DISCOUNTS

Kim Kardashian: The Highest Paid Reality Star

Having your every move filmed and scrutinized has its perks: a big paycheck. According The Daily Beast", the 10 highest paid reality TV stars are cashing in on their fame. Here's who made the profitable list:



• Kim Kardashian: $6 million Keeping up with this Kardashian is no easy feat. Aside from her popular reality show, Kim has made a fortune selling everything from cupcakes to Quick Trim. The star's latest endeavor: a new book Kardashian Konfidential.


• Lauren Conrad: $5 million She said goodbye to The Hills two years ago, but LC has continued to reap the riches of being a reality superstar. She's written a trilogy of young adult novels and a style guide, but it's her highly successful fashion line for Kohl's that turns the biggest profit. • Bethenny Frankel: $4 million Frankel stole the show from her fellow Housewives of New York City and walked away with her own series, Bethenny Getting Married. But it's her SkinnyGirl products (margaritas and books) that have made her wallet fat.


• Audrina Patridge: $3.5 million She started off as the sweet sidekick on The Hills, but became a star in her own right after Lauren Conrad's departure and Heidi Montag's meltdown. Next year Patridge will headline a new reality show on VH1.



• Kate Gosselin: $3.5 million Kate is doing just fine minus Jon. The mother of eight reportedly gets paid $250,000 an episode and has raked in a significant sum from her book deals.• Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino: $3 million "The Situation" has taken GTL-ing straight to the bank. Aside from beingJersey Shore's highest paid cast member, Sorrentino has become quite the entrepreneur. He's written a book, released fitness DVDs and is working on his own cologne. Rounding out the top 10: Khloe and Kourtney Kardashian, DJ Pauly D and Kendra Wilkinson.

Aspirin Helps in Reducing Cancer Deaths, a Study Finds

We take Aspirin to lower the risk of heart disease, but a new study suggests a remarkable added benefit, reporting that patients who took aspirin regularly for a period of several years were 21 percent less likely decades later to die of solid tumor cancers, including cancers of the stomach, esophagus and lung.

As part of the new study, published online Monday in the journal Lancet, researchers examined the cancer death rates of 25,570 patients who had participated in eight different randomized controlled trials of aspirin that ended up to 20 years earlier.

Participants who had been assigned to the aspirin arms of the studies were 20 percent less likely after 20 years to have died of solid tumor cancers than those who had been in the comparison group taking dummy pills during the clinical trials, and their risk of gastrointestinal cancer death was 35 percent lower. The risk of lung cancer death was 30 percent lower, the risk of colorectal cancer death was 40 percent lower and the risk of esophageal cancer death was 60 percent lower, the study reported.

The specific dose of aspirin taken did not seem to matter — most trials gave out low doses of 75 to 100 milligrams — but the participants in the longest lasting trials had the most drastic reductions in cancer death years later.

“This is important as a proof of principle that a single simple compound like aspirin can reduce the risk of cancer substantially,” said the study’s lead author, Dr. Peter M. Rothwell, professor of neurology at the University of Oxford. “There’s been a lot of work over the years showing that certain compounds can increase the risk of cancer, but it’s not been shown before that we can reduce the risk with something as simple as aspirin.”

But even as some experts hailed the new study as a breakthrough, others urged caution, warning people not to start a regimen of aspirin without first consulting a doctor about the potential risks, including gastrointestinal bleeding and bleeding in the brain (hemorrhagic strokes).

While Dr. Jacobs said the study design was valid, relatively few women were included in the trials, making it difficult to generalize the results to women.
“It’s hard to assess effects on mortality from just one study,” he said.
The findings do not come entirely as a surprise, Dr. Rothwell said, because aspirin has been found to slow or prevent the growth of tumor cell lines in the laboratory. Observational studies have reported that people who took aspirin were at lower risk for colorectal cancer recurrences, while other studies have pointed to similar reductions in cancers of the lung, stomach and esophagus.

