World Press Photo Contest 2018 – the winning pictures

Highlights from this year’s competition include Ronaldo Schemidt’s image of a man on fire, which took the top prize

Main image: Ronaldo Schemidt’s World Press Photo of the year 2018 Photograph: Ronaldo Schemidt/AFP/Reuters

  • People – stories category, first prize

    Aisha, 14, pictured in Maiduguri, Borno state, Nigeria. Aisha was kidnapped by Boko Haram and assigned a suicide bombing mission. After she was strapped with explosives, she managed to find help instead of blowing herself and others up
    People – stories category, first prize. Aisha, 14, pictured in Maiduguri, Borno state, Nigeria. Aisha was kidnapped by Boko Haram and assigned a suicide bombing mission. After she was strapped with explosives, she managed to find help instead of blowing herself and others up

  • Environment – stories, first prize

    A man carries a huge bag of bottles collected for recycling at the Olusosun landfill site in Lagos, Nigeria
    Environment – stories, first prize. A man carries a huge bag of bottles collected for recycling at the Olusosun landfill site in Lagos, Nigeria

  • Nature – singles, second prize

    Rockhopper penguins live up to their name as they navigate the coastline of Marion Island, a South African sub-Antarctic territory in the Indian Ocean
    Nature – singles, second prize. Rockhopper penguins live up to their name as they navigate the coastline of Marion Island, a South African sub-Antarctic territory in the Indian Ocean

  • Contemporary issues – stories, first prize

    Veronica, 28, massages the breasts of her daughter in Cameroon. Breast ironing is a traditional practice that involves massaging or pressing the breasts of pubescent girls in order to suppress or reverse development. It is carried out in the belief that it will delay maturity and help prevent rapes or sexual advances
    Contemporary issues – stories, first prizeVeronica, 28, massages the breasts of her 10-year-old daughter in Cameroon. Breast ironing is a traditional practice that involves massaging or pressing the breasts of pubescent girls in order to suppress or reverse development. It is carried out in the belief that it will delay maturity and help prevent rapes or sexual advances

  • World Press Photo of the year 2018

    José Victor Salazar Balza, 28, catches fire amid violent clashes with riot police during a protest against the Venezuelan president, Nicolás Maduro, in Caracas. This photo also won first prize in the spot news – singles category
    World Press Photo of the year 2018. José Victor Salazar Balza, 28, catches fire amid violent clashes with riot police during a protest against the Venezuelan president, Nicolás Maduro, in Caracas. This photo also won first prize in the spot news – singles category

  • Environment – singles, first prize

    A young southern white rhinoceros is drugged and blindfolded before being released into the wild in the Okavango delta, Botswana. The animal had been relocated from South Africa for protection from poachers
    Environment – singles, first prize. A young southern white rhinoceros is drugged and blindfolded before being released into the wild in the Okavango delta, Botswana. The animal had been relocated from South Africa for protection from poachers

  • Sport – singles, first prize

    Competitors from the Up’ards and Down’ards teams reach for the ball during the annual Royal Shrovetide football match in Ashbourne, Derbyshire, England
    Sport – singles, first prize. Competitors from the Up’ards and Down’ards teams reach for the ball during the annual Royal Shrovetide football match in Ashbourne, Derbyshire, England

  • Nature – singles, first prize

    A bald eagle scavenges for scraps of meat in the garbage bins of a supermarket in Dutch Harbor, Alaska, US
    Nature – singles, first prize. A bald eagle scavenges for scraps of meat in the garbage bins of a supermarket in Dutch Harbor, Alaska, US

  • General news – stories, first prize

    Nadhira Aziz watches as Iraqi civil defence workers recover the bodies of her sister and niece from her house in the city of Mosul, where they were killed by an airstrike in June. By the end of the battle for Mosul, more than 9,000 civilians were reported to have been killed
    General news – stories, first prize. Nadhira Aziz watches as Iraqi civil defence workers recover the bodies of her sister and niece from her house in the city of Mosul, where they were killed by an airstrike in June. By the end of the battle for Mosul, more than 9,000 civilians were reported to have been killed

  • Contemporary issues – singles, first prize

    A boat carrying tourists from Lagos marina is steered through the canals of Nigeria’s Makoko community, an ancient fishing village that has grown into an enormous informal settlement on the shores of Lagos lagoon
    Contemporary issues – singles, first prize. A boat carrying tourists from Lagos marina is steered through the canals of Nigeria’s Makoko community, an ancient fishing village that has grown into an enormous informal settlement on the shores of Lagos lagoon

  • General news – singles, first prize

    The bodies of Rohingya refugees are laid out after the boat in which they were attempting to flee Myanmar capsized off the coast of Bangladesh. Around 100 people were onboard; there were 17 survivors
    General news – singles, first prize. The bodies of Rohingya refugees are laid out after the boat in which they were attempting to flee Myanmar capsized off the coast of Bangladesh. Around 100 people were onboard; there were 17 survivors

  • People – singles, first prize

    Djeneta, right, has been bedridden and unresponsive for two and a half years, and her sister Ibadeta for more than six months, in Horndal, Sweden. The sisters are Roma refugees from Kosovo who have resignation syndrome, which renders patients immobile, mute and unable to respond to physical stimulus
    People – singles, first prize. Djeneta, right, has been bedridden and unresponsive for two and a half years, and her sister Ibadeta for more than six months, in Horndal, Sweden. The sisters are Roma refugees from Kosovo who have resignation syndrome, which renders patients immobile, mute and unable to respond to physical stimulus

  • Nature – singles, third prize

    A flying fish swims below the surface of the North Atlantic Ocean, in the Gulf Stream, late at night off the coast of Palm Beach, Florida, US
    Nature – singles, third prize. A flying fish swims below the surface of the North Atlantic Ocean, in the Gulf Stream, late at night off the coast of Palm Beach, Florida, US
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