WikiLeaks' Julian Assange Denied Bail After UK Arrest

The WikiLeaks saga takes another twist today, as founder Julian Assange is placed under arrest by the UK police and refused bail. At the same time, VISA and MasterCard have followed in PayPal's footsteps and ceased payment acceptance on the WikiLeaks site, claiming ongoing investigations into whether the nature of the site contravened their conditions of service.

Assange has refused to voluntarily submit to extradition to Sweden, though legal experts say his legal team will face significant issues fighting the case. The Swiss authorities have apparently frozen Assange's bank account in the country, locking up what his lawyers describe as tens of thousands of Euros.

Meanwhile, the so-called "insurance" file of heavily-encrypted documentation still remains held in reserve, with this new phase in the story apparently not enough to encourage the WikiLeaks team to open the cache. It's unclear how long the extradition process will take, though there is a hearing scheduled for December 14.