French hostage Francis Collomp free in Nigeria ...

A French hostage held by Islamist militants in northern Nigeria for nearly a year is free after reportedly escaping during a shoot-out. French President Francois Hollande thanked Nigeria's authorities for helping secure the release of Francis Collomp, 63, in the city of Zaria. Unofficial reports say he managed to escape from his cell during an army operation against the militants. The French foreign minister is being sent to Nigeria to meet him. The news comes after four other French hostages were released in neighbouring Niger having been held for three years by gunmen with links to al-Qaeda. There were reports that at least 20m euros (£16.7m; $27m) were paid in ransom for the four. The French government denied any public money was used. Since then a French Roman Catholic priest has been abducted in Cameroon, another country in the region. Seven held Mr Collomp was kidnapped on 19 December last year by armed men who attacked the residence of his employer, the French wind turbine manufacturer Vergnet, in the north Nigerian state of Katsina. Francis Collomp's wife Anne-Marie (centre) celebrated news of her husband's freedom with relatives on the French Indian Ocean island of Reunion.