Soldiers go on trial for guide's murder

Three British soldiers accused of murdering a Danish tour guide in Cyprus last September are to stand trial in Larnaca on Monday. The island's Supreme Court rejected a defence plea to dismiss the case on the grounds that the soldiers' constitutional rights were violated when prison guards confiscated confidential notes they had prepared for their lawyers.

The ruling ended a series of legal objections that prevented the opening of the trial for eight months. Pte Justin Fowler, 26, of Falmouth, Cornwall; Pte Alan Ford, 26, of Birmingham; and Pte Jeff Parnell, 23, of Oldbury, West Midlands, are accused of killing the guide, Louise Jensen, 23, after kidnapping her in the south-eastern tourist resort of Ayia Napa.