late summer 2024.

Rittner said he expects even more work ahead, but also more joy. "It is definitely a really wonderful feeling," he said.

The German Society for Gynaecology and Obstetrics (DGGG) says twin pregnancies have become more common in recent years due to infertility treatments, forming 1.5% of births in 2024.

Schmidt, however, has not had any fertility treatments, making her case all the more remarkable.
 

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has reiterated his call for a more competitive Europe, as he arrived at an informal summit of EU heads of state and government at Alden Biesen Castle in eastern Belgium.

"We want to speed up the European Union, we want to make it better, and we want to ensure that we have a competitive industry in Europe," he said ahead of the meeting. 

"I expect us to take a step forward today," Merz added.

Merz and French President Emmanuel Macron arrived at the summit together, projecting an image of unity between the two traditional power centers of the EU.

"We share this sense of urgency that Europe must take action," Macron said.

For a long time, European Union leaders have emphasized the urgent need to improve the functioning of the bloc's internal market to ensure the competitiveness of European businesses in the face of intense economic competition from the United States and China. The European Commission has proposed streamlining national rules to create a savings and investment union.

However, approaches in Berlin, Paris, and beyond to addressing these issues differ.

Merz has advocated for reducing the reporting burden on businesses by cutting red tape, lowering trade barriers between EU countries, and establishing more free trade agreements.

Macron, meanwhile, has called for joint debt, which Germany opposes. He is also a stern opponent of a recent free trade deal between the EU and four Latin American countries, and he pushes the idea of giving preference to European companies. 

Carnival's Rose Monday Parade, scheduled for February 16, promises to be as scandalous as usual. The procession consists of 120 floats, including "persiflage floats" — satirical, mocking floats that are the centerpiece of the event.

One of them depicts Donald Trump looking into a mirror, grinning, his bare bottom exposed and covered in kiss marks — including one left by the current German chancellor.

Read more here about what we can expect to see.

The Berlin International Film Festival, or Berlinale, runs this year from February 12-22. The event is opening with an Afghan drama titled "No Good Men."

Meanwhile, stars including Pamela Anderson, Ethan Hawke and John Turturro are expected on the red carpet.

Find out more about what to expect here.

Germany's highest court has rejected a case brought by a Palestinian civilian from Gaza who was seeking to sue the German government over its weapons exports to Israel.

The complainant, who was supported by the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR), wanted to challenge export licences for German parts used in Israeli tanks.

He appealed to the Federal Constitutional Court after his case was rejected by lower courts in 2024 and 2025.

However, the court's judges in Karlsruhe dismissed the case, stating that "the complainant has not sufficiently substantiated that the specialised courts misjudged or arbitrarily denied a possible duty to protect him."

Although Germany is obliged to protect human rights and respect international humanitarian law, the court ruled that the state was not necessarily obliged to take specific action on behalf of individuals.

"It is fundamentally the responsibility of the state authorities themselves to decide how they fulfil their general duty of protection," the court added.

The ECCHR called the decision "a setback for civilian access to justice."

"For people whose lives are endangered by the consequences of German arms exports, access to justice remains effectively closed," said Alexander Schwarz, co-director of the NGO's International Crimes and Legal Accountability program.

German parliamentary speaker Julia Klöckner has visited the Gaza Strip, becoming the first German politician to do so since the Hamas-led attack in Israel in 2023.

The Bundestag said Klöckner spent about an hour on Thursday in a part of Gaza controlled by Israel’s military to see the situation first-hand, rejecting criticism of the visit.

Klöckner is currently on a three-day visit to Israel. The Gaza stop had not been announced in advance and has been viewed as controversial. Politico reported that the German Foreign Ministry and the German Embassy in Israel had advised against the visit.

"The ability to access different, reliable assessments of the situation is a prerequisite for responsible political judgment," Klöckner said of the trip.

She added that she welcomed Israel allowing a parliamentary observer access to Gaza for the first time, calling it an important signal given the ongoing security risks.

