WASHINGTON — Some world leaders expressed anger on Monday over the disclosures in confidential American diplomatic cables, even as Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said she was confident that the administration’s diplomatic relationships would withstand the upheaval.

Mrs. Clinton’s comments came as she prepared to set off on a trip to Central Asia and the Persian Gulf. There, she will encounter for the first time officials from countries that figure prominently in the diplomatic cables obtained by WikiLeaks, an organization devoted to revealing government secrets, and published in The New York Times and European publications.

The cables included frank and unflattering characterizations of world leaders by American diplomats.

For example, the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, was characterized in the cables as “risk averse and rarely creative,” and Mrs. Clinton’s counterpart in Germany, Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle, was dismissed as having little power. Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi of Italy was described as “feckless” and “vain,” while President Nicolas Sarkozy of France was called thin-skinned.

During a news conference, Mrs. Clinton said that many of her counterparts around the world had shrugged off any insults. One of them, she said, told her, “Don’t worry about it. You should see what we say about you.”

Israel said it found some measure of vindication in the revelations of regional dismay with Iran. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the documents supported Israel’s assessments of Iran.

“There is not a huge gap between what we say behind closed doors and what we say openly,” Mr. Netanyahu said, adding that such was not the case in other countries in the region. Some Arab leaders were quoted in the documents criticizing Iran and pushing the United States to take action against its suspected nuclear program, positions they would never take in public against a powerful neighbor.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/30/world/30reax.html?_r=1&hp=&pagewanted=print

Prince Andrew's suitability as the UK special representative for trade has been called into question following the leaking of a candid account of his professional conduct by the US ambassador to Kyrgyzstan.

In a diplomatic cable released yesterday by WikiLeaks, Tatiana Gfoeller describes a brunch in Kyrgyzstan in 2008 at which the Duke of York insulted the French, British and US governments as "verging on the rude".

The Duke of York was at a hotel in Bishkek, capital of Kyrgyzstan, where he was being briefed by businessmen prior to a meeting with the country's prime minister.

Gfoeller, the only non-Commonwealth person present, noted Prince Andrew's "almost neuralgic patriotism" in one exchange when a British businessman observed that despite the "overwhelming might of the American economy compared to ours" the amount of American and British investment in Kyrgyzstan was similar.

Prince Andrew snapped: "No surprise there. The Americans don't understand geography. Never have. In the UK, we have the best geography teachers in the world!"

In another exchange that will cause fury in France, the discussion turned to the corruption in Kyrgyzstan's economy. The businessmen noted that President Bakiyev's son Maxim must always get "his cut" whenever business is discussed in the country. "Nothing ever changes here," said a businessman.

"Before all you heard was Akayev's son's name. Now it's Bakiyev's son's name."

The Duke of York "laughed uproariously" and said: "All of this sounds exactly like France."

Later, Prince Andrew described the Serious Fraud Office's "idiocy" in pursuing a corruption investigation into the al-Yamama arms deal between BAE Systems and Saudi Arabia.

Gfoeller describes the scene: "His mother's subjects seated around the table roared their approval. He then went on to 'these (expletive) journalists, especially from the Guardian, who poke their noses everywhere' and (presumably) make it harder for British businessmen to do business."

http://www.thefirstpost.co.uk/72187,people,news,wikileaks-embassy-cables-rude-prince-andrew-trade-role-in-question

Interpol, the international police organisation, has issued a global arrest warrant for WikiLeaks' Julian Assange, as the activist website continued its US diplomatic cables leaks today.

The 39-year-old Australian was added to the organisation's "wanted" list for alleged sex crimes committed in Sweden this year.

He is suspected of rape, sexual molestation and unlawful coercion, after an investigation by Swedish prosecutors into his encounters with two women in Sweden in August.

Mr Assange has denied the accusations, with his British lawyer Mark Stephens saying last month that they were "false and without basis".

Ecuador's Deputy Foreign Minister Kintto Lucas yesterday offered Mr Assange asylum in his country saying that "we are ready to give him [Mr Assange] residence in Ecuador, with no problems and no conditions".

"We are going to invite him to come to Ecuador so he can freely present the information he possesses and all the documentation, not just over the internet but in a variety of public forums."

Cable leaks embarrassing the US and its allies

The United States has condemned the leaks as a criminal act but has not disputed the authenticity of the published transcripts, which have been chosen for publication by reporters from major world dailies.

http://www.smh.com.au/technology/technology-news/interpol-issues-global-arrest-warrant-for-julian-assange-20101201-18fw7.html

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Interpol on a bad sex case???... One smells the sulphur from the CIA, annoyed at the leaks on Wikileaks...