Israel’s private spacecraft Beresheet crashed into the Moon on Thursday after being hit with problems during descent, denying the Jewish state a place in the elite club of nations that mastered a lunar landing.

“Small country, big dreams,” the engraving on the spacecraft’s body read, but those dreams weren’t destined to come true.

Beresheet’s engine stopped working around 10 kilometers from the surface, with the vehicle crashing into the Moon at a speed of over 130 meters per second.

The blunder occurred on a live feed in the presence of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife Sara, who arrived at the control center for the occasion.

However, the space explorers didn’t seem shaken by the setback as they all chanted a solemn song to show that getting so close to the goal was an achievement in itself.

Netanyahu has already promised that an Israeli spacecraft will be back to the Moon in the next two or three years.

Beresheet, which is Hebrew for the biblical phrase “in the beginning,” could have also become the first private spacecraft to land on the Moon. It was constructed by Israeli nonprofit space venture SpaceIL and state-owned defense contractor Israel Aerospace Industries. The $100 million needed for the ambitious project came from private investors.

Only Russia, the US, and China have so far managed to perform controlled “soft” landings on the lunar surface.

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The prosecution – and persecution – of Julian Assange is meant to silence others who would speak out against abuses of power, WikiLeaks editor Kristinn Hrafnsson and Assange lawyer Jennifer Robinson say, promising to fight back.

“This is a precedent… that effectively means that any journalist or media organization anywhere in the world can be extradited and prosecuted for having published truthful info about the United States, and that is, as a matter of principle, wrong and ought to be resisted. And we will be fighting it,” Robinson told RT.

“The message is not to Julian Assange. The message is to journalists all over the world that they should not step in the way of a superpower who wants to have all the power,” Hrafnsson agreed. While he is concerned about the “chilling effect” on journalists who now “have to face the possibility of being persecuted and thrown into a prison plane to be put on trial in the US,” he remains confident that “there will always be brave people to step forward and see the importance of getting information out.”

And WikiLeaks has set its own precedent, Hrafnsson pointed out. The Iraq and Afghanistan war leaks – “the largest leak in military history” – followed by the Cablegate release of State Department communications – “the largest leak in diplomatic history” – set a standard for those who came later, he said, citing the Panama Papers and Edward Snowden’s leaks as publications inspired by the WikiLeaks model.

Whatever attacks are mounted against Assange, “the work of WikiLeaks will continue,” Hrafnsson said. “It is not going anywhere.”

“He will take on the fight and fight for victory – and we will help him out.”

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Former MI5 agent and whistleblower Annie Machon called the arrest of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange “absolutely disgusting,” and an “egregious violation” of his rights.

Assange was dragged by British police from the Ecuadorian embassy in London on Thursday morning after his asylum right was axed. The arrest comes a day after WikiLeaks Editor-in-Chief Kristinn Hrafnsson detailed an extensive spying campaign against Assange, and two weeks after WikiLeaks announced a corruption investigation against Ecuadorian President Lenín Moreno.

“It’s almost like tit-for-tat,” Machon told RT. “This is an egregious violation of so many rights under international law.”

“It has been stated by the UN that his rights were being infringed,” she continued. “And then you have him being spied on all the time, including conversations with his lawyers which are supposed to be legally privileged, and conversations with his doctors, again supposed to be privileged.”

Meanwhile, former Ecuadorian president Rafael Correa called his successor “the greatest traitor in Ecuadorian and Latin American history” for allowing British police to enter the country’s embassy and arrest Assange. Machon told RT that she hopes to hear similar condemnations from world leaders in the coming hours and days.

“We’ve seen time and time again how easy it is for the mainstream media to be controlled and manipulated from behind the scenes by the intelligence agencies and by governments,” she said.

“And that is precisely the model that Julian Assange tried to break. And he did it courageously and he did it knowing full well what he’d be facing.”

“For Britain and Ecuador, probably to just hand him over to the States for some incredibly harsh non-justice, is I think, absolutely disgusting.”

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Julian Assange has pleaded not guilty to failing to surrender to bail, in a court appearance following his arrest. The WikiLeaks founder was arrested by British police for the bail breach, and following a US extradition request.

Assange was charged with failing to surrender to custody in 2012, when he faced extradition to Sweden as part of a sexual assault investigation. Swedish authorities dropped the charges, but Assange was still arrested for breaching the conditions of his original bail.

Assange had remained under de-facto house arrest in the Ecuadorian embassy since, fearing extradition to the United States. A US indictment alleges that Assange engaged in “conspiracy” with US Army whistleblower Chelsea Manning in 2010, for his role in publishing a tranche of classified US military documents, some detailing alleged war crimes.

Although a secret warrant for his extradition was revealed last year, the US Justice Department officially charged Assange with conspiracy on Thursday. The WikiLeaks head is charged with “conspiracy to commit computer intrusion for agreeing to break a password to a classified U.S. government computer.”

Washington’s extradition request was central to Assange’s arrest, British Prime Minister Theresa May confirmed on Thursday. May welcomed Assange’s capture, declaring “no one is above the law.”

Emerging from the Embassy clutching a copy of Gore Vidal’s ‘The History of the National Security State,’ a frail and unkempt Assange nevertheless flashed reporters a thumbs-up as he was driven to Westminster Magistrates Court in a police van.

Should Assange be extradited to the US, he faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison. However, that sentence could increase significantly should additional charges of espionage be tacked on.

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#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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