A panel of 19 photojournalism professionals from around the world gathered in Amsterdam from January 28 to judge more than 101,000 photographs from 5,247 photographers. They selected a photograph by Spanish photographer Samuel Aranda as World Press Photo of the year.

The picture shows a woman holding a wounded relative in her arms, inside a mosque used as a field hospital by demonstrators against the rule of President Ali Abdullah Saleh, during clashes in Sanaa, Yemen on October 15, 2011. Samuel Aranda was working in Yemen on assignment for The New York Times.

My favourite picture from this year's winners is Damir Sagol's photograph of buildings in the North Korean capital, Pyongyang; the only visible energy and warmth in the cold streetscape is the light illuminating the portrait of Kim Il-sung. This single image says so much about the hermit kingdom and how it treats its citizens.

The Global Mail presents a sample of the winners here. A comprehensive gallery can be found on the World Press Photo website.