Briefing: North Korea's nukes 'lost cause'

Giving up weapons 'a nonstarter'

US National Intelligence director James Clapper said that the US goal of persuading North Korea to abandon its nuclear weapons is probably a "lost cause" and the best hope is to cap its capability. Clapper's comments come amid mounting concern that the North is moving closer towards having a nuclear-tipped missile that could reach the American mainland. "I think the notion of getting the North Koreans to denuclearise is probably a lost cause," Clapper said at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York. "They are under siege and they are very paranoid, so the notion of giving up their nuclear capability, whatever it is, is a nonstarter with them," he said.

Trump: Investigate Obama
US Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump says President Barack Obama must be investigated over a private email server Hillary Clinton used while Secretary of State, because Obama "knew all about" her email arrangements. WikiLeaks released a batch of hacked emails from the account of Clinton's campaign manager, John Podesta, which showed her Democratic presidential campaign reacting after Obama said in a television interview that he learned of the private email server through news reports. "We need to clean this up - he has emails from her - they do not say state.gov," Cheryl Mills, a longtime Clinton aide, wrote in an email to Podesta. Obama's spokesman, Josh Earnest, clarified the remarks after the 2015 interview, saying that while the President had Clinton's personal email address, which she used instead of government systems, he did not know details about its setup.

Workplace shooting
A refugee from Kenya killed one former co-worker, wounded three others and then killed himself in a workplace shooting that authorities are still trying to unravel in Virginia, police said. Getachew Fekede, 53, had entered the US through a refugee immigration programme and had worked for the railcar manufacturer FreightCar America before quitting in March, Roanoke Police Chief Tim Jones said. A neighbour said that Fekede quit his job over being harassed by a co-worker.

Detainee release rejected
A US government review board has rejected the release of the alleged Southeastern Asian terrorist leader known as Hambali from the prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The prisoner whose real name is Encep Nurjaman appeared before the board in August by video link seeking his release after being held 10 years at the base without charge. Hambali was the alleged leader of the al-Qaeda-linked group that carried out the 2002 terrorist bombing in Bali that killed 202 people.

Riots near university
Rioters in South Africa set a police vehicle on fire and stoned vehicles near a Johannesburg university that has been the scene of sometimes violent protests by students demanding free education.The violence broke out in streets near the University of the Witwatersrand at around the same time that student protesters met and marched off the campus.

- agencies