Each month The Associated Press honors photographers for outstanding coverage while on assignment.

The winners for the February 2023 AP Photo Contest are Hussein Malla for News Photography Single Image, for his photo of a mother from Syria kissing the hand of her dead daughter, who was an earthquake victim and will be transported to Syria for burial, from the Turkish crossing point of Cilvegozu, in Reyhanli, southeastern Turkey.

Ben Curtis for News Photography Story, for his coverage of elections in Nigeria.

Matias Delacroix for Feature Photography Single Image, for his photo of children running up a flight of steps during pre-carnival celebrations in the Catia neighborhood of Caracas, Venezuela.

Emilio Morenatti for Feature Photography Story, for his series out of Ukraine titled “War Tears Of A Nation.”

Ariana Cubillos for Sports Photography Single Image, for her photo of Puerto Rico's Edwin Díaz falling upside down into the dugout chasing a ball, during a Caribbean Series baseball game against the Dominican Republic in La Guaira, Venezuela.

Ashley Landis, Marcio Jose Sanchez and Mark J. Terrill for for Sports Photography Story, for their combined coverage of Los Angeles Lakers’ LeBron James during the game in which he became the NBA’s new leading all-time scorer.

Congratulations to all the photographers for their outstanding work. This month’s winning images judged by Patrick Sison are featured below.

News Photography Single Image | Hussein Malla

Turkey Syria Earthquake

A mother from Syria kisses the hand of her dead daughter, who was earthquake victim and will be transported to Syria for burial, from the Turkish crossing point of Cilvegozu, in Reyhanli, southeastern Turkey, Thursday, Feb. 9, 2023. Rescuers pulled more survivors from beneath the rubble of collapsed buildings Thursday, but hopes were starting to fade of finding many more people alive more than three days after a catastrophic earthquake and series of aftershocks hit Turkey and Syria. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

News Photography Story | Ben Curtis

Nigeria Elections

Youth play football underneath a highway bridge on Ikoyi Island, Lagos, Nigeria Thursday, Feb. 23, 2023. On Feb. 25, voters will choose among 18 candidates in a first-round vote to succeed incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari, but despite being Africa's largest economy and and one of its top oil producers, Nigeria is in economic crisis. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)

Nigeria Elections

People sit next to a photograph of presidential candidate Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress, at a party press conference in Abuja, Nigeria Monday, Feb. 27, 2023. Each of the three frontrunners in Nigeria’s hotly contested presidential election claimed Monday they are on the path to victory as preliminary results trickled in two days after Africa's most populous nation went to the polls. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)

Nigeria Elections

A man walks across rafts of wood to be used for timber in Lagos, Nigeria Thursday, Feb. 23, 2023. On Feb. 25, voters will choose among 18 candidates in a first-round vote to succeed incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari, but despite being Africa's largest economy and and one of its top oil producers, Nigeria is in economic crisis. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)

Nigeria Elections

Presidential candidate Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress gestures to supporters after casting his vote in the presidential elections in Lagos, Nigeria, Saturday, Feb. 25, 2023. Voters in Africa's most populous nation are heading to the polls Saturday to choose a new president, following the second and final term of incumbent Muhammadu Buhari. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)

Nigeria Elections

Voters wait in line to cast their votes at a polling station in Lagos, Nigeria Saturday, Feb. 25, 2023. Voters in Africa's most populous nation are heading to the polls Saturday to choose a new president, following the second and final term of incumbent Muhammadu Buhari. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)

Nigeria Elections

Nigerian children attend a special church service only for them, while their parents attend another in a building nearby, at the Celestial Church of Christ in the Makoko area of Lagos, Nigeria Sunday, Feb. 26, 2023. People were still voting across Nigeria Sunday morning, the day after Africa's most populous nation was supposed to have completed elections, as logistical and security challenges caused widespread delays. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)

Nigeria Elections

A police truck drives past demonstrators accusing the election commission of irregularities and disenfranchising voters, as they make a protest in downtown Abuja, Nigeria Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2023. Tensions rose in Nigeria Tuesday as the main opposition parties demanded a revote for the country’s presidential election, where the latest results show an early lead for the ruling party. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)

Nigeria Elections

A woman beats branches on the ground as she and other demonstrators accusing the election commission of irregularities and disenfranchising voters make a protest in downtown Abuja, Nigeria Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2023. Tensions rose in Nigeria Tuesday as the main opposition parties demanded a revote for the country’s presidential election, where the latest results show an early lead for the ruling party. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)

Nigeria Elections

Viewers respond as a journalist livestreams President-Elect Bola Tinubu addressing gathered supporters and the country after receiving his certificate at a ceremony in Abuja, Nigeria Wednesday, March 1, 2023. Election officials declared Tinubu the winner of Nigeria's presidential election Wednesday, keeping the ruling party in power in Africa's most populous nation. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)

Nigeria Elections

Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress, center, celebrates with supporters at the party's campaign headquarters after winning the presidential elections in Abuja, Nigeria, Wednesday, March 1, 2023. Election officials declared ruling party candidate Tinubu the winner of Nigeria's presidential election with the two leading opposition candidates already demanding a re-vote in Africa's most populous nation. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)

Nigeria Elections

Supporters of Presidential candidate Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress celebrate the victory of their candidate in the presidential elections at the Party's campaign headquarters in Abuja, Nigeria, Wednesday, March 1, 2023. Election officials declared ruling party candidate Tinubu the winner of Nigeria's presidential election with the two leading opposition candidates already demanding a re-vote in Africa's most populous nation. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)

Nigeria Elections

A boy carries a bucket on his head containing plastic bags of drinking water for sale, at the bi-weekly Karmo street market in Abuja, Nigeria Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2023. Tensions rose in Nigeria Tuesday as the main opposition parties demanded a revote for the country’s presidential election, where the latest results show an early lead for the ruling party. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)

Feature Photography Single Image | Matias Delacroix

Venezuela Carnival

Children run up a flight of steps during pre-carnival celebrations in the Catia neighborhood of Caracas, Venezuela, Friday, Feb. 17, 2023. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)