“A topless women's rights activist hacked down a Christian cross in the Ukrainian capital Kiev with a chain saw on Friday in protest at the prosecution of the Russian feminist punk band, p*ssy Riot”. – Reuters. (Photo by FEMEN)

Hunting for a Salmon (more precisely – Oncorhynchus nerka). Scene of action: Kuril lake, Kamchatka, Russia. Action time: October – end of November, 2012. (Photo by Sergey Gorshkov)

These talented turtles have been "snapped" performing for the camera as they practice their synchronized swimming routine. Photographed underwater by Monste Grillo, 36, from Tenerife, Spain, the turtles are seen swimming in unison as well as touching fins as they circle towards the surface. After spending hours in the water off the coast of the Canary Islands in 2012, the photographs capture the gentle nature of the creatures as well as giving a fascinating glimpse into their behavior in the wild. (CATERS NEWS)

Colonel Meow is a Himalayan Persian known for his unique & interesting fluffy coat and intense facial expressions. The cat rose to internet fame after being featured on the internet news site The Daily What in September 2012.

On Thursday evening, Meow’s owner announced that the feline, who was two years old, died on Wednesday evening for causes not yet released.

Originally hailing from a small town in Iowa, Adonna Khare was this year’s recipient of the Art Prize 2012 for her amazingly detailed large-scale pencil on paper works. All of Khare’s work evolve naturally without much pre-planning, essentially building her pieces as she continues to work.

Bikini-clad women sit as they operate a 3.6 metre-high custom-made female robot at the “Robot Restaurant” in Kabukicho, one of Tokyo's best known red light districts, August 15, 2012. (Photo by Tokyo Scum Brigade)

Mara Salvatrucha (MS) gang members show off their weapons in the Las Victorias district of San Salvador. In March 2012, the two largest gangs in El Salvador - the Mara Salvatrucha (MS) and the Barrio 18 (M18) - agreed on a truce following secret negotiations between gang leaders in prison which were mediated by a bishop and a former rebel leader. It is unclear whether the decision was the idea of the gangs themselves or whether they were encouraged by the government. (Photo by Adam Hinton)

Construction cranes stand on the Unstrut Valley high-speed railway bridge on March 19, 2012 near Karsdorf, Germany. The Unstrut bridge, which is 2,668m long (about 1.6 miles), is among 38 bridges and 26 tunnels German state rail carrier Deutsche Bahn is building along a new ICE high-speed railroad connection between Nuremberg, Erfurt, Halle, Leipzig and Berlin in a multi-billion Euro project across eastern Germany called the German Unity Transportation Project (Verkehrsprojekt der Deutschen Einheit). (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images)