2012 world press photo contest winners

Samuel Aranda of Spain, a photographer working for The New York Times, has won the World Press Photo of the Year 2011 with this picture of a woman holding a wounded relative during protests against president Saleh in Sanaa, Yemen October 15, 2011.

Alex Majoli of Italy, a Magnum Photos photographer working for Newsweek, has won the first prize General News Singles with this picture of protesters crying, chanting and screaming in Tahrir Square after listening to the speech in which Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak said he would not give up power in Cairo, Egypt, February 10, 2011.

Paolo Pellegrin of Italy, a Magnum Photos photographer working for Zeit Magazin, has won the second prize General News Stories with the "Tsunami aftermath" series. The devastating 9.0-magnitude earthquake that hit the northeast coast of Japan triggered hugely destructive tsunami waves of up to 38 meters that struck Japan traveling up to ten kilometers inland.

Yuri Kozyrev of Russia, a Noor Images photographer working for Time, has won the first prize Spot News Singles with this picture of rebels in Ras Lanuf, Libya, March 11, 2011. For weeks, rebels held out against Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi with the hope that the world would come to their aid. Defiance faded as the dictator's planes and tanks began to retake what had been dubbed Free Libya.

Niclas Hammerstrom of Sweden, a photographer working for Aftonbladet, has won the second prize Spot News Stories with the series "Utoya". Trying to avoid the killers bullets, many people jumped into the cold water in Utoya, Norway, July 22, 2011. Anders Behring Breivik killed 69 people on 22 July on the small island of Utoya outside Oslo in Norway.

Ray McManus of Ireland, a photographer working for Sportsfile, has won the second prize Sports Singles with this action picture from a rugby match between Old Belvedere and Blackrock played in heavy rain in Dublin, Ireland.February 5, 2011.

Alejandro Kirchuk of Argentina has won the first prize Daily Life Stories, with the series "Never Let You Go". Marcos leads Monica from their room to the living room. Although at times he grumbles about the time devoted to her care, Marcos did not see any other possibility. "Tell me where she is going to be better than here. I treat her like a princess, here she has everything." Marcos, 89, and Monica, 87, have been married and living in their apartment in Buenos Aires, Argentina, for 65 years. In 2007, Monica was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. Since that moment, her husband devoted all his time to take care of her.

Jenny E. Ross of the U.S. has won the first prize Nature Singles with this picture of a male polar bear climbing precariously on the face of a cliff above the ocean at Ostrova Oranskie in northern Novaya Zemlya, Russia June 30, 2011, attempting to feed on seabird eggs. This bear was marooned on land and unable to feed on seals--its normal prey--because sea ice had melted throughout the region and receded far to the north as a result of climate change.

Stephanie Sinclair of the U.S., a VII Photo Agency photographer working for National Geographic magazine, has won the first prize Contemporary Issues Stories with the series "Child brides: Too young to wed". Tahani (in pink), who married her husband Majed when she was 6 and he was 25, poses for this portrait with former classmate Ghada, also a child bride, outside their mountain home in Hajjah Hajjah, Yemen, June 10, 2010. Nearly half of all women in Yemen were married as children. Child marriage is outlawed in many countries and international agreements forbid the practice yet this tradition still spans continents, language, religion and caste.

Damir Sagolj of Bosnia and Herzegovina, a Reuters photographer based in Thailand, has won the first prize Daily Life Singles with this photograph of a picture of North Korea's founder, Kim Il-sung, decorating a building in the capital Pyongyang October 5, 2011.

Brent Stirton of South Africa, a Getty Images photographer working for Kiev

Independent, has won the first prize Contemporary Issues Singles with this picture of Maria, a drug addict and sex worker, in between clients in a room she rents in Kryvyi Rig, Ukraine August 31, 2011. Maria injects drugs on a daily basis and sees many men every week but claims she remains HIV negative. She says she need the money to support herself, her drug habit and her nine-year-old daughter.

Adam Pretty of Australia, a Getty Images photographer, has won the second prize Sports Stories with the "World Swimming Championships" series. Picture shows divers practicing during the 14th FINA World Championships at the Oriental Sports Center in Shanghai, China, July 17, 2011.

