Famine in Karamoja, Uganda (Uganda)

This example of emotive imagery is of child in drought stricken Karamoja district, Uganda (1980) holding hands with a missionary. The stark contrast between the two people serves as a reminder of the gulf in wealth between developed and developing countries.

Karamoja district has the driest climate in Uganda and is often prone to droughts. The drought in 1980 led to one of the worst famines in that area. 21% of the population (60% being infants) died.

The photographer, Briton Mike Wells, took this picture to show the extent of starvation in Africa. His photograph spoke louder than world leader or news story about the famine in Uganda.

He took the photo for a magazine, they went 5 months without printing it, and they decided to enter it into a competition. However, Wells has stated that he was against winning any compeition with a picture of a starving boy.

He has admitted to being ashamed of taking the photo.

Mike Wells has won the World Press Photo Award for this photo.

Untitled (South Africa)

The single most publicised event of the Bophuthatswana coup was the killing of three wounded AWB members who were shot dead at point-blank range in front of journalists by a Bophuthatswana police constable, Ontlametse Bernstein Menyatsoe.
AWB Colonel Alwyn Wolfaardt, AWB General Johannes Fourie and Veldkornet (Field Cornet) Jacobus Stephanus Uys were driving a blue Mercedes at the end of a convoy of AWB vehicles, firing into a crowd of Bophuthatswanan civilians. Members of the Bophuthatswana Defence Force returned fire and hit the driver of the car, Nicolaas Fourie, in the neck, another gunman, Alwyn Wolfaardt, in the arm and the remaining gunman, Jacobus Uys, in the leg. When Wolfaardt got out of the car and waved a pistol, a Bophuthatswana police officer quickly took his pistol. Another policeman tried to fire on journalists but his rifle jammed and it was taken from him by another policeman. The wounded survivor Alwyn Wolfaardt waved a pistol but was advised not to start shooting by nearby journalists.
Menyatsoe approached and spoke to Wolfaardt, asking if he was a member of the AWB. Wolfaardt confirmed this, saying they came from Naboomspruit, and pleaded for his life and the lives of the other two wounded AWB members. Menyatsoe then shot the three wounded men dead at point blank range with an R4 rifle, saying "what are you doing in my country". The shooting was captured by the watching journalists and broadcast worldwide.

Helicopter Downed (Brazil)

Firefighters in Rio de Janeiro are shown battling to put out the flames of a police helicopter shot down during a gun battle between two rival drug gangs in this photograph taken by Alexandre Brum.

Drug traffickers shot down the police helicopter during a gun battle between two rival gangs on 17 October 2009, killing two officers. Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro was engulfed in a renewed outburst of violence a mere two weeks after winning its bid to host the 2016 Olympic Games.

Bullets ripped into the helicopter as it hovered over a shoot-out between the police and drug traffickers in the Morro dos Macacos slum in northern Rio de Janeiro. The pilot was hit in the leg, causing him to lose control and crash.

Two officers died, while the pilot and three other policemen escaped after the aircraft hit the ground on a football field and burst into flames.

Despite the mayhem, officials defended Rio’s ability to control violence ahead of the Olympics, as well as before 2014, when Brazil will host the World Cup, with key games in Rio.

The downing of the helicopter happened amid intense firefights involving rival gangs in the slum as one tried to seize a rival’s territory, authorities said.

The city has previously hosted the 2007 Pan American Games without incident.