An Afghan woman walks along a street covered with snow on the outskirts of Kabul, Afghanistan February 7, 2017. (Photo by Omar Sobhani/Reuters)

(L-R) Playmates Monica Sims, Heather Rae Young and Hiromi Oshima attend the Playboy party with TAO at Spire Nightclub on February 4, 2017 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Christopher Polk/Getty Images for Playboy)

Photographer Han Youngsoo captured the ordinary people of Korea as the country emerged from war into an age of prosperity. Han Youngsoo: Photographs of Seoul 1956–63 is at the International Center of Photography (ICP), Jersey City, New Jersey, until June 9, 2017. Here: Seoul, Korea. (Photo by Han Youngsoo/The Guardian)

In this Sunday, March 11, 2017 photo, children fight in a boxing ring in Chitungwiza, Zimbabwe. Zimbabwean boys as young as 10 hurry every weekend to a boxing ring whose nickname, Wafa Wafa, in the local Shona language suggests that whoever enters will be lucky to come out alive. (Photo by Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi/AP Photo)

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 view of northern lights over the skies of Sodankyla, Lapland, Finland, on October 7, 2024. (Photo by Alexander Kuznetsov/Courtesy of All About Lapland/Handout via Reuters)

A Ukrainian serviceman hugs his relative after returning from captivity during a POWs exchange between Russia and Ukraine, in Ukraine, Monday December 30, 2024. (Photo by Evgeniy Maloletka/AP Photo)

A worker puts the final touch to a replica of a giant eagle and pharaons made with lemons and oranges which shows a scene of the movie “Cleopatra” during the Lemon festival in Menton, southern France, February 10, 2016. Some 140 metric tons of lemons and oranges are used to make displays during the 83rd festival, which is themed “Cinecitta”, and runs from February 13 through March 2. (Photo by Eric Gaillard/Reuters)