The Winners of 2008 World Press Photo of the Year Contest

Picture of an armed sheriff moving through an American home after an eviction due to a mortgage foreclosure won the top prize in the World Press Photo competition

Jury members said the strength of the photo by Anthony Suau for Time magazine was in its opposites - it looks like a classic war photograph, but is simply the eviction of people from a house

The winner in the General News Single category, by Brazilian photographer Luiz Vasconcelos, was another eviction scene showing a woman holding her naked child while being pushed away from her home by a line of riot police.

The winning photographer in the Spot News Singles, China's Chen Quinggang, shot a series of the aftermath of an earthquake in Beichuan County. In one arresting image, rescue workers in green camouflage pull a survivor from the rubble.

American Callie Shell won for Time in the People in the News category with a photo series of Barack Obama during his successful campaign for the US presidency.

Chiba Yasuyoshi, an AFP photographer based in Japan, has won the first prize of the People in the News Singles category with this photo of the inter-tribal conflict in Western Kenya.

Walter Astrada won first prize in the Spot News Singles category for his picture of a Kenyan boy screaming as he sees a policeman with a baton approaching the door of his home in the Kibera slum of Nairobi.

Mashid Mohadjerin, based in Belgium, has won the first prize of the Contemporary Issues Singles category with this photo of coastguards spotting a boat with refugees, off Lampedusa, Italy.

Zhao Qing, a China Youth Daily photographer based in China, has won the first prize of the Sports Features Stories category of the 2009 World Press Photo Contest with this photo of the Olympics being shown on TV in Beijing.

Vincent Laforet, a Newsweek photographer based in the US., has won the first prize of the Sports Action Stories category with this photo of a diver during the Beijing Olympic Games.

Carlos Cazalis, a photographer based in Mexico, has won the first prize of the Contemporary Issues Stories category with this photo of a homeless person in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Giulio Di Sturco, a photographer based in Italy, has won the first prize of the Arts and Entertainment Singles category with this photo of the backstage area at Indian Fashion Week, New Delhi.

Roger Cremers, a photographer based in the Netherlands, has won the first prize of the Arts and Entertainment Stories category with this photo of visitors at the Memorial and Museum Auschwitz-Birkenau.

Carlos F Gutierrez has won the first prize of the Nature Singles category with this photo of Chaiten volcano.

Steve Winter, a National Geographic Magazine photographer, has won the first prize of the Nature Stories category with this photo of a snow leopard.

Jerome Bonnet, based in France, has won the second prize of the Portraits Singles category with this portrait of Dennis Hopper.

Bo Bor, based in China, has won the second prize of the Spot News Stories category with this photo of earthquake survivors being rescued in Sichuan Province, China.

Pep Bonet, a photographer based in Spain, has won the second prize of the Portraits Stories category with this photo of transsexual sex workers in Honduras.

John Kolesidis, a Reuters photographer based in Greece, has won the second prize of the People in the News Singles category with this photo of anti-government riots in Athens.

Wojciech Grzedzinski, based in Poland, has won the third prize of the Spot News Stories category with this picture of the Georgian conflict.

Mark Dadswell, a photographer based in Australia, has won the second prize of the Sports Action Singles category with this photo of Usain Bolt winning the men's 200m final at Beijing Olympic Games.

Brenda Ann Kenneally, a The New York Times Magazine photographer based in the US, has won the second prize Daily Life Stories category with this photo.

Olivier Laban Mattei, an AFP photographer based in France, has won the third prize of the General News Stories category with this photo of the aftermath of the cyclone in Burma.

Gleb Garanich, a Reuters photographer based in Ukraine, has won the third prize of the Spot News Singles category with this picture of a Georgian man mourning his brother after a bombardment in Gori.

Tomasz Gudzowaty, based in Poland, has won the third prize of the Sports Features Singles category with this photo of a child jockey in Mongolia.

Tomasz Wiech, a Gazeta Wyborcza Krakow photographer based in Poland, has won the third prize of the Daily Life Singles category with this photo.

Franck Robinchon has won the third prize in the Sports Action Singles category for his picture of Alexis Copello of Cuba competing during the Men's Triple Jump Qualification Round at the Beijing 2008 Olympics.

Julian Abram Wainwright has won the third prize in the Sports Action Stories category for this photo of Brazil's Hugo Parisi competing in the men's 10m platform preliminary at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.