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Skip next section What you need to know
What you need to know
- Data has revealed that workers aged 60-65 take an average of 31.3 sick days off a year
- Carneval season is beginning
- Inflation has dipped below 3% thanks to the fuel rebate
Keep reading for the top news and analysis from Germany on Wednesday, November 11:
Skip next section WATCH: Autonomous drones — rescuers from above?11/11/2026November 11, 2026
WATCH: Autonomous drones — rescuers from above?
Autonomous drones can navigate without GPS, search for missing persons and make decisions on their own.
In Germany, developers competed to see which drone was the best rescuer.
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Edited by:Kieran Burkehttps://p.dw.com/p/5PJl0Skip next section Carneval festivities to begin in Cologne despite inclement weather11/11/2026November 11, 2026
Carneval festivities to begin in Cologne despite inclement weather
Rain has not appeared to put off carneval-revellers in Cologne with festivities set to kick off at 11:11 a.m. (1011 GMT) on November 11.
Groups of people in colorful costumes had already started gathering outside the Cologne main station, at the foot of the famous Cologne Cathedral, despite the wet weather.
Bakeries have been selling their traditional carneval pastries like hot cakes.
Local authorities expect tens of thousands of people to join the celebrations. Some 1,000 police officers as well as 1,200 agents from a private security firm have been deployed.
Edited by:Kieran Burkehttps://p.dw.com/p/5PJoOSkip next section IN DEPTH: Germany’s climate standing sinks to lowest level in years11/11/2026November 11, 2026
IN DEPTH: Germany’s climate standing sinks to lowest level in years
Germany has slipped down the climate action ranking for the third consecutive year, with the former green leader now being outperformed by Brazil, Columbia and Romania.
In its worst performance since 2019, the country fell to place 25 and received a “medium” rating overall on the yearly Climate Change Performance Index (CCPI), which assesses efforts to curb global warming in 64 countries plus the European Union.
Read DW’s full report on Germany’s environmental woes here.
Edited by:Kieran Burkehttps://p.dw.com/p/5PJhJSkip next section October inflation falls below 3% amid fuel rebate11/11/2026November 11, 2026
October inflation falls below 3% amid fuel rebate
Year-on-year inflation for October dropped down slightly to 2.8% after reaching 3.3% in September, according to preliminary figures from the Federal Office of Statistics (Destatis).
Record high prices for gas and diesel pushed up inflation in September but this was brought down thanks to government subsidy for consumers at the gas pump that was introduced in October.
“The main factor behind the persistently high inflation rate remained the trend in energy prices, even though the fuel subsidy, which was reintroduced in early October, may have tempered inflation somewhat,” Destatis President Ruth Brand said.
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Edited by:Kieran Burkehttps://p.dw.com/p/5PJe1Skip next section Workers over 60 taking a month off per year for sick leave11/11/2026November 11, 2026
Workers over 60 taking a month off per year for sick leave
German workers aged between 60 and 65 took an average of 31.3 days of sick leave per year, based on data from 2024 released by the Health Ministry in response to a question posed by the Left party in the Bundestag.
The average number of sick days taken by all workers was 15, according to the Federal Office of Statistics (Destatis).
The number of 60 to 65-year-olds who have taken a year or more off for sick leave has also increased in recent years. It went from around 80,300 people in 2022 to 96,100 in 2024.
Left party spokesperson Sarah Vollath called the figures a “clear warning sign” in comments to the Rheinische Post and warned that workers cannot “keep working forever.”
“If the federal government has its way, the retirement age for workers will soon be pushed even further into the future due to another increase in the standard retirement age. This completely ignores the reality of life for older workers.”
The government of Chancellor Friedrich Merz has set retirement reform as one of its main goals, with policies including pushing the retirement age back to 67 years.
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Edited by:Kieran Burkehttps://p.dw.com/p/5PJazSkip next section Welcome to our coverage11/11/2026November 11, 2026
Welcome to our coverage
Good morning and Alaaf!
November 11, as well as being Armistice Day, is also the first day of the carneval season with events taking place throughout the Rhineland region, including in Cologne, Düsseldorf and Mainz.
We are also expecting the German Council of Economic Experts to publish their annual report providing forecasts and proposals to the German government.
Keep reading for this and more.
Edited by:Kieran Burkehttps://p.dw.com/p/5PJZwShow more posts
