Regine photography

Anthropocene, wars and greed. This must be the World Press Photo contest

N Korea
David Guttenfelder, North Korea: Life in the Cult of Kim

Each year, i try and find a moment to browse through the dozens and dozens of winning images from the World Press Photo competition. Since 1955, the contest has been honouring photographers reporting on the most remarkable (some of them alarmingly under-discussed) events in the last year. In this edition, many of the winning photos document the refugee crisis in Europe, wars (mostly in Syria), violence against women and there’s also a strong thread showing the Anthropocene at its most relentless.

All the winners are over here but here’s my selections. With swift copy/pasting action of the texts that accompanied the images. Let’s start with a sporty and fun series…

The Gris-gris Wrestlers of Senegal: Senegalese wrestling is the most popular sport in Senegal, attracting major sponsors and wide media coverage. Wrestlers can become national stars and extremely wealthy, with top prizes reaching hundreds of thousands of euros. The sport is part of a larger West African form of traditional wrestling, but differs in that the Senegalese version allows blows with the hands. It has its historical roots in preparations among warrior classes for battle, and is still seen as an indication of masculine strength and ability. Tournaments involve drumming and dance, and wrestlers practice a range of rituals—such as the presentation of amulets, and rubbing with lotions—to increase their chances and ward off bad luck.

© Christian Bobst - The Gris-gris Wrestlers of Senegal 02
Christian Bobst, The Gris-gris Wrestlers of Senegal, March 28, 2015 
(Sports, 2nd prize stories)

A tournament in the Adrien Senghor Arena in Dakar nears its end.

© Christian Bobst - The Gris-gris Wrestlers of Senegal 03
Christian Bobst, The Gris-gris Wrestlers of Senegal, April 5, 2015. 
(Sports, 2nd prize stories)

Superstar wrestler Omar Sakho (known as Balla Gaye 2) releases a dove for good luck, before a match with Eumeu Sène, at the Demba Diop Stadium.

Talibes, Modern-day Slaves: Series portraying 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.

A young talibe bound by chains in an isolation area of a daara in the city of Touba, May 27, 2015. In this daara the youngest talibes are shackled by their ankles to stop them from trying to run away. The chains length only allows them to use an improvised bathroom in a separate area of the daara. These children can stay like that for days, weeks, even months until they gain the marabout's trust. Their guardian explains " When I release them, I give them the freedom to beg like the rest of the Talibes".
Mário Cruz, 
Talibes, Modern-day Slaves, Thies, Senegal, 18 May 2015. 
(Contemporary Issues, 1st prize stories)

A young talibe bound by chains in an isolation area of a daara in the city of Touba, May 27, 2015. In this daara the youngest talibes are shackled by their ankles to stop them from trying to run away. These children can stay like that for days, weeks, even months until they gain the marabout’s trust. Their guardian explains ” When I release them, I give them the freedom to beg like the rest of the Talibes”.

Talibes sleep together inside a daara in Saint Louis, north of Senegal, May 21, 2015. The daara with over 30 children has no clean water and barely no electricity. Children sleep on the concrete floor without any protection.
Mário Cruz, 
Talibes, Modern-day Slaves
, Saint Louis, Senegal, 21 May 2015 (Contemporary Issues, 1st prize stories)

Talibes sleep together inside a daara in Saint Louis, north of Senegal, May 21, 2015. The daara with over 30 children has no clean water and barely no electricity. Children sleep on the concrete floor without any protection.

China’s Coal Addiction: 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 toxic pollutants widely cited by scientists and environmentalists as the primary cause of global warming.

<> on December 10, 2015 in UNSPECIFIED, China.
Kevin Frayer, China’s Coal Addiction, Shanxi, on 26 November 2015 
(Daily Life, 1st prize singles)

Chinese men pull a tricycle in a neighborhood next to a coal-fired power plant in Shanxi, China.

Slovenia Digging the Future: As the price of gold fell, people began to dig ever deeper to find enough to make a daily wage. Arzuma works some 20 meters underground. Mining under these conditions is backbreaking labor during which miners are constantly breathing in dust. The subsequent process of extracting the gold exposes them to mercury and cyanide.