Laerke Posselt of Denmark has won the first Prize Portraits Singles with this picture of Iranian-born Danish actress Mellica Mehraban, in Copenhagen, May 4, 2011. The 27-year-old Iranian-born actress Mellica Mehraban grew up in Denmark, but debuted as an actor in Iran in 2011. Taking the leading role as a villain in the spy drama 'Fox Hunting', she learned firsthand about the culture of her native country: following a regime-approved script, she was required to wear a head scarf in all scenes, forbidden from swearing, and learned to show that she was in love with a man without telling him or touching him.

Ton Koene of the Netherlands has won the second prize Portraits Stories with the series "Recruits at police training center". New Afghan police recruits at the German police training centre in Kunduz, Afghanistan. All are illiterate; they are farmer sons from rural areas who never had any education and are joining the police for economic reasons. Their loyalty to the government is thin. A police officer earns around $170 per month, and due to harsh living and working conditions and as well the high risk for being killed by the Taliban, many decide to leave the police force before their contract ends.

Yasuyoshi Chiba of Japan, a photographer working for Agence France-Presse, has won the first prize People in the News Stories with the "Aftermath of the tsunami" series. Chieko Matsukawa shows her daughter's graduation certificate as she finds it in the debris in Higashimatsushima city, Miyagi prefecture, Japan April 3, 2011.

Tomasz Lazar of Poland has won the second prize People in the News Singles with this picture of an arrest of protesters during a demonstration against police tactics and income inequality in Harlem, New York City, October 25, 2011.

Brent Stirton of South Africa, a Getty Images photographer working for National Geographic magazine, has won first prize Nature Stories for the "Rhino Wars" series. The picture shows a female rhino in Tugela Private Game Reserve, Colenso, Natal, South Africa, November 9, 2010, that four months earlier survived a brutal dehorning by poachers who used a chainsaw to remove her horns and a large section of bone in that area of her skull. The female rhino survived the dehorning and has joined up with a male bull who now accompanies her. Rhino horn is now worth more than gold on the international market. South Africa alone has lost more than 400 rhino to illegal poaching incidents in 2011. The demand for Rhino horn is fueled by a wealthy Asian middle and upper class and used overwhelmingly as medication.

Rob Hornstra of the Netherlands has won the first prize Arts and Entertainment Stories with the series "The Sochi Project: Sochi Singers". Marika Bajur sings 'Kuriu' in the restaurant Eurasia. The southern Russian city of Sochi lies on the Black Sea and attracts predominantly Russian holidaymakers who come for a mix of sun, sea, sand and nightlife. Restaurants are plentiful and competition is fierce, with every restaurant employing a regular live musician blasting Russian chansons and popsa.

Vincent Boisot of France, a Riva Press photographer working for Le Figaro Magazine, has won the second prize Arts and Entertainment Singles with this picture of a model posing in front of tailor stalls in the center of Dakar, Senegal, July 9, 2011. She wears the creation of a designer, Yolande Mancini, participating in the 9th edition of Dakar Fashion Week.

EARTHQUAKE IN JAPAN 15 April 2011 Boats come to rest on top of a pier in the port of Ishinomaki, after the 9.0-magnitude earthquake hit Japan.

2012, General News, 2nd prize singles, Lars Lindqvist

TSUNAMI13 March 2011A woman cries sitting on a road amid the destroyed city of Natori, Miyagi prefecture in northern Japan, after the massive earthquake and tsunami struck the country. 2012, General News, 3rd prize singles, Toshiyuki Tsunenari

BATTLE FOR LIBYA11 March 2011An opposition fighter rest under a rebellion flag in the middle of the battlefield oil town Ras Lanouf in Libya. 2012, General News, 1st prize stories, Rémi Ochlik

05 December 2011Afghan Shia Muslims cry among the dead and injured after explosions during a religious ceremony in the centre of Kabul. At least 30 people were killed in an explosion at a Kabul shrine where Shia Muslims were marking the Day of Ashura Tuesday. The blast came in the city centre where they had gathered to carry out religious rituals to mark the day, a public holiday in Afghanistan. 2012, Spot News, 2nd prize singles, Massoud Hossaini

SAVING THE DESPERATE 'BRIDE'Li YangSpot News 3rd prize singles 2012A 22-year-old girl in a wedding gown is grabbed as she attempts to kill herself by jumping out of a building.

DAWN OF A REVOLUTIONEduardo CastaldoSpot News 3rd prize stories 2012Following the events of 25 January, Egyptians called for a mass demonstration and the streets of Cairo filled with thousands of protestors demanding the removal of Egyptian President Hosni Mobarak's regime.

