Outgoing Chancellor Angela Merkel made the comments as the rival SPD party takes a slim lead in highly volatile opinion polls, ahead of the September election.

Germany's Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer praised Bundeswehr soldiers for "achieving incredible things" by getting thousands out of Afghanistan.

During her first term as German chancellor, Angela Merkel had to deal with the economic and financial crisis of 2008, which helped forge her image as a defender of Germany's interests and her fellow citizens' savings. But there would be more challenges to come: the migrant crisis in 2015, and the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020. How will German history remember this scientist by training, who grew up in what was then East Germany, who defied the odds to become Germany's first woman chancellor? As Merkel prepares to bow out after 16 years in power, our Berlin correspondents report on her legacy.

A Kosovar artist creates a portrait of the outgoing German Chancellor Angela Merkel using some 100 kilogrammes of seeds.

Germany votes in one of the most unpredictable elections in its recent history, with Angela Merkel's conservatives and the centre-left Social Democrats in a tight race for her crown as she prepares to leave the political stage.

The country's first female chancellor has taken on alpha males in the politics world. But as her nearly 16 years in power ends, Merkel has not been able to enact gender parity or equity in many realms. Why not?

The long-serving chancellor and lawmaker is about to retire. What's next for her?

Both the outgoing chancellor and her would-be successor, Armin Laschet, have congratulated Scholz. The center-left SPD emerged as Germany's largest party in the Bundestag following Sunday's election.

After a meeting with Pope Francis on a a farewell trip to Rome, German Chancellor Angela Merkel says that the Catholic Church must let the truth come out it is to rebuild the trust of Christians the world over.

Angela Merkel is headed to Israel for a last official visit. With the shared history of the Holocaust ever present, the German chancellor deepened the firm alliance between the two countries during her time in office.

After 16 years as the Chancellor of Germany, Angela Merkel is calling it a day. The 67-year-old decision to retire has many reflecting on the legacy of the country’s first female chancellor, who is leaving the office with high approval ratings.⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣ Over the years, she has earned swag of nicknames: the world’s most powerful woman, chancellor of the free world, the Queen of Europe, the Merkelator, and the liberal west’s “last defender”. In Germany, she is affectionately known as Mutti - short for mummy.⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣

The two leaders discussed the pandemic, climate change and human rights during a video call. Xi Jinping reportedly called Merkel a "friend of the Chinese people."