A photo of a veiled woman comforting an injured man following a protest in Yemen has won the World Press Photo of the Year for 2011. The photo, taken by Spanish photographer Samuel Aranda for the New York Times, "shows a poignant, compassionate moment, the human consequence of an enormous event," says the awards' chairman. "It stands for Yemen, Egypt, Tunisia, Libya, Syria, for all that happened in the Arab Spring," adds a juror. "But it shows a private, intimate side of what went on, and it shows the role that women played."
The contest received more than 100,000 entries, with 57 photographers across 24 countries winning awards, the AP reports. Among other highlights: An image of a woman holding her daughter's diploma after the tsunami in Japan, an AFP photo, won in the "People in the News Stories" category, and an AP picture of a soldier playing drums in Afghanistan won in "Arts and Entertainment Singles." Check out other winners in the gallery. (More Arab Spring stories.)