CaptionDetective Robert Kole of the Cuyahoga County Sheriff's Office enters a home, following mortgage foreclosure and eviction. He needs to check that the owners have vacated the premises, and that no weapons have been left lying around. Officers go in at gunpoint as a precaution, as many houses have been vandalized or occupied by squatters or drug addicts. Towards the end of 2007, the severity of losses to US banks incurred over sub-prime mortgages was beginning to emerge. In the first months of 2008, rising interest rates together with increasing unemployment and a slowdown in the housing market, meant that many borrowers could no longer afford payments on their homes. Banks involved heavily in such debts were threatened with collapse. In the following months the financial crisis spread worldwide.
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CaptionRescue crews carry a survivor through the rubble of collapsed buildings, two days after the May 12 earthquake that devastated parts of central China. Officials said that 80 per cent of the old part of the city was destroyed.
CaptionA Zimbabwean man crawls through the border fence from Zimbabwe into South Africa, close to Beit Bridge. Zimbabwe was experiencing spiraling hyperinflation and critical unemployment. Official figures set immigration to South Africa at an average of 96,000 per month, not taking illegal migrants into account. In May, xenophobic violence broke out in Gauteng province, around Johannesburg. Attacks against migrants accused of taking homes and jobs from locals went on for several weeks, leaving around 60 people dead.
CaptionZaza Rasmadze holds the body of his brother Zviadi, following a Russian bombardment. The city came under air attack from Russian forces as tension between Russia and Georgia, focused on the breakaway region of South Ossetia, escalated into full-scale military conflict.
CaptionMonday Lawiland (7) screams as a policeman approaches his home, in the opposition stronghold of Kibera. The ethnic violence that erupted in Kenya following disputed elections in December 2007 carried on until February. Much of the fighting was between members of the Kikuyu tribe, supporters of incumbent president Mwai Kibaki, and the Luo tribe, supporters of opposition candidate Raila Odinga.
CaptionInjured earthquake victims sit amongst rubble. An earthquake measuring 7.9 on the Richter scale hit Beichuan County on May 12. The earthquake was the worst to hit China since 1976. Nearly 70,000 people were killed, and more than 4.5 million made homeless. Chinese authorities immediately poured troops into the region in a massive rescue attempt.
Organization / PublicationNapo Images for Dziennik
CategorySpot News stories
Prize3rd prize
Date09-08-2008
CountryGeorgia
PlaceGori
CaptionA woman covers her face after a Russian bombardment. Conflict broke out between Russia and Georgia in August over the breakaway region of South Ossetia. On August 7, Georgia launched an attack on South Ossetia, saying its aim was to restore constitutional order. Russia sent troops in support of the separatists, and on August 9 staged an air attack on Gori, a Georgian town near South Ossetia. Russian troops occupied the area around Gori, but later pulled back under a ceasefire.
CaptionPolice constable Sudam Pandarkar takes a shot at two armed gunmen inside the railway station. Two men armed with guns and grenades launched an attack on the Chhatrapati Shivaji railway terminus, one of the busiest in India. The onslaught resulted in 58 deaths, with scores more injured. The incident was one of a number of simultaneous attacks, targeting two luxury hotels as well as other Mumbai landmarks.
CaptionA woman tries to resist police eviction of squatters on private land near the city of Manaus. Eviction notices had been served on families living on the land some days earlier. The squatters, who were protesting against lack of housing in Manaus, were evicted after a clash that lasted two hours.
CaptionSurvivors of the earthquake make do among the ruins of their home. The earthquake, which measured 7.9 on the Richter scale, had struck eight days earlier, killing nearly 70,000 people and causing widespread destruction of property. Beichuan County was one of the worst hit.
CaptionPalestinian protestors take cover behind an olive tree as they get caught in tear gas fired by Israeli troops. Residents of the village began staging weekly demonstrations in May against Israel's extension of a barrier which would cut off part of their farmland.
