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World Press Photo 2019 Winners

Getty's John Moore won World Press Photo of the Year for his image of a girl crying at the U.S. border with Mexico, and Pieter Ten Hoopen of Agence Vu/Civilian Act won the World Press Photo Story of the Year for his shot of a migrant caravan.

World Press Photo is an independent nonprofit organization that supports photojournalism. For this year's awards, judges reviewed 78,801 photographs taken by 4,738 photographers. The winners of the prestigious international contest were announced on April 11.

Here is a selection of the winning images.
A two-year-old Honduran asylum seeker cries as her mother is searched and detained near the U.S. border with Mexico on June 12, 2018. Asylum seekers had rafted across the Rio Grande from Mexico and were detained by U.S. Border Patrol agents in McAllen, Texas before being sent to a processing center. U.S. Customs and Border Protection had been instructed to take a "zero tolerance" policy toward undocumented immigrants. World Press Photo of the Year: Winner - ​John Moore, Getty Images  
1 A two-year-old Honduran asylum seeker cries as her mother is searched and detained near the U.S. border with Mexico on June 12, 2018. Asylum seekers had rafted across the Rio Grande from Mexico and were detained by U.S. Border Patrol agents in McAllen, Texas before being sent to a processing center. U.S. Customs and Border Protection had been instructed to take a "zero tolerance" policy toward undocumented immigrants.

World Press Photo of the Year: Winner - ​John Moore, Getty Images

 
People run to a truck that has stopped to give them a ride, outside Tapanatepec, Mexico, on October 30, 2018. Some drivers charged to give travelers a lift for part of the way, but most offered services free as a sign of support. World Press Photo Story of the Year: Winner - Pieter Ten Hoopen, Agence Vu/Civilian Act
2 People run to a truck that has stopped to give them a ride, outside Tapanatepec, Mexico, on October 30, 2018. Some drivers charged to give travelers a lift for part of the way, but most offered services free as a sign of support.

World Press Photo Story of the Year: Winner - Pieter Ten Hoopen, Agence Vu/Civilian Act
A woman begs outside of a grocery store in the village of Azzan, Yemen, on May 22, 2018. The village of Azzan was under the control of Al-Qaeda militants until the Shabwani elite forces liberated the area in December 2017. General News: First Prize, Stories - Lorenzo Tugnoli, Contrasto, for The Washington Post
3 A woman begs outside of a grocery store in the village of Azzan, Yemen, on May 22, 2018. The village of Azzan was under the control of Al-Qaeda militants until the Shabwani elite forces liberated the area in December 2017.

General News: First Prize, Stories - Lorenzo Tugnoli, Contrasto, for The Washington Post
A group of migrants climb a border fence between Mexico and the United States, near El Chaparral border crossing, in Tijuana, Mexico, on November 25, 2018. Spot News: Third Prize, Singles - Pedro Pardo, Agence France-Presse
4 A group of migrants climb a border fence between Mexico and the United States, near El Chaparral border crossing, in Tijuana, Mexico, on November 25, 2018.

Spot News: Third Prize, Singles - Pedro Pardo, Agence France-Presse
An unidentified man tries to hold back the press as investigators arrive at the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul, Turkey, amid the international backlash to the disappearance of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Intelligence officials in the United States said they think Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman ordered the killing of Khashoggi, a frequent critic of the royal family. Saudi officials have denied the claim. General News: First Prize, Singles - Chris McGrath, Getty Images
5 An unidentified man tries to hold back the press as investigators arrive at the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul, Turkey, amid the international backlash to the disappearance of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Intelligence officials in the United States said they think Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman ordered the killing of Khashoggi, a frequent critic of the royal family. Saudi officials have denied the claim.

General News: First Prize, Singles - Chris McGrath, Getty Images
Syrian children receive treatment for a suspected chemical attack at a makeshift clinic on the rebel-held village of al-Shifuniyah in the Eastern Ghouta region on the outskirts of Damascus, on February 25, 2018. Spot News: Second Prize, Stories - Mohammed Badra, European Pressphoto Agency
6 Syrian children receive treatment for a suspected chemical attack at a makeshift clinic on the rebel-held village of al-Shifuniyah in the Eastern Ghouta region on the outskirts of Damascus, on February 25, 2018.

Spot News: Second Prize, Stories - Mohammed Badra, European Pressphoto Agency
Pura rides around her neighborhood in a pink 1950s convertible, as the community gathers to celebrate her fifteenth birthday, in Havana, Cuba.  Contemporary Issues: First Prize, Singles - Diana Markosian, Magnum Photos
7 Pura rides around her neighborhood in a pink 1950s convertible, as the community gathers to celebrate her fifteenth birthday, in Havana, Cuba. 