Arzuma Tindano (28) leads an eight-member crew of miners at Djuga, an artisanal mine in north-eastern Burkina Faso. They all trust him. They believe in his strength and his judgment. His 'office' is a 20 meters deep, narrow, dangerous and claustrophobic pit. The air there is thick, hot and humid with constant dust atacking his longs. He is just about to go into his pit again to do his night shift after he finishes his cigarete. Working in the night is better, he says, because the air is a bit cooler.
Matjaz Krivic, Slovenia Digging the Future, November 20, 2015 
(People, 2nd prize singles)

Arzuma Tinado (28) leads an eight-member crew of miners at Djuga, an artisanal gold mine in north-eastern Burkina Faso. Around 15,000 people work in the area, in pits hacked into the ground, some barely wider than a manhole.

He is just about to go into his pit again to do his night shift after he finishes his cigarete. Working in the night is better, he says, because the air is a bit cooler.

An Antarctic Advantage: Chilean, Chinese and Russian research teams in Antartica seek to explore commercial opportunities that will arise once the treaties protecting the continent for scientific purposes expire.

The continent is supposed to be protected as a scientific preserve for decades to come, but many are looking toward the day those protective treaties expire — and exploring the strategic and commercial opportunities that exist right now.

5. ANTARCTICA - DECEMBER 03, 2015: Priest, Father Benjam Maltzev looks on in the Bell room, after a vigil at the Russian Orthodox Church of the Holy Trinity on the 3rd of December, 2015 at the Bellingshausen Russian Antarctic research base in the Fildes Peninsula on King George Island, Antarctica. More than a century has passed since explorers raced to plant their flags at the bottom of the world. But today, an array of countries are rushing to assert greater influence in Antarctica. Russia built the continent’s first Orthodox church, pictured here, on a glacier-filled island with fjords and elephant seals. Less than an hour away by snowmobile, Chinese labourers have updated the Great Wall Station, a linchpin in China’s plan to operate 5 bases on Antarctica. And India’s futuristic new Bharathi base resembles a spaceship. The continent is supposed to be protected as a scientific preserve for decades to come, but many are looking toward the day those protective treaties expire — and exploring the strategic and commercial opportunities that exist right now.
Daniel Berehulak, 

An Antarctic Advantage, 3rd of December, 2015 
(Daily Life, 1st prize stories)

Priest, Father Benjam Maltzev looks on in the Bell room, after a vigil at the Russian Orthodox Church of the Holy Trinity at the Bellingshausen Russian Antarctic research base in the Fildes Peninsula on King George Island, Antarctica.

6. ANTARCTICA - DECEMBER 07, 2015: A Member of a German research team from the Friedrich Schiller University Jena, counts the number of penguin species and pairs as part of ongoing research on bird and penguin species in Antarctica, on 7th of December, 2015 on Ardley Island in the Fildes Peninsula on King George Island, Antarctica. Yardley Island has been designated an Antarctic Specially Protected Area (ASPA 150) because of the importance of its seabird and penguin colonies. More than a century has passed since explorers raced to plant their flags at the bottom of the world. But today, an array of countries are rushing to assert greater influence in Antarctica. Russia built the continent’s first Orthodox church, pictured here, on a glacier-filled island with fjords and elephant seals. Less than an hour away by snowmobile, Chinese labourers have updated the Great Wall Station, a linchpin in China’s plan to operate 5 bases on Antarctica. And India’s futuristic new Bharathi base resembles a spaceship. The continent is supposed to be protected as a scientific preserve for decades to come, but many are looking toward the day those protective treaties expire — and exploring the strategic and commercial opportunities that exist right now.
Daniel Berehulak, 

An Antarctic Advantage, Fildes Bay, Antartica, 07 December 2015 
(Daily Life, 1st prize stories)

A member of a German research team counts the number of penguin species and pairs as part of ongoing research on bird and penguin species in Antarctica.

