Donald Trump and Kamala Harris have clashed over issues including abortion, the economy and illegal immigration in their first – and possibly only – debate before the US election.

Ms Harris’s attacks appeared to get under her rival’s skin at times, claiming people left his rallies out of “boredom” and Russian President Vladimir Putin “would eat him for lunch”.

Meanwhile, Mr Trump frequently resorted to accusing her of allowing massive illegal immigration, as well as being a dangerous “Marxist” and the worst vice president ever.

Trump v Harris debate live: Pivotal night in US election

The debate in Philadelphia began with Ms Harris approaching Mr Trump for a handshake – an awkward pleasantry in the 100-minute face-off.

Ms Harris addressed voters directly into the camera several times as she made promises including cutting the cost of living and restoring abortion rights.

The ex-president, however, focussed on the two moderators throughout as the debate took place without a live studio audience.

In the opening duels, Mr Trump claimed Ms Harris had no plan for the economy and – as part of the Biden administration – had presided over high inflation and a flood of illegal immigrants taking jobs.

The vice president, in turn, accused the Republican of planning “a tax cut for billionaires and big corporations”.

During one of Mr Trump’s frequent references to a “dangerous” immigrant influx, he made a bizarre claim there were cases of them eating people’s pets.

“In Springfield, they’re eating the dogs. The people that came in. They’re eating the cats. They’re eating the pets of the people that live there,” he said.

The debate moderator interjected to clarify that officials in Springfield, Ohio, had reported no credible reports of such incidents.

Abortion rights were another key moment of the evening.

Ms Harris hit out at “Trump abortion bans” and said it was “unconscionable” that government should dictate what women do with their bodies.

During his presidency, Mr Trump installed three Supreme Court justices who helped overturn the constitutional right to abortion in 2022.

The 78-year-old defended the move, saying the issue had been “tearing the country apart” and that he had led on IVF rights.

“Each individual state is voting. It’s the vote of the people now. It’s not tied up in the federal government. I did a great service in doing it,” said Mr Trump.

Ms Harris said his claim her vice presidential pick, Tim Walz, supported abortion in the ninth month was a “bunch of lies” as she painted a sobering picture of what some women now go through.

“Now in over 20 states there are Trump abortion bans which make it criminal for a doctor or nurse to provide health care,” she said.

“In one state it provides prison for life. Trump abortion bans that make no exception even for rape and incest.”

‘Love letters to Kim Jong-un’

The former president, who’s looking to return to the White House despite his numerous legal troubles, looked rattled early on when Kamala Harris claimed people left his rallies “out of exhaustion and boredom”.

Mr Trump hit back that his events were “the most incredible rallies in the history of politics” and said Ms Harris was “bussing” people to her events and “paying them”.

Among other subjects, the two nominees were questioned on Ukraine, Gaza and Afghanistan.

Mr Trump suggested a win for the Democrats would end up with World War 3 and painted Ms Harris as a “horrible negotiator” who wouldn’t be able to stand up for America.

She hit back that Putin “would eat you for lunch”, claiming he “exchanged love letters” with Kim Jong-un and “admires dictators”.

Ms Harris said America’s top military commanders viewed him as a liability who is easily manipulated.

“It is absolutely well known that these dictators and autocrats are rooting for you to be president again, because they’re so clear they can manipulate you with flattery and favours,” said Ms Harris.

Mr Trump repeated his belief the Ukraine invasion wouldn’t have happened if he were in charge and claimed he would end it within days if he wins the election.

On Gaza, Ms Harris insisted Israel had a right to defend itself but that a ceasefire and a path towards a two-state solution was vital. Mr Trump claimed she “hated” Israel and had refused to meet President Netanyahu.

‘Not even close’

Ms Harris’s performance was praised by the man who she replaced as a candidate following his own debate debacle.

Joe Biden posted on X that the debate “wasn’t even close” – but the 59-year-old told supporters afterwards there remained “a lot of work to do”.

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Mr Trump called it his “best debate ever” and claimed his opponent “lost” as he made a rare move of entering the spin room to defend his performance.

There are so far no plans for a second debate – with the ex-president telling reporters he would “have to think about it”.

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Before Tuesday night, a summary of opinion polls by FiveThirtyEight put Ms Harris just ahead at 47.2% to 44.4% – it remains to be seen if the TV showdown will significantly shift those numbers.

