In this Monday, Dec. 19, 2016 file photo Mevlut Mert Altintas shouts after shooting Andrei Karlov, right, the Russian ambassador to Turkey, at an art gallery in Ankara, Turkey. Associated Press photographer Burhan Ozbilici won the 2017 World Press Photo competition Monday Feb. 13, 2017 for the image. It was part of a series titled "An Assassination in Turkey" which also won the Spot News - Stories category, captured in the moments before and after Altintas, an off-duty policeman, drew a handgun and shot Karlov at a photo exhibition. Burhan Ozbilici, The Associated Press
In this image released Monday Feb. 13, 2017, by World Press Photo titled "Black Days Of Ukraine" by photographer Valery Melnikov for Rossia Segodnya, which won first prize in the Long-Term Projects category of the World Press Photo contest shows civilians escaping from a fire at a house destroyed by an air attack in the Luhanskaya village. Valery Melnikov for Rossia Segodnya, World Press Photo via The Associated Press
In this image released Monday Feb. 13, 2017, by World Press Photo titled "Mediterranean Migration" by photographer Mathieu Willcocks, which won third prize in the Spot News, Stories, category of the World Press Photo contest shows two men panicking and struggling in the water during their rescue. Their rubber boat was in distress and deflating quickly on one side, tipping many migrants in the water. They were quickly reached by rescue swimmers and brought to safety. Mathieu Willcocks, World Press Photo via The Associated Press
Lalo de Almeida for Folha de Sao Paulo/World Press Photo via The Associated PressAdriana Cordeiro Soares, 30, bathes her son, Joao Miguel, 3-months-old, who was born with microcephaly caused by the Zika virus, in her house in the rural area of Sao Vicente do Serido, Brazil, in 2016.
In this image released Monday Feb. 13, 2017 by World Press Photo titled "Taking A Stand In Baton Rouge" by photographer Jonathan Bachman for Thomson Reuters which won first prize in the Contemporary Issues, Singles, category of the World Press Photo contest shows lone activist, Leshia Evans, standing her ground while offering her hands for arrest as she is charged by riot police during a protest against police brutality outside the Baton Rouge Police Department in Louisiana, U.S.A., on 9 July 2016. Jonathan Bachman, Thomson Reuters, World Press Photo via The Associated Press
EDITORS NOTE: Graphic content. This file photo taken on September 12, 2016 shows a Syrian girl reacting in pain as a wounded child lies next to her at a make-shift hospital following reported government air strikes on the rebel-held town of Douma, east of the capital Damascus. Syrian snappers Abd Doumany won second prize in the Spot News category for his pictures of children caught up in the bombardments of Aleppo and Douma. It is the second year in the row that Doumany's work has been honored by the World Press Photo foundation. Abd Doumany, AFP/Getty Images
In this image released Monday Feb. 13, 2017, by World Press Photo titled "Sweat Makes Champions" by photographer Tiejun Wang, which won second prize in the Daily Life, Singles, category of the World Press Photo contest shows four students of a gymnastics school in Xuzhou, China, doing toe-pressure training for 30 minutes in the afternoon. Tiejun Wang, World Press Photo via The Associated Press
In this image released Monday Feb. 13, 2017, by World Press Photo titled "Pandas Gone Wild" by photographer Amy Vitale, for National Geographic Magazine, which won second prize in the Nature, Stories, category of the World Press Photo contest shows panda keepers Ma Li and Liu Xiaoqiang listening for radio signals from a collared panda training to be released to the wild at Wolong Reserve, China. Tracking can tell them how the cub is faring in the rougher terrain up the mountain. Amy Vitale, National Geographic Magazine, World Press Photo via The Associated Press
In this image released Monday Feb. 13, 2017, by World Press Photo titled "Grand National Steeple Chase" by photographer Tom Jenkins, The Guardian, which won first prize in the Sports, Singles, category of the World Press Photo contest shows Jockey Nina Carberry flies off her horse Sir Des Champs as they fall at The Chair fence during the Grand National steeplechase during day three of the Grand National Meeting at Aintree Racecourse on April 9, 2016 in Liverpool, England. Tom Jenkins, The Guardian, World Press Photo via The Associated Press
In this image released Monday Feb. 13, 2017, by World Press Photo titled "Iraq's Battle To Reclaim Its Cities" by photographer Sergey Ponomarev for The New York Times, which won second prize in the General News, Stories, category of the World Press Photo contest shows a family flees the fighting in Mosul, Iraq's second-largest city, as oil fields burned in Qayyara, Iraq, on Nov. 12, 2016. In its sixth week, the military campaign to retake Mosul from the Islamic State had bogged down in a grueling fight. Seeking to escape the bloodshed, more civilians than ever took the risk of evacuation, hoping to find help if they could make it past the militants' gun range. By mid-December 2016, up to one million people were trapped inside the city, running low on food and drinking water and facing the worsening cruelty of Islamic State fighters. Sergey Ponomarev for The New York Times/World Press Photo via The Associated Press
In this image released Monday Feb. 13, 2017, by World Press Photo titled "Rio's Golden Smile" by photographer Kai Pfaffenbach, Thomson Reuters, which won third prize in the Sports, Singles, category of the World Press Photo contest shows Usain Bolt of Jamaica smiling as he looks back at his competition, whilst winning the 100-meter semifinal sprint, at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Bolt is regarded as the fastest human ever timed. He is the first person to hold both the 100-meter and 200-meter world records since fully automatic time became mandatory. Kai Pfaffenbach, Thomson Reuters, World Press Photo via The Associated Press
