The 2017 World Press Photo Contest winners are announced

The contest attracted 80,408 images, from 5034 photographers from 125 countries, and the jury gave prizes in eight categories to 45 photographers from 25 countries – Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, India, Iran, Italy, Pakistan, Philippines, Romania, Russia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Syria, New Zealand, Turkey, UK, USA.
The World Press Photo of the Year is a shot by Turkish Associated Press photographer called Burhan Ozbilici, with an image he has simply titled An Assassination in Turkey. Showing Mevlut Mert Altintas shouting after shooting Andrei Karlov, right, the Russian ambassador to Turkey, at an art gallery in Ankara, Turkey, on 19 December 2016, the image is drawn from a wider series shot that night which won first place in the Spot News – Stories category.
Other notable wins include Thomson Reuters photographer Jonathan Bachman’s photograph of 28-year-old nurse Ieshia Evans, standing in front of riot police during a protest against police brutality outside the Baton Rouge Police Department in Louisiana, USA, on 9 July 2016, which one first prize in the Contemporary Issues – Singles category. The first prize for Contemporary Issues – Stories also went to a series showing protestors and riot police in the US – Amber Bracken’s story on the opposition to the Dakota Access Pipeline.

Morton County Sheriffs - Riot police clear marchers from a secondary road outside a Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) worker camp using rubber bullets, pepper spray, tasers and arrests. In other incidents they've employed militarized vehicles, water canons, tear gas and have been accused of using percussion grenades. — Morton County Sheriffs – Riot police clear marchers from a secondary road outside a Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) worker camp using rubber bullets, pepper spray, tasers and arrests. In other incidents they’ve employed militarized vehicles, water canons, tear gas and have been accused of using percussion grenades. Image © Amber Bracken, first prize Contemporary Issues – Stories

Paula Bronstein won first prize in the Daily Life – Singles category with an image showing a woman called Najiba holding her two-year-old nephew Shabir, who was injured from a bomb blast in Kabul on 29 March 2016. First prize in Daily Life – Stories went to Tomas Munita, with a series of images showing Cuba On The Edge Of Change.
First prize, General News – Singles went to Laurent Van der Stockt for an image showing the Iraqi Special Operations Forces searching houses in Gogjali, an eastern district of Mosul, on 2 November 2016. First prize, General News – Stories went to Daniel Berehulak, for a story shot for The New York Times called They Are Slaughtering Us Like Animals, a study of the anti-drug campaign started by President Rodrigo Duterte of the Philippines when he took office on 30 June 2016, which has seen more than 2000 people have been slain at the hands of the police alone.
The contest has specialist juries for news and documentary, sports, nature, and people; the winning images are finally selected by a general jury which combines the chairs of the specialist juries plus, this year: Mary F. Calvert, USA, independent photojournalist; Kelli Reed Grant, USA, photography director Yahoo News; Eman Mohammed, Palestine, photographer and multimedia photojournalist; Aïda Muluneh, Ethiopia, managing director Desta For Africa Creative Consulting PLC; João Silva, Portugal/South Africa, staff photographer The New York Times; Wim van Sinderen, the Netherlands, senior curator The Hague Museum of Photography; Goran Tomasevic, Serbia, chief photographer East Africa Reuters; Christian Ziegler, Germany, photographer. The chair of the jury this year was Magnum Photos photographer Stuart Franklin.
To see more of the winning images, visit the World Press Photo site.

KABUL, AFGHANISTAN -MARCH 29, 2016: A the Emergency hospital Najiba holds her nephew Shabir, age 2, who was injured from a bomb blast which killed his sister in Kabul on March 29, 2016. Najiba had to stay with the children as their mother buried her daughter. In 2016 marked another milestone in its 15-year engagement in Afghanistan. Despite billions of dollars spent by the international community to stabilize the country, Afghanistan has seen little improvement in terms of overall stability and human security. The situation on the ground for Afghans continues to be grave. Security for the Afghan people has also deteriorated in large swaths of the country, further complicating humanitarian response. Afghan civilians are at greater risk today than at any time since Taliban rule. According to UN statistics, in the first half of 2016 at least 1,600 people had died, and more than 3,500 people were injured, a 4 per cent increase in overall civilian causalities compared to the same period last year. The upsurge in violence has had devastating consequences for civilians, with suicide bombings and targeted attacks by the Taliban and other insurgents causing 70 percent of all civilian casualties. — At the Emergency hospital Najiba holds her nephew Shabir, age 2, who was injured from a bomb blast which killed his sister in Kabul on March 29, 2016. Najiba had to stay with the children as their mother buried her daughter.
In 2016 marked another milestone in its 15-year engagement in Afghanistan. Despite billions of dollars spent by the international community to stabilize the country, Afghanistan has seen little improvement in terms of overall stability and human security. The situation on the ground for Afghans continues to be grave. Security for the Afghan people has also deteriorated in large swaths of the country, further complicating humanitarian response. Afghan civilians are at greater risk today than at any time since Taliban rule. According to UN statistics, in the first half of 2016 at least 1,600 people had died, and more than 3,500 people were injured, a 4 per cent increase in overall civilian causalities compared to the same period last year. The upsurge in violence has had devastating consequences for civilians, with suicide bombings and targeted attacks by the Taliban and other insurgents causing 70 percent of all civilian casualties. Image © © Paula Bronstein, for Time Lightbox / Pulitzer Center For Crisis Reporting

