World's best news photos
A haunting black and white photo of a moonlit clandestine crossing through barbed wire by Australian photographer Warren Richardson, symbolic of Europe's vast migrant crisis, is the World Press Photo of the Year for 2015. The unpublished image was chosen by the jury of the 2016 World Press Photo Contest from 82,951 photos taken last year, submitted from 128 different countries.
The photo, titled "Hope for a New Life," shows a man passing a baby through the fence at the Serbia/Hungary border in Röszke, Hungary, August 28, 2015. The freelance photographer spent months documenting the story without an assignment. The photo essay was also awarded first place in the spot news singles category.
Click through our gallery to see more of the winning images from the 2016 World Press Photo Contest.
World Press Photo Contest
Category: Nature, 2nd prize stories - "Ivory Wars" by Brent Stirton/Getty Images for National Geographic
A Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) fighter holds two ivory tusks. Ivory is a means of financing the LRA and is used for both food and weapon supplies. Near, Sudan, November 17, 2014.
World Press Photo Contest
Category: Daily Life, 3rd prize singles - "Into the Light" by Zohreh Saberi/Mehrnews Agency
Raheleh, who was born blind, stands behind the window in the morning. She likes the warmth of the sunlight on her face. Babol, Mazandaran, Iran, November 12, 2015.
World Press Photo Contest
Category: General News, 3rd prize stories - "An Earthquake's Aftermath, Nepal" by Daniel Berehulak for The New York Times
Nepalese villagers watch a helicopter picking up a medical team and dropping off aid at the edge of a makeshift landing zone in Gumda, Nepal, May 9, 2015.
World Press Photo Contest
Category: Contemporary Issues, 3rd prize stories - "Emily and Kate and Eddie and Reid" by Sara Naomi Lewkowicz
Although they hadn't planned it, Emily and Kate got pregnant within weeks of each other through artificial insemination and in vitro fertilization, respectively. Their sons were born within four days of each other, and the couple embraced the challenge of raising the two babies at once.
Kate often kept Emily company while she took baths. Late in the pregnancy, particularly once Emily was overdue, she said that baths were one of the easiest ways to relax her body. Kate, who became pregnant three weeks later than Emily, showed less, and the two would often compare their baby bumps, and talk to each other's bellies.
World Press Photo Contest
Category: Long Term Projects, 3rd prize - "North Korea: Life in the Cult of Kim" by David Guttenfelder
A camera in the wall, used to film inside an auditorium at the Mangyongdae Schoolchildren's Palace in Pyongyang, North Korea, records as children wait for a performance to begin, February 27, 2008.
World Press Photo Contest
Category: General News, First Prize Singles - IS Fighter treated at Kurdish hospital by Mauricio Lima, Brazil for The New York Times
A doctor rubs ointment on the burns of Jacob, 16, in front of a poster of Abdullah Ocalan, the jailed leader of the Kurdistan Workers' Party, at a YPG hospital compound on the outskirts of Hasaka, Syria, August 1, 2015.
World Press Photo Contest
Category: Long Term Projects, 1st prize - "Sexual Assault in America's Military" by Mary F. Calvert/Zuma Press
U.S. Army Spc. Natasha Schuette, 21, was pressured not to report being assaulted by her drill sergeant during basic training at Fort Jackson, South Carolina. Though she was hazed by her assailant's fellow drill instructors, she refused to back down, and Staff Sgt. Louis Corral is now serving four years in prison for assaulting her and four other female trainees.
World Press Photo Contest
Category: Long Term Projects, 2nd prize - "A Life in Death" by Nancy Borowick
A daughter photographs her own parents, side by side, who were in parallel treatment for stage-four cancer.
Howie and Laurel Borowick embrace in the bedroom of their home. In their 34-year marriage, they never could have imagined being diagnosed with stage-4 cancer at the same time. Chappaqua, New York, March 2013.
World Press Photo Contest
Category: General News, 2nd prize stories - Douma's Children by Abd Doumany for Agence France-Presse
A Syrian man carries the body of a child, killed in an airstrike by government forces, in Douma, Syria, November 7,2015.
