Oday Shanshal, a photographer from the UAE, has won a national award at the Sony World Photography Awards 2023 for his shot, Knights.
Knights on top of horses ride through the Moroccan desert in a festival that took place in November. The picture was taken using a slow shutter speed, while panning the camera to follow the movement of the riders.
He's only one of a few winners from the Middle East and North Africa who bagged their respective national gongs, with horses being a major theme in their photos.
Scroll through the gallery above to see images from this year's winners and more
Confident, by Abdulla Al-Mushaifri from Qatar, is the picture of a young "knight" demonstrating his horsemanship in Oman, while looking at the assembled photographers waiting to capture him.
Abdelrahman Gabr, from Egypt, shot Anna, a kitesurfer who loves horses, for his image, The Horse Rider, a portrait of the woman and her steed at a beach in El Gouna, where she spends most of her time training.
People were also a focus, as Saudi Arabia's Mansour Mohsen, for example, won for his shot of a girl in traditional dress from the kingdom.
Elena Georgiou, meanwhile, from Cyprus, turned the lens on humans and architecture with her image, The Girl with the Red Hat, which shows a little girl walking through Eleftheria Square in Nicosia, a building designed by the late British-Iraqi architect Zaha Hadid.
Turning his focus to natural wonders, Erhan Coral, from Turkey, was inspired by the famous hot springs at Guroymak, Bitlis, which maintain a temperature of about 40°C year round, even when the outside temperature is as low as -14°C.
The National Awards are part of the Sony World Photography Awards 2023. The programme was set up by the World Photography Organisation and Sony in order to support local photography communities across the world.
A total of 55 countries took part this year, whittled down from more than 415,000 images being submitted from more than 200 destinations, 200,000 of which were sent for the Open competition. New this year are four Regional Awards, set up for regions in Europe.
All National Award winners get Sony digital imaging equipment and will be included in the Sony World Photography Awards book and exhibition, alongside the winners of the Student, Youth, Open and Professional competitions. The exhibition will take place at Somerset House in London from April 14 to May 1.
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Mica
Director: Ismael Ferroukhi
Stars: Zakaria Inan, Sabrina Ouazani
3 stars
Europa League group stage draw
Group A: Villarreal, Maccabi Tel Aviv, Astana, Slavia Prague.
Group B: Dynamo Kiev, Young Boys, Partizan Belgrade, Skenderbeu.
Group C: Sporting Braga, Ludogorets, Hoffenheim, Istanbul Basaksehir.
Group D: AC Milan, Austria Vienna , Rijeka, AEK Athens.
Group E: Lyon, Everton, Atalanta, Apollon Limassol.
Group F: FC Copenhagen, Lokomotiv Moscow, Sheriff Tiraspol, FC Zlin.
Group G: Vitoria Plzen, Steaua Bucarest, Hapoel Beer-Sheva, FC Lugano.
Group H: Arsenal, BATE Borisov, Cologne, Red Star Belgrade.
Group I: Salzburg, Marseille, Vitoria Guimaraes, Konyaspor.
Group J: Athletic Bilbao, Hertha Berlin, Zorya Luhansk, Ostersund.
Group K: Lazio, Nice, Zulte Waregem, Vitesse Arnhem.
Group L: Zenit St Petersburg, Real Sociedad, Rosenborg, Vardar
The years Ramadan fell in May
Who's who in Yemen conflict
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
Sholto Byrnes on Myanmar politics
Timeline
2012-2015
The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East
May 2017
The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts
September 2021
Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act
October 2021
Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence
December 2024
Petrofac enters into comprehensive restructuring to strengthen the financial position of the group
May 2025
The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan
July 2025
The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan
August 2025
Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision
October 2025
Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange
November 2025
180 Petrofac employees laid off in the UAE
SQUADS
South Africa:
Faf du Plessis (capt), Hashim Amla, Temba Bavuma, Farhaan Behardien, Quinton de Kock (wkt), AB de Villiers, JP Duminy, Imran Tahir, David Miller, Wayne Parnell, Dane Paterson, Andile Phehlukwayo, Dwaine Pretorius, Kagiso Rabada
Coach: Ottis Gibson
Bangladesh:
Mashrafe Mortaza (capt), Imrul Kayes, Liton Das (wkt), Mahmudullah, Mehidy Hasan, Mohammad Saifuddin, Mominul Haque, Mushfiqur Rahim (wkt), Mustafizur Rahman, Nasir Hossain, Rubel Hossain, Sabbir Rahman, Shakib Al Hasan, Soumya Sarkar, Tamim Iqbal, Taskin Ahmed.
Coach: Chandika Hathurusingha
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Company Profile
Name: Thndr
Started: 2019
Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Sector: FinTech
Headquarters: Egypt
UAE base: Hub71, Abu Dhabi
Current number of staff: More than 150
Funds raised: $22 million
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-finals, second leg:
Liverpool (0) v Barcelona (3), Tuesday, 11pm UAE
Game is on BeIN Sports
