Breathtaking honorees from the World Press Photo Contest : NPR

Young dancers from the Joburg Ballet School backstage on the Soweto Theatre put together for his or her year-end efficiency. Soweto, South Africa. December 7, 2025.

Ihsaan Haffejee for GroundUp

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Ihsaan Haffejee for GroundUp

The successful pictures within the 2026 World Press Photos contest attest to a 12 months of battle and chaos. War, migration points and local weather upheaval dominated the information.

NPR highlighted the “photo of the year’ — Separated by ICE. It was taken by Carol Guzy of the United States for the Miami Herald and captures the pain of a family being separated in a New York court.

There were also award winners that offer hope and happiness — like that photo of young ballet students in Johannesburg, South Africa, as they pause for a reflective moment before a performance. It is all the more stirring because before Apartheid came to an end, ballet was an art form typically reserved for white South Africans. 

The photographer, Ihsaan Haffejee, based mostly in Johannesburg, says his editor had requested that photojournalists preserve a watch open for excellent news tales. He says he took his digital camera to the Joburg Ballet School “year-end performance in which the young students showcase the ballet skills that they have learnt throughout the year. “Parents, family and friends attend and cheer on the younger women as they carry out for a packed viewers.”

Here’s a selection of photos singled out for distinction in regional categories, focusing on the countries of the Global South that our global health and development team covers.

Gulshaman visits Fatemah, whose daughter, Yasmin, was born yesterday. Waras, Shahristan district, Daikundi province, Afghanistan. July 27, 2025

Elise Blanchard for Time

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Elise Blanchard for Time

In Afghanistan’s distant Daikundi province, the cessation of U.S. help has stripped many pregnant girls of entry to medical care, pushing them to ship at house in a rustic that already has one of many world’s highest maternal mortality rates as per UNICEF knowledge. The funding shortfall has pressured the suspension or shutdown of over 400 health facilities nationwide, together with small, single-midwife group clinics, the place lots of the workers now work with out pay or fundamental provides.

“I’m Afraid” is a winner within the tales class for West, Central and South Asia and was photographed by Elise Blanchard for Time.  “The hardest part of covering this was to face the grief of the women who had lost their unborn children, and in one case, a man who had lost both his wife and unborn child before they could reach a clinic,” says Blanchard.

Her successful picture exhibits a younger girl who gave start yesterday. “At 24, [Fatemah] had already given birth at home thrice, and lost a 5-month-old child because she could not walk to a clinic on time,” says Blanchard. “She was handling a difficult marriage and facing extreme poverty. I was pained by what she went through and would continue going through but also so impressed by her strength.”

Valeria, age 5, performs behind a curtain at her aunt’s home. She is raised solely by her mom. In her area, almost a 3rd of households are headed completely by girls. Los Patios, Norte de Santander, Colombia. September 10, 2025.

Ferley Ospina

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Ferley Ospina

A tales class winner from South America, “Name the Absence” by Ferley A. Ospina turns its lens on certainly one of Colombia’s many single-mother households. He is aware of of this expertise firsthand: In 1999, his father was killed within the border area of Norte de Santander.

“Many children like me grow up without a father,” he says. “It’s a very marked absence that continues through the years, and while society has normalized it, it affects the life of that child in a very profound and constant way.”

The picture of Valeria took place unexpectedly, he says. “I’d recently been turned down for several jobs and was listening to music — a bit of rock. I took my camera with me when I went to eat at my grandmother’s house. Later, I went to my aunt’s house, and there was Valeria in her room, playing on the bed and jumping all over the place.”

He took out his digital camera as a result of he discovered it endearing to observe her play alone and felt a deep connection. “It reminded me of my own childhood, when I used to play by myself as a child. At that moment, the sun began to shine brightly, the wind picked up and the curtain fluttered violently. That’s when I was able to take that photo. I didn’t seek out the photo; the photo found me.”

Professional hunters shoot a household of elephants recognized for culling. Sango Wildlife Conservancy, Savé Valley Conservancy, Zimbabwe. October 23, 2025

Halden Krog

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Halden Krog

“When Giants Fall” is the winner within the singles class for the area of Africa. It paperwork an ongoing effort to cull elephants — to kill a sure share of the inhabitants — within the wake of clashes between people and the animals..

Based in Cape Town, South Africa, Halden Krog has been documenting tales of elephants for the final 5 years. “We had been told that the populations across Southern Africa were growing too big and too fast for the wildlife areas that were supposed to contain them,” he says.

When the information broke in newspapers in Zimbabwe that the federal government was planning to cull 600 elephants, Krog made contact with the conservancy. They agreed that he might witness —- and {photograph} — the cull. “I can honestly say no one at this cull was happy about doing it, and every action was taken to complete this gruesome task as quick and humanely as possible,” he says. “I watched grown men in tears after every shoot.”

A shepherd herds his flock of sheep on the banks of the Euphrates River. The river divides forces loyal to the brand new Syrian authorities and those that help the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces. Deir al-Zour, Syria. August 21, 2025

Nicole Tung, VII Photo, for The New York Times

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Nicole Tung, VII Photo, for The New York Times

Hong Kong-born photojournalist Nicole Tung’s picture for The New York Times gained within the tales part for West, Central and South Asia. Her picture, titled “A Syrian City Rebuilds, Still Divided,” is a logo of hope in a battle ridden land, says Tung. It exhibits a shepherd herding his flock of sheep on the banks of the River Euphrates, within the metropolis of Deir Al Zour in Syria. A number of moments after taking the picture, Tung says she heard a loud explosion within the distance. A lady and her son have been injured by an unexploded bomb which that they had unintentionally triggered whereas scavenging on a dump web site, she says. “That somewhat peaceful moment with the shepherd was punctuated by a harsh reality in Deir Al Zour: that the war in Syria might be over but its consequences aren’t.”

