Laos releases jailed Australians

An Australian couple sentenced to seven years in a Laotian jail, have been provisionally released from prison after 10 months in custody.

They had been convicted in June of embezzlement, tax evasion and destruction of evidence, after first being accused of being implicated in the theft of sapphires worth more than $6m.

Mr Danes, a former soldier, was head of security at a gem-mining company.

The Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said he hoped the couple would soon return to Australia.

The case has strained relations between Laos and Australia.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service