World Press Photo Award: Looking back on 2020 with the year’s best photos

Before the pandemic hit, the famine in Yemen was ongoing. UNICEF says it is the world’s greatest humanitarian crisis – caused by the war between Houthi Shiite Muslim rebels and a Sunni Arab coalition led by Saudi Arabia. About 80% of the population in Yemen relies on humanitarian aid.

The world plunged into a pandemic in March 2020, ill-prepared in many places: too few ventilators, too little PPE, too little experience in how to deal with the dead. The World Health Organization recommended wrapping the deceased, like here in Indonesia. Many of those who have lost loved-ones, were not able to say their good-byes, aggravating the emotional toll of the virus.

This panther lives on a ranch in Florida in the US. She is one of about 200 panthers in Florida. The species has made a comeback there but the animals are caught up in a fight for land in Florida: About 400 square kilometers of their territory are lost each year to development.

When locusts come grazing, pesticides are essential. In 2020, getting those was harder than usual, with disrupted supply chains due to the pandemic. East Africa was particularly hard hit, struggliung to preserve harvests and ensuring food supply for the local population.

The summer of 2020 was marked by the fight for social justice. Despite restrictions of movement, protesters went out on the streets in support of the Black Lives Matter. The social movement was reignited after the death of George Floyd, a black man who died after a white policeman kneeled on his neck.

In Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko was facing unprecedented opposition in his sixth bid for the presidency. Paval Sieviaryniec, a political activist and politician, was among those opposing the leader. He was arrested while collecting signatures. His wife, Olga, is waiting in vain for him to be freed.

A landslide in Hpakant, Kachin State in Myanmar, killed 100 people in July. The mine is one of the biggest jade mines in the world, largely producing for China. In 2014, the trade with China was worth nearly half of Myanmar’s GDP – making it easy for the government to leave environmental concerns to the side.

By August, the world had got an idea of the ramifications of the virus: No touching, no physical contact with grandparents, not seeing friends or colleagues. But many peopel found other ways to connect: Hugging curtains were part of the solution. For Rosa Luzia Lunardi (85) in Brazil, this was her first hug in five months.

In the midst of all the crises Lebanon was already grappling with, an explosion in Beirut's city-center, caused by more than 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate killed at least 190 people. In shock, the world watched phone videos of shattered glass, of a cloud of smoke rising above the port. 6,000 people were injured and as many buildings destroyed.

2020 saw wildfires in Australia, California and Portugal. The sky in some regions in California stayed orange for days. High temperatures and drought exacerbated the situation, especially in Portugal.

As gyms remained closed for weeks on end due the COVID-19 pandemic, climbers and other sports aficionados had to find new solutions. Bouldering works on many surfaces, including on houses in cities – and log piles.

Animals can alleviate stress and anxiety – especially horses seem to be able to pick up on emotions and disease. Peyo, the horse in the picture, supports around 20 patients a month and also works with scientists on his abilities to detect cancer and tumors.

After a quiet 30 years in the region, the conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia resumed in Nagorno-Karabakh in September, now known as the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War. Azat Gevorkyan and his wife Anaik are seen here as they are leaving their home region as it is to be given back to Azerbaijan.