Contemporary Issues: First Prize, Singles - Diana Markosian, Magnum Photos
Women in costumes -- which they say represent Ireland’s treatment of women -- line up before marching silently through the streets of Limerick, Ireland. It was part of an appeal to change the law against abortion.  Contemporary Issues: First Prize, Stories - Olivia Harris
8 Women in costumes -- which they say represent Ireland’s treatment of women -- line up before marching silently through the streets of Limerick, Ireland. It was part of an appeal to change the law against abortion. 

Contemporary Issues: First Prize, Stories - Olivia Harris
Injured men and women step over a critically wounded man at the scene of a bomb blast in central Kabul, Afghanistan. The bomb is believed to have been carried by an ambulance, the driver of which was able to penetrate security on a well-guarded road leading to the European Union delegation building, the Swedish and Dutch Embassies, the former Interior Ministry building and the office of the Afghan High Peace Council. Taliban militants claimed responsibility for the attack which killed at least 95 people. Spot News: Third Prize, Stories - Andrew Quilty, Agence VU
9 Injured men and women step over a critically wounded man at the scene of a bomb blast in central Kabul, Afghanistan. The bomb is believed to have been carried by an ambulance, the driver of which was able to penetrate security on a well-guarded road leading to the European Union delegation building, the Swedish and Dutch Embassies, the former Interior Ministry building and the office of the Afghan High Peace Council. Taliban militants claimed responsibility for the attack which killed at least 95 people.

Spot News: Third Prize, Stories - Andrew Quilty, Agence VU
The living-room of an abandoned home in San Miguel Los Lotes, Guatemala, lies covered in ash after the eruption of the Fuego volcano on June 3, 2018. General News: Second Prize, Singles - Daniele Volpe
10 The living-room of an abandoned home in San Miguel Los Lotes, Guatemala, lies covered in ash after the eruption of the Fuego volcano on June 3, 2018.

General News: Second Prize, Singles - Daniele Volpe
Petronella Chigumbura, a member of an all-female anti-poaching unit called Akashinga, participates in stealth and concealment training in the Phundundu Wildlife Park, Zimbabwe. Environment: First Prize, Singles - Brent Stirton, Getty Images
11 Petronella Chigumbura, a member of an all-female anti-poaching unit called Akashinga, participates in stealth and concealment training in the Phundundu Wildlife Park, Zimbabwe.

Environment: First Prize, Singles - Brent Stirton, Getty Images
Evacuated horses stand tied to a pole, as smoke from a wildfire billows above them, on Zuma Beach, in Malibu, California on November 10, 2018. The 2018 wildfire season in California was the deadliest and most destructive on record, burning an area of more than 676,000 hectares. Environment: Second Prize, Singles - Wally Skalij, Los Angeles Times
12 Evacuated horses stand tied to a pole, as smoke from a wildfire billows above them, on Zuma Beach, in Malibu, California on November 10, 2018. The 2018 wildfire season in California was the deadliest and most destructive on record, burning an area of more than 676,000 hectares.

Environment: Second Prize, Singles - Wally Skalij, Los Angeles Times
A child who collects recyclable materials lies on a mattress surrounded by a garbage patch floating on the Pasig River in Manila, Philippines, October 2018.  Environment: Third Prize, Singles - Mário Cruz
13 A child who collects recyclable materials lies on a mattress surrounded by a garbage patch floating on the Pasig River in Manila, Philippines, October 2018. 

Environment: Third Prize, Singles - Mário Cruz
An Afghan refugee comforts his companion as they wait for transport at Afghanistan's border with Iran, on July 27, 2018. Contemporary Issues: Third Prize, Singles - Enayat Asadi
14 An Afghan refugee comforts his companion as they wait for transport at Afghanistan's border with Iran, on July 27, 2018.

Contemporary Issues: Third Prize, Singles - Enayat Asadi
An orphaned boy walks past a wall with drawings depicting rocket-propelled grenade launchers, in Bol, Chad.  A severe humanitarian crisis has struck the Lake Chad basin due to war and the drying up of the lake, causing mass malnutrition. Environment: First Prize, Singles - Marco Gualazzini, Contrasto
15 An orphaned boy walks past a wall with drawings depicting rocket-propelled grenade launchers, in Bol, Chad.  A severe humanitarian crisis has struck the Lake Chad basin due to war and the drying up of the lake, causing mass malnutrition.

Environment: First Prize, Singles - Marco Gualazzini, Contrasto
U.S. President Donald Trump walks with French President Emmanuel Macron outside the Oval Office of the White House on April 24, 2018 in Washington. General news: Third Prize, Singles - Brendan Smialowski, Agence France-Presse
16 U.S. President Donald Trump walks with French President Emmanuel Macron outside the Oval Office of the White House on April 24, 2018 in Washington.

