2013 Sony World Photography Awards



Two homeless street children were playing in the smoke created from burnt straws at Chittagong, Bangladesh. Suddenly dense smoke covered them and they were trying to protect themselves and escape. (Kazi Riasat Alve, Bangladesh, Shortlist, Split Second, Open Competition 2013 Sony World Photography Awards) 



Portraits of children and youths who survived the massacre on the island of Utoeya outside Oslo (NO) on 22nd of July 2011. Cecilie Herlovsen (17) hid at the south end of the island, where she was shot in her arm, her shoulder and chin. The last bullet was stopped by her wisdom tooth, which most likely saved her life. Cecilie had to amputate her arm. (Andrea Gjestvang, Norway, L'Iris d'Or Winner, 2013 Sony World Photography Awards) 



Usain Bolt of Jamaica races ahead of Ryan Bailey of the United States, Yohan Blake of Jamaica, Justin Gatlin of the United States and Tyson Gay of the United States to win the Men's 100m Final on Day 9 of the London 2012 Olympic Games at the Olympic Stadium on August 5, 2012 in London, England. (Adam Pretty, Australia, Finalist, Sport, Professional Competition, 2013 Sony World Photography Awards/Getty Images) 


New Year's eve traditions in Romania (Alecsandra Dragoi, Romania, Youth Photographer of the Year, 2013 Sony World Photography Awards) 


The southern winter sky shows off its best in this 240 degree view of the Milky Way behind the Quiver Tree Forest near Keetmanshoop, Namibia. Both Magellanic clouds are visible on the left, while the central bulge of our own galaxy contrasts with the warm glow of light pollution from the nearby town. (Florian Breuer, South Africa, Shortlist, Panoramic, Open Competition 2013 Sony World Photography Awards) 





That girl stand firm in the 'storm', When confronting challenges, she will never give up. (Hoang Hiep Nguyen, Vietnam, Open Photographer of the Year, 2013 Sony World Photography Awards) 





The twins Laura and Beln on the day of their fifteenth birthday celebration. In Latin America, the celebration of the fifteenth birthday of a teenager is very important because it marks the transition from childhood to maturity. (Myriam Meloni, Italy, Finalist, Arts and Culture, Professional Competition, 2013 Sony World Photography Awards) 






The protagonists of my pictures are taken out of the context of place and time. They share visual kinship which is further emphasized by the scenery among which they are placed. We can only wonder what their relationships out of the frame are and whether the community they have formed in front of the eye of the camera really exists. It is entirely up to us to decide what conclusions we will draw and whether we will resist the temptation to classify and judge quickly. (Natalia Wiernik Poland, Student Focus Photographer of the Year, 2013 Sony World) 


Little girl of Turtuk Village, Nubra Valley, Ladakh, India. (Sandipan Mukherjee, India, Shortlist, Smile, Open Competition 2013 Sony World Photography Awards) 




How often we arrived in an airport of an unknown city, ask for a taxi and drive into it in the search of our hotel or our meeting. That route through the window, longer or shorter, is the first impression we get of the city, and it's completely new for us. Quick glances to the locals, to the streets with no names, to the buildings. We astonishingly recognize those touristic icons that we see passing by, we track them and unsuccessfully put them in place because we haven't explored the city yet. That feeling of ephemeralness is what I pretended to get in this project, to which I aim to add more cities. New York, Paris and Marrakesh are the first chosen metropolis, on purpose, because they represent three continents and three cultures. I don't ask the taxi driver what do I want to see. I just simply let me being carried, with my open eyes and aware of what happens outside the car. I shoot left and right, back and forth, with the avidity of a tourist, enthusiast of his new destination. (Daniel Duart, Spain, Finalist, Travel, Professional Competition 2013 Sony World Photography Awards) 


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Outrage as five-year-olds get sex-education book on how to achieve orgasms and put on a condom in Germany


Outrage as five-year-olds get sex-education book on how to achieve orgasms and put on a condom in Germany