CaptionWomen bathe on the Black Sea coast. Situated between the Black Sea and the Caucasus mountains, Abkhazia was once popular as a holiday destination for the Soviet elite. In October, people in Abkhazia marked the 15th anniversary of the ejection of Georgian troops from their territory. At the same time they celebrated Russian recognition of their independence, announced in August. This was the first international recognition after Abkhazia's unilateral declaration of independence nearly a decade earlier.
CaptionGeorgian soldiers travel near the city of Gori, close to the South Ossetian boundary. Following the escalation in fighting between Georgian forces and separatist militia in the breakaway region of South Ossetia in August, Russian troops intervened and for a while occupied parts of Georgia outside of South Ossetia. They later pulled back under a ceasefire brokered by President Nicolas Sarkozy of France.
CaptionA family in the debris of their house near Yangon. Cyclone Nargis hit southern Burma (Myanmar) on May 2, wiping away entire villages and flooding swathes of land, in the country's worst natural disaster in recorded history. Many areas were extremely isolated, reachable only by boat. Local relief efforts were slow in starting, and the Burmese authorities were at first resistant to help from outside.
CaptionMaasai warriors clash with members of the Kalenjin tribe using bows and arrows. Old rivalries resurfaced between the tribes in the aftermath of Kenya's disputed general elections, held the previous December. Unlike the rioting in the rest of the country, conflicts were strictly codified according to age-old traditions. Archers fired salvos at each other in daily contests, seldom engaging in close combat.
CaptionA man's hand drips blood as he stands in front of riot police at a demonstration outside the Greek parliament. Protests were triggered when a boy (15) was killed by a police bullet in an incident in the city three days earlier. Demonstrations widened to include broader expressions of political grievance, in what became Greece's worst rioting in decades.
CaptionHachim (20) from Afghanistan, entered Greece illegally and has spent two months in the port, attempting unsuccessfully to cross to Italy. Increasing numbers of migrants made their way to Greece from Iraq and Afghanistan via Turkey. Greece grants asylum to only a tiny proportion of applicants, so many attempt to leave for other parts of the European Union.
CaptionBarack Obama campaigns for presidential candidacy in a gym. In his bid for the US Democratic Party presidential candidacy Senator Barack Obama broke all fundraising records, largely by harnessing support from smaller donors via the internet. Obama clinched the Democratic nomination in June, and was elected 44th President of the US on November 4, the first African American to hold the post.
CaptionA family flees Gori after Russian tanks entered the town on August 13. In August, fighting broke out between the Georgian army and separatist forces in the breakaway region of South Ossetia. Russian troops entered the region, which is home to many ethnic Russians, in support of the separatists. As the conflict spread beyond the boundary of South Ossetia, people fled their homes.
CaptionTuareg rebels gather near the village of Boughessa. The Tuareg are a nomadic people living in an area that crosses a number of North African countries. They complain that they are excluded from local mining income, and lack political representation. Tuareg groups in both Niger and neighboring Mali attacked government facilities and took scores of prisoners, following the collapse of a 2006 ceasefire.
CaptionGoalkeeper Spyridon Papathanasiou (Greece) makes a dive for the ball as Gavin Gunning (Ireland) scores the first goal in a qualifier for finals of the UEFA men's under-17 football championship, at the Lissywollen Stadium. Greece eventually won the match 2-1.
CaptionUsain Bolt (Jamaica) wins the men's 200m sprint at the Beijing Olympic Games with a world-record time of 19.3 seconds. Bolt also broke world records in the 100m and, along with his teammates, in the 4100m relay, becoming the first man in history to set all three records at a single Olympics.
CaptionAle Copello (Cuba) competes during a qualification round for the men's triple jump, at the Beijing Olympics. Copello missed qualifying for the final by just two centimeters.
CaptionSébastien Libebe (France) participates in the Sambo World Championships. Sambo, a Russian acronym for 'self-defense without weapons', is a martial art that combines striking, throws and submissions, with a reputation for its crushing leg-holds. Sambo was developed in the Soviet Union in the 1920s and 1930s as a combination of judo and regional wrestling styles, but now has an international following.