Read more about Klöckner's trip here. 

Former Chancellor Angela Merkel has ruled out any bid to become Germany's next federal president, with her office describing the notion as "absurd."

The remarks came as political parties have started weighing possible candidates ahead of next year's election of a successor to incumbent President Frank-Walter Steinmeier.

Read more about the story here.

Hundreds of flights have been cancelled across Germany as pilots and flight attendants at the Lufthansa airline took strike action over pay and working conditions.

At the country's largest airport in Frankfurt, 450 of 1,117 departures were scrapped. At Munich Airport, Germany''s second largest, 275 of 920 flights were also grounded.

Read more here.

Mercedes-Benz has reported that its profit in 2025 has nearly halved, as difficulties in its China business and the impact of tariffs have weighed on results.

The Stuttgart-based automaker said in a statement on Thursday that net profit for the past year totaled €5.3 billion ($6.3 billion), a drop of almost 49% compared with the previous year.

Analysts surveyed by financial data firm FactSet had expected even weaker figures. Mercedes said "global tariffs, negative exchange rate effects and intense competition in China" had hit performance over the year.

The group also posted a 9.2% decline in revenue to €132.2 billion.

"In a dynamic market environment, our financial results were in line with our forecast," CEO Ole Källenius said, adding that the planned launch of more than 40 new models within three years would now be "accelerated further" as the company moves ahead with "a clear plan and a highly competitive product portfolio."

Police are saying the security alertness during Carnival days is still high as Fat Thursday, or "Weiberfastnacht," kicks off street celebrations in Germany’s major Carnival hubs.

The street Carnival season begins on Thursday at 11:11 a.m. with a day of celebration specially dedicated to women.

In Cologne alone, authorities expect hundreds of thousands of people to attend celebrations. To manage the crowds, the public order office is deploying up to 400 staff, along with around 2,600 security personnel from external service providers. Police are also sending up to 1,500 additional officers.

Last year, Islamists suspected of belonging to so-called Islamic State (IS) used social networks to call for attacks — including on Cologne's celebrations.

The security assessment remains one of caution. Police classify the situation as "still abstractly high." Cologne police director Martin Lotz said there were no concrete indications of planned attacks, including against large gatherings, but warned that authorities must be prepared for anything.

"It is as quiet or as unsettled as in recent years," Lotz said.

Meanwhile, Cologne Mayor Torsten Burmester has warned visitors to the city against excessive revelry and drinking.

"It's wonderful when people come to Cologne because they appreciate the vibrant nightlife here," the politician told the dpa news agency. "It's also clear that we mustn't let this degenerate..."

"There's no right to do things here that you wouldn't be allowed to do in your own hometown," he said.

Weather conditions may put a dampener on things. Germany's DWD national weather service says carnival participants should expect a rainy start, with repeated and sometimes prolonged rainfall through Friday. Forecasters also warned it could become windy, with strong to stormy gusts possible in connection with showers.

In various places, especially along the Rhine River, women storm town halls and symbolically take power.

"Weiberfastnacht" dates back to the Middle Ages, when rigid gender roles were temporarily overturned during carnival. A tradition of cutting off men's ties emerged only after 1945 and has been declining, partly because fewer people wear ties nowadays.

Guten Tag from DW’s newsroom in Bonn.

You join us as revelers in the Rhineland get ready for street Carnival season.

Festivities begin at 11:11 a.m. in cities including Cologne, Düsseldorf and Mainz with Weiberfastnacht — a celebration that marks the start of the peak phase of the Carnival season.

Police have been deploying a major security presence, with authorities expecting hundreds of thousands of costumed partygoers in the coming days.

Weiberfastnacht traditionally includes Carnival groups storming town halls, as well as numerous women's carnival events. A long-standing custom is for women to cut off men's ties to symbolize taking power.

The street Carnival season reaches its high point with the Rose Monday parades on Monday, before celebrations end on Ash Wednesday.