- Erdogan's rival Fetullah Gulen dies in exile aged 83
- Gauff-led USA pitted with Canada at season-opening United Cup
- Sanofi pursues sale of painkiller after political controversy
- Rabada takes 300th wicket as Bangladesh stumble to 60-6 at lunch
- Alpacas, hecklers and climate warnings: King Charles visits Australia's capital
- Sartorially suave alpaca sneezes on King Charles
- In a first, France welcomes Russian army deserters
- Dodgers beat Mets to set World Series showdown with Yankees
- Liberty rally to top Lynx in overtime for WNBA title
- US, Canada warships pass through Taiwan Strait
- Asian markets fluctuate as traders digest China rate cut
- Naomi Osaka season over because of injury
- Toll from attack in India-controlled Kashmir rises to seven: reports
- Simmering Bellingham set for Dortmund reunion in Champions League
- World Cup winner Kerr thanks 'grandmas' for T20 inspiration
- Dortmund identity crisis ahead of European rematch with Real Madrid
- China's central bank cuts two key rates to boost economy
- BHP goes on trial in London over 2015 toxic Brazil mine disaster
- Pakistan passes constitutional amendments aimed at courts
- Fungi finding: mushroom hunters seek new species and recognition
- Beware: US election disinformation masked as 'breaking news'
- Celtics seek repeat, Lebron and son unite as NBA season opens
- Poston holds off Ghim for PGA Tour triumph in Las Vegas
- Unbeaten Chiefs march past 49ers, Lions hand Vikings first loss
- Moldova president blames interference for potential EU referendum loss
- King Charles to spotlight conflict, climate in Australian capital
- UN chief seeks 'significant' funding at summit to save nature
- Hurricane Oscar makes landfall in Cuba amid huge power outage
- McLaren blast 'inappropriate' penalty as Norris F1 title hopes hit
- La Rochelle bounce back against Bordeaux-Begles
- Lethal Lewandowski helps Barca rout Sevilla, Atletico triumph
- Leclerc wins US Grand Prix as Norris, Verstappen clash
- Lewandowski powers five-star Barca to Sevilla rout
- Lions hand Vikings first loss, Packers down Texans
- In escalation, Israel bombs Hezbollah-linked finance group
- Martinez keeps Inter on Napoli's tail with Roma winner
- Marseille return to form with Montpellier thrashing
- Lula cancels trip to summit in Russia after injuring head
- One dead as flooding hits Italy's northeast flatlands
- Browns quarterback Watson exits with Achilles tendon injury
- Liverpool 'showed up' to beat Chelsea challenge: Slot
- 'Once in a lifetime' Kerr leads New Zealand to Women's T20 World Cup triumph
- Pope names 14 new saints, including martyrs of Damascus
- Malinin captures third straight Skate America crown
- Sri Lanka triumph in rain-affected first ODI against West Indies
- Liverpool pass Chelsea test to reclaim Premier League top spot
- Kerr leads New Zealand to maiden Women's T20 World Cup triumph
- Tens of thousands rally in Georgia for EU ahead of pivotal vote
- UN biodiversity summit opens under guerrilla threat in Colombia
- 'Smile 2' scares up the biggest audiences in N.American theaters
Sartorially suave alpaca sneezes on King Charles
King Charles joked Monday about past encounters with Australia's formidable wildlife -- brown snakes, leeches, funnel web spiders and bull ants. He did not mention being sneezed on by a nine-year-old suit-wearing alpaca named Hephner.
The 75-year-old British royal visited Canberra, the capital of his Australian realm, where he joked with lawmakers about his time at a rural grammar school called Timbertop.
He attended the alpine school in southeast Australia in the 1960s as a gawky 17-year-old and recalled the experience as being transformational.
"All I can say is that I arrived as an adolescent and left as a more rounded, if not even somewhat chiselled, character once I had contended with brown snakes, leeches, funnel web spiders and bull ants," he said to laughs.
What he did not tell the crowd was he had recently had another character-forming encounter with an Australian animal.
Greeting supporters on a rope line at the Australian War Memorial, Charles stopped to admire a sartorially suave alpaca that was wearing a gold crown and suit.
He reached out to "Hephner", as the woolly camelid is known, and gave him a quick rub on the nose.
However, that caused Hephner to sneeze all over the king and his bodyguard who was also in the line of fire.
"Bless you" someone said from the fray, before Charles checked his right lapel for any trace of Hephner's expulsive tribute.
It is not the first time Charles has encountered an alpaca as king.
Last year he met an (unclothed) alpaca at an agricultural show in Wales.
L.Henrique--PC