  • The book, called 'Where Do You Come From?', sparked outrage 
  • It features graphic images of a couple called Lisa and Lars having sex
  • One of the cartoon images shows Lisa putting a condom on Lars
  • Parents complained to the Berlin Senate, the city's governing body


German school children as young as five were given a sex-education book giving graphic advice on how to put on a condom and how to achieve orgasms.
Explicit: Parents were left outraged after a school in Germany gave sex education books featuring explicit images to children as young as five
Explicit: Parents were left outraged after a school in Germany gave sex education books featuring explicit images to children as young as five


Outraged parents complained when youngsters at a school in Berlin were given the book, called 'Where Do You Come From?', which features explicit cartoon depictions of sex.

Instructions: One of the pictures in the book, which features Lisa and Lars, shows Lisa putting a condom on Lars

Instructions: One of the pictures in the book, which features Lisa and Lars, shows Lisa putting a condom on Lars


The book, which shows a couple called Lisa and Lars engaging in various of stages of intercourse, shows Lisa putting a condom on Lars and another image of the pair having sex.

Outrage: Children as young as five at a German school were given access to an explicit sex education book which teaches how to put on condoms and how to achieve orgasms (picture posed by actors)
Outrage: Children as young as five at a German school were given access to an explicit sex education book which teaches how to put on condoms and how to achieve orgasms (picture posed by actors)

According to Spiegel Online, the school in the Kreuzberg area of Berlin did not initially respond to parents' complaints.
It was only when the local press got wind of the controversy and complaints were made to the city's governing body, the Berlin Senate, that anything was done.


The book is still said to be available at the school but not readily accessible by pupils.
Parents were not only concerned by the images featured in the book, but also by some of the explicit descriptions used.

The book, aimed at educating children aged five years and upwards, reads: 'When it's so good that it can't get any better, Lisa and Lars have an orgasm,' and 'the vagina and penis feel nice and tingly and warm.'


Politician Dorothee Baer of the Christian Social Union party in Bavaria said: 'Sex education should accompany the development of children, but not speed it up.'
Monika Grutters from the Christian Democratic Union Party told the Die Welt newspaper that she is against 'unnecessary zeal' in sex education.

Rude: The book features a variety of images featuring Lisa and Lars having sex
Rude: The book features a variety of images featuring Lisa and Lars having sex

Where Do You Come From? was first published by Loewe Verlag in association with German family planning group Pro Familia in 1991.

The publishing house said that the book is no longer being produced as some of its messages are out of date and added that it is being replaced with a book called 'Was I in Mummy's Stomach Too?' which the publishers say is less explicit.

Two raunchy: The book is to be replaced with a toned down, modernised version
Two raunchy: The book is to be replaced with a toned down, modernised version

The outrage comes as teachers in the UK have been encouraged to introduce pornography into the classroom, using sex education lessons to explain that porn is 'not all bad' and 'hugely diverse'.
The recommendations, included in an educational guide, suggest that teachers confront 'myths' about porn and inform children as young as five about sexualisation.

The guidance could have significant influence in British schools after the Government's decision to keep sex education lessons voluntary, leaving schools to devise their own ways of teaching the subject.

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WrestleMania 29 - Highest-grossing event in WWE history

The WrestleMania 29 extravaganza will now go down as the highest-grossing event in WWE history, per a press release the company sent out earlier today. As industry publication Variety notes the entire WrestleMania weekend garnered the company a whopping $72 million, up significantly from last year's $67 million for WrestleMania 28. It also drew 80,676 fans to New Jersey's Met Life Stadium, once again up from the crowd of 78,363 at Miami's Sun Life Stadium. Variety also noted that the pay-per-view, headlined by the heavily-anticipated rematch between The Rock vs. John Cena, is projected to have done 1.2 million buys. Down slightly from last year's record-breaking 1.3 million purchases, but still a tremendous number.
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