“There have been hints of this before, but the quality of this study is the gold standard because it is based on randomized clinical trials,” said Dr. Alan A. Arslan, an assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology and environmental medicine at New York University School of Medicine, who did an observational study several years ago reporting that women who had taken aspirin regularly had a lower risk of ovarian cancer. “Randomized controlled trials carry more weight.”

The strong results “add to the accumulating evidence that aspirin may be protective against various cancers,” Dr. Arslan said.
There are several ways in which aspirin may work to slow the development of cancers, experts say. Inflammation may play a role in cancer, and aspirin blocks the synthesis of prostaglandins, which are mediators of inflammation, and may affect early tumor promotion.
Aspirin may also induce the death of early cancer cells before they become aggressive, Dr. Arslan suggested.

Judge gives Assange's lawyers a window to test sex assault case

LONDON: The British judge who sent Julian Assange to prison has left the door open for the WikiLeaks founder's legal team to test the strength of the Swedish case against him, and try again for bail next week.

According to sources reported in London, informal discussions have taken place between US and Swedish officials over the possibility that Mr Assange be delivered to US custody.

This scenario, senior legal sources in London told the Herald, is the ''big fear … that if he is extradited they will send him to America and he will disappear''.

The 39-year-old Australian's failure to gain bail on Tuesday after his surrender in London reportedly surprised police after several prominent people, including the film director Ken Loach, the Australian journalist and filmmaker John Pilger and the socialite Jemima Khan, appeared in court and offered £20,000 ($32,000) each towards bail. Another donor, who wanted to remain anonymous,has offered £60,000.

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The human rights advocate Geoffrey Robertson, QC, will lead a team preparing the case against extradition to Sweden.

However, the hearing set down for Tuesday to try to secure conditional bail is the first important hurdle for Mr Assange to fight any forced move to Sweden. His lawyers have already offered that he present himself to Swedish prosecutors on British soil, in London.

In the Magistrates Court on Tuesday, the District Judge Howard Riddle spoke about the charges against Mr Assange.

''It is an allegation in another European country of serious sexual offences alleged to have occurred on three separate occasions and involving two separate victims … it seems to me that if these allegations are true, then no one could argue the defendant should be granted bail.

''If they are false [however], he suffers a great injustice if he is remanded in custody. At this stage in these proceedings, the nature and strength of the allegations is not known.''

Mr Assange's lawyer, Mark Stephens, said they were ''incredibly grateful'' to the judge for making it clear to the prosecutor that he wants to look at the Swedish evidence and to assess whether there is a real possibility of conviction.

The Swedish prosecutor in charge of the case, Marianne Ny, was quoted in the Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet as saying the warrant for his arrest had ''nothing to do with WikiLeaks''.

Katrina sizzles in Sheila ki jawani VIDEO

Petrol prices likely to go up next week, diesel may follow

State-owned oil companies may raise petrol prices by Rs. 1.50-2 per litre early next week while a Rs. 2 a litre hike in diesel rates is under the government consideration, a senior official said on Wednesday.

"Petrol prices will be raised after the current session of Parliament ends on December 13," the official said.

A hike a diesel prices also looks imminent as crude oil prices have inched closer to $90 per barrel, widening the gap between domestic retail rates and their imported cost.

Petroleum Minister Murli Deora met Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Wednesday to discuss convening a meeting of the Empowered Group of Ministers (EGoM) next week to decide on hiking diesel rates.

"In all probability, diesel prices may be hiked by Rs. 2 per litre," he said.

Indian Oil, Hindustan Petroleum and Bharat Petroleum had last raised petrol price on November 9, just before the Winter Session of Parliament began.

"The last hike of Rs. 0.32 a litre was lower than the Rs. 1.1 per litre desired increase to make domestic retail rates on par with international prices," he said. "The three firms are currently losing about Rs. 2.40 per litre on petrol."

When contacted, Oil Secretary S Sundareshan said the government will not intervene in fixation of petrol prices which had been deregulated in June. On diesel price hike, he said "it will be a political decision".

"Oil marketing companies are losing Rs. 4.71 per litre (in revenues) on diesel sales. If global crude oil prices show no sign of abating, the government will have to take a view," Sundareshan said.

