Images Dated 17th February 2013

Sky lanterns are released ahead of the traditional Chinese Lantern Festival in Pingxi

Sky lanterns are released ahead of the traditional Chinese Lantern Festival in Pingxi, New Taipei city, northern Taiwan, February 17, 2013. Believers gathered to release sky lanterns as a form of prayer for good luck and blessings. The tradition of releasing lanterns began during the Ching Dynasty when bands of outlaws frequently raided villages, forcing local residents to seek refuge in the mountains. The lanterns were signals used by the village watchmen to inform the refugees that their houses were safe again. The Lantern Festival or Yuan Xiao Jie is a Chinese festival celebrated on the fifteenth day of the first month in the lunar year in the Chinese calendar. REUTERS/Pichi Chuang (TAIWAN - Tags: SOCIETY ANNIVERSARY) - GM1E92H1LUM01

People take a walk along snow covered fields during sunny winter weather in Oberstdorf

People take a walk along snow covered fields during a sunny winter weather in Oberstdorf February 17, 2013. REUTERS/Michaela Rehle (GERMANY - Tags: ENVIRONMENT SOCIETY) - BM2E92H120Y01

Airman fires a shot line from USS Bonhomme Richard

Gulf of Thailand, February 18, 2013 - Airman fires a shot line from the forward-deployed amphibious assault ship USS Bonhomme Richard (LHD 6) during a replenishment at sea with the Military Sealift Command fleet replenishment oiler USNS Rappahannock (T-AO 204)

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