#Romanovs100 won two golds for “Best Original Music” & “Best Digital Special event,” silver in “Camerawork” and “Art Direction,” and bronze in “Video Art & Experimental Film” for a VR animated music video this week.

The award-winning history project about Russia’s last reigning royal family, the Romanovs, has been making headlines this past month as it gathers prestigious awards worldwide.

Just last week it was announced that #Romanovs100 was in the finals of the world’s oldest awards for design, marketing and advertising – the ADC Awards. The project is also shortlisted for a New York Festivals Advertising award where finalists will be announced on April 22nd.

Founded in 2005, New York Festivals TV & Film Awards honours content in all lengths and forms from over 50 countries. Embracing all aspects of the television and film industries, categories mirror today’s global trends and encourage the next generation of storytellers and talent.

#Romanovs100 is currently also up for a Webby in the “Best photography and graphics” category. With an ongoing open vote, you can help the digital photo-narrative make history by voting HERE. So far, the project holds 11 awards, including Clio Entertainment, The Drum Social Buzz, and PromaxBDA accolades.

RT won four more categories: RT France’s promo for “World Chessboard” took silver in “Graphic Design”, while the promo for the news and analysis program “El Zoom” on RT Spanish took bronze.

Also taking home bronze, were RT’s promo for the World Cup, featuring José Mourinho and Russian ballerinas and athletes, and the Pulitzer-prize winning RT America host, Chris Hedges, for “Best Interview”.

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Video shows whistleblower and Wikileaks co-founder Julian Assange being carried out of the Ecuadorian embassy in London by force, before being shoved into a police vehicle.

In exclusive footage from RT’s Ruptly video agency, a disheveled Assange complete with full white beard is seen being carried out of the building by several men holding him by the limbs. 

Assange can be heard shouting “UK…must resist…” before his words are muffled as he is forced into a police vehicle. He will now be taken to Westminster Magistrates’ Court.

Clutched in his hands was a copy of American intellectual Gore Vidal’s book “The History of The National Security State,” which includes the author’s criticisms of the United States’ security apparatus.

The whistleblower had been living in the embassy for the last seven years protected by political asylum, which was dropped earlier in the day by Ecuador.

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Renegade internet entrepreneur Kim Dotcom has condemned the arrest of Julian Assange as a modern-day “inquisition,” and said the WikiLeaks founder’s “persecution and arrest” will make him “a hero for the ages.”

“Witch hunts, book burnings and the Inquisition are back,” Dotcom tweeted on Thursday, hours after Assange was hauled out of the Ecuadorian Embassy in London by British police.

“The persecution and arrest of Julian Assange for publishing the truth returns us to the darkest times in human history,” the internet icon continued. “This attempt to keep us from the truth will turn Julian Assange into a hero for the ages.”

According to Assange’s lawyer Jen Robinson, his arrest was made in relation to an extradition request from the United States. Assange is wanted on charges of conspiracy, together with US Army whistleblower Chelsea Manning, Robinson elaborated.

The truth published by WikiLeaks has been particularly embarrassing for Washington. In 2010, the outlet published classified US military footage leaked by Manning, which showed a US Apache gunship mowing down 12 people, including two Reuters staff.

Dotcom’s own activities have brought the weight of the US government down on him before. As founder of the now-defunct file-hosting service Megaupload, the German-born entrepreneur is still locked into an extradition battle with Washington. He is currently in New Zealand, and has claimed that US authorities are pursuing a vendetta against him on behalf of politically-influential Hollywood studios.

Dotcom is a privacy activist and prominent critic of government surveillance. He has accused former President Barack Obama of colluding with US intelligence agencies and tech companies to dramatically expand digital spying.

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As the world digests the shock news that Julian Assange is in custody in Britain after Ecuador withdrew asylum from the WikiLeaks founder, Pamela Anderson, a staunch supporter of the Australian, has let her feelings be known.

The Baywatch star unleashed a barrage of criticism at the UK, Ecuador and the US in the aftermath of Thursday’s dramatic arrest, which saw 47-year-old Assange carried out of the Ecuadorian Embassy in London into a waiting police van.

Assange, who was in the embassy for nearly seven years, was arrested for failing to surrender to the court and also on an extradition warrant on behalf of US authorities.

READ MORE: Julian Assange arrested after Ecuador tears up asylum deal

In an extraordinary series of tweets, Anderson branded the UK “America’s bitch” and implied that it had used the arrest as a diversion from Brexit.