IOC, BPCL and HPCL currently lose Rs. 75 crore in revenues on selling diesel below its imported cost. Freeing diesel prices from government control, as had been decided in June, is not possible at this juncture as it would mean passing on the entire Rs. 4.71 a litre hike to consumers.

"That will be unreasonable," he said. "But some price hike will have to be passed on to consumers." He did not elaborate on the quantum of hike being considered.

The official said Deora discussed how the Rs. 65,839-crore revenue loss IOC, BPCL and HPCL are expected to register this fiscal on selling diesel, domestic LPG and kerosene below cost, will be compensated.

So far, the finance ministry has committed to provide only Rs. 13,000 crore in cash while the oil ministry wants about half of the revenue loss to be met by the government. Another one-third would be provided by upstream firms like ONGC.

Snow brings Paris to standstill

Paris - Unusually heavy snowfall and below-zero temperatures brought the French capital to a standstill on Wednesday.

The two main airports Orly and Charles de Gaulle were temporarily shut, while the Eiffel Tower was closed to visitors.

Paris' transport network was severely disrupted, with most buses unable to plough through the snow and the area around Paris closed to heavy goods vehicles.

Charles de Gaulle, one of Europe's most important air hubs, was closed until 5 pm (1600 GMT), while Orly was closed for half an hour.

The winter weather has also affected other parts of the country with drivers being warned to take extra care.

2G Scam: What about NDA regime, asks Court

New Delhi: The Supreme Court has said that the investigation into the 2G scam, being conducted by the CBI, must look into the events of 2001, when the BJP-led NDA coalition was in power.The 2G scam was estimated at 1.76 lakh crores by the government's auditor last month.

The report submitted forced A Raja to resign as Telecom Minister. His houses in Delhi and Tamil Nadu were raided this morning by the CBI. Raja stands accused of gifting valuable 2G spectrum at bargain-basement prices to companies in 2008. Raja and those who've defended him have stressed that he followed the policies of his predecessors in the BJP-led NDA coalition. The Comptroller and Audtor General (CAG) report says Raja used spectrum rates of 2001 for the licenses that he awarded in 2008.The Supreme Court is hearing cases on different aspects of the 2G scam. Today it said, "What happened in 2001 needs to be looked into , it is for CBI to investigate and find out ."

That turns the heat up for the BJP, which has been leading an aggressive campaign against Raja and the government. The entire Opposition has been demanding a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) be set up to investigate the 2G swindle. The government is adamant that this is not necessary. It says the Public Accounts Committee, headed by Murli Manohar Joshi of the BJP, has already begun work on studying the CAG report. The PAC has also questioned former telecom officials.

China will help with 'problems' like N.Korea: US

WASHINGTON — The United States downplayed differences with China and voiced optimism that Beijing's cooperation in time would help limit North Korea's "provocative" military acts.
"China has a critical role to play" in tamping down skyrocketing tensions on the Korean Peninsula in the wake of what Washington has described as belligerent behavior by Pyongyang, Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg said.

