World Press Photo of the Year 2007 Tim Hetherington, UK, for Vanity Fair American soldier resting at bunker, Korengal Valley, Afghanistan, 16 September A soldier of Second Platoon, Battle Company of the Second Battalion of the US 503rd Infantry Regiment sinks onto an embankment in the Restrepo bunker in the Korengal Valley, Afghanistan, at the end of the day on September 16. The valley was the epicenter of the US fight against militant Islam in Afghanistan, and scene of some of the deadliest combat in the region.

2nd prize Spot News Stories Roberto Schmidt, Colombia/Germany, Agence France-Presse Kenya election unrest, Nairobi, 29-31 December A supporter of defeated candidate Raila Odinga waves a stick during protests in Kibera, an opposition stronghold. Unrest swept through Kenya after people disputed current leader Mwai Kibaki's narrow victory in presidential elections.

2nd prize General News SinglesStanley Greene, USA, Noor Attack plan drawn in sand, Chad-Sudan border, January A sketch in the sand illustrates an assault on Furawiya village in Darfur in western Sudan in 2003. The diagram was drawn four years later in January 2007, in a refugee camp in neighboring Chad by Asdallah Asdel Khaled, a survivor of the attack. He had witnessed the total destruction of his village, and atrocities committed against its inhabitants. Between 2003 and 2007, over 200,000 people were killed and 2.5 million displaced by ethnic conflict in Darfur, with large numbers fleeing to Chad.

1st prize People in the News Singles Yonathan Weitzman, Israel Dress of an African girl caught in the Israel/Egypt border fence, 20 August The dress of an African girl hangs on a barbed-wire fence after she has crossed the Israeli-Egyptian border with her family, on August 20. A growing number of migrants, many from the conflict-torn Darfur area of Sudan, passed illegally into Israel in 2007. Many had already lived for some years in Egypt. Israel argued that such people were not refugees but economic migrants, and further reserved the right to refuse entry to asylum-seekers from enemy countries, of which Sudan was regarded as one. In July, the Egyptian president had promised to step up action against border infiltrators, and the Egyptian military adopted a more aggressive stance towards people attempting illegal crossings.

1st prize People in the News Stories Philippe Dudouit, Switzerland, for Time magazinePKK fighters, Northern Iraq PKK commander Haval Syavent stands in the forest near the PKK camp of Arbur in northern Iraq. Conflict between Turkish authorities and militant fighters of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), who are calling for an independent Kurdish state, has lasted decades and cost more than 30,000 lives. More than half the world's Kurds (10 to 12 million people) live in the southeastern part of Turkey, near the border with Iraq.

1st prize Contemporary Issues Stories Jean Revillard, Switzerland, Rezo.ch Makeshift huts of immigrants, Calais, France Five years after the closure of the Sangatte refugee center near Calais, some 500 migrants sleep rough in makeshift shelters on the city outskirts. Many have fled conflict in Iraq, Afghanistan and Darfur, and are hoping to stow away in trains or vehicles heading through the Channel tunnel to seek asylum in the UK. In April, the mayor of Calais announced plans to build some basic facilities for migrants on an abandoned football pitch.

1st prize Contemporary Issues Singles Brent Stirton, South Africa, Reportage by Getty Images for Newsweek Evacuation of dead mountain gorillas, Virunga National Park, Eastern Congo Conservation rangers of the Virunga National Park in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo evacuate the bodies of four mountain gorillas found shot in the forest. The gorillas, a highly endangered species, live in an area beset with conflict. Rebel leaders in the region maintain that the Congolese government is collaborating with the Hutu-led FDLR (Democratic Liberation Forces of Rwanda), accused of involvement in the 1994 genocide against Tutsis in Rwanda. Rebel militia have entered Virunga in pursuit of FDLR fighters, who they say are hiding there. It is not always clear who is attacking the gorillas, but a number have been killed in ways that parallel human executions during the Rwandan genocide. Some are eaten as bush-meat. The gorillas' habitat is also being destroyed, as both militia and illegal charcoal-makers are cutting down trees. There are an estimated 700 mountain gorillas remaining worldwide. More than half of these live in Virunga, where at least nine were killed during 2007. Rangers trying to protect the gorillas have also come under attack.

1st prize Daily Life Stories Pieter ten Hoopen, The Netherlands, Agence VuKitezh, the invisible town, Russia People in the town of Vladimirskoe, near Nizhny Novgorod in western Russia, live beside a lake that is an object of ancient folklore and pilgrimage. The story goes that when the city of Kitezh came under attack by Mongols in the 13th century, the townsfolk put up no defense, but simply prayed for God’s protection. As the Mongol armies came in for the assault, fountains sprang from the earth, and the city of Kitezh sank beneath the waters of what is now Lake Svetloyar. Legend has it that the city can be seen rising from the lake in midsummer, and that bells and singing can be heard from beneath the surface. The water itself is considered sacred, and Russian Orthodox pilgrims come to celebrate the piety of the townsfolk of Kitezh. But few pay attention to the residents of present-day Vladimirskoe beside the lake, and few tourists bother to visit the town. The unemployment rate is high, and alcohol abuse is rife.

1st prize Sports Features Singles Andrew Quilty, Australia, Oculi for Australian Financial Review Magazine Maxwelton Race Meeting, Queensland, Australia Children watch a horse race in the small outback town of Maxwelton, in Queensland, Australia. The annual Maxwelton Race Meeting carries prize money totaling AUS$ 28,000 (nearly '17,500), and attracts punters from all over the region. In an atmosphere that has changed little since the race club was established in 1951, visitors also participate in family foot races and games for young folk.

1st prize Sports Action Singles Ivaylo Velev, Bulgaria, Bul X Vision Photography Agency Freeride competitor Phil Meier chased by an avalanche, Flaine, France, 15 MarchSwiss professional freeride skier Phil Meier escapes an oncoming avalanche in Flaine, France, during Freeride Quest, a qualifying event for Xtreme Verbier, the freeriding world championship. The sport involves off-piste skiing through a variety of terrains, with very few restricting rules. It is not uncommon that a freerider triggers an avalanche. Meier finished the session safely. Of the 19 men in the event, five qualified for the world championships.

1st prize Sports Features Stories Erik Refner, Denmark, Berlingske Tidende Competitors in the Copenhagen Marathon at the finish-line, on May 18.

3rd prize Sports Action Stories Chris Detrick, USA, The Salt Lake Tribune Sports portfolio: Pepperdine's Jason Walberg gouges the eyes of Brigham Young University's Jonathan Tavernari during a basketball match in Provo, Utah, USA. No foul was called. Although Tavernari missed the basket immediately after the incident, he was not injured. Later in the game he scored back-to-back three-pointers, helping his team win 86-67.