"We have one related to a bank coming up, that's a megaleak. It's not as big a scale as the Iraq material, but it's either tens or hundreds of thousands of documents depending on how you define it," Assange said in the interview posted on the Forbes website. He declined to identify the bank, describing it only as a major US bank that is still in existence.

Asked what he wanted to be the result of the disclosure, he replied: "I'm not sure. It will give a true and representative insight into how banks behave at the executive level in a way that will stimulate investigations and reforms, I presume." He compared this release to emails that were unveiled as a result of the collapse of disgraced energy company Enron Corp.

"This will be like that. Yes, there will be some flagrant violations, unethical practices that will be revealed, but it will also be all the supporting decision-making structures and the internal executive ethos... and that's tremendously valuable," Assange said. "You could call it the ecosystem of corruption. But it's also all the regular decision making that turns a blind eye to and supports unethical practices: the oversight that's not done, the priorities of executives, how they think they're fulfilling their own self-interest," he said.

Julian Assange, the Australian who heads the secret-sharing Web site, told ABC News today he believes his safety and freedom are in danger. He responded to questions by email from a clandestine hideout. He was undaunted by vows from the US and Australia to prosecute him and said the forthcoming diplomatic cables are aimed at "lying, corrupt and murderous leadership from Bahrain to Brazil."

"We're only one thousandth of the way in and look at what has so far being revealed. There will be many more," he wrote defiantly. Assange also dismissed a warning today by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton who said the dump of secret documents "puts peoples lives in danger," particularly those sources who provided the US with information about abuses in foreign countries.

"US officials have for 50 years trotted out this line when they are afraid the public is going to see how they really behave," Assange said in his email. "The facts are that we wrote to the State Department asking for a list of any specific concerns that they might have. They refused to assist, and said they demanded everything, including those documents that revealed abuses, be destroyed."

News of the Chinese shift comes at a crucial juncture after the North's artillery bombardment of a South Korean island last week that killed four people and led both sides to threaten war. China has refused to condemn the North Korean action. But today Beijing appeared to bow to US pressure to help bring about a diplomatic solution, calling for "emergency consultations" and inviting a senior North Korean official to Beijing.

China is sharply critical of US pressure tactics towards North Korea and wants a resumption of the six-party nuclear disarmament talks. But the Guardian can reveal Beijing's frustration with Pyongyang has grown since its missile and nuclear tests last year, worries about the economic impact of regional instability, and fears that the death of the dictator, Kim Jong-il, could spark a succession struggle.

China's moves to distance itself from Kim are revealed in the latest tranche of leaked US embassy cables published by the Guardian and four international newspapers. Tonight, the US secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, said the US "deeply regrets" the release of the material by WikiLeaks. They were an "attack on the international community", she said. "It puts people's lives in danger, threatens our national security and undermines efforts to work with other countries to solve shared problems," she told reporters at the state department.

King wrote in a letter to Clinton, which has been seen by the website. "WikiLeaks presents a clear and present danger to the national security of the United States." Senator Joseph Lieberman, who chairs the Senate Homeland Security Committee, has likewise called for WikiLeaks to be shut down. "By disseminating these materials, WikiLeaks is putting at risk the lives and the freedom of countless Americans and non-Americans around the world. It is an outrageous, reckless and despicable action."

Over 1,700 of the newly released documents originated in the US Embassy in Berlin, and many of them are no less complimentary of German politicians than they are of Berlusconi. German Chancellor Angela Merkel is referred to as "risk averse and rarely creative." She also, one of the Berlin dispatches makes clear, "seems uncertain at times" in her relations with Obama. German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle is described in a September 18, 2009 cable as being short on substance, lacking in "gravitas," vain, arrogant, critical of America and "too opportunistic to be trusted as foreign minister." He is, one of the dispatches says, an "enigma" who faces a "steep learning curve" on foreign policy issues.

Bavarian Governor Horst Seehofer, head of the Christian Social Union, the sister party to Merkel's Christian Democrats, is seen as having "only shallow foreign policy expertise" and is "uninformed about basic things." A cable notes that he has "natural instincts to utter populist pronouncements."

"The missiles appear to be targeting our fighter jets that fly near the Northern Limit Line (NLL)," the source said on customary condition of anonymity, referring to the Yellow Sea border. South Korea and the US on Sunday launched large-scale naval drills off the Korean Peninsula's west coast, far south of the border where four people were killed and 18 others wounded in Tuesday's surprise attack on Yeonpyeong Island.

The Soviet-designed SA-2 missile has a range of between 13 and 30 kilometers. Other missiles on the North's west coast, such as the Samlet and Silkworm with ranges of up to 95km, have also been put onto launch pads, the source said. "The military is preparing for the possibility of further provocations as the North Korean military has deployed firepower near the NLL and is preparing to fire," the source said.