7. ANTARCTICA - NOVEMBER 28, 2015: The winter expedition crew of Russian research team and (R) Chilean scientist Dr Ernesto Molina, drink "Samagon" a home-made vodka, as they sit in a bedroom of the Bellingshausen Antarctica base on the 28th of November, 2015 near Villa Las Estrellas, in the Fildes Peninsula on King George Island, Antarctica. More than a century has passed since explorers raced to plant their flags at the bottom of the world. But today, an array of countries are rushing to assert greater influence in Antarctica. Russia built the continent’s first Orthodox church, pictured here, on a glacier-filled island with fjords and elephant seals. Less than an hour away by snowmobile, Chinese labourers have updated the Great Wall Station, a linchpin in China’s plan to operate 5 bases on Antarctica. And India’s futuristic new Bharathi base resembles a spaceship. The continent is supposed to be protected as a scientific preserve for decades to come, but many are looking toward the day those protective treaties expire — and exploring the strategic and commercial opportunities that exist right now.
Daniel Berehulak, 

An Antarctic Advantage, 28th of November, 2015 
(Daily Life, 1st prize stories)

The winter expedition crew of Russian research team and (R) Chilean scientist Dr Ernesto Molina, drink “Samagon” a home-made vodka, as they sit in a bedroom of the Bellingshausen Antarctica base near Villa Las Estrellas, in the Fildes Peninsula on King George Island, Antarctica.

Daily 
Haze in China: Tianjin, the fourth most populous city in China, is an industrial and logistics hub. Its port forms a gateway to the national capital, Beijing. Hazardous smog blanketing China’s northeast triggered red alerts in a number of cities throughout the month, including Beijing and Tianjin. Schools were advised to stop classes, and people were told to stay inside and restrict vehicle use.

© Zhang Lei - Haze in China
Zhang Lei, Daily 
Haze in China, December 10, 2015 (Contemporary Issues, 1st prize singles)

A cloud of smog hangs over Tianjin, in northeastern China.

Tough Times for Orangutans: Orangutans are found in the wild only in the rainforests of Sumatra and Borneo. Sumatran orangutans are on the IUCN Red List as a ‘critically endangered’ species, with around 7,000 living out of captivity. Borneo orangutans, the world’s largest tree-dwelling animal, are listed as endangered. Numbers of both are decreasing sharply. Orangutans are facing a crisis in habitat, as logging activity, conversion to agriculture, and fires consume their forests. They are also poached for the illegal pet trade. In 2015, wildfires—spurred by drought and the effects of El Niño—devastated vast areas of rainforest in Sumatra and Borneo, driving out orangutans and putting them in increased danger from poachers, and into conflict with farmers as they searched for food.

A keeper at IAR transports a group of juvenile orangutans by wheelbarrow to a patch of forest where they will learn skills for the wild International Animal Rescue (IAR)KetapangWest Kalimantan ProvinceIsland of BorneoIndonesia
Tim Laman, Tough Times for Orangutans, June 13, 2014 
(Nature, 1st prize stories)

A keeper at IAR transports a group of juvenile orangutans by wheelbarrow to a patch of forest where they will learn skills for the wild International Animal Rescue (IAR)in Ketapang,Island of Borneo, Indonesia.

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Tim Laman, Tough Times for Orangutans, August 12, 2015 
(Nature, 1st prize stories)

A young male Bornean orangutan climbs 30 meters up to the crown of a fruiting strangler fig tree to feed, deep in the rainforest in the Gunung Palung National Park.

Ivory Wars: The trade in poached ivory is financing rebel armed militia across Africa, such as the Lord’s Resistance Army, Seleka rebels of the Central African Republic (CAR), the Janjaweed of Sudan, and the FDLR in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Various national armies actively trade with these groups, and centuries-old Sudanese poaching cartels participate in sending large bands of armed men across borders to kill elephants. Patrols of dedicated rangers around the continent are on the frontline of attempts to thwart the trade.

