Intimate photograph of gay Russian couple wins World Press Photo of the Year

Jon, 21, and Alex, 25, a gay couple, during an intimate moment. Life for lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender people is becoming increasingly difficult in Russia. Photo / Mads Nissen

A photograph showing an intimate moment between a young gay couple in St Petersburg has won the top prize at the World Press Photo of the Year competition.

Taken by Mads Nissen, a staff photographer for the Danish daily newspaper Politiken, the image shows Russian couple Jon, 21, and Alex, 25, in an embrace.

The photograph's insight into gay life in Russia highlights the increasing difficulties lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people face under Putin's regime.

Alessia Glaviano, Picture Editor at Vogue Italia and one of the members of the judging panel, said: "The photo has a message about love being an answer in the context of all that is going on in the world. It is about love as a global issue, in a way that transcends homosexuality.

"It sends out a strong message to the world, not just about homosexuality, but about equality, about gender, about being black or white, about all of the issues related to minorities."

The photograph also won first prize in the contemporary issues category, beating runner up Ronghui Chen.

Wei, a 19-year-old Chinese worker stands next to Christmas decorations being dried in a factory, as red powder used as coloring hovers in the air. Photo / Ronghui Chen

Chen's image shows a 19-year-old Chinese worker in a Christmas decorations factory wearing a Santa Claus hat and a face mask that he has to change five times a day.

Other winning photographs include a delirious Ebola victim being lifted from the ground by nurses after escaping from his isolation ward in Freetown, Sierra Leone, which came first in the general news category. In a state of confusion, he emerged from the isolation ward and attempted to escape over the back wall of the complex before collapsing in a convulsive state. A complete breakdown of mental facilities is a common stage of advanced Ebola. The man pictured here died shortly after this picture was taken.

Medical staff at the Hastings Ebola Treatment Center work to escort a man in the throes of Ebola-induced delirium back into the isolation ward from which he escaped. Photo / Pete Muller

A photograph of a young woman called Laurinda waiting to be taken to Sunday School in a disadvantaged neighbourhood in Australia won the portrait category. She is among the many socially isolated young women in disadvantaged communities in Australia facing entrenched poverty, racism, trans-generational trauma, violence, addiction, and a range of other barriers to health and wellbeing.

Laurinda waits in her dress for the bus that will take her to Sunday School. She is among the many socially isolated young women in disadvantaged communities in Australia. Photo / Raphaela Rosella

A black and white image of a circus monkey cowering as its trainer approached it in China came first in the nature category. With more than 300 circus troupes, Suzhou is known as the hometown of the Chinese circus.

A monkey cowers as its trainer Qi Defang approaches during training for a circus in Suzhou, Anhui province, China. Photo / Yongzhi Chu

The winners were selected from more than 95,000 images submitted by press photographers from 131 countries across the world.

First prize winners in each category will receive 1,500 euros, while Nissen will receive 10,000 euros for his top photograph.

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- Independent