Sandra Mara Siqueira rests together with her grandchildren, Micael, Davi, Ana Flávia and Vitória. Colombo, Paraná, Brazil. November 15, 2025.

Priscila Ribeiro

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Priscila Ribeiro

Millions of Brazilians lack safe and affordable housing, with a nationwide scarcity of 5.9 million homes forcing approximately 16.4 million folks into crowded settlements.  This image, titled “Territory of Hope,” is from a type of settlements, often called the Parque dos Lagos occupation, within the metropolis of Colombo. It’s house to 200 households who stay with out official entry to water, sewage disposal or electrical energy.

Documentary photographer Priscila Ribeiro, who lives in Curitiba, Brazil, says her curiosity on this topic comes each from her proximity to the group portrayed and the urgency of the issue. The {photograph} gained within the single picture class from South America.

“What struck me most was the relationship between vulnerability and strength,” she says –- that second of intimacy between the grandmother and her grandchildren.

Palestinians climb onto an help truck because it enters the Gaza Strip through the Zikim Crossing. They’re hoping to acquire flour throughout what the Israeli army referred to as a “tactical suspension” in operations to permit humanitarian help by way of. Gaza. July 27, 2025.

Saber Nuraldin/EPA Images

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Saber Nuraldin/EPA Images

Palestinians clambered onto an help truck because it entered the Gaza strip after Israel’s aid blockade resulted in widespread shortages of food. The truck can not even be seen below this blanket of determined people.

The photographer, Saber Nuraldin was born in Gaza and has documented life there since 1997. His picture, “Emergency in Gaza,” was certainly one of two finalists for the World Press Photo of the Year.

The {photograph} was taken close to the Zikim crossing throughout one of many hardest moments he ever witnessed, he says. Hundreds of hungry folks have been surrounding vehicles carrying flour and meals, hoping to safe one thing for his or her household. “Some people were able to return with a small amount of food, others came back empty-handed, and some did not return at all due to the extreme crowding, chaos and live fire.” As he photographed hungry folks struggling for meals, he says his personal kids have been at house — and hungry.

Female college students attend class at their college in Pakistan, which was attacked by the Taliban on December 21, 2012 as a part of a marketing campaign to forestall women from accessing training. This picture was taken the next 12 months and was honored within the “long-term project” class, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. June 4, 2013.

Diego Ibarra Sánchez

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Diego Ibarra Sánchez

“Hijacked Education” explores how battle shapes entry to training.  This {photograph}, from Pakistan, gained within the long-term venture class for West, Central and South Asia.

Spanish photographer Diego Ibarra Sánchez lived in Pakistan for 5 years. The nation shares a northwestern border with Afghanistan, and many of its tribal areas are subject to Taliban influence. “This photograph focuses on the struggle of girls learning under the shadow of the Taliban,” he says.

The intention of this work, just like the venture itself, is to boost questions on childhood, training, and what it means to be taught below menace, he says. “I want to draw the viewer out of their comfort zone and invite reflection on whether education is a right or a privilege,” Sánchez says. “Above all, I hope to briefly catch the attention of a distracted, passing viewer — and make them pause, even for a moment.”

Newlyweds within the Philippines went forward with their ceremony regardless of floods from Typhoon Wipha. Malolos, Bulacan province, Philippines. July 22, 2025.

Aaron Favila, Associated Press

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Aaron Favila, Associated Press

This picture for the Associated Press by Aaron Favila is titled “Wedding in the Flood.” Newlyweds Jade Rick Verdillo and Jamaica Aguilar, sharing a kiss, had been collectively for ten years and confronted a troublesome choice after Barasoain Church was flooded by Typhoon Wipha final summer time: Should they cancel their marriage ceremony or proceed?

The couple carried on regardless of excessive waters, a testomony to like and resilience within the face of extreme climate. Located on a delta, says Favila. Bulacan province is weak to extra frequent and excessive floods brought on by getting older drainage techniques, dredging tasks, overextraction of groundwater and local weather change.

Ghita Jhiate manages her unruly stallion. Long forbidden by her father to take part within the conventional driving occasion often called Tbourida, she lastly realized her dream of driving alongside pioneer Zahia Aboulait in 2025. Sidi Rahal, Morocco. August 6, 2025.

Chantal Pinzi, Panos Pictures

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Chantal Pinzi, Panos Pictures

This picture, “Farīsāt: Gunpowder’s Daughters,” gained within the tales class from the African area, depicting an early morning scene on the Sidi Rahal pageant in Morocco. At this occasion, riders gallop in unison, firing rifles, in a choreographed efficiency. The custom, often called Tbourida, dates to the sixteenth century however girls couldn’t take part till a ruling in 2004. Today, seven all-female troupes experience amongst some 300 male ones.

Describing this picture, documentary photographer Chantal Pinzi says that Ghita Jhaite’s horse was agitated after a confrontation with different stallions that induced the rider to fall. Yet Jhaite was in a position to deliver the horse below management — a troublesome feat whereas driving bareback. “When I saw her, I felt a huge rush of adrenaline and took the shot,” says Pinzi. “I immediately thought it was an iconic image for the story, this young woman who is completely in control.”

Kamala Thiagarajan is a contract journalist based mostly in Madurai, Southern India. She reviews on world well being, science and growth and has been printed in The New York Times, The British Medical Journal, the BBC, The Guardian and different shops. You can discover her on X @kamal_t