News photos of the year

The National Press Photographers Association has handed out its annual photo and photographer awards. Many of the photos are simply amazing; it's mind-boggling that they were taken on deadline and in the course of a day's work.

A little girl who is an earthquake survivor sits inside a tent at a camp in the devastated city of Muzaffarabad November 24, 2005. The head of the U.N. refugee agency said on Thursday the focus of Pakistani earthquake relief efforts was now to avert a tragedy over the imminent winter. Photo and caption by Goran Tomasevic, Reuters

TAL AFAR, IRAQ - JANUARY 18: An Iraqi girl screams after her parents were killed when U.S. Soldiers with the 1st Battalion, 5th Infantry Stryker Brigade Combat Team of the 25th Infantry Division out of Ft. Lewis, Washington, fired on their car when it failed to stop and came toward soldiers, despite warning shots, during a dusk patrol January 18, 2005 in Tal Afar, Iraq. The car held an Iraqi family of which the mother and father were killed. Photo by Chris Hondros, Getty Images.

An angry Jewish settler boy looks out from inside a synagogue as Israeli policemen and solider storm inside in the Neve Dekalim settlement in the Gush Katif, August 18, 2005. Israeli troops stormed two Gaza Strip synagogues and dragged out screaming settlers and supporters on Thursday in assaults on the last bastions of resistance to a pullout from the occupied territory. Photo and caption by Damir Sagolj, Reuters.

Horror in Uganda—WATCHFUL: A child bundled in a blanket stands outside a hospital near Gulu in northern Uganda. He is one of the “night commuters,” children who flock to provincial towns at night to avoid the kidnappers that stalk their rural villages. Photo and caption by Francine Orr, Los Angeles Times.

AFGHAN YOUTH: PANSJHER VALLEY, AFGHANISTAN. NOVEMBER 2004. A YOUNG MINER TAKES A SHOWER AFTER A DAYS WORK AT A COAL MINE IN THE PANSJHER VALLEY. Photo and caption by Moises Saman, Newsday.

A guarding tower with Israeli flag hangs on it August 9, 2005 in Shirat Hayam, Israel. Hundreds of unti-disengagement Israelis from all over the country and the West Bank came to support the settlers of Shirat Hayam in the last few weeks. Entire families and groups of young people built up tents all along the beach. Photo and caption by Yoray Liberman, Getty Images.

CAPTURED: Born in Germany and raised by turkish-egyptian parents, dancer and choreographer Nejla Y. Yatkin chose to bring the tragic life of Mata Hari on stage. In her solo dance show named 'Deconstructing Mata Hari', Nejla explores images often associated with Mata Hari such as exoticism, espionage, criminal proceedings, confusion and uncertainty. At the end of her show, the question whether Mata Hari deserved to be executed remains timelessly unanswered. Phot and caption by Astrid Riecken, The Washington Times.

Texas Rangers pitcher Kameron Loe delivers a ninth-inning pitch in a downpour against Baltimore. Photo and caption by Louis DeLuca, Dallas Morning News.

Finding Fall: An Oregon tree farm decorates the roadside. Photo and caption by Jed Conklin, The Spokesman-Review.