Organization / Publicationfor European Pressphoto Agency
CategorySports Action stories
Prize3rd prize
Date22-08-2008
CountryChina
PlaceBeijing
CaptionHugo Parisi (Brazil). Participants in the men's 10m diving competition, at the Beijing Olympic Games. The event was won by Matthew Mitcham (Australia), giving Australia its first men's diving gold medal since 1924 and preventing China from sweeping all eight diving golds.
Organization / PublicationLaif Photos & Reportagen for Stern
CategorySports Features
Prize2nd prize
Date20-07-2008
CountryFrance
PlaceIsère
CaptionCyclists compete in the ninth annual ‘Mountain of Hell' bike race at Les Deux Alpes resort. The race starts 3,400m above sea level, at the top of the Dôme de la Lauze glacier, and goes through a 2,500m altitude drop over an unmarked, 25km-long course, to the village of Venosc below. Participants have to cycle over snow, rocks, single tracks, steps and sheer descents.
Organization / PublicationYours Gallery / Focus Photo und Presse Agentur
CategorySports Features
Prize3rd prize
Date26-07-2008
CountryMongolia
PlaceBanganuur
CaptionA young jockey stands beside a horse during the Naadam festival. The festival traces its roots back to the days of Genghis Khan, and involves the country's most popular sports: horse racing, archery and wrestling. Up to 1,000 horses are chosen to compete in various races over open grasslands. Children are preferred as jockeys because of their light weight. The top jockey is honored with the title 'tumny ekh' or 'leader of ten thousand'.
CaptionA judo match viewed on a wall-projection in a bar. During the Beijing Olympic Games, China Central Television (CCTV) devoted more than ten channels to daily live broadcasts. More than 1.1 billion viewers in China watched.
Organization / PublicationAgence Vu / Grazia Neri for Le Monde 2
CategorySports Feature stories
Prize3rd prize
Date26-01-2008
CountryRussia
PlaceSt. Petersburg
CaptionMichel Platini leaves the Piskarevskoe Cemetery after a ceremony commemorating the city's liberation during the Second World War. Michel Platini, the president of UEFA, European football's governing body, paid an official visit to Russia and the European Council in Strasbourg. The former French player oversees an annual budget of over € 820 million.
CaptionCoastguards spot a boat carrying migrants on their way to the Italian island of Lampedusa. Just off the coast of Tunisia, Lampedusa forms part of a much-used route for illegal immigration from Africa into Europe. Authorities on the island struggled to cope with an increase of 75% in migrant arrivals in 2008. Detention centers were filled beyond capacity, forcing hundreds to sleep outdoors.
Organization / PublicationOeil Public for La Croix
CategoryContemporary Issues
Prize2nd prize
Date04-04-2008
CountryFrance
PlaceMontreuil
CaptionA former victim of enforced labor. Young women in situations of enforced domestic labor are a cause for concern in a number of European countries. They leave their home countries on the advice of a relative or friend already established abroad, with the promise of work or study opportunities. When they arrive they have their identity papers taken away from them and are forced into unpaid labor, usually as maids.
Organization / PublicationGetty Images for Marie Claire
CategoryContemporary Issues
Prize3rd prize
Date10-12-2008
CountryGuatemala
PlaceGuatemala City
CaptionIn 'Garden of Angels', victims of crimes committed against women are represented by the clothes they were wearing at the time, hanging on a wooden cross. Guatemala has one of the world's highest rates of violence against women. In April 2008, the Congress of Guatemala approved a law specifically defining femicide as a crime, establishing punishments of 25 to 50 years imprisonment.
CaptionA homeless woman washes beside a river. Once dubbed the ‘murder capital of the world', Medellín has recently undergone a dramatic transformation. But although the homicide rate has plummeted, people who sleep rough remain vulnerable to street violence. In the weeks prior to this photograph being taken, four homeless people were killed in the vicinity.