After years of development, the US Army has unleashed a new weapon in Afghanistan - the XM25 Counter Defilade Target Engagement System, a high-tech rifle that can be programmed so that its 25-mm. ammunition does not necessarily explode on impact. Instead, it can be set to detonate either in front of or behind a target, meaning it literally will go through a wall before it explodes and kills the enemy.

It also has a range of roughly 2,300 feet - nearly the length of eight football fields - making it possible to fire at targets well past the range of the rifles and carbines that most soldiers carry today. Lieutenant Colonel Christopher Lehner, project manager for the semi-automatic, shoulder-fired weapon system for the US Army's Program Executive Office Soldier, said that the XM25's capability alone is such a "game-changer" that it'll lead to new ways of fighting on the battlefield, beginning this month in Afghanistan.

A potential battlefield scenario, according to Army officials, might go something like this:

-- A patrol encounters an enemy combatant in a walled Afghan village who fires an AK-47 intermittently from behind cover, exposing himself only for a brief second to fire.

-- The patrol's leader calls for the XM25 gunman, who uses the weapon's laser range finder to calculate the distance to the target.

-- He then uses an incremental button located near the trigger to add 1 meter to the round's distance, since the enemy is hiding behind a wall.

-- The round is fired, and it explodes with a blast comparable to a hand grenade past the wall and above the enemy.

The military isn't overly concerned that the weapon might be captured by the enemy, because they would be unable to obtain its highly specialized ammunition, batteries and other components

"The people at WikiLeaks could have blood on their hands," he said, before admitting he wasn't sure how the dump would affect the country's strategic negotiations abroad. "I don't know what the cables may say, but we're at war," Graham said. "The world is getting dangerous by the day. People who do this are low on the food chain as far as I'm concerned. If you can prosecute them, let's try."

McCaskill agreed, saying "the people who do these document leaks need to do a gut check about their patriotism. I hope we can find out where this is coming from and go after them with the force of law," McCaskill said.

Other concerns include the security of Pakistani nuclear material that could be used to make an atomic weapon. The widespread use of computer hacking by China's government is also reported. The US government condemned the release of the documents, which number in the hundreds of thousands, saying they put the lives of diplomats and others at risk. The founder of Wikileaks, Julian Assange, countered by saying the US authorities were afraid of being held to account.

Jeremy Bowen, BBC Middle East editor comments, "The fact that the Saudis, Jordanians and others are deeply suspicious about Iran's intentions is well known. What has not been known until now is how strongly they have been pressing for American military action. The leaks do not tell the Iranians anything they did not suspect, or perhaps have already picked up themselves. But they will sharpen the debate over Iran's nuclear plans, and about the chances of military action by the Americans - or the Israelis. The leaks are deeply embarrassing for the Americans, and will infuriate Arab leaders whose remarks have been quoted."

Wikileaks began on Sunday November 28th publishing 251,287 leaked United States embassy cables, the largest set of confidential documents ever to be released into the public domain. The documents will give people around the world an unprecedented insight into US Government foreign activities.

Martin Schulz, a German social democrat previously taunted by the Italian prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi, as being 'perfect' for the role of Nazi concentration camp guard, was criticising the EU's attempts to bail out Ireland when a British MEP interrupted to call him a 'Euro nationalist'. 'Ein Volk, ein Reich, ein Fuhrer,' [one people, one nation, one leader] yelled Godfrey Bloom, the UK Independence party's MEP for Yorkshire and North Lincolnshire, using one of the slogans of Nazi Germany to insult the leader of the European socialists in the Strasbourg chamber.

The Ukip member's anger was apparently stirred by Schultz's call for greater EU solidarity in the financial crisis that is hitting Ireland and Portugal and threatening the euro single currency. "My father, as a Spitfire pilot, fought for freedom against Nazi domination of Europe," Bloom said afterwards. "As an MEP, I will fight against the destruction of democracy across Europe. Schulz is an unrepentant Euro nationalist and a socialist. He wants one currency, one EU state, one EU people. These Euro nationalists are a danger to democracy. These people are fanatics."

Some 20 MEPs walked out of the chamber in support of Bloom. Bruno Gollnisch, of Jean Marie Le Pen's National Front, said Bloom's expulsion was illegal. "This was the week that the European Commission has taken control of the economy of a second country, this time Ireland. The EU is clearly intent on expanding its powers."

There is an international agreement which states that no country may claim ownership of a planet or star, but it says nothing about individuals, she added. "There was no snag, I backed my claim legally, I am not stupid, I know the law. I did it but anyone else could have done it, it simply occurred to me first."

The document issued by the notary public declares Duran to be the "owner of the Sun, a star of spectral type G2, located in the centre of the solar system, located at an average distance from Earth of about 149,600,000 kilometers." Duran, who lives in the town of Salvaterra do Mino, said she now wants to slap a fee on everyone who uses the sun and give half of the proceeds to the Spanish government and 20 percent to the nation's pension fund.

