The list of winners has been announced for one of photojournalism's most eagerly awaited global events. The top prize this year went to Danish photographer Mads Nissen for capturing an intimate moment between a young gay couple in Russia, where the LGBT community faces increasing legal and social discrimination. Some of the other highlights here include images of a young girl wounded in clashes between mourners and Istanbul police, perspective-bending from a drone high above California, and the creeping tragedy of the Ebola virus.
World Press Photo 2015 Winners
1
Mads Nissen, a Danish staff photographer for the Danish daily newspaper Politiken and represented by Panos Pictures, won the World Press Photo of the Year 2014 contest with this image of Jon and Alex, a gay couple, during an intimate moment in St. Petersburg, Russia.
2
Sergei Ilnitsky, a Russian photographer of the European Pressphoto Agency, won First Prize in the General News Category, Singles, for this image of damaged goods lying in a kitchen in downtown Donetsk, in war-torn eastern Ukraine.
3
Raphaela Rosella, an Australian photographer of Oculi agency, won First Prize in the Portraits Category, Singles, with this portrait of Laurinda waiting in her purple dress for the bus that will take her to Sunday school in Moree, New South Wales, Australia.
4
Tomas van Houtryve, a Belgian photographer of VII on assignment for Harper's Magazine, won Third Prize in the Contemporary Issues Category, Stories, with a series of photos from a camera mounted on a drone, including this one of students in a schoolyard in El Dorado County, California.
5
Muller, a U.S. photographer of Prime on assignment for National Geographic/The Washington Post, won First Prize in the General News Category, Stories, with his series of pictures that includes this one of medical staff at the Hastings Ebola Treatment Center escorting a man in the throes of Ebola-induced delirium back into the isolation ward from which he escaped, in Freetown.
6
Yongzhi Chu, a Chinese photographer, won First Prize in the Nature Category, Singles, with this picture of a monkey being trained for circus cowering as its trainer approaches in Suzhou.
7
Bulent Kilic, a Turkish photographer for Agence France-Presse, won First Prize in the Spot News Category, Singles, with this picture of a young girl after she was wounded during clashes between riot police and protesters following the funeral of Berkin Elvan, an 15-year-old boy who died from injuries suffered during antigovernment protests in Istanbul.
8
Glenna Gordon, a U.S. photographer, won Second Prize in the General News Category, Stories, with his series of pictures that includes this one of school uniforms belonging to three of hundreds of missing Nigerian girls abducted by Islamic militants Boko Haram in Abuja.
9
French photographer Jerome Sessini won Second Prize in the Spot News category for this photo of a deserted avenue in the Maidan, as the square in central Kyiv at the center of antigovernment protests in late-2013-14 is known, after violent clashes between protesters and Ukrainian security forces.
10
Bao Tailiang, a Chinese photographer of Chengdu Economic Daily, won First Prize in the Sports Category, Singles, with this picture of Argentinian player Lionel Messi facing the World Cup trophy during the final celebrations at Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
11
Jerome Sessini, a French photographer of Magnum Photos on assignment for the De Standaard, won Second Prize in the Spot News Category, Stories, for his series of pictures that includes this one during deadly clashes between authorities and Maidan antigovernment protesters in Kyiv.
12
Massimo Sestini, an Italian photographer, won Second Prize in the General News Category, Singles, with this image of shipwrecked people being rescued aboard a boat 32 kilometers north of Libya by a frigate of the Italian navy.
13
Darcy Padilla, a U.S. photographer of Agence VU, won First Prize in the Long-Term Projects of the 2015 World Press Photo contest with her work "Family Love 1993-2014 - The Julie Project" series, which includes this image of Julie in San Francisco.
14
Ami Vitale, a U.S. photographer working for the National Geographic, won Second Prize in the Nature Category, Singles, with this picture of a group of young Samburu warriors encountering a rhino for the first time in their lives in Lewa Downs, Kenya.
15
Anand Varma, a U.S. photographer working for the National Geographic, won First Prize in the Nature Category, Stories, with a series of pictures that includes this one of spores of a fungus landing on an ant, penetrating its exoskeleton, and entering its brain, compelling the host to leave its normal habitat on the forest floor and scale a nearby tree.
16
Paolo Verzone, an Italian photographer of Agence VU, won Third Prize in the Portraits Category, Stories, of the 2015 World Press Photo contest with his series of portraits, which includes this one of a cadet at the Koninklijke Militaire Academie (Royal Military Academy) in Breda, the Netherlands.
17
Bello, a U.S. photographer of Getty Images, won Second Prize in the Sports Category, Singles, with this picture of Odell Beckham of the National Football League's New York Giants making a one-handed touchdown catch against the Dallas Cowboys at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
18
Ronghui Chen, Chinese photographer of City Express, won Second Prize in the Contemporary Issues Category, Singles, with this picture of Wei, a 19-year-old Chinese worker, wearing a face mask and a Santa hat, standing next to Christmas decorations being dried in a factory as red powder used for coloring hovers in the air, in Yiwu, China.
19
Sarker Protick, a Bangladeshi photographer, won Second Prize in the Daily Life Category, Stories, with his series of pictures that includes this image of John wearing his grandson's bowler hat.
20
sa Sjostrom, a Swedish photographer working for Moment Agency, won Second Prize in the Daily Life Category, Singles, with this image of twin brothers Igor and Arthur handing out chocolates to their classmates to celebrate their ninth birthday in Baroncea, Moldova.
21
Photos showing Katrina Dawson (left) and Tori Johnson (right) sit among the floral tributes left outside the Lindt cafe in Sydney's Martin Place, one week after a siege at the cafe that saw hostages Dawson and Johnson killed, along with the gunman.
22
French photographer Jerome Sessini won First Prize in the Spot News Category for this photo of the remains in a grain field in eastern Ukraine of a passenger from Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17, which was shot down over a region riven by fighting between pro-Russian rebels and the Ukrainian central government.
23
Arash Khamooshia, an Iranian photographer, won Third Prize in the Spot News Category for a photo showing Iranian authorities escorting a condemned murderer, Balal, who was spared the gallows when, moments before the sun rose, the victim's mother pardoned him by slapping his face instead of pulling the chair from underneath his feet.