World Press Photo 2020: Protest poetry in Sudan uprising wins photo of the year

Straight Voice, was captured by Japanese AFP photographer Yasuyoshi Chiba during demonstrations in the country calling for civilian rule

• 

  A photo by Yasuyoshi Chiba that shows people chanting slogans as a young man recites a poem, illuminated by mobile phones, before the opposition's direct dialog with people in Khartoum on June 19, 2019, wins the "Picture of the Year" award in the World Press Photo 2020 Contest. Yasuyoshi Chiba / AFP

• 

  A photo by Farouk Batiche showing students scuffle with riot police during an anti-government demonstration in Algiers, Algeria, on May 21, 2019, won first prize in the Spot News Singles category. Farouk Batiche / dpa

• 

  A photo by Mulugeta Ayene shows a relative of a victim of the Ethiopian Airlines Flight ET302 plane crash throwing dirt in her face as she grieves at the crash site, near Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on March 14, 2019. It won first prize in the Spot News Stories category. Mulugeta Ayene / AP Photo

• 

  A photo by Ivor Prickett showing Ahmed Ibrahim, 18, an SDF fighter badly burned in conflict with Turkish forces, being visited by his girlfriend at a hospital in Al Hasakah, on October 20, 2019. Ivor Prickett / The New York Times

• 

  A photo by Nikita Teryoshin showing a businessman locking away a pair of anti-tank grenade launchers, at the International Defence Exhibition and Conference in Abu Dhabi on February 18, 2019. Nikita Teryoshin / EPA

• 

  A photo by Tomek Kaczor shows Ewa, a 15-year-old Armenian girl who has recently woken from catatonic state brought on by Resignation Syndrome, sits in a wheelchair, flanked by her parents, in a refugee reception center in Podkowa Leśna, Poland, on June 1, 2019. It won first prize in the Portraits category. Tomek Kaczor / EPA

• 

  A photo by Romain Laurendeau shows Ultras chant insults against the state, the president, generals and the police during the final of the Algerian Cup in Algiers, on May 1, wins the "Story of the Year" award. Romain Laurendeau / EPA

• 

  A photo by Nicolas Asfouri that shows a woman holding up an umbrella during demonstrations in the Causeway Bay district of Hong Kong, on October 1, 2019, wins first prize in the General News Stories category. Nicolas Asfouri / AFP

• 

  A picture by Dai Kurokawa showing women are evacuated as security forces look out for perpetrators of an attack on the DusitD2 luxury hotel and business compound, in Nairobi. Dai Kurokawa / EPA

• 

  A photo by Esther Horvath shows a polar bear and her cub come close to equipment placed by scientists from Polarstern, a ship that is part of a scientific expedition investigating the consequences of Arctic climate change, in the central Arctic Ocean, on October 10, 2019, wins first prize at Environment singles category. Esther Horvath / EPA

• 

  A photo by Noah Berger shows firefighters battle the Marsh Complex Fire, near the town of Brentwood, California, United States, on August 3, 2019. Noah Berger / AP Photo

• 

  A photo by Matthew Abbott showing aluminum, which melts at 660.3℃, has streamed from a burning car in Conjola Park, a town where bushfires razed more than 89 properties, in New South Wales, Australia. Matthew Abbott / Panos Pictures for The New York Times

• 

  A photo by Alain Schroeder shows the body of a month-old orangutan lies on a rescue team's surgical drape, near the town of Subulussalam, Sumatra, Indonesia, on March 10, 2019, wins first prize at Nature Singles category. Alain Schroeder / EPA

• 

  A photo by Mark Blinch shows Kawhi Leonard (squatting, center) of the Toronto Raptors watches his game-winning buzzer-beater shot go into the net, while playing against the Philadelphia 76ers in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals of the 2019 National Basketball Association Playoffs, at the Scotiabank Arena, Toronto, Canada, on May 12, 2019, wins first prize in Sports Single category. Mark Blinch / EPA

• 

  A photo by Silvia Izquierdo shows fans of Brazil's Flamengo football team cheer as Gabriel Barbosa scores a goal against defending champions River Plate of Argentina, in the final of the Copa Libertadores, broadcast on giant screens during a watch party at Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on November 23, 2019, wins second prize in the Sports Singles category. Silvia Izquierdo / AP Photo

An emotional photo of a young man illuminated by smartphone lights as he recites poetry amid a crowd of protesters calling for civilian rule in Sudan has won the prestigious World Press Photo award.

The image, titled Straight Voice, was captured by Japanese AFP photographer Yasuyoshi Chiba, in Khartoum on June 19 last year. Chiba is Chief Photographer for East Africa and Indian Ocean for French news agency Agence France-Presse. The photo also won first prize in the General News Singles category.

The protesters were calling for a return to civilian rule in Sudan after the military toppled long-time ruler Omar Al Bashir in April.

“This moment was the only peaceful group protest I encountered during my stay,” Mr Chiba said in a statement released by the Amsterdam-based World Press Photo Foundation. “I felt their undefeated solidarity like burning embers that remain to flare up again.”

Chris McGrath, a photographer for Getty Images and member of the 2020 jury, called the winning photo “just a really beautiful, quiet photograph that summed up all the unrest across the globe of people wanting change".

Protests and grief in Africa were strongly represented among news winners, with a series of images by Associated Press photographer Mulugeta Ayene of grieving families and other people at the site of the crash of Ethiopian Airlines Flight ET302 near Addis Ababa winning the Spot News Stories category. The series also was one of three nominations for Story of the Year and one of the images was among six nominations for the World Press Photo award.

The Boeing 737 MAX crashed into a field shortly after take-off, killing all 157 passengers and crew.

The World Press Photo Story of the Year also came from Africa, with French photographer Romain Laurendeau winning for a series titled Kho, the Genesis of a Revolt, focusing on the roots of protests that erupted last year in Algeria. The series also won the Long-Term Projects category.

Esther Horvath of Hungary won the Environment Singles category with a photo for The New York Times of a polar bear and her cub near equipment placed by scientists investigating the consequences of Arctic climate change. AP photographer Noah Berger won second prize with an aerial image of firefighters battling the Marsh Complex Fire, near the town of Brentwood, California.

Canadian Mark Blinch won the Sports Singles top prize with a dramatic image of the Toronto Raptors player Kawhi Leonard watching his match-winning, buzzer-beating shot drop into the net to defeat the Philadelphia 76ers.