ZAKOUMA NATIONAL PARK, CHAD: Rangers from a horse patrol group exhibit their riding skills as they return to base at Zakouma National Park, Chad after weeks on elephant patrol. The horse patrols are the old guard of Zakouma's rangers and have seen a good deal of conflict in their time in the park. Zakouma lost nearly 75% of its elephants in the decade before 2011 due to raids by Janajaweed and Sudanese poachers, many of them from the Sudanese military. The president of Chad, Idris Deby, is a big supporter of the elephant of Zakouma and of its elephants. The herds here until recently used to be as large as 1000 animals all moving together, severe poaching over the last decade saw that number decimated and now only around 10% of the number remains. Since 2011 however there has been control over poaching and only 3 elephant have been poached in the last 2 years. The credit for that lies with these rangers and the new management of the park, including nomad groups who are a vital part of intelligence gathering for Zakouma.
Brent Stirton, Ivory Wars, January 7, 2015 
(Nature, 2nd prize stories)

Rangers exhibit their riding skills as they return to base at Zakouma National Park, Chad, after weeks on elephant patrol. The park lost nearly three quarters of its elephants in the decade up to 2011, due to raids by Janjaweed rebels and poachers from Sudan. Since then—with the park under new management—Zakouma rangers, helped by intelligence from nomad groups, have eliminated poaching almost completely.

NZARA, SOUTH SUDAN: Michael Oryem, 29, is a recently defected Lord's Resistance Army fighter who's former L.R.A group is involved in the poaching of Ivory in Garamba National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Garamba is a former base of operations for the LRA and a major source of financing for the notorious group. Oryem is seen with 2 of 6 ivory tusks that he hid and then led the Ugandan forces to inside the border region of the Central African Republic. He claims that the LRA killed many elephants in Garamba National Park in the DRC and that he was ordered by Joseph Kony, the LRA's notorious leader, to bring the ivory to him in Darfur, South Sudan. Ivory is now a real means of financing for the LRA, it is used for both food and weapons supplies and is traded to the Sudanese Army who transports it north to Khartoum. Oryem was abducted by the group when he was 9 and lived with them for over 17 years in the wild. He was made a commander in the group at the age of 12. The LRA is infamous for the killing and abduction of thousands of civilians across multiple countries. He defected and is now a recent new member of the Ugandan Army, UPDF, African Union force hunting the LRA.
Brent Stirton, Ivory Wars, November 17, 2014 
(Nature, 2nd prize stories)

Michael Oryem (29) poached elephant with the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), operating mainly in the Garamba National Park in DRC. He says he was asked by LRA leader Joseph Kony to take ivory to him in Darfur, Sudan, and that the LRA trades the ivory to the Sudanese Army. Oryem defected from the LRA and helped take Ugandan forces through the border into the Central African Republic to retrieve a stash of ivory he had previously hidden. He is carrying two of the six tusks he hid.

Ivory is now a real means of financing for the LRA, it is used for both food and weapons supplies and is traded to the Sudanese Army who transports it north to Khartoum.

GULU, UGANDA, 21 November 2014: Margret Acino, 32, is one of hundreds of thousands of victims of the L.R.A; a rebel group that now relies heavily on ivory to fund their terror campaign. She was attacked by members of the Lord’s Resistance Army when she was 23 and 9 months pregnant. Her lips, ears and nose were cut off and her breasts were hacked off by the rebels. Margret and a small group of villagers had gone to the fields for crops when they found themselves surrounded. They were taken quickly to an area outside of Gulu where the men accused them of informing on the LRA to the Ugandan Army. Two men and a child were then immediately killed with the hoes they had been carrying for farming. The commander of the rebels accused them again, confronting Margaret and accusing her of being the wife of a soldier. Her husband was in fact a simple farmer. The LRA commander then killed another women in front of her. He said this must be the truth or how could she be so confident in talking with them. He then said he would teach her not to inform ever again. He ordered his men, mostly young teenagers, to produce a razor blade. They hesitated and the commander then threatened his own men, one of them then produced a razor blade and they were ordered to cut off Margret’s lips, ears and nose, a practice that was an LRA trademark at the time. When the men were finished, Margret was released and told to run. She passed out from loss of blood shortly thereafter and when she revived she found a man with a bicycle who took her to an IDP. She was in surgery for 2 days, her baby was born via an emergency caesarian and Margret then lapsed into a coma for 5 days. She has had 7 surgeries since to try to repair her ravaged face. The LRA commander who ordered this brutality subsequently defected and was given amnesty. Margaret saw him at a World Vision camp and became hysterical, telling people he was the one behind her tragedy. He was moved from the camp but not prosecuted. Margret has subsequently forgiven him, saying that it is easier to live with things this way. Her husband was less supportive and abandoned her, saying she was too damaged to be his wife, leaving her to fend for herself and her four children. He slept with other woman but still forced himself on Margret, tragically he became HIV+ and infected her too. He subsequently died in 2010 and his father banned Margret from his land, saying he never wanted to see her again. Her own brother is currently trying to take the small garden she uses for cultivation for her and her children; he was the first person to tell her she was ugly after she was brutalized. In a rare show of support, her former husband’s younger brother now lives with Margret and helps her to raise her children. Her biggest concern is how they will live once she passes on, as she believes she will do from Aids. Margret is still fearful of the LRA, believing that if left unchallenged it will be possible for their leader Joseph Kony to once again become active in Uganda. Atrocities like the one suffered by Margret are still being committed by the LRA, only now most often in Central African Republic and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Brent Stirton, Ivory Wars, November 21, 2014 
(Nature, 2nd prize stories)

