The long-running US photography awards, Pictures of the Year, are showcasing the best news photographs of 2010. An exhibition of the best pictures, including Steve Winter's young tiger, opens on 22 April at the Newseum in Washington DC.

Damon Winter, of the New York Times, won photographer of the year for a newspaper for this image of Army Sgt Brian Keith during his last minutes with his wife and infant son, before deploying to Afghanistan.

Athit Perawongmetha, a freelance photographer, won first prize in the spot news category for this photo of an anti-government protester in Bangkok tossing a tyre onto a burning vehicle.

Barbara Davidson of the Los Angeles Times captured the moment a mourner released a dove into the air at a funeral service for Aaron Shannon Jr, aged five, who was killed by a gang member's bullet while modelling his new Spider-Man costume in his backyard on Halloween.

Adrees Latif of Reuters won photographer of the year in the freelance category for this image of a group of Pakistanis desperate to escape floodwaters, clinging to an Army helicopter carrying food supplies.

Marco Grob of Time Magazine took third place in the portrait category for this photo of pop star Lady Gaga.

Gregg Porteous of the Daily Telegraph won first prize for a sports feature for this image of Emma Lincoln-Smith, member of Australia's skeleton team, training for the 2010 Winter Olympics.

This image taken by Palani Mohan took first place in the portrait category. Called "human horses" by critics of the profession, rickshaw pullers like Mohamed Salim seen here in Kolkata, India, transport people and goods through the narrow city streets.

Etienne De Malglaive, a freelance photographer, took the award of excellence for spot news for this image of horses fleeing an erupting volcano in Iceland.

Wally Skalij of the Los Angeles Times won the award of excellence in sports portfolio for this photo snapped during the NBA's Western Conference Finals.

The New York Times won the award of excellence for impact for this photo of the collapse of the Deepwater Horizon rig taken by a worker on a nearby boat. The newspaper said they did not reveal the photographer's identity to protect him.