She would dedicate another 10 percent to research, another 10 percent to ending world hunger - and would keep the remaining 10 percent herself. "It is time to start doing things the right way, if there is an idea for how to generate income and improve the economy and people's wellbeing, why not do it?" she asked.

Prime Minister Brian Cowen saw his own hold on power slip another notch, as his ruling Fianna Fail party lost a special election for a long-empty seat in parliament. The winner vowed to force Cowen from office before he can pass an emergency 2011 budget being demanded as part of the international rescue.

The New York-based Standard & Poor's credit ratings agency said it was lowering Anglo Irish Bank six notches to a junk-bond B grade. It also cut the ratings on Bank of Ireland one notch to BBB+, and downgraded both Allied Irish Banks and Irish Life & Permanent one notch to BBB.

"People are already joking on Twitter that Anglo's move is really an upgrade," said Constantin Gurdgiev, finance lecturer at Trinity College Dublin, reflecting widespread surprise that S&P's ratings on Irish banks had been so benign until now. "There really is a serious question as to whether Anglo Irish Bank should even have a banking license."

"Germany cannot keep paying for bail-outs without going bankrupt itself," said Professor Wilhelm Hankel, of Frankfurt University. "This is frightening people. You cannot find a bank safe deposit box in Germany because every single one has already been taken and stuffed with gold and silver. It is like an underground Switzerland within our borders. People have terrible memories of 1948 and 1923 when they lost their savings."

The refrain was picked up this week by German finance minister Wolfgang Schauble. "We're not swimming in money, we're drowning in debts," he told the Bundestag. While Germany's public and private debt is not extreme, it is very high for a country on the cusp of an acute ageing crisis. Adjusted for demographics, Germany is already one of the most indebted nations in the world.

The great question is at what point Germany concludes that it cannot bear the mounting burden any longer. "I am worried that Germany's authorities are slowly losing sight of the European common good," said Jean-Claude Juncker, chair of Eurogroup finance ministers. Europe's fate may be decided soon by the German constitutional court as it rules on a clutch of cases challenging the legality of the Greek bail-out, the EFSF machinery, and ECB bond purchases.

"There has been a clear violation of the law and no judge can ignore that," said Professor Hankel, a co-author of one of the complaints. "I am convinced the court will forbid future payments." If he is right - we may learn in February - the EU debt crisis will take a dramatic new turn.

"It's absolutely, completely false," European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said, echoing assurances from Berlin, Lisbon and Madrid that officials hadn't already moved on to Portugal or its much larger neighbor. "It has neither been asked for and neither have we suggested it," he said.

A Spanish government spokesman said, "The EU isn't asking Portugal to take money, and Spain of course is not either."

Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero added there is "absolutely" no chance Spain will seek a bailout. Portugal's parliament on Friday passed a budget for 2011 that aims to reduce the country's deficit from 9.3% of gross domestic product in 2009 to below 3% by 2013, and Prime Minister Jose Socrates said he hoped it would help calm markets.

"We must put Portugal out of the focus of the crisis. This budget will defend the country against the eurozone crisis," Mr Socrates said. That wasn't enough to reassure investors. The euro tumbled against the dollar to $1.3248 in New York Friday.

So far the march has passed off peacefully although there is a huge Garda presence with up to 700 officers on duty working alongside 250 security guards for the Irish Congress of Trade Unions. Among the marchers there is deep anger that most of the more than 80 billion euros (67 billion pounds) from the EU and the International Monetary Fund will be given to shore up Ireland's ailing banks.

Marching in the rally was Irish builder Mick Wallace who has had to lay off 100 workers due to the crash in the construction industry. Wallace said it was time the Irish became more militant. "We should be more like the French and get onto the streets more often. Because our politicians go over to Europe and tell the EU that our people do not demonstrate, they don't take to the streets. It's time we changed that and openly opposed what is going on," he said.

Placards carried by the marchers reflect the mood of anger and humiliation at having to be bailed out by the EU and IMF. One was designed to look like an estate agent's billboard and read: "3,599 square miles For Sale. Full Planning Permission Granted".

The law was passed in 1942. The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor had provoked fear of a foreign invasion of US soil, and Congress responded by giving President Franklin Roosevelt broad power to commandeer or shutter telephone and telegraph networks.

Nearly 70 years later, telegraph networks have disappeared, and the telephone is only one of many means of communication.

But although the 1942 law makes no mention of the internet - merely of "any facility or station for wire communication" - the Obama administration in June told Congress it would cite it in an emergency.

It has not been tested in court, but experts say section 706(d) of the Communications Act could give the president wide-ranging authority to shut down key computer systems. With typical Washington hyperbole, the law has become known as the presidential "internet kill switch".