There was also a boost post-debate for the Democrat hopeful when Taylor Swift posted on Instagram to say she backed Ms Harris.

“I’m voting for @kamalaharris because she fights for the rights and causes I believe need a warrior to champion them,” she wrote.

“I think she is a steady-handed, gifted leader and I believe we can accomplish so much more in this country if we are led by calm and not chaos.”

President Joe Biden is “not ruling out” allowing Ukraine to fire missiles deep into Russian territory, the US secretary of state has told Sky News.

Antony Blinken made the comment after he told a news conference in London that Iran has provided Moscow with short-range missiles and Vladimir Putin will “likely use them within weeks in Ukraine”.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has been calling on the US and other Western allies to allow Ukraine to use long-range missiles to hit targets in Russia to intensify pressure on Moscow to end the war.

In a sit-down interview with Yalda Hakim for her Sky News show The World, Mr Blinken was asked whether the US president might consider allowing such a move as the conflict rages on.

Mr Blinken said the US has made sure Ukraine has had “what it needed, when it needed it, to be effective in repelling the Russian aggression” since Moscow’s forces invaded in February 2022.

But he added that Washington has also had to consider other factors, such as whether Ukraine’s forces can use the “sophisticated systems” Western allies are providing and whether they can maintain them.

He continued: “All of those things have to go into these decisions. But what I can tell you is we’ve adapted and adjusted every step along the way and we’ll continue – so not ruling out at this stage.

“We don’t. We never rule out. But when we rule in, we want to make sure it’s done in such a way that it can advance what the Ukrainians are trying to achieve.”

Mr Blinken had earlier told a news conference that “dozens of Russian military personnel” have been trained to use Iran’s Fath-360 close-range ballistic missiles.

He added: “Russia has an array of its own ballistic missile system, but the supply of Iranian missiles enables Russia to use more of its arsenal for targets that are further from the front line.”

The US delivered a small number of ATACMs (Army Tactical Missile Systems) to Ukraine in September last year.

The long-range missiles have a range of about 180 miles.

Mr Blinken gave the news conference in London hours after Ukraine launched a major drone attack targeting several regions across Russia.

Read more:
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US to target Iran’s economy

In his interview, the US secretary of state was also asked about America’s decision to announce further sanctions against Iran and whether they will be effective.

He replied: “We’ve been clear with the Iranians as we saw this brewing that this would have consequences if they went ahead and did it.

“There will be consequences… This is at a time when we know from the new Iranian president that they desperately need and want some economic relief, that there’s a very heavy burden on the country, and that they’re looking for that.

“(Supplying Russia with missiles) is exactly the opposite way to get what they purport to want.”

Blinken says Gaza ceasefire is not guaranteed

Mr Blinken was also asked whether the US is any closer to helping Israel and Hamas to agree a ceasefire to end the nearly year-long war in Gaza.

The US secretary of state said: “In terms of what’s on paper right now, more than 90% of it has been agreed… but almost by definition, the closer you get to the finish line, the harder it gets, because the toughest things usually remain until the end.”

He added: “The challenge, of course, is with every passing day, there’s the risk of an intervening event that sets you back and makes things more difficult.

“But I’m convinced, based on what’s on paper, what’s already been agreed, that we’re close, but does that mean that we’ll get there? No, because there remain hard issues.”

A man accused of inviting at least 50 other men to rape his wife has been taken to hospital on the day he was due to give evidence.

Dominique Pelicot is alleged to have recruited the men on a chat room called “without her knowing” in a case that has shocked France.

The 71-year-old is being tried in the southern French city of Avignon, along with 50 other men on charges of aggravated rape.

His defence lawyer Beatrice Zavarro said her client “is not trying to shirk his responsibility, he will not shirk his responsibility”.

Sources told Sky News the judge ordered the defendant to undergo medical checks in hospital after complaining of stomach pain.

A decision is expected to be made later in the day as to when Dominique Pelicot will testify, and what potential delays this may impose on the trial.

Ms Zavarro added that her client started to show symptoms of what could be a bladder infection or colic on Friday.

Meanwhile, his now ex-wife Gisele Pelicot was seen outside the court on Tuesday, along with his daughter who has also been attending the trial.

Last Thursday, Ms Pelicot testified that her world collapsed when police uncovered the years of alleged abuse.

Speaking of the moment she discovered her former spouse had allegedly filmed the suspected attacks by dozens of men, she said: “For me, everything collapses. These are scenes of barbarity, of rape.”