“And the USA? This toxic coward of a President. He needs to rally his base? You are selfish and cruel. You have taken the entire world backwards,” she added.

The 51-year-old actress also expressed concern for Assange’s wellbeing, saying “he looks very bad.”

Anderson has made no secret of her admiration for Assange, previously describing the whistleblower as “one of the most important people living.”

“He’s not close to people like he is to me. I have a real personal relationship with him. He’s just one of my favorite people,” the 51-year old said when asked about a rumored romantic involvement with Assange.

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A London judge has found Julian Assange guilty of failing to surrender to bail in 2012. The WikiLeaks founder will now be sentenced on May 2.

Assange had pleaded not guilty to the charge, which stems from the time he sought refuge in the Ecuadorian embassy in 2012, avoiding extradition to Sweden for a sexual assault investigation. Although Swedish authorities dropped the charge in 2017, Assange remained wanted by Britain for breaching the terms of his original bail.

The WikiLeaks chief faces 12 months in prison for failing to surrender, and will be sentenced via video link on May 2.

Separate from the British charge, Assange is also wanted for extradition by the United States. Although Washington quietly requested his extradition in 2016, the US Justice Department announced conspiracy charges against Assange on Thursday, stemming from his role in publishing classified military documents leaked by US Army whistleblower Chelsea Manning in 2010.

Assange faces a “federal charge of conspiracy to commit computer intrusion for agreeing to break a password to a classified U.S. government computer,” according to the Justice Department. Rather than actually hacking into government networks himself, Assange is merely accused of encouraging Manning to do so.

The British judge said on Thursday that the US must produce its case for Assange’s extradition by June 12.

His alleged crimes fall under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, rather than the Espionage Act. However, activists have warned that the US government may attempt to tack on additional charges to punish Assange.

The document haul leaked by Manning in 2010 was one of the largest compromises of classified information in US history, and included video footage of alleged US war crimes.

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WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has been taken to Westminster Magistrates Court after his arrest at the Ecuadorian Embassy in London. Photos of the whistleblower defiantly gesturing in a police van have emerged in the media.

UPDATE: Assange pleads not guilty to failing to surrender to bail

Journalist flocked to the white police van carrying the whistleblower into the courthouse. With his hair tied back and sporting a full-length white beard, Assange offered cameras a hardy thumbs up with a wink.

Assange stepped into the courtroom wearing a dark polo shirt and quietly read his Gore Vidal book while he waited for his lawyers to arrive.

READ MORE: Assange arrest final step in character assassination campaign – Slavoj Zizek

Earlier, Metropolitan Police said in a statement that they arrested Assange on a warrant issued by the Westminster Magistrates’ Court in June 2012, for failing to surrender to the court. The police were “invited into the embassy by the Ambassador,” it said.

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US-backed Ecuadorian President Lenin Moreno reneged on asylum agreements made with naturalized citizen Julian Assange, leading to his arrest on Thursday, but how exactly did relations with the whistleblower end up here?

Moreno won a narrow victory in 2017 to become president of Ecuador, having served as vice president under his predecessor Rafael Correa from 2007 to 2013 as part of the center-left PAIS Alliance. Much like Assange, Moreno was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2012, for championing the rights of the disabled (he is the only world leader who uses a wheelchair).

When he rose to power Moreno quickly locked horns with Assange, eventually revoking his internet access in March 2018 while also reducing the security detail at the embassy as a result of their ongoing spat. Moreno alleged that Assange had installed electronic distortion equipment in addition to blocking security cameras at the embassy. Their deteriorating relationship culminated in Moreno’s withdrawal of asylum granted to the whistleblower on April 11, 2019.

READ MORE: Exposing ‘collateral murder’ and mass surveillance: Why the world should be grateful to Assange

“Today I announce that the discourteous and aggressive behavior of Mr Julian Assange; the hostile and threatening declarations of his allied organization against Ecuador, and especially the transgression of international treaties, have led the situation to a point where the asylum of Mr Assange is unsustainable and no longer viable,” Moreno said in a video statement shortly after Assange’s arrest.

The writing had been on the wall for a long time, however.

Following his 2017 election, Moreno quickly moved away from his election platform after taking office. He reversed several key pieces of legislation passed under his predecessor which targeted the wealthy and the banks. He also reversed a referendum decision on indefinite re-election while simultaneously blocking any potential for Correa to return.

He effectively purged many of Correa’s appointments to key positions in Ecuador’s judiciary and National Electoral Council via the CPCCS-T council which boasts supra-constitutional powers.

