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.