Men wear masks as they sit in the metro in Prague, Czech Republic, 17 March 2020. According to media reports, the Czech government decided to impose a two-week quarantine in the country on the evening of 15 March, and ban all international travel from 16 March 2020. Currently 383 cases of the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, which causes the Covid-19 disease, have been officially confirmed in Czech Republic. (Photo by Martin Divisek/EPA/EFE)

Two displaced Tigrayan girls giggle next to their mother, left, as their photograph is taken outside the Hadnet General Secondary School which has become a makeshift home to thousands displaced by the conflict, in Mekele, in the Tigray region of northern Ethiopia Wednesday, May 5, 2021. The Tigray conflict has displaced more than 1 million people, the International Organization for Migration reported in April, and the numbers continue to rise. (Photo by Ben Curtis/AP Photo)

An Iranian woman wearing a face mask walks on a street in Tehran, Iran, 19 October 2020. According to the Iranian Health ministry, Iran reported its highest daily COVID-19 death toll of 337 and 4,251 new infections in past 24 hours as it appears that Iran is in a third wave of COVID-19 outbreak. (Photo by Abedin Taherkenareh/EPA/EFE)

A woman is dragged away by Chinese men moments after she was seen talking to journalists near the site of a reported explosion outside the U.S. Embassy in Beijing, China, Thursday, July 26, 2018. A man exploded a small homemade bomb outside the U.S. Embassy in Beijing on Thursday, injuring only himself, according to police and an embassy spokesperson. (Photo by Ng Han Guan/AP Photo)

Friends and relatives of Palestinian Fulla al-Masalma, 16, mourn during her funeral in the village of Beit Awa, west of Hebron, in the occupied West Bank on November 15, 2022. Israeli forces shot dead the Palestinian teenager in the occupied West Bank the previous day, the Palestinian health ministry said, while the army confirmed raids and a shooting incident in the area. The Israeli Defence Forces reported that its soldiers had fired at a car that was speeding toward them and that “hits were identified”, but without confirming the fatality. (Photo by Hazem Bader/AFP Photo)

A girl holds her newly purchased pet cat while posing for a photograph at a pet shop in Srinagar, the summer capital of Indian Kashmir, 10 November 2025. Kashmir is seeing more pet owners, especially of Persian cats. Over 6,000 cat bite cases were reported last year, accounting for nearly half of the rabies control budget. Experts urge vaccination as demand for pedigree pets continues to rise. (Photo by Farooq Khan/EPA)

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)

These kaleidoscopic images showcase the sheer beauty of the mammoth firework displays held across Japan every summer. The Japanese word for fireworks, hanabi, means fire flower, and each year, local governments in Japan throw around 7,000 festivals, or hanabi taikai. Here: Tsuchiura National Fireworks Competition, Tsuchiura City, Ibaraki Prefecture. (Photo by Makoto Igari/Caters News Agency)