11:22am UK, Monday November 29, 2010
WikiLeaks has released its largest set of confidential State Department documents published by a number of newspapers which had been given advance sight of the material.
WikiLeaks is steadily releasing more than 250,000 classified documents
Here are the main points:
IRAN:
Arab leaders have been privately urging the US to take military action against Iran in a bid to prevent it developing nuclear weapons.
The King of Bahrain apparently warned the US that: "The danger of letting it [the nuclear programme] go on is greater than the danger of stopping it".
President Ahmadinejad is considered dangerous
He is said to have been backed by King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia who reportedly urged Washington to: "cut off the head of the snake" while there is still time.
A US assessment also claims Iran has obtained advanced missiles from North Korea that could enable it to strike Western European capitals and Moscow and develop long-range ballistic missiles.
SPYING ON THE UN:
Hillary Clinton has been implicated in alleged UN spying
In an apparent breach of the 1946 UN Convention which states that the "premises of the United Nations shall be inviolable", there are said to be instructions from Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and her predecessor Condoleezza Rice to spy on the organisation's leadership.
One directive requested IT security measures, passwords and personal encryption keys used by top UN officials and their staff.
Others instruct diplomats to obtain personal details of people they meet including frequent flyer numbers, credit card details, iris scans, fingerprints, and even DNA material.
WORLD LEADERS:
Vladimir Putin is described as an 'Alpha Dog'
The cables also include "harsh" criticism by US embassy staff of their host governments and world leaders. Russian prime minister Vladimir Putin is described as an "alpha dog" and there are allegations that his government is linked to organised crime.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai is said to be "driven by paranoia" while German Chancellor Angela Merkel "avoids risks and is rarely creative".
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is compared to Hitler and there is a description of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi who is said to be accompanied everywhere by a "voluptuous blonde" Ukrainian nurse.
PAKISTAN:
Documents allegedly show US efforts to remove highly enriched uranium from a Pakistani research reactor amid fears it could be diverted for use in an illegal nuclear device.
KOREA:
Documents reportedly reveal discussions between America and South Korea about the prospects for a unified Korea, should the North's economic troubles and political transition lead the secretive Stalinist state to "implode".
The US has apparently discussed prospects for a unified Korea
CHINA:
The cables were also said to describe a global campaign of computer sabotage by China carried out by government operatives, private security experts and "internet outlaws" recruited by the Beijing government.