“Touring the Koko-en Gardens adjacent to the Himeji castle was an unexpected highlight of our visit”, wrote Jeff Solar, 64, of Silver Spring, Md., about his trip to Japan. “The fall colors were outstanding and the gardens were both amazing and a bargain (just a few Yen added to the cost of the Himeji Castle admission)”. (Photo by Jeff Solar/2017 Washington Post Travel Photo Contest)

Giulia Steingruber of Switzerland competes in the Vault apparatus final during day nine of the Artistic Gymnastics World Championships Tokyo 2011 at Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium on October 15, 2011 in Tokyo, Japan. (Photo by Adam Pretty/Getty Images)

Haitian policemen arrest a demonstrator with machetes at the end of a march, in Port-au-Prince, on November 26, 2015. Supporters of Fanmi Lavalas and Petit Dessalines political parties marched to protest against the results given by the Provisional Electoral Council (CEP), against the Haitian President Michel Martelly, and against the candidate of the ruling party Jovenel Moise. Provisional Electoral Council (CEP) confirmed this week that Haiti's presidential election will go to a runoff on December 27, between ruling party candidate Jovenel Moise and Jude Celestin, close to former president Rene Preval. (Photo by Hector Retamal/AFP Photo)

Women take part in a march in Santiago on October 19, 2016, to protest against violence against women and in solidarity for the brutal killing of a 16- year- old girl in Mar del Plata, Argentina last week The killing, in which the high school student was allegedly raped and impaled on a spike by drug dealers, is just the latest incident of horrific gender violence in Argentina, which has seen more than a year of mass marches to protest brutality against women. (Photo by Claudio Reyes/AFP Photo)

“A Hawaiian photographer braved freezing temperatures for this cold SNAP – of what appears to be a firebird bursting from an aurora. Keen snapper CJ Kale, more used to sun, sea and sand while at work than snow, captured the incredible moment while on a trip to Alaska. It was his first time seeing the spectacular sight and lucked out – capturing some of the rarest colors of aurora on his first night”. – Caters News

Staff at a Scottish farm say they are “absolutely delighted” to have welcomed a baby alpaca into the world this morning, June 6, 2019. Mum, Nunavut, gave birth to the baby boy huacaya alpaca, which has not yet been named, weighing 9.6kg. Stuart Ramsay, the owner of Velvet Hall Alpacas, in Innerleithen, Scottish Borders said he was surprised when the baby was born an “unusual rose grey colour”. (Photo by South West News Service)

Dancers perform during the carnival in Encarnacion, Paraguay on February 26, 2017. Encarnacion is located 375 km south of Asuncion, describes itself as the “Carnival Capital of Paraguay”. (Photo by Norberto Duarte/AFP Photo)

Participants of an unauthorized opposition rally gather in Tverskaya street in central Moscow on June 12, 2017. Authorities detained Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny and hundreds of his supporters on Monday, as they mounted demonstrations across the nation against government corruption. Over 200 were detained in Moscow and Saint Petersburg an hour into the protest, according to an NGO that tracks arrests, with Navalny himself picked up by police in his building as he was headed to the event. (Photo by Vasily Maximov/AFP Photo)