The 41st Annual World Press Photo Contest

The international jury has selected as World Press Photo of the Year 1997 a colour picture by the Algerian photographer HOCINE of Agence France Presse. The photograph was taken on 23 September 1997 outside Zmirli Hospital in Bentalha, a suburb of Algiers, in the aftermath of a massacre that had taken place during the previous night. The pictureshows a grief-stricken woman who has lost all her eight children in the killings. The photograph was also awarded first prize in the category People in the News Singles.

The judging took place in Amsterdam from 7 to 12 February. The jury gave prizes in the 18 contest categories to photographers from 16 countries: Algeria, Brazil, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Peru, Poland, South Africa, Spain, Taiwan ROC, United Kingdom and the USA. The prize-winning work was chosen out of 36,041 pictures submitted by 3,627 photographers from 115 countries.

Cover Photo: A woman cries outside the Zmirli Hospital, where the dead and wounded had been taken after a massacre in Bentalha, Algeria, on September 23. Hocine/Algeria/Agence France Presse