After North Korea's deadly shelling of a South Korean island last month, President Barack Obama phoned his Chinese counterpart Hu Jintao this week to encourage China to rein in its unpredictable ally Pyongyang.
Trilateral talks in Washington on Monday brought together the United States, Japan and South Korea -- but not China, even though the others said Beijing was key to pressuring the North.
"It appears to be the flavor of the week, if you were to read the newspapers... that somehow the US-Chinese relationship is experiencing a serious downturn or freeze, or whatever the expressions are," Steinberg said in a speech at the Center for American Progress.
"We believe in the interest of both the United States and China... to work together to achieve solutions to the world's most vexing problems."Steinberg said in a speech at the Center for American Progress.
The State Department later announced that Steinberg will lead a delegation to China December 14-17, where he will discuss "regional security issues, including recent developments on the Korean Peninsula."
North Korea shelled a South Korean border island on November 23, killing two marines and two civilians days after revealing a new uranium enrichment plant that sparked anger in Washington, Tokyo and Seoul.
China is North Korea's only major ally and the impoverished country's economic and political lifeline.
A Washington Post report Tuesday indicated a change of tack by the Obama administration in its approach to China, suggesting the White House was losing patience with Beijing.
But Steinberg stepped back from the tense talk about China and sought to put a less distressed face on the latest potentially dangerous developments involving North Korea.
"We welcome the rise of a successful, strong and prosperous China that plays a greater role in global affairs," he said, adding that tensions on the Korean Peninsula underscored the need for greater cooperation.
"We want to work with China to address this challenge," he stressed, and cited "important successes" in the past that have demonstrated the two powers were able to work effectively together.
He also blamed North Korea's current behavior, not China's actions or inaction, for greater strains currently in northeast Asia.
Steinberg said Pyongyang needed "a strong message of the necessity of the North Koreans to exercise restraint -- that's what is creating the instability and the fragility.
"There does not seem to be effective restraints on North Korea engaging in these provocations," he said. "And we have to take steps to make clear that the danger comes from this kind of provocative behavior."
John Kerry, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said in a speech that "China has a fundamental responsibility to its neighbors and to the rest of the world... not to turn a blind eye to North Korea's provocations.
"No other country has as much influence over North Korea as China does. And it has to use that influence" to inform North Korea "its behavior is unacceptable," Kerry stressed.
Steinberg also reiterated the US position that any renewed talks with North Korea would need to be preceded by some "concrete steps" by Pyongyang.
"We need a clear indication from North Korea" that it is respecting its commitments," he said.
On the hot-button human rights issue, Steinberg stressed: "this is an important subject matter between our two countries."
"We hope that China will take positive steps on human rights including the release of Nobel Laureate Liu Xiaobo," Steinberg said.
In Oslo, the Nobel Institute said that 19 countries will shun Friday's Nobel Peace Prize ceremony in Oslo for the jailed Chinese dissident after Chinese pressure for a global boycott.
But in Beijing, China slammed the Nobel committee ahead of the prize ceremony, calling its members "clowns" and saying most of the world backed China.

Sarkozy wants India to open up markets

French President Nicolas Sarkozy on Tuesday urged India to open up its markets and set up a long-term partnership with France in the changed global economic scenario, which would benefit both nations.


“I have not come to India to find new clients, but to offer you a true partnership. Perhaps we believe in your future more than you do.

“Perhaps when we see India from the outside, we are more impressed than when you look at it from the inside,” said Mr. Sarkozy while addressing the India-France economic conference on “Together to build a sustainable future,'' jointly organised by the Mouvement Des Enterprises de France International (MEDEFI), the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) and the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) here.

Mr. Sarkozy said that over-regulation of currency was unhealthy for global economy. Saying that the Bretton Woods system (under this system the central banks had the task of maintaining fixed exchange rates between their currencies and the U.S. dollar) was irrelevant today, he urged China and other nations to free the value of their currencies, which would be determined by the market.

An MoU has been signed between the CII and the MEDEFI to strengthen communication and cooperation between the two key organisations in the field of business information, export-import and related statistics information, cooperation in bilateral trade and investment technology and other commercial activities for the benefit of all their members.
Christine Lagarde, Minister of Economic, Finance and Industry, Republic of France, took the occasion to put the world economic crisis in focus when she said, “We are aware that France is not going to find the solution by herself, but we are humble enough to be open for consultation from everyone possible.

“We welcome joint efforts and recognise that coordination among all will be crucial. The G-20 has to learn from each other a great deal. Between India and France, we can exchange a lot and benefit from each others knowledge.''
Honour for Parek
Mrs. Christine Lagarde also conferred the Knight in the order of Legion d' Honneur, the France's highest honour, to HDFC Chairman Deepak Parekh for his work in “bringing the businesses of the two countries together.”

CBI raids further strengthens Oppn. demand for JPC: BJP

The BJP today alleged that the CBI raids on the residences of former Telecom Minister A. Raja prove that probe agencies believe he had a role in the controversial spectrum allocation and have given further strength to the opposition demand for a JPC in the case.