World Press Photo Contest
Category: Contemporary Issues, 3rd prize singles - "March Against Police Violence" by John J. Kim for Chicago Tribune
Lamon Reccord, left, scolds a police sergeant during a police violence protest and march at State and Randolph streets in Chicago, November 25, 2015.
World Press Photo Contest
Category: General News, 3rd prize singles - Tianjin Explosion by Chen Jie
Aerial view of the destruction after the explosion in Tianjin, China, August 15, 2015. Two blasts at a warehouse which contained hazardous and flammable chemicals killed more than 100 people and left hundreds more injured.
World Press Photo Contest
Category: Contemporary Issues, 2nd prize stories - "In the Same Boat" by Francesco Zizola/NOOR
Migrants wrapped in emergency blankets two days after being rescued catch sight of the Italian coast for the first time; Strait of Sicily, Mediterranean Sea, August 23, 2015.
World Press Photo Contest
Category: Spot News, 3rd prize stories - "Broken Border" by Bulent Kilic/Agence France-Presse
A refugee holds a young girl as others climb over broken-down border fences to enter Turkish territory in Sanliurfa, Turkey, June 14, 2015.
World Press Photo Contest
Category: People, 3rd prize singles - "Lost Family Portraits" by Dario Mitidieri
Portrait of a Syrian refugee family in a camp in Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, December 15, 2015. The empty chair in the photograph represents a family member who has either died in the war or whose whereabouts are unknown.
World Press Photo Contest
Category: Daily Life, 1st prize singles - "China's Coal Addiction" by Kevin Frayer for Getty Images
Chinese men pull a tricycle in a neighborhood next to a coal-fired power plant in Shanxi, China, November 26,2015.
A history of heavy dependence on burning coal for energy has made China the source of nearly a third of the world's total carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, the pollutants widely cited for climate change.
World Press Photo Contest
Category: Contemporary Issues, 1st prize stories - "Talibes, Modern-day Slaves"by Mario Cruz
The series portrays the plight of Talibes, boys who live at Islamic schools known as Daaras in Senegal. Under the pretext of receiving a Quranic education, they are forced to beg in the streets while their religious guardians, or Marabout, collect their daily earnings. They often live in squalor and are abused and beaten.
In this photo, runaway talibes stand on the bank of Senegal river, Saint Louis, Senegal, May 20, 2015.
World Press Photo Contest
Category: People, 2nd prize singles - "Waiting to Register" by Matjaz Krivic
A mine worker takes a smoke break before going back into the pit. Miners in Bani face harsh conditions and exposure to toxic chemicals and heavy metals. Image taken in Bani, Burkina Faso, November 20, 2015.
World Press Photo Contest
Category: Daily Life, 3rd prize stories - "Citizen Journalism in Brazil's Favelas" by Sebastián Liste/Noor
A group of friends from Alemão, a slum in Rio de Janeiro, formed a media collective called Papo Reto, or "straight talk." Social media allow them to report stories from their community otherwise ignored by traditional media.
In this photo, police patrol the streets of Vila Aliança after a taxi driver was shot by police; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, February 8, 2015.
World Press Photo Contest
Category: Sports, 2nd prize stories - "The Gris-gris Wrestlers of Senegal" by Christian Bobst
B.B. Bisma Ndoye defeats the wrestler Maraka Dji in the Demba Diop stadium in Dakar, Sierra Leone, April 5, 2015.
World Press Photo Contest
Category: Spot News, 2nd prize stories - "Avalanche, 25-27 April, Everest Base Camp, Nepal" by Roberto Schmidt for Agence France-Presse
Rescuers carry an injured person to a medical tent moments after a wall of rock, snow and debris slammed into Everest Base Camp on April 25, 2015 killing at least 22 people. The avalanche was triggered by a powerful 7.8-magnitude earthquake that killed more than 8,000 people in the country.
World Press Photo Contest
Category: Nature, 1st prize singles - "Storm Front on Bondi Beach" by Rohan Kelly for Daily Telegraph
A massive "cloud tsunami" looms over Sydney as a sunbather reads, oblivious to the approaching cloud on Bondi Beach, Sydney, Australia, November 6, 2015.
World Press Photo Contest
Category: Sports, 3rd prize singles - "Neptun Synchro" by Jonas Lindkvist/Dagens Nyheter
Members of the Neptun Synchro synchronized swimming team perform during a Christmas show in Stockholm, Sweden, December 13, 2015.