Margret Acino (32) was abducted from a field outside her village by the Lord’s Resistance Army, who accused her of informing on them to the Ugandan Army. She was mutilated before being released.

Sexual Assault in America’s Military: The incidence of sexual assault on women by their colleagues in the US Armed Forces is high. Many women see reporting attacks to their commands as difficult or futile. Very few sexual assaults are reported and only a fraction of those get to court. The trauma of a sexual assault, and the ensuing emotional distress, may lead to long-term personal issues. The effects of Military Sexual Trauma (MST) include drug and alcohol dependence, homelessness, and an increased risk of suicide. Challenges for women veterans are not always met by existing vet programs. Women veterans form the fastest growing segment of the homeless population of the US, and are four times more likely to be homeless as other women.

The photographer, who comes from a military family, made it her mission to document the lives of MST survivors, and to keep the issue talked about. She learned that they formed a network of support for each other, but that homeless survivors were a hidden population, who rarely spoke to others about their experiences.

Homeless veteran Darlene Matthews has been living in her car for over two years while she waits for a housing voucher from the VA. She joined the US Army in 1976 and was sent to Fort McLellan, Alabama. "I was going to join this all women's army and there would be no sexual problems but I joined and there were sexual problems." She was beyond horrified when she discovered that it wasn't a safe place and instead full of "illegal punishments and all this sexual stuff. The whole atmosphere was abusive." Her life spiraled down after she got out of the military and found herself very depressed. She joined the military to escape a chaotic abusive home life and was forced back into it when she was discharged. She has been fighting with the VA for benefits including housing vouchers but has been living in her car in the parking lot of a mortuary next to a graveyard. "It's like being in a fun house and every door gets slammed in your face every time you try to leave. I feel like giving up sometimes, and nobody would care."
Mary F. Calvert, 
Sexual Assault in America’s Military, December 1, 2014. Long Term Projects, 1st prize

Veteran Darlene Matthews has been living in her car for more than two years, while she waits for a housing voucher from the VA. Darlene joined the military in 1976, to escape an abusive home life, but was upset to discover that the army was not a safe place. After her discharge, she became depressed, and her life went into a downward spiral.

Gary Noling stands in his daughter Carrie's bedroom on the anniversary of her suicide in Alliance, Ohio. US Marine Carrie Goodwin suffered severe retaliation after reporting her rape to her commanders. Five days after she was went home with a bad conduct discharge, she drank herself to death. "it destroyed my family. When Carrie died i lost all three of my kids and my grandkids. I lost two thirds of me. Two thirds of me is in that box of ashes."
Mary F. Calvert, 
Sexual Assault in America’s Military, March 1, 2014. Long Term Projects, 1st prize

Gary Noling stands in his daughter Carrie’s bedroom, on the anniversary of her suicide. She drank herself to death following severe retaliation after reporting her rape to superiors.

