A man who endured 18 years of abuse at the hands of his partner and strangled her in a drunken rage in February has been sentenced to 14 years prison in Melbourne, Australia. Anthony Sherna was sentenced under a controversial Victoria law that accepts “defensive homicide” instead of murder in cases of “sustained domestic violence and abuse”, reports the Sydney Morning Herald 20 November.

The sentencing judge, Justice Beach, admitted that Sherna had lived through “significant episodes of unpleasantness” but that nothing justified taking his partner’s life, and that her death had caused her mother great distress.

During the 18 years with his partner, Sherna had to give up all family ties and friendhips. He was not allowed to use the toilet in the house they shared, he slept on a cot in the guest room, and his partner at one point openly resumed a relationship with a former boyfriend.

Australia’s prime minister, Kevin Rudd, is calling it the worst natural disaster on record, with the Sydney Morning Herald reporting 108 people dead Sunday night Swiss time, including veteran TV news reader from Melbourne, Brian Naylor. Twenty-six fires are raging in Victoria and police suspect arsonists of starting several of them. In China, the government is allocating $12 billion for drought aid with the worst drought in decades affecting 4.4 million people and 10.7 million hectares, reports Xinhua.