World Press photo contest chooses the best images of 2013

World Press Photo of the Year 2013: Feb. 28, 2013. African migrants on the shore of Djibouti city at night, raising their phones in an attempt to capture an inexpensive signal from neighboring Somalia — a tenuous link to relatives abroad. Djibouti is a common stop-off point for migrants in transit from such countries as Somalia, Ethiopia and Eritrea, seeking a better life in Europe and the Middle East. John Stanmeyer/VII for National Geographic

First prize, General News Single: Nov. 21, 2013. Military Ramp, an emergency refugee center, was opened in September in an abandoned school in Sofia, Bulgaria. The center provides housing for about 800 Syrian refugees, including 390 children. Alessandro Penso/OnOff Picture

Second prize, General News Stories: Nov. 17, 2013. Demonstrators gather on a street in Bangui, Central African Republic, to call for the resignation of interim President Michel Djotodia following the murder of Judge Modeste Martineau Bria by members of Seleka. William Daniels/Panos Pictures for TIME

First prize, Spot News Single: Nov. 18, 2013. Survivors of typhoon Haiyan march during a religious procession in Tolosa, on the Philippine island of Leyte. One of the strongest cyclones ever recorded, Haiyan left 8,000 people dead and missing and more than 4 million homeless after it hit the central Philippines. Phillipe Lopez/Agence France-Presse

First prize, Spot News Stories: Jan. 30, 2013. Syrian rebel fighters take cover amid flying debris and shrapnel after being hit by a tank shell fired toward them by the Syrian army in Damascus. Goran Tomasevic/Reuters

Second prize, Spot News Stories: Sept. 21, 2013. A woman and children hiding in the Westgate mall in Nairobi, Kenya. They escaped unharmed after gunmen had opened fire at the upscale mall. Tyler Hicks/The New York Times

Third prize, Contemporary Issues Single: March 8, 2013. Police in Saltillo, Coahuila, Mexico, arrive at a crime scene where two bodies hang from a bridge; another three are on the floor. They had been killed by organized crime in retaliation against other criminal groups. Christopher Vanegas/La Vanguardia/El Guardian

First prize, Contemporary Issues Stories: Nov. 17, 2012. As the fight continued to rage, Shane told Maggie that she could choose between getting beaten in the kitchen and going with him to the basement so they could talk privately. Lancaster, Pa. Sara Naomi Lewkowicz for TIME

First prize, Daily Life Single: March 15, 2013. Kachin Independence Army fighters in Burma drink and celebrate at a funeral of one of their commanders. Julius Schrank/De Volkskrant

First prize, Daily Life Stories: Aug. 10, 2013. Date found: 1 February 2013. Time 3:45 p.m. Location: a sugar plantation in Apopa, El Salvador. Sex: female. Age: between 17 and 18. Time of disappearance: not available. The North Central American Triangle (Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador) is one of the most violent regions in the world. In many cases, clothes that are found become the only means to identify victims. Fred Ramos/El Faro

Second prize, Sports Action Single: March 24, 2013. A competitor at a slalom contest in Szczyrk, Poland. Andrzej Grygiel/Polska Agencja Prasowa

Third prize, Sports Action Stories: April 27, 2013. Daniel Arnamnart of Australia competes in the men's 100-meter backstroke during day two of the Australian Swimming Championships. Quinn Rooney/Getty Images

First prize, Sports Feature Story: Dec. 19, 2013. Swedish athlete Nadja Casadei feeling better just before her last treatment. She has participated in the World and European Championships in heptathlon. In autumn 2013, she was diagnosed with cancer; by January she completed her chemotherapy. Peter Holgersson

First prize, People — Observed Portraits Single: Dec. 13, 2013. A woman reacts in disappointment after access to see former South African President Nelson Mandela was closed on the third and final day of his casket lying in state in Pretoria. Markus Schreiber/AP

First prize, People — Observed Portraits Stories: July 12, 2013. Sisters Hannah and Alena live in the rural village of Merkenbrechts, Austria. Carla Kogelman

First prize, People — Staged Portraits Single: Sept. 25, 2013. A group of blind albino boys photographed in their boarding room at the Vivekananda mission school for the blind in West Bengal, India. It is one of the very few schools for the blind in India today. Brent Stirton/Reportage by Getty Images

Second prize, People — Staged Portraits Stories: Feb. 3, 2011. Ali, a young Egyptian bodybuilder, poses with his mother. Denis Dailleux/Agence Vu

Third prize, Nature Stories: Jan. 25, 2011. A five-year-old bonobo turns out to be the most curious individual of a wild group of bonobos near a reserve in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

First prize, Nature Stories: March 2, 2013. A cougar walking a trail in Los Angeles’ Griffith Park is captured by a camera trap. To reach the park, which was the cougar’s home for the previous two years, it had to cross two of the busiest highways in the U.S. Steve Winter for National Geographic