“The raids were expected but they came after the Supreme Court reprimand to the CBI, which was sitting on the case for the last one year,” BJP spokesperson Prakash Javadekar told reporters here.
He alleged that the raids prove that the investigative agencies now also believe that Mr. Raja had a role in the controversial allocation of radio waves.
The BJP spokesperson said that the raids gave “further strength” to the opposition demand for a JPC probe.
Meanwhile, Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs V. Narayanswamy said the case is pending in court and the CBI, which is an independent agency, is investigating it.
“I don’t want to make any comment on it,” he said.
The CBI today carried out searches at the residences of Mr. Raja in Delhi and Chennai besides carrying out raids at the premises of four other Telecom officials, including his personal secretary R.K. Chandolia, in connection with the 2G spectrum scam.

India crush NewZealand again

Yusuf Pathan's spectacular ton crushed NZ to their fourth successive defeat in the fourth One Day International at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore on Tuesday.

The Indian innings got off to an aggressive start.

It was not the in-form Gautam Gambhir (27) but the back-in-the-fold Parthiv Patel (53) who impressed early on.

After hitting Southee past the cover-point for a boundary, the stumper helped himself to two more boundaries in the fifth over by Mills.

The sixth, by Southee, witnessed Patel helping himself to a couple of more boundaries.

There were a slew of boundaries that followed, a few of them being fortunate edges, as India reached 50 runs inside eight overs.

However, Andy McKay struck soon after having Gambhir cut at point. The Indian captain made a 24-ball 27, with four boundaries, and put on 67 runs for the opening wicket with Patel.

Virat Kohli (0) survived two balls before giving a simple catch to Mills at long-leg. Kohli's duck was particularly disappointing conisdering the batsman had made fifty-plus scores in his four previous innings.

And McKay's twin strikes in the 10th over meant suddenly there was a spring in New Zealand's steps. The Indian scoring palpably slowed down thereafter. The innings that had witnessed 11 boundaries in the first 10 overs, saw just two more in the next six before Yuvraj Singh (20) smashed Styris over midwicket for a maximum.

At the drinks break (after 17 overs), India had made 100 for two.

In the first over after resumption, Yuvraj hit a Nathan McCullum delivery straight to How at short midwicket and the home team was back in trouble.

And Rohit Sharma was fortunate to survive off Daniel Vettori , umpire Amish Saheeba ruling the batsman not out when it was a clear caught behind.

However, McCullum struck again in the next over having Patel caught by Kane Williamson. The stumper's 57-ball knock was inclusive of eight hits to the fence.

Sharma celebrated his reprieve with a massive six offf McCullum. And Pathan joined the party with a flat six off Vettori.

The duo made a good recovery for India, putting on an 80-run partnership for the fifth wicket - off just 83 balls - before Southee had Sharma caught by Vettori at mid-off.

Sharma's 48-ball 44 was inclusive of four hits to the fence and one over it.

There was a brief rain interruption. India were 17 behind as per the Duckworth-Lewis method at the stage.

And as play resumed, Pathan smashed the first ball off Vettori for a maximum to bring up his half-century. Another boundary off McCullum in the next over helped him reach his highest ODI score.

Batting powerplay was taken in the 39th over and Pathan welcomed it with a massive six off Mills, his fourth of the innings.

In the next three overs, the Kiwi bowlers cramped the Indian batsmen for room and thereby restricted the flow of runs.

However, in the final over of powerplay Pathan cut loose, helping himself to three boundaries and a maximum. And he was fortunate to survive when McKay dropped him at short fine-leg.

The over cost Mills and New Zeland 21 and ensured India had a productive powerplay - with 44 runs off five overs. It also helped Pathan get close to his hundred.

And he smashed McKay for a maximum in the first ball of the next over to reach his maiden one-day ton.

Earlier, a resolute half century by James Franklin (98 not out) helped New Zealand to a formidable total. The visitors made 315 for seven in their stipulated 50 overs, in what was by far their best batting effort in the series.

And no player deserves more credit for the same than Franklin. For a player sans a significant innings in his 74 matches prior to this tour, the 30-year-old has been a revealation with the bat.

His 69-ball knock was a belligerent one and was inclusive of 12 hits to the fence and three huge ones over it.

