TOP OF THE AGENDA

Harris makes her White House pitch

Kamala Harris promoted her middle-class roots and spoke of her background as a lawyer. Credit: Reuters.

For hours, rumours swirled that Beyoncé or Taylor Swift might add some star quality to Kamala Harris's appearance at the Democratic National Convention. But as it turned out, the US vice-president relied on a highly personal speech to formally accept the party's nomination for the White House - watch the highlights. Ms Harris pledged to lead "for all Americans" and create an "opportunity economy" if elected in November. And she called for a ceasefire in Gaza, without directly addressing protests outside the convention over US support of Israel. Republican rival Donald Trump gave a running commentary on social media, asking: "Why didn't she do something about the things of which she complains?" Our North America correspondent Anthony Zurcher says Ms Harris hit the notes her campaign wanted, with only rare moments of soaring rhetoric, and broke little new ground. Read his four takeaways.

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• Fact-checked: Ms Harris's speech was light on policy detail - here's where she stands on key issues - but featured claims about what Donald Trump might do in the White House. BBC Verify found some to be misleading.

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• Listen up: Did Ms Harris pull off the biggest speech of her life? The Americast team offers its verdict.

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• Family matters: Americans have this week learned more about Ms Harris's husband Doug Emhoff, potentially the first US First Gentleman, while some great-nieces delivered a lesson in how to pronounce her name. Holly Honderich has more on the "blended" family.

WORLD HEADLINES

• Diplomatic tightrope: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is visiting Ukraine on Friday for talks with President Volodymyr Zelensky, weeks after being criticised for meeting Russia's Vladimir Putin in Moscow.

• South Korea: Two people who were among seven killed in a fire at a hotel in the city of Bucheon died after a fire department air mattress flipped as they jumped from windows.

• Fast fashion: Chinese company Shein found two cases of child labour in its supply chain last year, causing it to temporarily suspend orders from the suppliers involved, the company has said.

• Gender discrimination: A transgender woman from Australia has won a case against a women-only social media app, after she was denied access on the basis of being male. Sofia Bettiza says it could affect countries around the world.

• Icelandic volcano: There has been sixth eruption in the space of eight months in the Reykjanes region. Aerial footage captures the spectacular results.

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