TSUNAMIYasuyoshi ChibaPeople in the News 1st prize stories 2012Aftermath of the tsunami, Japan, March - April

EVICTEDJohn MoorePeople in the News 2nd prize stories 2012Families in the United States are evicted from their homes after falling behind in payments.

THE FIGHT FOR TAHRIR SQUAREJan DagoPeople in the News 3rd prize stories 2012Anti-government protestors demanded that Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak step down peacefully, but clashes broke out between them and Mubarak supporters in Tahrir Square.

STRELKAAlexander TaranSports1st prize stories 2012In the amateur street fighting tournament known as Strelka in Russia, fighters compete on sand with no time limit, breaks or rounds, and the fight only stops with a knockout or a fighter’s surrender.

A MOUTHFULJohnny Haglund Daily Life 2nd prize singles 2012A girl fishes in the Congo River, just outside the city of Kisangani in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

NEVER LET YOU GO Alejandro Kirchuk Daily Life 1st prize stories 2012Marcos, 89, and Monica, 87, have been married and living in their apartment in Buenos Aires, Argentina, for 65 years. In 2007, Monica was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. Since that moment, her husband devoted all his time to take care of her.

BOLIVIANASPietro Paolini Daily Life 2nd prize stories 2012In December 2005 Juan Evo Morales Ayma won the presidential election, the first time in the history of Americas an Indio was chosen to lead his country. Morales, an activist and trade unionist who has sought to bring power to native communities, symbolizes a changing consciousness in a country of diverse landscapes and population groups.

JASON & ELYSSA Darcy Padilla Daily Life Honorable Mention stories 2012There are 46.2 million people living in poverty in the United States, some 26 percent from single families.

AFGHANISTAN David Goldman Arts and Entertainment 1st prize singles 2012Canadian Forces soldier Cpl. Ben Vandandaigue plays the drums on Forward Operating Base Sperwan Ghar in Afghanistan.

Simona Ghizzoni Contemporary Issues 3rd prize singles 2012Jamila, 40, was injured by a small rocket and is now disabled and in need for treatment. Jamila, 40, was injured by a small rocket and is now disabled and in need for treatment. Two years after the Israeli operation ‘Cast Lead’, the Gaza Strip still lives in a limbo, worsened by the closure of the borders and thesubsequent economic crisis along with the complete isolation of the population.

HANGING IN IRAN Ebrahim Noroozi Contemporary Issues 2nd prize stories 2012Public execution, such as hanging, is one of the Islamic punishments aimed at preventing such crimes as rape and murder and occasionally fraud. 26 May 2011Public hangings in Qazvin, 110 kilometers west of Tehran, where one of the executed, Mehdi Farahj, nicknamed ‘the driver of death’, raped and killed the first of five women. Public execution, such as hanging, is one of the Islamic punishments aimed at preventing such crimes as rape and murder and occasionally fraud. Official numbers for execution by hanging in Iran do not exist, but the country is alleged to have the second-highest execution rate in the world after China.

Salil Bera Spot News Honorable Mention singles 2012The leopard is one of 260 to die in 2011 in India as a result of human encroachment on jungle habitat.

DRUG CARTEL'S WAR Pedro Pardo Contemporary Issues 3rd prize stories 2012Since the 1960s, Acapulco, Mexico has become a theater of war between drug cartels claiming to control the drug sale. 08 January 2011 A forensic scientist inspects the scene where six dead bodies were found inside a taxi in the beach resort of Acapulco, Mexico. The country’s iconic touristic destination since the 1960s has become a theater of war between drug cartels claiming to control the drug sale, with children, women, elderly people, tourists, and other innocent people killed in the middle of it.

TUNA FISH IN THE TONNARA Francesco Zizola Nature 3rd prize singles 2012A scuba diver near Carloforte, Sardinia, shoots photos of tuna in the local Tonnara, a maze of nets traditionally set to channel tuna into an enclosed space where they are killed.

LUCHA LIBRE AT LA LOBA Tomasz Gudzowaty Sports 3rd prize stories 2012 Lucha libre, the Mexican version of free wrestling, is probably only rivaled by soccer in popularity among Mexican people, and its cultural impact may be even greater.

INFINITE CAVE Carsten Peter Nature 2nd prize stories 2012Hang Ken cave, newly discovered and surveyed, 3.8 kilometers. A British caving team discovered the world’s biggest cave passage in Vietnam, sometimes up to 200 meters high.

end

cast 2012 World Press Photo Contest Winners

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