Stanmeyer Wins First Prize at World Press Photo Awards

Moonlit Image of Immigrants Trying to Connect to Loved Ones

American photojournalist John Stanmeyer has won first prize in the 2014 World Press Photo awards for his image of African migrants near Djibouti city.

The moonlit image shows men trying to get a phone signal from nearby Somalia.

Jury member Jillian Edelstein said the photo raised issues of technology, globalisation, migration, poverty, desperation, alienation and humanity. (BBC, 14 February)

Stanmeyer shot the winning image while on assignment for the US-based National Geographic, and said that it was an honor to win the prize.

“It connects to all of us,” he told the AFP. “It's just people trying to call loved ones. It could be you, it could be me, it could be any one of us.” (AFP/BBC, 14 February)

The prestigious awards, selected by an expert panel, have been running since 1955.

Photo credit: John Stanmeyer/ World Press Photo/Handout/AFP

Iran Expresses Regret for Shooting Afghan Migrants

Iran has expressed regret for the shooting deaths of Afghan migrants entering the country illegally over the weekend. On Saturday, Afghan Foreign Minister Zalmai Rasoul issued a complaint after 10 migrants were shot and killed by Iranian border guards.

Iran’s new foreign minister spokesman Abbas Aragchi expressed Iran’s regret.

“We express regret while offering sympathy to relatives of victims if innocent people were harmed when passing through Iran illegally,” said Aragchi. (AP, 14 May)

Iran initially denied that anyone was shot. Poor Afghans sneak into Iran in search for work, often as day laborers. About 2 million Afghan migrants have been working in Iran since the late 1970s.

Photo credit: Afghan refugees leave Iran for Turkey (AP/The National, 14 May)

Afghans Attack Iran Consulate in Herat

Protesting Alleged Killing of Afghan Immigrants

Hundreds of angry demonstrators tried to storm the Iranian consulate in the western Afghan city of Herat on Sunday, protesting alleged killing of Afghan immigrants in Iran. The crowd threw rocks and broke consulate windows before Afghan security forces drove them back by firing warning shots into the air. (AFP, 9 December)

The protesters claimed 13 Afghans who had crossed the border into Iran illegally for search of job in September were seized and later shot dead by Iranian security forces. They demanded that the Iranians return the bodies to their families in Afghanistan.  

Photo credit: Afghan men shout anti-Iran slogans as they display pictures of their family members who have allegedly been killed by Iranian forces. Herat, 9 December 2012. (AFP PHOTO/ Aref Karimi)