Debra Filter joined the US Army in 1978 and went through boot camp at Fort Ord, Georgia. In those days, the women trained just like the men did. Her drill sergeants were Viet Nam vets and "wanted to make sure all the recruits felt a piece of Viet Nam. A lot of it was a "Full Metal Jacket" experience," she says. Debra and several other women recruits were raped at the party they were forced to attend upon graduation. "We didn't realize it was for women and that a great many of us were going to be raped." "I wanted to make the military my career. Rape stopped my career, stopped any dreams I ever had." Her PTSD festered and Debra eventually left the military with an honorable discharge. Though educated with a Masters Degree, she has been homeless for 10 years and has battled the VA for benefits for 30 years. She left Las Vegas when the VA pulled her benefits. Debra thinks it was in retaliation for her homeless activism. She says the teardrop tattoo under her eye is a symbol of how the VA tried to kill her. She has been in and out of shelters in LA and now has a housing voucher for a studio apartment in Korea-town in Los Angeles, CA.
Mary F. Calvert, 
Sexual Assault in America’s Military, November 29, 2014. Long Term Projects, 1st prize

Debra Filter was raped with several other recruits at a boot camp graduation party they were forced to attend in 1978. For a long time she suffered from PTSD, and eventually left the army. She has been homeless for ten years and wrangling with Veterans Affairs for benefits for decades, but now has a VA housing voucher for a studio apartment.

North Korea: Life in the Cult of Kim: North Korea has been one of the most isolated and least understood countries. Few outsiders have ever had a glimpse of the country and there have been very few independent photographs ever made there. This series documents urban and rural North Korea, capturing the daily life of its citizens, military events and ceremonies.

At dusk, the skyline of central Pyongyang, North Korea.
David Guttenfelder, North Korea: Life in the Cult of Kim, April 12, 2011 (Long Term Projects, 3rd prize)


At dusk, the skyline of central Pyongyang, North Korea.

A North Korean man checks his bicycle next to a painted exclamation point on a propaganda billboard on Wednesday April 24, 2013 in Kaesong, North Korea, north of the demilitarized zone which separates the two Koreas.
David Guttenfelder, North Korea: Life in the Cult of Kim, April 24, 2013 (Long Term Projects, 3rd prize)


A man checks his bicycle next to a painted exclamation point on a propaganda billboard in Kaesong, North Korea.

© Chen Jie - Tianjin Explosion
Chen Jie, Explosion, 15 August, Tianjin, China (General News, 3rd prize singles)

A large pit, wrecked vehicles and damaged buildings remain in the aftermath of explosions in the container storage station of a logistics company in the Port of Tianjin, northeastern China.
The warehouse, owned by Ruhai Logistics, was registered for storage of hazardous chemicals. Safety regulations stipulating that public buildings should be at least one kilometer away were not heeded. A series of explosions at the facility resulted in damage to some 17,000 residences and 8,000 vehicles, killing over 170 people (95 of them firefighters) and injuring hundreds more. Later investigation concluded that the first explosion occurred in an overheated container of dry nitrocellulose, which set off further explosions, including one that involved the detonation of around 800 tons of ammonium nitrate.

San Pedro Sula, HondurasHe became the fourth victim on the same street that night. The rival 18th Street gang surprised their enemies MS13 and shot them dead. Police have no witnesses to the event and probably the murder will never be solved.
Niclas Hammarström, Gang-related Violence, 4 March, San Pedro Sula, Honduras 
(Spot News, 3rd prize singles)

A man lies dead after a gang shoot-out in San Pedro Sula. He was the fourth victim on the same street of an ambush by members of the 18th Street gang on their rivals MS13.

Honduras is at the top of the world’s homicide list, with over 7,000 homicides a year in a population of eight million. Most of the violence is gang-related, in a country which is on a transit route for drugs, and where corruption is widespread and gangs wield great power.

1. Tapajós River, Itaituba, Pará State, Brazil, on February 10, 2015. Indigenous children jump into the water as they play around the Tapajós river, in the Munduruku tribal area called Sawré Muybu.
Mauricio Lima, Amazon’s Munduruku Tribe 
(Daily Life, 2nd prize singles)

Indigenous Munduruku children play in the Tapajos river in the tribal area of Sawre Muybu, Itaituba, Brazil on 10 February 2015.

