German spy agency chief resigns

The German government yesterday confirmed that Gerhard Schindler, the head of the BND foreign intelligence agency, would leave his post two years early but provided no reason for the surprise change. In a short statement, Chancellor Angela Merkel's chief of staff Peter Altmaier said Schindler, who has run the BND since 2012 and is not due to retire until 2018, would be replaced on July 1 by Bruno Kahl, an official in the finance ministry responsible for privatisations and government real estate.