Sydney  - An Australian woman accused of suffocating her father with a pillow after binding him to his bed with cling wrap was exonerated by a Sydney court Monday.

Daniela Beltrame, 55, was found not guilty of murdering her 70-year-old father despite testimony from her daughter.

Romina Beltrame, 29, told the court that when she tried to free her grandfather her mother said: "What are you doing? It's taken me hours to Glad Wrap him."

Sydney  - Australian stocks t

Sydney  - As all gardeners know, weeds are relentless.

In fact, they're so hardy that they'll be the big winners from climate change.

After conducting the largest study of its kind, Australian researchers warned that what we now consider weeds will be among the few plants versatile enough to cope with changes in the environment.

"As habitats change in response to climate change, the species that are most likely to survive are those with short life cycles that can adapt quickly and those that are readily dispersed - common characteristics of most weed species," Botanic Gardens Trust botanist Peter Watson said.

Sydney  - Around 200 whales are stranded on a beach on Tasmania's King Island, which is halfway between the island state and the Australian mainland.

Parks and Wildlife Service spokesman Chris Arthur said Monday that six dolphins were also stranded at Naracoopa Beach.

"While there are animals alive, there is always hope," Arthur said.

Sydney  - A 15-year-old boy surfing with his father became the third shark attack victim in Sydney in as many weeks when he was mauled at picture-perfect Avalon Beach on Sunday.

"He's got extensive bite wounds and lacerations," a spokesman for Royal North Shore Hospital said. "He has severe injuries but I don't think at this stage they're life-threatening."

Nick Miller from the Avalon Beach Surf Lifesaving Club said the pair were the only surfers in the water when the boy was gored just after dawn.

Sydney  - The finger-paintings of a 2-year-old would normally be praised for their creativity by doting parents and get a place under a fridge magnet along with shopping lists, bills and postcards.

Aelita Andre's parents have managed to convince a Melbourne gallery that their tot's acrylics deserve a solo exhibition next month, news reports said Sunday.

Australian national broadcaster ABC also said that art critics are bitterly divided over the honour Brunswick Street Gallery owner Mark Jamieson has bestowed on the daughter of Russian-born photographer Nikka Kalashnikova and husband Michael Andre.