Morning Mail: Isis kill journalist Steven Sotloff, Putin says he could conquer Kiev 'in 14 days', mining tax scrapped

US journalist Steven Sotloff is pictured in this undated handout photo obtained by Reuters. Photograph: Guim

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Isis

A new video released by Isis claims to show the beheading of another US journalist, Steven Sotloff, reportedly by the same British fighter who killed James Foley.

We have a live blog from overnight following reaction to the killing and the latest developments.

Iraqi forces have regained control of a key highway to Baghdad after breaking the months-long siege of the town of Amerli by Islamic State fighters.

YesterdayTony Abbott described Isis as “nothing but a death cult”, and worse than the Nazis because of the way they broadcast their atrocities.

Ukraine

A Kremlin foreign policy adviser said the Russian president’s remarks were taken out of context. Photograph: Guim

A leak from the EU leaders summit has revealed Vladimir Putin said Russian forces could conquer Ukraine’s capital of Kiev in two weeks, if he wanted to give the order.

David Cameron has warned of ‘appeasing Putin as we did Hitler’, likening the Russian president’s actions in Ukraine to conduct of Neville Chamberlain in 1930s Munich.

The IMF warns Ukraine could need an extra $19bn in bailout funds if there is no resolution to the escalating conflict as factories shut down and currency in freefall.

Defence correspondent Ewen MacAskill says Nato will be forced to reinvent itself, but asks if it can respond effectively to the unconventional warfare of Russia and Isis.

We have an explainer video, asking: What does Russia’s Vladimir Putin want?

Australian news and politics

Asylum seekers stand behind a fence in Oscar compound at the Manus Island detention centre in Papua New Guinea. Photograph: Guim

• Despite government claims the Manus Island detention centre is back to normal, leaked intelligence reports seen by Guardian Australia reveal increasing self-harm attempts, fights among asylum seekers and use of isolation rooms as tensions remain high.

• The mining tax has been scrapped after the Coalition secured a deal with the Palmer United Party that will cost the budget bottom line $6.5bn. Political editor Lenore Taylor says the costly back room deal is the ‘Clive Palmer pattern’ repeating.

• This morning, treasurer Joe Hockey has blamed Labor for the seven-year freeze to superannuation contributions, saying they forced the government to negotiate with Palmer United party.

• The 434-page report into the 45-day Hazelwood coalmine fire has found it was entirely foreseeable, could have been put out more quickly and its impact greatly reduced if the operator had not taken a “minimal compliance” attitude.

• In a fiery appearance at Icac, former NSW energy minister Chris Hartcher denied any knowledge of the elusive “big man” donor, and said he was ‘not aware’ how donations from Nathan Tinkler passed through his office.

• Plans to dump 5m tonnes of dredging sediment on the Great Barrier Reef have been abandoned by developers of the Abbott Point coal port in the face of public outcry.

• Follow the politics live blog today to keep up with all the action from Canberra.

Around the world

• Chinese president Xi Jinping and India’s new prime minister are both expected ‘to skip Ban Ki-moon climate meeting’ with other world leaders at the UN.

• The head of Médecins sans Frontières has urged the UN to send in military to help curb the Ebola outbreak in west Africa, as cases and deaths continue to surge.

• Authorities in Kazakhstan are on high alert after a container holding the radioactive substance caesium-137 disappeared.

• Twelve more victims of child sexual abuse in Rotherham have come forwardsince a damning report revealed the grooming, exploitation and rape of at least 1,400 young people.

• Newly discovered DNA evidence has seen a death row inmate and his half-brother exonerated and released from prison after spending more than 30 years behind bars for a rape and murder they did not commit.

More from around the internet

Jennifer Lawrence: celebrity victim of hacked nude photos. Photograph: Guim

• Among the most viewed on the Guardian this morning, a comment piece asking if people can learn to stop gawking at all the degrading material the internet has to offer.

• The CFMEU directed all staff and officials to clean out their emails despite being issued with an order to produce electronic documents to the royal commission on union corruption, the Sydney Morning Herald reports.

• A middle-ranking public servant is the first person to be targeted for criminal charges by South Australia’s Independent commission against corruption, the Adelaide Advertiser reports.

• Clive Palmer tried to repay $11m to China days after revelations he had siphoned huge sums to fund his political campaign, The Australian reports.

• The father of home-grown terrorist Mohamed Elomar says “I cannot understand what my son did, it makes me want to vomit”, the Daily Telegraph reports.

One last thing

Authorities declined to provide a mug shot. Photograph: Guim

Justin Bieber has been arrested after crashing into a minivan and then getting into a fight with one of its occupants.

Have an excellent day – and if you spot anything I’ve missed, let me know in the comments here or on Twitter @earleyedition.

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