'Reuters' photo wins World Press PHoto award

'Reuters' photo wins World Press PHoto award

Agencies, Amsterdam

A Reuters picture of an Indian woman mourning a relative killed in the Asian tsunami won the prestigious 2004 World Press Photo of the Year award on Friday.

The picture, taken by Indian photographer Arko Datta in Tamil Nadu on Dec. 28, shows a woman crouched on sandy ground, her mouth open in a wail and her palms turned to the sky, the arm of a tsunami victim visible in the corner of the shot.

Kathy Ryan, photo editor for the New York Times Magazine and one of the competition's 13 judges, described Datta's image as "graphic, historical and starkly emotional".

Argentinean photographer and jury chairman Diego Goldberg said the image was "a true spot news picture with a strong photographer's point of view".

The 13 members of the jury looked through 69,190 pictures sent in by 4,266 professional photographers from 123 countries.

For the first time, in this 48th edition of the World Press Photo the jury considered only digital images.

Prizes in ten differently themed categories were awarded to 59 photographers from 24 countries. No one news story dominated the categories with pictures from the tsunami, the occupied Palestinian territories, the hostage bloodbath at a school in the Russian town of Beslan, Darfur, Afghanistan and the Paralympics all winning top honors.

Datta, who is based in Bombay, will receive the World Press Photo award and a cash prize of 10,000 euros (almost US$13,000 dollars) in a ceremony in Amsterdam on April 24.

Reuters won six awards across three different categories.

"This is a great recognition of our photographers' talent and Reuters commitment to stay a leader in the picture business," said Editor-in-Chief Geert Linnebank.

"I'm specially proud of Arko Datta and the whole team who covered the tsunami story."

-- i-box: Selected winners of the 2004 World Press Photo contest: * Spot News Singles: 1. Arko Datta, India, Reuters. 2. Shaul Schwarz, Israel, Corbis. 3. Juan Medina, Argentina, for Reuters. * Spot News Stories: 1. Dean Sewell, Australia, Oculi/Agence Vu. 2. Yuri Kozyrev, Russia, Time Magazine. 3. Geert van Kesteren, The Netherlands, for Newsweek Magazine. * General News Singles: 1. J.F. Diorio, Brazil, Jornal O Estado de Sao Paulo. 2. David Robert Swanson, U.S., The Philadelphia Inquirer. 3. John Moore, U.S., The Associated Press. * People in the News Singles: 1. Kristen Ashburn, U.S., Contact Press Images. 2. Paul Vreeker, The Netherlands, Reuters. 3. Shaul Schwarz, Israel, Corbis. * Sports Action Singles: 1. Bob Martin, UK, Sports Illustrated. 2. Lars Moeller, Denmark, B.T. 3. Jonathan Ferrey, U.S. Getty Images. * Nature Singles: 1. Jahi Chikwendiu, U.S., The Washington Post. 2. Pierre Holtz, Senegal, Reuters. 3. Eric Travers, France, Sipa Press. * Portraits Singles: 1. Francesco Zizola, Italy. 2. Inez van Lamsweerde & Vinoodh Matadin, The Netherlands, for The New York Times Magazine. 3. Brent Stirton, South Africa, Getty Images for Global Business Coalition Against Aids.