Kercher suspect to be extradited

Rudy Hermann Guede, 20, originally from the Ivory Coast, was arrested in Germany on 20 November.

Italian police suspect he played a role in the death of the 21-year-old student on 1 November in Perugia.

Miss Kercher, of Coulsdon, London, was found stabbed in a house she shared with Amanda Knox - now also a suspect.

Italian Raffaele Sollecito, 23, is also a suspect and he and Miss Knox, 20, failed in a bid to be released from jail as the inquiry continues.

Date not yet set

A third man - Congolese bar owner Diya Lumumba - was briefly held in jail but then released, although he is still a suspect in the case.

Prosecutors in Germany had delayed extraditing Mr Guede as they wanted assurances that if he received a life sentence his case would be reviewed after 20 years.

But, following a hearing on Monday in Koblenz, prosecutor Norbert Weise said: "The extradition can take place as soon as Italian authorities agree to a date for the hand-over," AP news agency reported.

An international arrest warrant for Mr Guede was issued about 19 November after Italian detectives identified him as a suspect.

They had planned to arrest him as he crossed the border back into Italy, but a German ticket inspector detained him for fare-dodging.

Bloody fingerprints found on Miss Kercher's pillow and on toilet paper in her bathroom have been reported to match those of Mr Guede.

Mr Guede has previously told German court officials that he had not been involved in Miss Kercher's death.