World Press Photo Contest
Category: General News, 1st prize stories - "Reporting Europe's Refugee Crisis" by Sergey Ponomarev for The New York Times
Refugees attempt to board a train in Tovarnik, Hungary, headed to Zagreb, Croatia, September 18, 2015.
World Press Photo Contest
Category: Sports, 3rd prize stories - "Ebola Survivors Football Club" by Tara Todras-Whitehill for The New York Times
Residents of Freetown cheer for the Ebola Survivors Football Club on a field in the city of Kenema, Sierra Leone, April 21, 2015.
World Press Photo Contest
Category: General News, 2nd prize singles - Under the Cover of Darkness by Paul Hansen for Dagens Nyheter
Refugees travel in darkness through Europe to avoid detection. Lesbos, Greece, December 6, 2015.
World Press Photo Contest
Category: Nature, 1st prize stories - "Tough Times for Orangutans" by Tim Laman
Threats to this group of orangutans from fires, the illegal animal trade and loss of habitat due to deforestation have resulted in many orphaned and ending up at rehabilitation centers.
In this photo, a Bornean orangutan climbs over 30 meters up a tree in the rain forest of Gunung Palung National Park, West Kalimantan, Indonesia, August 12, 2015.
World Press Photo Contest
Category: Sports, 1st prize stories - "Vetluga's Hockey" by Vladimir Pesnya for Sputnik
This series portrays players of an amateur hockey team in provincial Russia before, during and after a game in the regional championship in Vetluga, Nizhny Novgorod Oblast, Russia.
Here, Evgeny Solovyov, head coach of HC Vetluga, prepares the rink for a match in Vetluga, Russia, February 19, 2015.
World Press Photo Contest
Category: Contemporary Issues, 2nd prize singles - "Haze in China" by Zhang Lei for Tianjin Daily
A city in northern China shrouded in haze, Tianjin, China, December 10, 2015.
World Press Photo Contest
Category: Nature, 3rd prize stories - "Chameleon Under Pressure" by Christian Ziegler for National Geographic
Madagascar holds more than half of the world's chameleon species; however, as a result of deforestation causing habitat loss, 50 percent of the chameleon species is endangered.
In this photo, a female chameleon (Furcifer ambrensis) forages for insects with an extendable tongue. Montain d'Ambre, Madagascar, November 29, 2014.
World Press Photo Contest
Sports, 1st prize singles - "FIS World Championships" by Christian Walgram/GEPA pictures
Czech Republic's Ondrej Bank crashes during the downhill race of the Alpine Combined at the FIS World Championships in Beaver Creek, Colorado, February 15, 2015.
World Press Photo Contest
Category: People, 1st prize singles - "Waiting to Register" by Matic Zorman
A child refugee is covered with a raincoat while she waits in line to get registered at the Presevo refugee registration camp, October 7, 2015. Most of the refugees who crossed Serbia try to continue their route towards Hungary, Croatia, Slovenia and other countries of the European Union.
World Press Photo Contest
Category: People, 1st prize stories - "Exposure" by Kazuma Obara
"My mother said that it was a typically quiet day, warm and windy. She and my father opened the window and they felt completely safe on the day of the explosion, the 26th of April 1986." Kiev, Ukraine, July 12, 2015.
World Press Photo Contest
Category: Spot News, 1st prize stories - "Aftermath of Airstrikes in Syria" by Sameer Al-Doumy for Agence France-Presse
Douma, a rebel-held city in a suburb of the capital Damascus, lies in the opposition bastion area of Eastern Ghouta and has been subject to massive regime aerial bombardment.
In this photo, smoke billows from a building early on October 30, 2015, following reported shelling by Syrian government forces in the rebel-controlled area of Douma, east of Damascus.
World Press Photo Contest
Category: Daily Life, 1st prize stories - "An Antarctic Advantage" by Daniel Berehulak for The New York Times
Father Benjam Maltzev looks on in the bell room, after a vigil at the Russian Orthodox Church of the Holy Trinity on December 3, 2015, at the Bellingshausen Russian Antarctic research base in the Fildes Peninsula on King George Island, Antarctica.