THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — A portrait of a young Palestinian boy who lost both arms as a result of an Israeli attack in Gaza was honored Thursday as World Press Photo of the year.
The photo, taken by Qatar-based Palestinian photographer Samar Abu Elouf for The New York Times shows 9-year-old Mahmoud Ajjour with his arms missing just below each shoulder.
“One of the most difficult things Mahmoud’s mother explained to me was how when Mahmoud first came to the realization that his arms were amputated, the first sentence he said to her was, ‘How will I be able to hug you?’” Abu Elouf said in a statement released by the World Press Photo organization.
The winner of the 68th edition of the prestigious photojournalism contest was selected from 59,320 entries submitted by 3,778 photographers from 141 countries.
“This is a quiet photo that speaks loudly. It tells the story of one boy, but also of a wider war that will have an impact for generations," said World Press Photo Executive Director Joumana El Zein Khoury.
In a statement, the organization said that Ajjour was injured while fleeing an Israeli attack in March 2024.
“After he turned back to urge his family onward, an explosion severed one of his arms and mutilated the other,” according to the World Press Photo citation.
"This young boy’s life deserves to be understood, and this picture does what great photojournalism can do: provide a layered entry point into a complex story, and the incentive to prolong one’s encounter with that story,” said jury chair Lucy Conticello, who is Director of Photography for French newspaper Le Monde's weekend magazine.
Winning photographer Abu Elouf was evacuated from Gaza in December 2023 and she now lives in the same apartment complex as Ajjour in Qatar's capital, Doha.
Israel launched its devastating attack on Gaza after Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 attack, in which thousands of militants stormed into southern Israel from Gaza, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting 251.
The Palestinian Health Ministry in Gaza says over 51,000 Palestinians have been killed in the Israeli offensive. It does not differentiate between civilians and militants, but says that over half of the dead were women and children, including at least 876 infants under 1. It says over 116,000 people have been wounded.
Israel blames Hamas for the heavy civilian toll because the group carries out attacks and other military activities from residential areas and civilian buildings.
Competition organizers also named two World Press Photo finalists that highlighted the issues of migration and climate change.
A dark photo by John Moore for Getty Images shows Chinese migrants warming themselves after crossing the U.S.-Mexico border, and a picture by Musuk Nolte for Panos Pictures, Bertha Foundation, of a young man carrying food across a dried up river bed in Brazil's Amazon basin region.
In regional results announced earlier by the World Press Photo Foundation, The Associated Press was among winners in the Asia-Pacific and Oceania region. Photographer Jae C. Hong won in the Singles category with an image titled Korea Adoption Fraud and Noel Celis won in the Stories category for photos from the Philippines titled Four Storms, 12 Days.
This image taken by Jae C. Hong. Of The Associated Press, was one of three winners in the Singles category of the Asia-Pacific and Oceania region of the the World Press Photo Award of the Year and shows Adoptee Nicole Motta, left, and her birth father, Jang Dae-chang, wipe tears after an emotional reunion at the Eastern Social Welfare Society in Seoul, Friday, May 31, 2024. The moment they hugged, Motta, adopted to the United States in 1985, didn't need DNA test results, she knew she'd come from this man. "I am a sinner for not finding you," he said. "I think I have your nose," Motta said softly. They both sobbed. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
NEW YORK (AP) — Stock markets are rallying worldwide Monday, and oil prices are easing after the United States and Iran reached a tentative deal to extend their ceasefire and reopen the Strait of Hormuz to get the global flow of crude going again.
The S&P 500 rose 1.5% on hopes that this time, the announcement of an Iran-U.S. agreement will mean a long-term fix to a conflict that has sent inflation painfully upward for the entire world. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 638 points, or 1.2%, as of 9:35 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 2.3% higher.
Stocks got a lift after the price for a barrel of Brent crude oil fell 4.8% to $83.18, back to where it was in early March. While that’s still higher than its price of roughly $70 from before the war more than three months ago, it’s lower than the $100 plus it cost just a few weeks ago. The hope is that lower oil prices will take pressure off households and businesses, which have had to pay higher prices for everything from food to fuel to fertilizer because of the war with Iran.
Iran confirmed the agreement but signaled its implementation would not start until it’s signed, which Pakistan said would happen Friday in Switzerland. Broader negotiations on issues like Iran’s nuclear program are expected to continue over the next 60 days. That leaves opportunity for hiccups that could derail the agreement. And even if the deal does reopen the Strait of Hormuz, it will take months for the energy industry to get back to full speed.
For now, though, relief swept through financial markets worldwide.
On Wall Street, stocks of companies with big fuel bills were instant winners. United Airlines flew 5.2% higher, American Airlines climbed 7% and cruise operator Carnival rose 5.7%.
Stocks of companies enmeshed in the artificial-intelligence industry also jumped. These stocks have yo-yoed sharply in recent weeks, going from roaring to records to suddenly turning lower. The big concern is whether such stocks shot too high, too fast because of AI mania, and their careening moves have sometimes reversed direction by the hour.
Micron Technology rallied 7.8%, and Advanced Micro Devices rose 7%. Nvidia’s climb of 2.7% was the strongest force pushing the S&P 500 upward because the AI chip company is Wall Street’s most valuable company, giving it more weight on the index than any other.
SpaceX, Elon Musk’s rocket company that also owns the AI company xAI, rose 5.4% in its second day of trading on Wall Street. Its successful debut on the Nasdaq suggested plenty of demand still exists among investors for AI. The market has given SpaceX a total value of more than $2.1 trillion, making it bigger than Exxon Mobil, Bank of America and Coca-Cola combined.
In the bond market, Treasury yields eased on hopes that lower oil prices will remove pressure on central banks worldwide to raise interest rates.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury eased to 4.45% from 4.48% late Friday.
Europe’s central bank last week became the first major one in the world to raise interest rates to combat high inflation. High interest rates can keep a lid on inflation, but they also slow economies and undercut prices for all kinds of investments, including stocks and cryptocurrencies. They hit investments seen as the most expensive in particular, and some critics are calling the AI industry a bubble where investment inflated too far.
The Fed will announce its latest decision on interest rates later this week, which will be the first under its new chair, Kevin Warsh. President Donald Trump nominated Warsh to the position, and Trump has been loudly calling for lower interest rates.
But traders see it as a near certainty that the Fed will leave its main interest rate steady after its two-day meeting ends Wednesday. Traders had been raising bets that the Fed may actually have to raise interest rates this year because of how high inflation has gotten and how solid the U.S. job market remains.
But the tentative deal between the United States and Iran means traders are now betting on only a 55% chance of a hike this year, down from 71% a week ago, according to data from CME Group.
In stock markets abroad, indexes climbed in Asia and Europe. Japan’s Nikkei 225 jumped 5% for one of the world’s biggest gains and finished at a record.
“This is great news,” said Takashi Hiroki, chief strategist at Monex. “Buying by foreign investors is leading the market with expectations of easing tensions around the situation in the Middle East.”
South Korea’s Kospi surged even more, 5.2%, thanks in part to continued rallies for AI winners like Samsung Electronics.
AP Business Writers Matt Ott and Elaine Kurtenbach and Senior Producer Mayuko Ono contributed to this report.
Trader Patrick Casey works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Wednesday, June 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
Specialist Gregg Maloney works at his post on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Monday, June 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
Currency traders watch monitors at the foreign exchange dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, June 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
A dealer walks past a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) at a dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, June 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
