In this February 27, 1984, file photo, singer Placido Domingo laughs with members of the Rockettes at New York's Radio City Music Hall. The singer and dancers met while rehearsing for Channel Thirteen's “Gala of Stars 1984”. Nine women in the opera world have told The Associated Press that they were sexually harassed by Domingo, one of the most celebrated and powerful men in opera. The women say the encounters took place over three decades, at venues that included opera companies where he held top managerial positions. (Photo by Steve Friedman/AP Photo/File)

In this handout image provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), model runs from the Center for Tsunami Research at the NOAA Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory show the expected wave heights of the tsunami as it travels across the Pacific basin March 11, 2011. The largest wave heights are expected near the earthquake epicenter, off Japan. The wave will decrease in height as it travels across the deep Pacific but grow taller as it nears coastal areas. In general, as the energy of the wave decreases with distance, the near shore heights will also decrease (e.g., coastal Hawaii will not expect heights of that encountered in coastal Japan). (Photo by NOAA via Getty Images)

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, and these striking images of 2017 are no exception. The photo highlights include incredible snapshots of the natural world as well as some awesome animal and human encounters. The vibrant gallery also shows thrill-seekers pushing themselves to the limit with breathtaking stunts captured in perfect clarity. The pictures have been taken by a host of photographers from around the world. Here: The two lion cubs singing their hearts out at Antelope park in Zimbabwe. (Photo by David Jenkins/Caters News Agency)

A close-up shot of dews of a soldier fly on August 2014, in Banten, Indonesia. Wildlife photographer takes incredible close-up images of tiny bugs. Yudy Sauw has captured close-up images of creepy crawlies – revealing their disturbing faces. The insects have an assortment bulging eyes and sharp pincers and look grotesque in the face-to-face shots. The miniature-models include a soldier fly, a red ant and a longhorn beetle. The 33-year-old photographed the bugs at his home studio in Banten, Indonesia, placing them 2-10 centimeters away from the camera. (Photo by Yudy Sauw/Barcroft Media)

“Award-winning photographer Camille Seaman, best known for her earlier work depicting massive polar icebergs, recently turned her lens on another incredible natural phenomenon - storm clouds above the American Midwest. She partnered with experienced storm chasers and began to stalk a particular type of storm cloud – the supercell. On June 22, 2012, in western Nebraska, she encountered an enormous supercell and captured its many faces”. (Photo by Camille Seaman via TheAtlantic)

In this handout provided by Maritime New Zealand, MV Rena is battered by strong seas as it is stuck on Astrolabe Reef, on November 2, 2011 in Tauranga, New Zealand. The stricken vessel encountered a three metre swell, which led authorities to fear it may finally break up. Rena struck the reef on October 5, and has spilled 350 tonnes of oil, and almost 100 shipping containers. (Photo by Graeme Brown/Maritime New Zealand via Getty Images)

“Photographer Max Ellis has become an internet star – after posting wacky photos of squirrels in hilarious situations, from being sent flying through the air in fear by a Buckaroo to lifting weights. Max places his self-made creations in his garden in Teddington, London, and then painstakingly waits hours – and sometimes days – for his subjects to get into the exact position to capture his shot. In another scene an inquisitive squirrel is sent backwards in surprise as a bottle of champagne pops its cork and in others a squirrel appears to saw his friend in half just like the famous magic trick”. – Caters News

Clinging on with sticky toes, a green tree frog sits bravely on its unlikely friend – a large tree python. Curled around the branches of a small coconut tree, the snake appears relatively undisturbed by the bold passenger that has clambered onto its skin. Grown in captivity together, the pair display no signs of aggression or fear, comfortable with their encounters high up in the leafy branches. Photo enthusiast Fahmi Bhs watched in surprise as the frog slowly climbed along the scales of the metre long snake in a zoo in Jakarta, Indonesia. (Photo by Fahmi Bhs/Solent News/SIPA Press)