Moreno has also cozied up to the US, with whom Ecuador had a strained relationship under Correa. Following a visit from Vice President Mike Pence in June 2018, Ecuador bolstered its security cooperation with the US, including major arms deals, training exercises and intelligence sharing.

Following Assange’s arrest Correa, who granted Assange asylum in the first place, described Moreno as the “greatest traitor in Ecuadorian and Latin American history” saying he was guilty of a “crime that humanity will never forget.”

READ MORE: ‘Greatest traitor in Ecuadorian history’: Ex-President Correa slams Moreno over Assange’s arrest

Despite his overwhelming power and influence, however, Moreno and his family are the subject of a sweeping corruption probe in the country, as he faces down accusations of money laundering in offshore accounts and shell companies in Panama, including the INA Investment Corp, which is owned by Moreno’s brother.  

Damning images, purportedly hacked from Moreno’s phone, have irreparably damaged both his attempts at establishing himself as an anti-corruption champion as well as his relationship with Assange, whom he accused of coordinating the hacking efforts.

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WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who was earlier evicted from the Ecuadorian Embassy and arrested by British police, should be treated properly, a Kremlin spokesman has said.

“Undoubtedly, we hope that all his rights will be respected,” Dmitry Peskov told journalists when asked if Russia could grant asylum to Julian Assange. Earlier in the day, the WikiLeaks founder was dragged out of the Ecuadorian Embassy in London and arrested by Met Police.

READ MORE: Julian Assange arrested after Ecuador tears up asylum deal

Simultaneously, Ecuadorian President Lenin Moreno proclaimed that he had withdrawn political asylum for Assange, citing alleged violation of international norms and misconduct at the embassy. He said the UK should ensure that he is not extradited to a country where he may face inhumane treatment or capital punishment.

Some observers, however, said the carefully worded statement by Moreno does not rule out Assange being extradited to the US.

Meanwhile, WikiLeaks itself blamed “powerful actors,” such as the CIA, for running a “sophisticated” campaign to scapegoat Assange.

UK authorities welcomed the news. Assange was “no hero and no one is above the law. He has hidden from the truth for years,” Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt has tweeted.

Meanwhile, former Ecuadorian president Rafael Correa (who granted asylum to Assange) labeled Moreno a ‘traitor’ following the arrest.

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While Facebook claims to have deleted thousands of pages to prevent meddling in the Indian elections, the American company’s selective deletions have led at least one man to ask: Who is watching the election watchers?

A little over a week ahead of the beginning of elections in India this Thursday, Facebook raised some eyebrows when it announced that it had removed a number of politically oriented pages as a part of its “election integrity” efforts. The social media giant removed 138 pro-opposition pages that had over 200,000 followers for “coordinated inauthentic behavior.” While they only removed 15 pro-government pages, as it turned out, those pages had a far wider reach with millions of likes.

Given the apparent imbalance, it is all the more concerning that the purge was conducted with assistance from the US-based Atlantic Council, a think tank that receives millions of dollars in funding from the US State Department and NATO allies.

Indian defense analyst and security expert Abhijit Iyer-Mitra is one of the people extremely concerned with the impact the American private company could have on India’s elections. He has even filed a criminal complaint with police in New Delhi, describing Facebook’s actions as an act of war, and an attack on the country’s sovereignty.

Speaking to RT, Iyer-Mitra blasted the social network for their glaring double standards: while making extensive efforts to protect American elections from foreign actors in the wake of the alleged “Russian meddling” scandal, the company seemingly had no qualms about letting a state-department-linked think tank act in place of Indian election officials.

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Ecuador’s former president Rafael Correa has slammed his successor Lenin Moreno for “allowing” police to arrest Julian Assange at the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, calling the action “a crime humanity will never forget.”

Whereas the former Ecuadorian leader has been highly critical of his one-time political ally for a long while, Thursday’s arrest of Wikileaks co-founder and editor was a betrayal of a higher order, it has been suggested.

Tweeting shortly after the arrest, which saw a white bearded Assange being dragged out of the Ecuadorian Embassy by several men and stuffed into a police car, Correa said that things had gotten far more serious than Moreno’s alleged corruption.

The harsh words didn’t stop there. After Moreno announced that he had made a “sovereign decision” in giving Assange to British police, Correa responded by calling the decision a “scoundrelly,” “cowardly” and “heinous” act which is the “fruit of servility, vileness and vengeance.”

Correa initially offered Assange asylum while still president in 2012, fearing the whistleblower would face the death penalty if extradited to America, where he was wanted for espionage.

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