In this image released Monday Feb. 13, 2017, by World Press Photo titled "The Silent Victims Of A Forgotten War" by photographer Paula Bronstein for Time Lightbox / Pulitzer Center For Crisis Reporting, which won first prize in the Daily Life, Singles, category of the World Press Photo contest shows Najiba at the hospital holding her two-year-old nephew Shabir who was injured from a bomb blast in Kabul on 29 March 2016. Afghanistan has endured armed conflict 1979, when the Soviet Union invaded. Afghan civilians are at greater risk today than at any time since Taliban rule, which ended in 2001. According to UN statistics, in the first half of 2016 at least 1,600 people died, and more than 3,500 people were injured. Despite billions of dollars spent by the international community to stabilize the country, Afghanistan has seen little improvement in terms of overall stability and human security. Paula Bronstein for Time Lightbox / Pulitzer Center For Crisis Reporting, World Press Photo via The Associated Press
In this image released Monday Feb. 13, 2017, by World Press Photo titled "Now You See Me" by photographer Bence Mate which won third prize in the Nature, Stories, category of the World Press Photo contest shows an African Elephant under the starry sky. Bence Mate, World Press Photo via The Associated press
This file photo taken on November 24, 2016 shows Syrian civil defense volunteers, known as the White Helmets, rescuing a boy from the rubble following a reported barrel bomb attack on the Bab al-Nairab neighborhood of the northern Syrian city of Aleppo. Syrian snapper Ameer Alhalbi won second prize in the Spot News category for his pictures of children caught up in the bombardments of Aleppo and Douma. Ameer Alhalbi, AFP/Getty Images
Ameer Alhalbi, Getty ImagesSyrian men carrying babies make their way through the rubble of destroyed buildings following a reported air strike on the rebel-held Salihin neighborhood of the northern city of Aleppo in September Syrian snapper Ameer Alhalbi won second prize in the Spot News category for his pictures of children caught up in the bombardments of Aleppo and Douma.
This file photo taken on July 30, 2016 shows inmates sleeping on the steps of a ladder inside the Quezon City jail at night in Manila. Agence France-Presse Manila-based photographer Noel Celis took third place in the General News category for his photo of inmates trying to sleep in an over-populated prison in the city. Noel Celis, AFP/Getty Images
In this image released Monday Feb. 13, 2017, by World Press Photo titled "Out Of The Way" by photographer Elena Anosova, which won second prize in the Daily Life, Stories, category of the World Press Photo contest shows all people are hereditary hunters in this small settlement near Nizhnyaya,Tunguska River, Russia, It is intricately woven into the local way of life. In Russia's extreme north, century-long ways of life dominate the daily life of some of the most isolated parts of the desolate landscape. Modern civilization penetrates slowly and fragmentarily. There are no roads, and only one helicopter shuttle twice monthly. The residents' ancestors can be traced back to hereditary hunters in a small settlement near Nizhnyaya, more than 300 years ago. Elena Anosova, World Press Photo via The Associated Press
In this Monday, March 14, 2016 file photo a woman is supported by two men while crossing a river as migrants attempt to reach Macedonia on a route that would bypass the border fence. AP photographer Vadim Ghirda of Romania won second prize in the Contemporary Issues - Singles category in the 2017 World Press Photo competition with an emotionally charged photo of migrants crossing a river as they attempt to reach Macedonia. Vadim Ghirdia, The Associated Press
In this image released Monday Feb. 13, 2017, by World Press Photo titled "Rhino Wars" by photographer Brent Stirton, Getty Images for National Geographic Magazine, which won first prize in the Nature, Stories, category of the World Press Photo contest shows a dead Black Rhino Bull, poached for its horns less than 8 hours earlier at Hluhluwe Umfolozi Game Reserve, South Africa. Brent Stirton, Getty Images for National Geographic Magazine, World Press Photo via The Associated Press
In this image released Monday Feb. 13, 2017, by World Press Photo titled "Caretta Caretta Trapped" by photographer Francis Perez, which won first prize in the Nature, Singles, category of the World Press Photo contest shows a sea turtle entangled in a fishing net swims off the coast of Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain, on June 8, 2016. Sea turtles are considered a vulnerable species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Unattended fishing gear is responsible for many sea turtle deaths Francis Perez, World Press Photo via The Associated Press
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In this Monday, Dec. 19, 2016 file photo Mevlut Mert Altintas shouts after shooting Andrei Karlov, right, the Russian ambassador to Turkey, at an art gallery in Ankara, Turkey. Associated Press photographer Burhan Ozbilici won the 2017 World Press Photo competition Monday Feb. 13, 2017 for the image. It was part of a series titled "An Assassination in Turkey" which also won the Spot News - Stories category, captured in the moments before and after Altintas, an off-duty policeman, drew a handgun and shot Karlov at a photo exhibition. Burhan Ozbilici, The Associated Press
ExpandBy Glen Barber | The Denver Post
PUBLISHED: | UPDATED:
Getting your player ready...
EDITORS NOTE: This gallery contains graphic images that may be upsetting to some viewers
AMSTERDAM (AP) — As an off-duty policeman who had just assassinated Russia’s ambassador to Turkey stood in front of Burhan Ozbilici waving a gun, the veteran Associated Press photographer summoned the composure to stand his ground and keep taking pictures. The winning image announced Monday was among 80,408 photos submitted to the prestigious competition by 5,034 photographers from 125 countries. The World Press jury awarded prizes in eight categories to 45 photographers from 25 countries. Here is a selection of photos from the 60th World Press Photo Contest.


















