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The decision to suspend delivery of a Mistral naval assault ship to Russia risks costing France at least 1bn euros (£800m), officials say.

French President Francois Hollande said Russia’s actions in eastern Ukraine meant conditions were not right for delivery of the helicopter-carrier.

He later said «a ceasefire and a political settlement» should be in place before the deal could go ahead.

Russia was expecting two Mistral ships — the first one in October.

A French diplomat earlier said the contract was suspended until November, and the delay «could cost us 1bn euros».

The deal is worth 1.2bn euros — and Russia is reported to have paid most of it, so breach of contract would mean France having to reimburse that money.

In addition, France would be liable for an extra 251m-euro penalty payment, French news website LCI reports.

The first ship is called the Vladivostok.

About 400 Russian sailors are training at the shipyard in Saint-Nazaire, western France, to be ready for the eventual handover of the Vladivostok.

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Nigeria’s militant Islamist group Boko Haram has captured the town of Banki, which borders Cameroon, after government troops fled, residents say.

The military has not yet commented on the latest town to reportedly fall to the insurgents in recent weeks.

Fears have been raised that their main target is Maiduguri, the capital of north-eastern Borno state.

Boko Haram’s «lightning territorial gains» could lead to Nigeria breaking up like Iraq, a think-thank has warned.

Last month, Boko Haram leader declared an Islamic caliphate in areas under the group’s control, following a similar declaration by the Islamic State (IS) group, previously known by the acronym Isis, after it captured parts of Iraq and Syria.

«Unless swift action is taken, Nigeria could be facing a rapid takeover of a large area of its territory reminiscent of Isis’s lightning advances in Iraq,» the Nigeria Security Network (NSN) said in a special report released on Tuesday entitled North-East Nigeria On The Brink.

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An Islamic State video has appeared which purports to show the beheading of Steven Sotloff, a US journalist being held hostage by the militants.

Mr Sotloff, 31, was abducted in Syria in 2013. He appeared at the end of a video last month which showed fellow US journalist James Foley being killed.

A militant in the latest video also threatens to kill a British hostage.

Mr Sotloff’s family said they were aware of the video and were «grieving privately».

After Mr Foley’s death, Mr Sotloff’s mother appealed to IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi to save her son’s life.

White House spokesman Josh Earnest said US officials were checking the reports.

The US has recently carried out dozens of air strikes against IS targets in Iraq.

President Barack Obama has ordered the deployment of another 350 troops to Baghdad to protect US diplomatic facilities, the White house has said.

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Missouri Governor Jay Nixon has lifted the state of emergency declared to combat nights of violent protests in the city of Ferguson last month.

Mr Nixon had implemented the order on 19 August, following demonstrations against the killing of an unarmed black teenager by a white policeman.

Michael Brown, 18, was shot dead after being stopped for jaywalking.

Mr Nixon said people were «getting back to their normal routines» and the order was no longer needed.

«This progress is a testament to the efforts of community and faith leaders, working alongside state and local law enforcement officers, to bring peace to the streets of Ferguson and much-needed stability to its citizens,» he said in a statement.

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Japan’s government has admitted that the flight paths of official aircraft used by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe were posted online.

The location of the planes and other flight data were published on the website Flightradar24, which shows live air traffic around the world, local reports said.

The defence ministry said it had asked the website to remove the information.

Officials said they had confirmed the data was removed on 27 August.

«We don’t consider it would have seriously affected the safety of official flights, but it was not preferable that undisclosed information was made openly available to the public,» a defence ministry official told AFP news agency.

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