An Australian court on Monday

An Australian court on Monday began hearing the appeal of a decorated war hero, who is fighting a court defamation ruling that found media groups had
proven their reports he played a part in the unlawful killings of four Afghans in Afghanistan.
Former SAS corporal Ben Roberts-Smith, who won Australia’s highest military honour the Victoria Cross for his actions in Afghanistan, had sued three Nine Entertainment newspapers and their journalists over articles that accused him of killing unarmed Afghan civilians outside the rules of war.
He called the reports false and based on claims of failed soldiers who were jealous of his accolades, and sought unspecified damages.
But a Federal Court judge ruled in June that the newspapers had proven most of their allegations.
The civil court defamation finding required a lower threshold of proof than a criminal court would. Roberts-Smith, 45, whose portrait hangs in the Australian War Memorial, has not been charged with any crimes.