Former Chancellor Merkel presented the painting for the official portrait gallery of Germany's postwar heads of government; the portrait will be displayed at Bode Museum in Berlin from 1 July before being added to the Federal Chancellery gallery

A 33-point plan to reform the pension system has drawn praise and criticism in equal measure, as centrist politicians consider it a good compromise and opposition parties on both the left and the right don't find it satisfactory

Tennis player Alexander Zverev shed his unfortunate spell as the best player never to win a major as, at 29, he claimed his maiden Grand Slam title by winning the Roland-Garros, or French Open, Paris

Alevis make up around 13% of Muslims living in Germany today; this religious community, now the fourth largest in the country, once predominantly lived in rural Turkey, passing on their spiritual beliefs and rites orally