CaptionA man sleeps wrapped against the cold outside the elite 'Jockey Club'. Over 10,000 people in the metropolis São Paulo are homeless. The city authorities maintain 35 shelters for overnight stays, with a total capacity for 8,000 people, but many of those who sleep on the streets resist the rules and social conventions enforced in these hostels.
CaptionSaidi Tamin and his son Ally live on handouts, because Saidi can no longer work outdoors. Tanzanian albinos have to struggle with life as outcasts in a climate they are ill adapted to. Those with the hereditary condition are particularly susceptible to skin cancer, and have to avoid exposure to strong sunlight. Albinos are also the targets of witchcraft murders, as it is believed potions made from their body parts bring luck and prosperity.
CaptionFondo Fucile is home to some 650 people. Shelters illegally erected as temporary housing after the Second World War still serve as family homes, yet there is no drinking-water or drainage system, and many roofs are made of asbestos. Successive city administrations have failed to bring any notable improvement to the slum.
CaptionChildren from El Matazano school look at the body of Petrona Rivas, the mother of two of their classmates, who was killed 200m from the school gates. The police said the murder was committed by members of a gang. Around ten people a day are murdered in El Salvador. Authorities believe street gangs to be behind the crime wave.
Organization / PublicationGrazia Neri for El Periódico
CategoryDaily Life
Prize2nd prize
Date11-10-2008
CountrySpain
PlaceBarcelona
CaptionWill and his adopted daughter Stassa get ready for Will's marriage to his male partner. Will and his partner originally lived in California, where they were wedded in 2004 when the mayor of San Francisco made marriage licenses available to same-se couples. The Supreme Court of California later declared these unions void. The couple moved with Stassa to Barcelona, where resident same-se foreigners may legally marry.
CaptionPeople gather around the body of Thiago Franklino de Lima (21), who was killed in the Coque slum. With around 90 homicides per 100,000 of its population, Recife is more than twice as deadly as Rio de Janeiro. In Coque young people have been known to kill each other for control over strategic areas from which to rob motorists.
CaptionDiana Jarron is a single mother with seven children, four of whom live with her. Diana supports her family by working in a convenience store at a nearby gas station.
CaptionTraders at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, as markets swing wildly amidst uncertainty in the banking sector. Towards the end of 2007, the severity of losses to US banks incurred over sub-prime mortgages was beginning to emerge. In the first months of 2008, rising interest rates together with increasing unemployment and a slowdown in the housing market, meant that many borrowers could no longer afford payments on their homes. Banks involved heavily in such debts were threatened with collapse. In the following months the financial crisis spread worldwide.
www.archive.anthonysuau.com
Organization / Publicationfor St. Petersburg Times
CategoryDaily Life stories
Prize3rd prize
Date10-10-2008
CountryUSA
PlaceTampa, Florida
CaptionNikki McDonald (9) sits quietly on a swing in the backyard of the family home. She is at the severe end of the autistic spectrum. Janet McDonald is raising nine-year-old triplets on her own, following the death of her husband four years ago. Two of the children are autistic. Autism is one of a group of disorders associated with difficulties in communication and social interaction. The causes are not fully understood.
CaptionRajiha Jihad Jassim (37) stands with her son Sarhan. Her husband, Gazie Swadi Tofan, was kidnapped in November 2006 and is still missing. For months she visited the city morgue, in case she could recognize her husband among the dead. With five children and no family income, she can no longer pay the bus fare so does not go to the morgue any more, but still hopes for Tofan's return.
Organization / PublicationCorbis Outline for Libération
CategoryPortraits
Prize2nd prize
Date08-10-2008
CountryFrance
PlaceParis
CaptionDennis Hopper (72), actor, director, painter and photographer, visited during a retrospective of his work held at the Cinémathèque Française. The retrospective included not only films he had directed and acted in, but also an exhibition of his paintings and photographs. During the visit Hopper was made a commander in France's National Order of Arts and Letters.
