Love and grief triumph in photo awards

A photograph of two migrants who met in Mexico and fell in love on their way to the United States is one of a series that helped Alejandro Cegarra win the Long-Term Project Award, one of the top four prizes in this years World Press Photo Contest.

Honduran Rosa Bello (left) and Venezuelan Ruben Soto are pictured atop a freight train known as The Beast.

Cegarras own experience, of migrating to Mexico from Venezuela, had helped him respectfully and sensitively document the dangers faced and resilience shown, the jury said.

Warning: Some readers may find some of the following images distressing

Six regional juries compiled a short list from more than 61,000 entries by nearly 4,000 photographers from 130 countries.

"These final selected works are a tapestry of our world today, centred on images we believe were made with respect and integrity, that can speak universally and resonate far beyond their origins," the Guardians head of photography, Fiona Shields, who chaired the global jury, said.

"This is an opportunity to applaud the work of press and documentary photographers everywhere - made with courage, intelligence and ingenuity - and to amplify the importance of the stories they are telling, often in unimaginable circumstances."

Lee-Ann Olwage won Story of the Year with an intimate study of "Dada" Paul Rakotozandriny, 91, who lives with dementia, in Madagascar, cared for by his daughter Fara.

"This story tackles a universal health issue through the lens of family and care," the jury said.

"The selection of images are composed with warmth and tenderness, reminding viewers of the love and closeness necessary in a time of war and aggression worldwide."

The Photo of the Year shows Inas Abu Maamar, 36, cradling the body of her niece Saly, five, killed, along with her mother and sister, when an Israeli missile struck their home, in Khan Younis, Gaza.

Mohammed Salem had been photographing residents searching for missing relatives at the Nasser Hospital morgue, for the Reuters agency, just days after his own wife gave birth.

The image was composed with care and respect, offering both a metaphorical and literal glimpse into unimaginable loss, the jury said.

Salem called it a "powerful and sad moment that sums up the broader sense of what was happening in the Gaza Strip".

Julia Kochetovas work in Ukraine won the Open Format Award.

Weaving together photos, poetry, audio clips, and music, she and a Ukrainian illustrator and DJ created a website documenting war as an everyday reality.

Here are some of the regional winners, with captions from the competition.

All photographs courtesy World Press Photo Foundation