Best News Pictures of 2010: World Press Winners

First Prize, Spot News

Photograph courtesy Péter Lakatos, MTI

A man leaps to his death from Freedom Bridge in Budapest, Hungary, after setting himself on fire on May 22, 2010, in this picture captured by Hungarian photographer Péter Lakatos.

Published February 11, 2011

Second Prize, Arts and Entertainment (Series)

Photograph courtesy Daniele Tamagni

Carmen Rosa and Yulia la Pacena, two of Bolivia's "Flying Cholitas," entertain spectators during a fund-raising benefit for school bathrooms in La Paz on June 26, 2010.

In a photo-essay, Italian photographer Daniele Tamagni captured the increasingly popular cholitas, or women wrestlers, in and out of the ring.

Published February 11, 2011

First Prize, People in the News (Series)

Photograph courtesy Daniel Berehulak, Getty Images

In the shadow of an army relief helicopter, flood victims in Dadu, Pakistan, attempt to reach food supplies on September 13, 2010.

The 12 images in Australian photographer Daniel Berehulak's winning photo-essay captured the devastation of the August-September floods—the country's worst disaster of its kind in 80 years.

Published February 11, 2011

Second Prize, Nature (Series)

Photograph courtesy Stefano Unterthiner for National Geographic magazine

Whooper swans end the day on a frozen stretch of Notsuke Bay off Hokkaido, Japan, in this picture by Italian photographer Stefano Unterthiner.

Photographing for National Geographic magazine, Unterthiner revealed the migratory waterfowl in both labored flight and elegant repose. (See more of Unterthiner's whooper swan pictures.)

(The National Geographic Society owns National Geographic magazine and National Geographic News.)

Published February 11, 2011

First Prize, Daily Life

Photograph courtesy Omar Feisal for Reuters

A man carries a shark in Mogadishu, Somalia, on September 23, 2010, in this picture by Somali photographer Omar Feisal.

Conflict between insurgents and the Somali government have caused more than half of Mogadishu's civilian residents to flee the capital city since early 2007. Many of those who remain live in crushing poverty.

(See more pictures of Mogadishu, "where pirates and terrorists rule.")

Published February 11, 2011

Second Prize, Spot News (Series)

Photograph courtesy Corentin Fohlen, Fedephoto

An anti-government protester takes aim during a riot in Bangkok, Thailand, in May 2010. The image is one in a series of pictures by French photographer Corentin Fohlen.

Last year's mass demonstrations in Bangkok lasted more than two months and resulted in nearly 90 deaths.

Published February 11, 2011

Second Prize, Nature

Photograph courtesy Reinhard Dirscherl

Atlantic sailfish feed on Spanish sardines in this picture taken by German photographer Reinhard Dirscherl off Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula.

Sailfish can reach lengths of up to 8 feet (2.4 meters). They use their bills to slice through schools of sardines, which the sailfish drive toward the water's sunlit surface for easier feeding.

Published February 11, 2011

First Prize, General News

Photograph courtesy Riccardo Venturi, Contrasto

Fire engulfs the interior of the old Iron Market in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on January 18, 2010.

The devastating earthquake that struck Haiti on January 12, 2010, destroyed more than 97,000 homes and damaged more than 188,000 structures, displacing 1.3 million people. Local government estimates put the death toll at more than 220,000 people.

Published February 11, 2011

Second Prize, People in the News

Photograph courtesy Seamus Murphy, VII

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange faces reporters in London on September 30, 2010, in this picture by Irish photographer Seamus Murphy.

Late last year, the 39-year-old Australian became the focus of widespread media and law enforcement attention after his website released thousands of classified U.S. State Department cables.

Published February 11, 2011

First Prize, Daily Life (Series)

Photograph courtesy Martin Roemers, Panos Pictures

Dutch photographer Martin Roemers captures life in growing cities in a photo-essay entitled "Metropolis."

The world population will reach seven billion this year. Most of the world's 21 megacities are in developing countries and are expected to absorb much of the rising population. (See National Geographic magazine's special series Seven Billion.)

Published February 11, 2011

First Prize, General News (Series)

Photograph courtesy Olivier Laban-Mattei, Agence France-Presse

Bodies pile up at a morgue in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, during the aftermath of the January 12, 2010, earthquake in the impoverished city.

This winning picture, by French photographer Olivier Laban-Mattei, is one of a series taken in Haiti from January 15 to January 26.

Published February 11, 2011

First Prize, Contemporary Issues (Series)

Photograph courtesy Ed Ou, Reportage by Getty Images

Somali refugees rest in the desert in breakaway Somaliland on March 15, 2010, after traveling through the night en route to Yemen.

Canadian photographer Ed Ou documented the flight of refugees from Somalia in his winning photo-essay.

In addition to conflict among Islamic militias fighting for control, terrorism and drought in parts of Somalia have caused the displacement of more than a million people.

Published February 11, 2011

Second Prize, Contemporary Issues

Photograph courtesy Ed Kashi, VII

Suffering from a disability that may be an effect of Agent Orange, nine-year-old Nguyen Thi Ly was photographed in Da Nang, Vietnam, by U.S. photographer Ed Kashi.

During the Vietnam War, U.S. forces stripped jungle foliage by spraying large doses of Agent Orange, a defoliant containing dangerous dioxins believed—though not certain—to cause genetic disorders such as Fraser syndrome, whose symptoms can include malformed eyes.

Published February 11, 2011