It was the second successive half-century for Franklin following his unbeaten 72 at Vadodara. It also happened to be his second career fifty.

Needless to say, it was his highest ODI score

The New Zealand innings was defined by three partnerships: the opening stand of 62 between Brendon McCullum (42) and Martin Guptill(30) that laid the foundation of the innings was backed by a 79-run fourth-wicket stand between Scott Styris 46) and Ross Taylor (44) that helped build on the foundation.

And then there was the fighting unbeaten 64-run partnership for the eighth-wicket by Franklin and Nathan McCullum (13 not out) that helped the visitors finish on a strong note, after they were struggling to bat out their quaota of overs (at 251 for seven) at one stage.

Yusuf Pathan was India's most successful bowler with figures of three for 49.

We love you Sheila! Delhi boys hail Katrina

New Delhi, Dec 7 (IANS) |: Bollywood actress Katrina Kaif might have expected a thunderous welcome at a mall here Tuesday afternoon, but much to her surprise, she was greeted with 'We love you Sheila' shout by young Delhi boys, leaving her a little embarrassed.

'How stunning', 'She is beautiful', 'Wah! Kya ladki hai (Wow! What a girl)' were just some of the reactions from young guys mesmerised by her beauty.

Katrina has become a rage ever since her sexy dance number 'Sheila ki jawaani' from 'Tees Maar Khan' has hit the screens.

The actress, who was accompanied by 'Tees Maar Khan' director Farah Khan, made the crowd wait for over an hour before she made a sudden entry on the stage, looking simple yet stunning in a white top and a sleeveless black shrug teamed with black jeans. She was wearing minimalistic make-up.

The actress said she loves being in the capital.

'It's always wonderful to come to Delhi. I love coming here and I think it is one of the best places in the world,' said Katrina, who was at the DLF Promenade mall here to inaugurate their Christmas Cheers celebration.

She even blew a flying kiss as a cue to light up a 40 feet tall Christmas tree that stands right in the middle of the mall.

A few lucky men and women from the crowd got a chance to groove with Farah and Katrina on 'Sheila ki jawaani', after which the two celebrities randomly threw music CDs of 'Tees Maar Khan' to the crowd.

A boy, who managed to catch one CD, was exhilarated and said: 'I am not going to even open this CD. It will always remain special...after all Katrina touched it!'

Now everyone is looking forward to 'Tees Maar Khan', scheduled for a Dec 24 release. Katrina has teamed up with her lucky mascot Akshay Kumar in it.

Julian Assange refused bail over rape allegations

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was today refused bail and remanded in custody until 14 December over claims he committed sex offences in Sweden.

Assange told City of Westminster magistrates court today that he intended to fight his extradition, setting up what could be a long legal battle.

The 39-year-old Australian turned himself in to Scotland Yard this morning to face a Swedish arrest warrant.

He was asked by the court whether he understood that he could consent to be extradited to Sweden, where he faces allegations of rape, molestation and unlawful coercion, involving two women.

Assange said: "I understand that and I do not consent."

Assange denies the allegations, which stem from a visit to Sweden in August. He and his lawyers claim the accusations stem from a "dispute over consensual but unprotected sex", and have said the case has taken on political overtones.

Swedish prosecutor Marianne Ny has rejected those claims.

Journalist John Pilger, filmmaker Ken Loach, and socialite Jemima Khan were among six people in court willing to offer surety.

They all offered at least £20,000 each. An anonymous individual offered £60,000.

But District Judge Howard Riddle refused the WikiLeaks founder bail on the grounds that he had access to financial means and might fail to surrender.

The judge said these were "serious allegations against someone who has comparatively weak community ties in this country and the means and ability to abscond".

But he rejected the prosecution claim that bail should be rejected on the grounds of Assange's safety.

Assange appeared in court in blue suit with a white shirt. Asked to give an address he replied: "PO Box 4080." When the question was asked again, he said: "Do you want it for correspondence or for some other reason?" Later the WikiLeaks founder, who was accompanied by officials from the Australian high commission, gave an address in his native Australia.