General news: Third Prize, Singles - Brendan Smialowski, Agence France-Presse
A health worker waits to receive patients at an Ebola treatment center in Bunia in the Democratic Republic of the Congo on November 7, 2018. An outbreak of the disease in the east of the country had claimed at least 200 lives by that time. General News: Third Prize, Stories - John Wessels, Agence France-Presse
17 A health worker waits to receive patients at an Ebola treatment center in Bunia in the Democratic Republic of the Congo on November 7, 2018. An outbreak of the disease in the east of the country had claimed at least 200 lives by that time.

General News: Third Prize, Stories - John Wessels, Agence France-Presse
Angelina was a former militant who became pregnant in a FARC transition camp in San José del Guaviare, Colombia. She joined the Colombian insurgent group FARC at the age of 11 after her stepfather had attempted to abuse her and she was thrown out of her family home. The Colombian government signed a peace accord with FARC rebels in 2016, after which camps were set up to help the rebels adjust to civilian life. Contemporary Issues: Second Prize, Stories - Catalina Martin-Chico, Panos
18 Angelina was a former militant who became pregnant in a FARC transition camp in San José del Guaviare, Colombia. She joined the Colombian insurgent group FARC at the age of 11 after her stepfather had attempted to abuse her and she was thrown out of her family home. The Colombian government signed a peace accord with FARC rebels in 2016, after which camps were set up to help the rebels adjust to civilian life.

Contemporary Issues: Second Prize, Stories - Catalina Martin-Chico, Panos
Alyona Kochetkova sits at home, unable to eat borscht soup, her favorite food, during her treatment for cancer in Russia. Alyona shot this self-portrait following surgery and chemotherapy when she struggled to eat. Taking photos was a way of sharing her difficult and personal story in the hope that it might support others with cancer. Portraits: Third Prize, Singles - Alyona Kochetkova
19 Alyona Kochetkova sits at home, unable to eat borscht soup, her favorite food, during her treatment for cancer in Russia. Alyona shot this self-portrait following surgery and chemotherapy when she struggled to eat. Taking photos was a way of sharing her difficult and personal story in the hope that it might support others with cancer.

Portraits: Third Prize, Singles - Alyona Kochetkova
Students laugh backstage before a singing and marching competition in Dmitrov, Russia, a suburb of Moscow. Long Term Projects: First Prize - Sarah Blesener
20 Students laugh backstage before a singing and marching competition in Dmitrov, Russia, a suburb of Moscow.

Long Term Projects: First Prize - Sarah Blesener
Itzel Martinez, the photographer’s daughter, plays inside her grandparents’ house in Santiago Temixco, Mexico. Three of her uncles disappeared in 2013. More than 37,000 people have been categorized as "missing" in Mexico by official sources. The vast majority of those are believed to be dead -- victims of ongoing violence that has claimed more than 250,000 lives since 2006.  Long Term Projects: Second Prize - Yael Martinez
21 Itzel Martinez, the photographer’s daughter, plays inside her grandparents’ house in Santiago Temixco, Mexico. Three of her uncles disappeared in 2013. More than 37,000 people have been categorized as "missing" in Mexico by official sources. The vast majority of those are believed to be dead -- victims of ongoing violence that has claimed more than 250,000 lives since 2006. 

Long Term Projects: Second Prize - Yael Martinez
Boxer Moreen Ajambo trains at the Rhino boxing club in Katanga, a large slum settlement in Kampala, Uganda, on March 24, 2018. Sports: First Prize, Singles - John T. Pedersen
22 Boxer Moreen Ajambo trains at the Rhino boxing club in Katanga, a large slum settlement in Kampala, Uganda, on March 24, 2018.

Sports: First Prize, Singles - John T. Pedersen
Japan's Naomi Osaka serves during her match against Simona Halep from Romania during the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne on January 22, 2018. Sports: Second Prize, Singles - David Gray, Reuters
23 Japan's Naomi Osaka serves during her match against Simona Halep from Romania during the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne on January 22, 2018.

Sports: Second Prize, Singles - David Gray, Reuters
Women follow the Asian Champions League soccer match between Iranian club Persepolis and Japan’s Kashima Antlers in Tehran on November 10, 2018. They are watching from a segregated section at the stadium where women must sit. Sports: First Prize, Stories - Forough Alaei
24 Women follow the Asian Champions League soccer match between Iranian club Persepolis and Japan’s Kashima Antlers in Tehran on November 10, 2018. They are watching from a segregated section at the stadium where women must sit.

Sports: First Prize, Stories - Forough Alaei
Frogs with their legs severed are surrounded by spawn struggling to get to the surface, after being thrown back into the water in Covasna, Romania, in April 2018. Nature: First Prize, Singles - Bence Mate
25 Frogs with their legs severed are surrounded by spawn struggling to get to the surface, after being thrown back into the water in Covasna, Romania, in April 2018.

Nature: First Prize, Singles - Bence Mate

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Lucie Steinzova

Lucie Steinzova is the photo editor for RFE/RL.

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