There are no fewer than 251,287 cables from more than 250 US embassies around the world, obtained by WikiLeaks. We present a day-by-day guide to the revelations from the US embassy cables both from the Guardian and its international media partners in the story

Day 24, Wednesday 22 December

The Guardian

• The British government has been training the Bangladeshi Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), condemned by human rights organisations as a "government death squad".

• The Vatican withdrew from a written agreement to join an international Holocaust memorial organisation over concerns about Pope Pius XII's activities during the second world war.

• US diplomats sent colourful cables describing the impact of Anna Nicole Smith's move to the Bahamas.

• McDonald's urged the US government to delay implementation of a free-trade pact in order to place pressure on El Salvador to appoint neutral judges in a lawsuit it was fighting in the country.

• Britain looked for ways to limit the operations of the Iranian state broadcaster in the UK after Iran jammed the signals of the BBC's Persian TV service.

• US officials dismissed New Zealand's reaction to a suspected Israeli spy rings as a means to sell more of their lamb to Arab countries.

• A Halliburton executive's comments reveal tensions between security firms, oil companies and the Baghdad government.

The New York Times

• Apple removes WikiLeaks App from its online store claiming that it didn't comply with all local laws and may put an individual or group in harm's way.

• A Russian official claimed that Moscow had been following Alexander Litvinenko's killers before he was poisoned, but had been waved off by Britain's security services.

Der Spiegel

• Interview with German interior minister: WikiLeaks is annoying, but not a threat

El País

• Julian Assange gives an exclusive interview to the Spanish newspaper, he says: "I get death threats constantly. So do my lawyer and my children."

• Several cables show how corrupt the Dominican Republic is and that the only way to do business is to pay large bribes. One general even threatened a company official with a gun.