World Press Photo has announced the winners of the 2025 World Press Photo Contest, showcasing a selection of the world’s best photojournalism and documentary photography.
This image is a winner in the Asia-Pacific and Oceania Stories category. Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) and SOF fighters fire a heavy machine gun, in an attack on a junta military camp. Taung Soon, Kayin State, Myanmar, 21 April 2024. Picture: Ye Aung Thu
The photos invite viewers to step outside the news cycle, and look more deeply at both prominent and less seen stories.
These works show the power of authentic photojournalism and documentary photography.
The 2025 World Press Photo of the Year winner and two finalists will be announced on 17 April.
Here we bring you a selection of some of the strongest images.
This image is a winner in the Africa Stories categry. Kenyan police officers and security personnel protect the Kenyan Parliament against protestors attempting to storm the building. Reports that police fired live ammunition at demonstrators led to condemnation by human rights groups and other countries calling for investigations and police reform. Nairobi, Kenya, 25 June 2024. Picture: Luis Tato, Agence France-PresseThis photograph is a winner in the Asia-Pacific and Oceania Stories category. A young long-tailed macaque lies sedated as veterinarians from the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation carry out a sterilization procedure, in Lopburi, Thailand, 25 May 2024. Picture: Chalinee Thirasupa, ReutersWinner in the Africa Singles category. The groom poses for a portrait at his wedding. In Sudan, announcing a wedding with celebratory gunfire is a tradition. In January 2024, the photographer was asked by a friend to document his wedding in Omdurman, a city constantly targeted by airstrikes. “Despite the clashes and random shelling in the city, the wedding was a simple but joyous occasion with family and friends.” Picture: Mosab AbushamaWinner in the Africa Singles category. Bodybuilder Tamale Safalu trains in front of his home. Kampala, Uganda, 25 January 2024. Despite losing his leg after a terrible motorcycle accident in 2020, Tamale Safalu remained committed to competitive bodybuilding, becoming the first disabled athlete in Uganda to compete against able-bodied athletes. Picture: Picture: Marijn FidderThis picture is a winner in the West, Central, and South Asia category. Mahmoud Ajour, 9 years old, lost both hands after being hit by a missile from Israeli warplanes during the war on Gaza, in Doha, Qatar, June 28, 2024. The image forms part of a portrait project on wounded Gazans in Doha. Picture: Samar Abu Elouf, for The New York TimesThis photograph is a winner in the South America Singles category. A stranded Boeing 727-200 surrounded by floodwaters at Salgado Filho International Airport. Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, 20 May 2024. Picture: Anselmo Cunha, Agence France-PresseThis image is a winner in the Europe Stories category. A protester rinses her eyes after police have deployed tear gas. She wears a protective ski mask, respirator, and gardening gloves (to pick up hot gas containers). Tbilisi, Georgia, 7 December 2024. Picture: Mikhail Tereshchenko, TASS AgencyThis picture is a winner in the Asia-Pacific and Oceania Stories category. Members of the Special Operations Force (SOF), a PDF unit, dig graves for four resistance fighters who died in an attack on a junta military camp. Taung Soon, Kayin State, Myanmar, 26 April 2024. Picture: Ye Aung ThuWinner in the Africa Stories category. An aerial view of newly constructed homes next to the fence line of Mosi-oa-Tunya National Park. Zambia’s population has nearly tripled since 1990. This picture forms part of a story on human encroachment onto land traditionally used by elephants which has led to a rapid increase in human-wildlife conflict over the past few years. Picture: Tommy Trenchard, Panos Pictures, for NPRThis image is a winner in the Africa Long Term Projects category. Zayid (23, not her real name) shows a scar left by a bullet. Zayid was raped at a refugee camp in Amhara. When fleeing to Addis Ababa with her family, she and her sister were shot and wounded by Amhara soldiers. Picture: Cinzia Canneri, Association Camille LepageWinner in the Africa Stories category. Sambaza, a sardine local to the waters of Lake Kivu, are captured in a net. Several factors, including overfishing and the presence of gas extraction plants, threaten the sambaza population in Goma, DRC, 20 March 2024. This picture is part of a larger story on climate change and pollution affecting fishing in Goma. Picture: Aubin Mukoni
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