World Press Photo awards 2009

On May 14th ,2008, rescue crews was carrying a survivor across the collapse area. An earthquake measuring 8.0 in Richter Scale hit Wenchuan county of Sichuan province at 14:28 on May 12th, 2008, severely affected an total area of 100,000 square kilometers. Beichuan county is the most seriously damaged area in the earthquake , with death tolls reaching more than 15000 and several thousands of others missing. Since the earthquake happened, citizens of Beichuan county who avoided being buried, together with rescuers came in time, have been searching and rescuing survivors under the relics. During the next quite a few days, a great amount of wounded, from under the remains of the buildings, were successively sent out of the town area, receiving instant treatment. Currently, Beichuan has totally turned into a ghost town, without any residents. Photograph: Chen Qinggang/guardian.co.uk

A woman tries to resist police eviction of squatters on private land near the city of Manaus, in the state of Amazonas in Brazil. Eviction notices had been served on families living on the land some days earlier. The squatters, who were protesting against lack of housing in Manaus, were evicted after a clash that lasted two hours. Photograph: Luiz Vasconcelos/guardian.co.uk

Maasai warriors clash with members of the Kalenjin tribe using bows and arrows, in western Kenya in March. Old rivalries resurfaced between the tribes in the aftermath of Kenya's disputed general elections, held the previous December. Unlike the rioting in the rest of the country, conflicts were strictly codified according to age-old traditions. Archers fired salvos at each other in daily contests, seldom engaging in close combat. Photograph: Yasuyoshi Chiba/guardian.co.uk

Usain Bolt of Jamaica competes on his way to breaking the world record with a time of 19.30 to win the gold medal in the Men's 200m Final. Bolt also broke world records in the 100 meters and, along with his teammates, in the 4x100 meters relay, becoming the first man in history to set all three records at a single Olympics. Photograph: Mark Dadswell/guardian.co.uk

A young jockey stands beside a horse during the Naadam festival in Mongolia. The festival traces its roots back to the days of Genghis Khan, and involves the country's most popular sports: horse racing, archery and wrestling. Up to 1,000 horses are chosen to compete in various races over open grasslands. Children are preferred as jockeys because of their light weight. The top jockey is honored with the title tumny ekh or leader of ten thousand. Photograph: Tomasz Gudzowaty/guardian.co.uk

Italian Coastguards find a lost, overloaded migrant boat from Libya after hours of search, Mediterranean Sea, Italian waters around the island of Lampedusa, Italy, July 30, 2008 Photograph: Mashid Mohadjerin/guardian.co.uk

Children from El Matazano school in Ilopango, El Salvador, look at the body of Petrona Rivas, the mother of two of their classmates, who was killed 200 meters from the school gates. The police said the murder was committed by members of a gang. Around ten people a day are murdered in El Salvador. Authorities believe street gangs to be behind the crime wave. Photograph: Lisette Lemus/guardian.co.uk

Dennis Hopper (72), actor, director, painter and photographer, visited Paris in October during a retrospective of his work held at the Cinémathèque Française. The retrospective included not only films he had directed and acted in, but also an exhibition of his paintings and photographs. During the visit Hopper was made a commander in France's National Order of Arts and Letters. Photograph: Jerome Bonnet/guardian.co.uk

A model hurries backstage during the show of New Delhi design house Gauri & Nainika, at the India Fashion Week, in Delhi, in October. Photograph: Giulio Di Sturco/guardian.co.uk

Electrical discharges sparked by the heat of ash plumes light the night sky above Chalten volcano in the Patagonia region of Chile. The volcano began erupting in early May, for the first time in 9,400 years. Ash billowing from the crater was visible from some 200 kilometers away, and even caused disruption in neighboring Argentina. Thousands of people were evacuated from the surrounding area, with relatively few casualties. Photograph: Carlos F. Gutierrez/guardian.co.uk