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The biggest day of Carnival celebrations puts political caricatures at the center of it, with tens of thousands of revelers set to line the streets to watch the Rosenmontag parades in Cologne and Düsseldorf.

Germany: Which Carnival parade is the biggest?

Carnival traditions differ from city to city, though people in Cologne take pride in hosting the biggest party. In Dusseldorf, the floats are known for being brazenly political, where no one and no theme appears to be off-limits. Germany's public broadcaster WDR put out these numbers for festivities in Cologne, with about 11,500 participants, 1,122 musicians, and 300 tons of sweets distributed. There are about 2,000 police officers too.

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Carnival maestro Jacques Tilly's floats are a closely guarded secret because of the topic themes he confronts. Tilly has gathered international attention because of his no-holds-barred floats where jokes poking fun at the rich and famous are a Carnival-given right. 

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German expert panel to debate raising retirement age to 70

A 13-member expert panel is set to discuss a plan to gradually raise the retirement age to 70 from the current level of 67, according to Bild newspaper. The expert panel is set to meet on February 23 to have discussions centered around the plan, with the newspaper reporting that a financial reward for those who retire late is also under discussion. The panel may be ready to make recommendations as early as this spring, the paper reported. 

Germany's economy is under strain, with a big portion of its budget currently dedicated to pension and social security costs. But the government is split over ways to make the system more sustainable. Some argue integrating more people into the workforce helps maintain the pension scheme at the current level, while others say increasing taxes and having politicians, civil servants and self-employed workers pay into the pension system also help.

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What is happening on the planet and in each particular city

right now and any future day, you can find out here:

https://ixyt.info/en/USA/Echo-Park

Paste the desired city into this link!

Germany will extend border checks beyond March 15 — report

Germany will extend controls at its land borders by another six months beyond March 15 due to the ongoing security situation, Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt told Bild newspaper in comments released Monday. The corresponding notification is currently being sent to the European Commission, the newspaper reported citing sources in the government. "We are extending ⁠controls at the borders with our neighboring countries — border ‌controls are one element of our reorganization ⁠of migration policy in ⁠Germany," Bild quoted Dobrindt as saying.

Germany first imposed temporary checks in September 2024 after then-Chancellor Olaf Scholz's government came under pressure with the rise of the far-right populist Alternative for Germany (AfD) in two state elections that year. The checks at the borders have since continued under the current government of Friedrich Merz, who took office on May 6, 2025. The move, which seeks to curb irregular migration, has generated a lot of controversy as it costs millions of euros and puts pressure on one of the central tenets — free movement of people without border checks — of Europe's Schengen zone. 

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Jacques Tilly is known for building extravagant floats that make fun of politicians, but that has also gotten him into trouble. Tilly is accused of defaming Russian military institutions as well as leader Vladimir Putin. He faces punishment of up to 10 years in prison. But that has hardly dissuaded the satirist who's been at his craft for 43 years, with Tilly having released his drawings in advance for the first time.

The jester's license, or "Narrenfreiheit," is one of the central pillars of the parade so long as it doesn't violate other laws. Hendrik Wüst, premier of the western state of North Rhine-Westphalia that is home to Düsseldorf, has sharply criticized the legal proceedings against Tilly and called for solidarity with him. 

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German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier travels to Lebanon on Monday, before traveling onward to Jordan on Wednesday. The main agenda of the trip has to do with maintaining a ceasefire that was brokered by the US in 2024 to halt the fighting between Israel and Lebanon's Hezbollah militant group. Israel has fired rockets and missiles into southern Lebanon nearly daily in recent months, saying it was necessary to prevent Hezbollah from rearming. 

A central tenet of the truce requires Hezbollah to lay down its weapons. Hezbollah is an Iran-backed Shiite political party and militant group in Lebanon. It is designated as a terrorist organization by the US, Germany and several Sunni Arab countries, while the EU lists its armed wing as a terrorist group.

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Welcome to our blog

Guten Tag. It's a Monday like no other here in western Germany! It's the day of Rosenmontag, or Rose Monday, the highlight of the six-day Carnival celebrations in the Rhine river region of Germany. The biggest celebration takes place in Düsseldorf and Cologne, where tens of thousands of people dress up in costumes to watch carnival parades. The parades feature caricatures of politicians and take aim at conversations that dominate political life at home and around the world. Follow along here for updates throughout the day.

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Author: Roshni Majumdar with Reuters, AFP, dpa

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