A British couple taken hostage when Chechen gunmen stormed a Moscow theatre have been reunited after the 58-hour siege ended in a dramatic rescue bid by Russian special forces.

Negotiations between Russian officials and Chechen gunman in a Moscow theatre were launched again today after four mediators waving a white flag entered the building to seek an end to the desperate standoff.

Three British telephone engineers were murdered in 1998 by allies of Osama bin Laden, a BBC programme will say this week.

Prominent Chechen warlord, Arbi Barayev, was killed in an operation by Russian troops who had blockaded a central Chechen town for days to search for him and other rebel fighters, officials said today.