The Lebanese capital, well known for its cosmopolitan profile and colourful nightlife, was the target of bombardment during the 2006 conflict between Hezbollah and Israel.

Spencer Platt's award-wining photo shows a group of wealthy young people cruising through Shia-dominated southern Beirut, as thousands of Lebanese returned home to a neighbourhood that had been badly affected by the bombing.

The month-long conflict cost more than a thousand lives, the majority of them Lebanese citizens.

This picture won the World Press Photo of the Year award for 2006.

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This image features in the 50 Greatest Political Photographs (part one) special double issue of the NS. You can order your copy here.

The judges were Jason Cowley, Jonathan Dimbleby, Stuart Franklin, Rebecca McClelland and Jon Snow.