Las Vegas, US: Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump began the third and final debate of the 2016 US presidential campaign on Wednesday, with the stakes high for the Republican challenger, who has faltered in the polls.

The Democratic and Republican nominees took the stage in Las Vegas without shaking hands for a 90-minute televised clash before tens of millions of viewers, with just 20 days to go before Americans vote on 8 November.

Both candidates were somber and unsmiling as they tackled the first question pitched at them by moderator Chris Wallace of Fox News, about the US Supreme Court and how they would choose justices to serve on it.

Trump sought to reassure the Republican Party’s conservative base, stressing he would appoint judges who are opposed to both abortion rights and imposing additional controls on gun ownership.

Clinton criticized the current Republican-controlled Congress for impeding President Barack Obama’s attempts to fill a vacant Supreme Court seat, and said she supports abortion rights.

‘I will defend women’s rights to make their own health care decisions,’ she stressed. ‘We have come too far to have that turned back now.’