Politics

Kamala Harris and Donald Trump held possibly their only televised debate of America’s presidential campaign. Ms Harris, the vice-president, put Mr Trump on the back foot; at times he seemed to be the incumbent defending his record. Polling suggested viewers thought Ms Harris performed better than her rival. Before the event opinion polls indicated the race was tightening, and that Ms Harris’s momentum was slowing.

A few days before the debate Ms Harris received Dick Cheney’s endorsement for president. The former Republican vice-president warned that Mr Trump “can never be trusted with power again”.

Spoiler alert

Michigan’s Supreme Court ruled that Robert F. Kennedy junior’s name must stay on the state’s ballot in November’s presidential election, even though he has withdrawn from the race to support Mr Trump. The contest between Ms Harris and Mr Trump is tight in Michigan, a crucial swing state, and the inclusion of Mr Kennedy on the ballot could make a marginal difference.

America, Britain, France and Germany imposed new sanctions on Iran for supplying Russia with ballistic missiles for use in Ukraine. The penalties include further restrictions on Iran Air’s flights to and from Europe. Antony Blinken, America’s secretary of state, has said that Russia is increasingly reliant on Iran and North Korea for weapons. Ahead of a visit to Kyiv by Mr Blinken, Joe Biden suggested he was looking for ways to allow Ukraine to use American long-range missiles against Russia.

Russia said its forces had taken control of the town of Novohrodivka in eastern Ukraine, which lies just 12km (seven miles) from Pokrovsk, a strategic hub for Ukrainian troops. Ukraine targeted Moscow with another big drone attack, which killed one person and destroyed dozens of homes.

Around 100,000 trade unionists and leftists protested across France against the appointment of Michel Barnier as prime minister. Emmanuel Macron gave the job to Mr Barnier, who hails from the centre-right, after two months of deadlock following July’s parliamentary election, at which left-wing parties won the most seats but fell far short of a majority.

The German government announced a six-month crackdown on illegal migrants crossing its borders. The government thinks it can tighten border restrictions despite being in the EU’s Schengen free-movement area because of the security threat from Islamist extremists. The ruling coalition lost heavily in two recent state elections over immigration, which is also a big issue in the forthcoming election in Brandenburg.

In Britain the new Labour government easily won a vote on a controversial policy to withdraw winter-fuel payments from all but the most needy pensioners. Some 9m of the 11m elderly people currently getting up to £300 ($392) a year to help with fuel costs will lose out. Only one Labour MP voted against the government, though plenty abstained. The government claims the measure is needed to fill holes in the public finances.

Edmundo González, the widely accepted winner of July’s presidential election in Venezuela, fled the country for Spain amid threats by the authorities to arrest him. The electoral commission and the courts have deemed that Nicolás Maduro won another term as president, despite the results being far from transparent.

Alberto Fujimori, a strongman who ruled Peru between 1990 and 2000, died aged 86. In 1992 he sent tanks to shut down Peru’s Congress and governed as an autocrat for the following eight years. In 2009 he was sentenced to 25 years in jail for human-rights abuses and corruption; he ended up serving less than 15 of them.

The chief of El Salvador’s police force was killed in a helicopter crash. He was escorting a former bank director who had been accused of embezzling $35m. Nayib Bukele, the president, said the crash was suspicious and ordered an investigation.

Israel said it was “highly likely” that its troops “unintentionally” killed an American-Turkish woman at a protest in the occupied West Bank. Witnesses have questioned Israel’s claims. Israel withdrew from Jenin after a security operation that lasted nine days, during which 36 Palestinians were killed. Most of the dead were members of armed groups, but the Palestinian health ministry said children were also killed. Israel also struck a school in Gaza used by terrorists to plan attacks. Eighteen people were killed there, including six UN workers.

A gunman from Jordan killed three Israelis at the Allenby Bridge border crossing between the West Bank and Jordan. Hamas did not claim responsibility for the attack but said it was a natural response to the war in Gaza.

Nigeria’s secret police arrested and then released Joe Ajaero, a prominent union leader who had criticised the government’s decision to raise the price of petrol. Mr Ajaero said his passport had been briefly confiscated. Critics have accused the government of stifling dissent following protests in recent weeks against corruption and the rising cost of living.

Workers at Kenya’s main airport in Nairobi went on strike, disrupting travel across the region. They were protesting against the government’s plan to lease the airport to Adani, an Indian conglomerate, which they claim will cost jobs and harm the local economy. Kenya’s High Court had temporarily halted the deal in response to a legal challenge from NGOs.

The Labor government in Australia said it wanted to ban young people up to the age of 16 from access to social media. It has started testing a programme that restricts those aged 16 and under from viewing pornographic sites. Experts warned that implementing age-verification checks was fraught with complications.

Typhoon Yagi battered Vietnam, killing at least 197 people and leaving scores missing. Packing winds of 150kmh (92mph), it was the country’s worst storm in 30 years. Some 1.5m people in north Vietnam were left without electricity.

Great multitudes came to him

Pope Francis continued his 12-day tour of South-East Asia. Around 600,000 worshippers attended a mass in East Timor, almost half the island’s 1.3m people. Papal masses have drawn far bigger crowds elsewhere but, as a share of the population, this week’s gathering is thought to be the largest ever.