Las Vegas gunman's laptop in hotel suite was missing hard drive

The sun sets behind the Mandalay Bay hotel and casino in Las Vegas, from where Stephen Paddock opened fire. Photo / AP

United States: A laptop found inside the Las Vegas gunman's hotel suite after he carried out the deadliest mass shooting in modern US history was missing a hard drive, a federal official told AP. Investigators suspect gunman Stephen Paddock removed the hard drive from the laptop after opened fire from his high-rise suite at the Mandalay Bay hotel-casino into a crowd at a country music concert, killing 58 people. The hard drive hasn't been found, according to the official. Investigators have examined Paddock's politics, finances, any possible radicalisation and his social behaviour and there's still no clear motive.

Australia: Queensland police officers are doorknocking a Brisbane neighbourhood as they continue to search for the person who killed father-of-four Abdul Basith. Scientific and forensic investigators remain at the Kuraby home after the 35-year-old's body was found in the front yard by police yesterday. The SES is combing nearby bushland and the neighbourhood in an attempt to find the murder weapon. Investigators believe Basith's death was not random but did not believe the murder was racially or religiously motivated. More than A$20,000 has been raised on GoFundMe for the family in less than 24 hours.

United Nations: A former African judge who has reviewed new information on the mysterious 1961 plane crash that killed UN Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjold says "it is plausible that an external attack or threat may have been a cause of the crash". Former Tanzanian Chief Justice Mohamed Chande Othman says in a report released today that it also remains conceivable that the crash in Congo resulted from pilot error. He says the possibility of sabotage is also still being investigated. Further investigation is needed to finally establish the facts. He says it is almost certain that Hammarskjold and members of his party were not assassinated after landing and that all passengers died from injuries during the crash, instantaneously or soon after.

Thailand: Amid beating drums, the whistle of an ancient flute and an artillery salute, Thailand started a lavish ceremony for revered late King Bhumibol Adulyadej. Hundreds of thousands of mourners lined the streets of Bangkok to watch the funeral procession, with buildings on the route draped in yellow marigolds on the eve of his cremation. "This is the last goodbye. I really love and miss him. It is very difficult to describe," said a tearful Pimsupak Suthin, 42, who travelled to Bangkok from the northern province of Nan for the funeral. Officials dressed in blue and orange removed a symbolic golden urn from the Dusit Maha Prasart Throne Hall at the start of the ceremony. The late king's body, which had been lying in state at the palace since his death a year ago, was moved to the cremation area early today. King Maha Vajiralongkorn, King Bhumibol's only son, arrived at the Grand Palace dressed in a red uniform with his two daughters and young son.

An artillery gun is fired at the funeral procession and royal cremation ceremony of late King Bhumibol Adulyadej, in Bangkok, Thailand. Photo / AP

Kenya: People have begun voting in Kenya's second presidential election since August despite high tension and the main opposition leader's call for his followers to boycott. The number of voters at some polling stations when they opened seemed smaller than the crowds for the August 8 election. Kenyan media say opposition supporters have blocked the operations of some polling stations. The Supreme Court nullified the previous vote because it found illegalities and irregularities in the election process.

Brazil: Brazilian lawmakers have rejected corruption charges against President Michel Temer, shelving a case that had threatened to oust a centre-right leader who investors hope will bring Brazil's budget deficit under control. The corruption case, involving the payment of bribes by meatpacker JBS SA, had paralysed Temer's reform agenda for six months and weakened his Government. The Lower House of Brazil's Congress, which has the authority to decide whether a president should stand trial by the Supreme Court, voted to throw out charges of obstruction of justice and organised crime filed by federal prosecutors. The vote means that Temer is safe from prosecution while he remains president. But he is still subject to investigation and possible trial by lower courts after his term ends in late 2018.

Science: Long before Leo wore the crown, a mighty reptilian meat-eater that would have dwarfed the largest lion was King of the Jungle. Scientists have discovered the first evidence that a huge carnivorous dinosaur roamed southern Africa 200 million years ago. Several three-toed footprints left by the two-legged "megatheropod" - an early forerunner of Tyrannosaurus rex - were found near the site of a prehistoric watering hole or river bank in the kingdom of Lesotho. Experts calculated that the fearsome creature would have been around 9m long and stood almost 3m tall at the hip. The dinosaur, named Kayentapus ambrokholohali, was much larger than any other meat-eating dinosaur previously discovered in Africa. The find was described in the journal PLS-ONE.

South Korea: An icebreaker is on its way to Australia from South Korea on its ninth Antarctic expedition to explore the marine ecosystem and study how climate change is affecting the planet. The Araon departed from the western port of Incheon for its journey that will last 227 days, the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries says. The 7487-tonne research ship will head to Australia before anchoring at Jang Bogo Antarctic Research Station in Terra Nova Bay in Antarctica before starting its research from mid-December. The Araon will first cruise the Amundsen Sea in western Antarctica to examine the melting speed of ice bergs and ocean currents. The vessel will then move to the Ross Sea to study the changing environment of the oceans and glaciers. Researchers plan to install an underwater seismometer to regularly monitor earthquakes. Lastly, the ship plans to navigate the Weddell Sea to explore the Larsen C ice shelf, the fourth-largest ice shelf in Antarctica.

- agencies