A weathered barber shop in Old Havana, Cuba on January 25, 2016. Cuba at times can feel like a nation abandoned. The aching disrepair of its cities, the untamed foliage of its countryside, the orphaned coastlines — a half-century of isolation has wrapped the country in decay. Yet few places in the world brim with as much life as Cuba, a contrast drawn sharper amid its faded grandeur. Image © Tomas Munita, The New York Times, first prize Daily Life - Stories — A weathered barber shop in Old Havana, Cuba on January 25, 2016. Cuba at times can feel like a nation abandoned. The aching disrepair of its cities, the untamed foliage of its countryside, the orphaned coastlines — a half-century of isolation has wrapped the country in decay. Yet few places in the world brim with as much life as Cuba, a contrast drawn sharper amid its faded grandeur. Image © Tomas Munita, The New York Times, first prize Daily Life – Stories

The Iraqis Special Operations Forces are searching houses of Cogjali, a eastern district of Mosul, looking for Daesh members, equipment and evidences. Young and adult men are quickly interviewed. Most of the time, civilians feel insecure while fighters of isof, still under the threat of snipers and car bombs, feel being in hostile territory. Mosul, November 2, 2016. Image © Laurent van der Stockt / Getty Reportages. Winner of the General News - Singles category — The Iraqis Special Operations Forces are searching houses of Cogjali, a eastern district of Mosul, looking for Daesh members, equipment and evidences.
Young and adult men are quickly interviewed.
Most of the time, civilians feel insecure while fighters of isof, still under the threat of snipers and car bombs, feel being in hostile territory.
Mosul, November 2, 2016. Image © Laurent van der Stockt / Getty Reportages. Winner of the General News – Singles category

Six-year old Jimji cries in anguish as she screams "papa" before funeral parlor workers, move the body of her father, Jimboy Bolasa, from the wake at the start of the funeral to Navotas cemetery on October 9, 2016 in Manila, Philippines. Unidentified men abducted Mr. Bolasa and a neighborhood friends one night. Less than an hour later, their beaten bodies, with signs of torture and gunshot wounds were dumped under a nearby bridge. The police claim the men were alleged drug dealers while their family members say they had only surrendered themselves. President Rodrigo Duterte of the Philippines began his anti-drug campaign when he took office on June 30. Since then, over 2,000 people had been slain at the hands of the police alone. Beyond those killed in official drug operations, the Philippine National Police have counted more than 3,500 unsolved homicides since July 1. The victims, suspected users and pushers, are not afforded any semblance of due process, and are killed just about everywhere imaginable. Image © Daniel Berehulak/The New York Times, winner of the General News - Stories category — Six-year old Jimji cries in anguish as she screams “papa” before funeral parlor workers, move the body of her father, Jimboy Bolasa, from the wake at the start of the funeral to Navotas cemetery on October 9, 2016 in Manila, Philippines. Unidentified men abducted Mr. Bolasa and a neighborhood friends one night. Less than an hour later, their beaten bodies, with signs of torture and gunshot wounds were dumped under a nearby bridge. The police claim the men were alleged drug dealers while their family members say they had only surrendered themselves. President Rodrigo Duterte of the Philippines began his anti-drug campaign when he took office on June 30. Since then, over 2,000 people had been slain at the hands of the police alone. Beyond those killed in official drug operations, the Philippine National Police have counted more than 3,500 unsolved homicides since July 1. The victims, suspected users and pushers, are not afforded any semblance of due process, and are killed just about everywhere imaginable. Image © Daniel Berehulak/The New York Times, winner of the General News – Stories category

Diane Smyth

Diane Smyth is the editor of BJP, returning for a second stint on staff in 2023 - after 15 years on the team until 2019. As a freelancer, she has written for The Guardian, FT Weekend Magazine, Creative Review, Aperture, FOAM, Aesthetica and Apollo. She has also curated exhibitions for institutions such as The Photographers Gallery and Lianzhou Foto Festival. You can follow her on instagram @dismy

Diane Smyth

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