The US won’t spy on Angela Merkel—but everyone around her is fair game

In January, US President Barack Obama banned national spying on the leaders of nations that are close allies, but that doesn’t mean the US has stopped spying in friendly countries. Rather than target German chancellor Angela Merkel, the US National Security Agency is now spying on over 300 German politicians and businesspeople, including some of her top aides, German newspaper Bild am Sonntag reported, citing an unnamed NSA employee.