A British couple who were detained for nearly eight months by the Taliban in Afghanistan have been released, an official with knowledge of the case has said. Peter Reynolds, 80, and his wife Barbie, 76, who have lived in the country for nearly two decades, were held after being stopped while travelling home on 1 February.

More than 600 books, many of them written by women, are being purged, based on a contention that they conflict with Sharia principles.