Germany Summons U.S. Ambassador Over Merkel Phone Tapping Claim
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   Top News: German authorities [1]summoned the U.S. ambassador Thursday
   to demand a full explanation for claims that the United States had
   tapped German Chancellor Angela Merkel's cellphone, an allegation that
   has sparked deep outrage in Germany and revived uncomfortable memories
   of the extensive intelligence apparatus of East Germany.
   On Wednesday, Merkel [2]called President Obama to air out her concerns
   about the allegations and received a promise that the United States is
   not monitoring her calls and will not do so in the future. That
   assurance, however, did not adress whether the United States had in
   fact monitored Merkel's calls in the past. Merkel's spokesman said the
   chancellor "views such practices... as completely unacceptable." "Among
   close friends and partners, as the Federal Republic of Germany and the
   US have been for decades, there should be no such monitoring of the
   communications of a head of government," Steffen Seibert, the
   spokesman, said in a statement.
   According to White House spokesman Jay Carney, the United States "is
   not monitoring and will not monitor the communications of the
   chancellor."
   Wednesday's phone call was the second time in 48 hours that the
   president found himself on the phone with a European leader furious
   with America's intelligence agencies. Earlier in the week, Obama
   [3]found himself on the phone with French President Francois Hollande
   after allegations surfaced that the National Security Agency had
   collected French phone calls on a massive scale.
   [4]http://us-mg6.mail.yahoo.com/neo/launch?.rand=d9jl53r3e8hhl#

References

   1. http://link.foreignpolicy.com/52543e98c16bcfa46f6d17c016uu6.bu3/UmkdPeYQbGdeEzB_B9beb
   2. http://link.foreignpolicy.com/52543e98c16bcfa46f6d17c016uu6.bu3/UmkdPeYQbGdeEzCAB6d51
   3. http://link.foreignpolicy.com/52543e98c16bcfa46f6d17c016uu6.bu3/UmkdPeYQbGdeEzCBBaa11
   4. http:///