Gemma Lindfield, for the Swedish authorities, told the court Assange was wanted in connection with four allegations.

She said the first complainant, Miss A, said she was victim of "unlawful coercion" on the night of 14 August in Stockholm.

The court heard Assange is accused of using his body weight to hold her down in a sexual manner.

The second charge alleged Assange "sexually molested" Miss A by having sex with her without a condom when it was her "express wish" one should be used.

The third charge claimed Assange "deliberately molested" Miss A on 18 August "in a way designed to violate her sexual integrity".

The fourth charge accused Assange of having sex with a second woman, Miss W, on 17 August without a condom while she was asleep at her Stockholm home.

A European arrest warrant issued by the Swedish authorities was received by officers at the Metropolitan police extradition unit last night.

An earlier warrant, issued last month, was not valid as officials had failed to fill in the form properly.

Assange has been at the centre of an international row since WikiLeaks released a huge tranche of US embassy cables, in conjunction with five news organisations including the Guardian, at the beginning of last week.

The sex offence allegations are a separate case. "This case is not about WikiLeaks," Riddle told the court.

WikiLeaks faces increasing problems continuing to operate. Today Visa said it had suspended all payments to the organisation "pending further investigation", while MasterCard said it was "taking action to ensure that WikiLeaks can no longer accept MasterCard-branded products".

Earlier today Robert Gates, the US defence secretary, welcomed Assange's arrest. Speaking to reporters on a visit to US troops in Afghanistan, Gates said: "I hadn't heard that, but that sounds like good news to me."

Assange defended the leak of the embassy cables in an article in the Australian today, saying: "The swirling storm around WikiLeaks today reinforces the need to defend the right of all media to reveal the truth."

Terror strikes Varanasi: 1 dead, 25 hurt in blast at ghat

VARANASI: A two-year-old girl was killed and around 25 people, including a couple of foreigners, were injured in a blast at the Dashashwamedh Ghat during Ganga arati around 6.30pm on Tuesday. Many others were injured in the ensuing stampede while some of the injured were reported to have been hurt by metal pellets. According to official sources, an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) has been recovered from a metal dustbin at the Varanasi blast site.

Terror outfit Indian Mujahideen(IM) claimed responsibility for the blast in e-mails sent to media houses and said it "attributed" the attack to the demolition of Babri Masjid in 1992.

Home Secretary G K Pillai said the Government believes that the blast, which also led to a stampede, was a terror strike. Some people were injured in the stampede, police said.

The Ganga arati, which stretches across the Shitala, Dashashwamedh and Prayag ghats, is a daily ritual attended by 2,000 to 3,000 people, many of whom are foreigners. The ghats are near the famous Vishwanath temple.

A statewide alert has been sounded, Additional Director General Law and Order Brijlal said. He told reporters in Lucknow that the blast occurred due to "some explosive material" kept on the stairs of the ghat.

The girl identified as Sarita Sharma, who was with her mother for the prayers, died at Marwari hospital after the blast, according to IG(Varanasi) R P Singh. She was around two years, he said. It was not immediately known whether she suffered injuries in the explosion or in the stampede.

The blast on Tuesday occurred on the stairs of Dashashwamedh ghat and was so powerful that big boulders on the stairs were thrown many metres away, eyewitnesses said.

The DIG of Varanasi range, Prem Prakash, said that the crowd was targeted. The injured have been taken to various hospitals in the city, including the district hospital.

An Italian and a French national were among the injured. The blast occurred at around 6:20 pm when thousands of devotees and some foreign tourists had assembled at the Dashashwamedh ghat for having darshan of the Ganga Arti ritual, police sources said.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh appealed for calm. Several cities including the national capital were put on high alert.

The blast occured at a spot some two km away from Sankatmochan Temple which was targeted by terrorists in 2006.

"According to the information that we have, it was a low intensity blast which occured around 6.20 PM," Pillai said in New Delhi. But Secretary (Internal Security) U K Bansal said the explosion was a "medium intensity" blast.

Bomb disposal squads were also rushed to the spot. Eyewitnesses said a loud noise which also shook some nearby buildings was heard when the explosion occurred.