Images Dated 12th February 2012

People enjoy a sunny winter afternoon on the frozen Lac de Joux in Le Pont

People enjoy a sunny winter afternoon on the frozen Lac de Joux in Le Pont February 12, 2012. With a surface area of 9.5 square kilometres (3.33 square miles) the lake is the largest natural ice rink in Switzerland. With a thickness of ice of up to 30 cm (11.8 inches) it is due to support the estimated 15, 000 people that will enjoy it over the weekend. Temperatures have plummeted in parts of Europe close to minus 40 degrees Celsius (minus 40 Fahrenheit) in the coldest February snap the region has seen in decades. Meteorologists say it could last till the end of the month. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse (SWITZERLAND - Tags: ENVIRONMENT SOCIETY TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY)

Royal Navy Type 45 Destroyer HMS Daring

HMS Daring has participated in a Combined Maritime Forces focussed operation in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, Operation Scimitar Anzac.
The Type 45 and her Ship's Company worked as part of Combined Task Force (CTF) 150, one of three Task Forces within the Combined Maritime Forces (CMF), a 25 nation international partnership who coordinate their collective military and multi-agency assets to safeguard and build capacity in Maritime Security operations in the Gulf Region.
CTF 150 is currently made up of Royal Navy, Royal Fleet Auxiliary, Pakistani Australian New Zealand, and Yemini Naval Forces. The group is presently led by a combined Royal Australian and New Zealand Navy Battle staff The next rotation will see the Pakistani Navy take the lead.
Focussed Operation Scimitar Anzac saw the task force, made up of HMS Daring, HMAS Parramatta, PNS Babur and the RFA Wave Knight, operating together.
HMS Daring is currently deployed for a seven-month deployment to continue the Royal Navy's long-term presence East of the Suez.
The ship will be acting as part of the Royal Navy's standing commitment in the Middle East, providing a range of capabilities from counter piracy to reassurance of the UK's allies in the region. The area of operations is huge, covering the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Aden and the Arabian Gulf.
Pictured: HMS Daring steams into position to line up for the photex with the rest of the ship's taking part in Operation Scimitar Anzac

© Crown Copyright

Icicles in Oswaldhoehle cave near Muggendorf, Wiesenttal Valley, Franconian Switzerland, Upper Franconia, Franconia, Bavaria, Germany, Europe

© This content is subject to copyright

523085547, Bavaria, Cave, Color Image, Franconia, Franconian, Franconian Switzerland, Frozen, Geologic, Geology, Germany, Horizontal, Ice, Icicle, Indoors, Interior View, Muggendorf, No People, Photography, South Germany, Southern Germany, Switzerland, Upper Franconia