The tribesmen of the Munduruku, who for centuries have sanctified the Tapajos River on which their villages sit, are fighting for survival. Brazil’s government plans to flood much of their land to build a $9.9 billion hydroelectric dam, the Sao Luiz do Tapajos, as part of a wider energy strategy across the Amazon rainforest.

Lamon Reccord, left, scolds a police sergeant during a police violence protest and march at State and Randolph streets Wednesday, Nov. 25, 2015, in Chicago.(John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)
John J. Kim, March Against Police Violence, November 25, 2015 (Contemporary Issues, 3rd prize singles)

Lamon Reccord stares down a police sergeant during a march against police racial violence. Protests had taken place almost daily after the release of a police car dashcam video showing 17-year-old Laquan McDonald being fatally shot by a Chicago police officer. McDonald, who was armed with a knife, was shot 16 times by the officer, who said he feared for his life. The protest was one of a number that occurred throughout the year, following episodes elsewhere in the country where police were accused of using excessive force against black men, often involving fatal shootings.

Reporting Europe’s Refugee Crisis: Over one million refugees entered Europe in 2015, the vast majority arriving by sea, through Greece and Italy. Many landing in Greece wanted to move on, through the Balkan countries, to enter the Schengen Area of the European Union, where movement between member states does not require a passport. Balkan countries tended to steer refugees towards the next border, in the largest movement of people on the continent since World War II. Hungary, to the north, closed its frontiers, first with Serbia, then with Croatia.

7 - A Slovenian police officer on horseback escorted migrants after they crossed from Croatia.
Sergey Ponomarev, Reporting Europe’s Refugee Crisis, October 20, 2015 (General News, 1st prize stories)

A Slovenian police officer on horseback escorts refugees after they crossed from Croatia.

3. Hasaka, Syria - August 1, 2015A doctor rubs ointment on the burns of Jacob, 16, in front of a poster of Abdullah Ocalan, center, the jailed leader of the Kurdistan Workers' Party, at a YPG hospital compound on the outskirts of Hasaka. According to YPG fighters at the scene, Jacob is an ISIS fighter from Deir al-Zour and the only survivior from an ambush made by YPG fighters over a truck alleged to carry ISIS fighters on the outskirts of Hasaka. Six ISIS fighters died in the attack, 5 of them completely disfigured by the explosion.
Mauricio Lima, IS Fighter Treated at Kurdish Hospital, 1 August, Hasaka, Syria (General News, 1st prize singles )

A doctor rubs ointment on the burns of a 16-year-old Islamic State fighter named Jacob in front of a poster of Abdullah Ocalan, the jailed leader of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, at a Y.P.G. hospital compound on the outskirts of Hasaka, Syria on 01 August 2015.

Aftermath of Airstrikes in Syria: The city of Douma in Syria lies in opposition-held Eastern Ghouta, an agricultural area on the outskirts of the capital Damascus. Douma and other small towns in Eastern Ghouta came under heavy shelling and bombardment. Responsibility for the attacks was difficult to verify.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs says that parts of the region had been under continuous siege by government forces since 2013, resulting in severe shortages of food and medical supplies. People fleeing the attacks, and the deprivation caused by the siege, joined the millions of internally displaced people within Syria and the 4.6 million registered refugees abroad.

A man carries his bicycle past debris and burning cars following reported airstrikes in the town of Hamouria in the eastern Ghouta region, a rebel stronghold east of the Syrian capital Damascus, on December 9, 2015. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported at least 11 civilians, including four children, were killed in strikes on the town of Hamouria, but said it was unclear if they were carried out by Russian or regime aircraft. AFP PHOTO / SAMEER AL-DOUMY
Sameer Al-Doumy, 
Aftermath of Airstrikes in Syria, December 9, 2015 (
Spot News, 1st prize stories)

A man pushes his bicycle past debris following airstrikes in Hamouria, Syria.

The photos will be shown at the 2016 World Press Photo Exhibition, Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall in London on 4 – 21 November 2016. And in many other cities around the world.

Previously: Slaughtered caimans, threatened orangutans and other tragedies at the World Press Photo exhibition, World Press Photo, the most spectacular works of photo journalism from the year 2010, FotoGrafia, Rome’s international festival of photography – Part two and World press photo exhibition.