Quick Hits

• A Russian strike hit a shopping centre in Zaporizhzhia, southeastern Ukraine, sparking a major fire, Al Jazeera reports.
• A UN fact-finding mission has concluded Iranian forces committed crimes against humanity during a protest crackdown, according to Al Jazeera.
• A school shooting in the Philippines left at least three dead, including the gunman, and eight injured — the country's third deadly school shooting since June, Al Jazeera reports.
• Ahead of Russia's Duma election, Al Jazeera reports United Russia is poised to repeat its 2021 dominance, while a separate Al Jazeera opinion piece argues a pre-election crackdown was carried out because the risk of a protest vote was "too high."
• Minnesota's midterm mail voting begins Friday after the U.S. Supreme Court turned back potential restrictions on mailed ballots, MPR News reports.

Top Stories

Ukraine. Al Jazeera published video of a fire engulfing a shopping centre in Zaporizhzhia after a Russian strike on the southeastern city.

Russia's parliamentary election. Al Jazeera breaks down who is on the Duma ballot and why it matters, noting United Russia won more than two-thirds of seats in 2021 and is poised to dominate again. A companion Al Jazeera opinion piece argues the Kremlin carried out a pre-election crackdown because even the "managed opposition" posed too great a protest-vote risk.

Iran. A UN fact-finding mission has concluded Iranian forces committed crimes against humanity in a crackdown on protests, Al Jazeera reports.

Philippines. At least three people, including the gunman, were killed and eight injured in a school shooting — the third such deadly attack since June, according to Al Jazeera.

U.S. policy. AllSides examines the terms of Trump's U.S.-Venezuela oil deal, and Tangle analyzes the EPA's power plant deregulation.

Left Perspective

MPR News anchors this section.

• ICE agent Christian Castro, who prosecutors say shot and wounded a man in Minneapolis in January during Operation Metro Surge and then allegedly lied to the FBI about it, was arrested Wednesday, MPR News reports.
• The man who sprayed vinegar at Democratic U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar during a Minneapolis town hall was sentenced to 14 months in prison after reaching a deal with prosecutors, per MPR News.
• Minneapolis police released body camera video showing the moment two officers were shot while racing to an upper floor of an apartment complex in pursuit of a man who had killed two people.
• Mail voting opened Friday "without a cloud" over how ballots are handled, MPR News reports, after the Supreme Court turned back potential restrictions.
• Minnesota job growth was effectively flat last month, unemployment ticked up to 4.4 percent — matching the national rate — and exports increased amid trade uncertainty, MPR News reports.
• Buckingham Palace has forcefully denied a claim in a new book by Charles Spencer that King Charles III said Princess Diana would soon be forgotten after her death.

International View

• Australia will detain tourists who overstay visas; more than 77,000 overstayers face detention or departure amid an immigration crackdown, Al Jazeera reports.
• South Korea's president said U.S.-North Korea talks are possible and that he would facilitate them, but ruled out deploying troops in what Al Jazeera describes as the U.S. war on Iran, including at Hormuz.
• Oman's Sohar port is becoming a popular site for risky ship-to-ship oil transfers amid the continued Hormuz blockade, Al Jazeera reports.
• New Western sanctions highlight Israel's isolation, yet Al Jazeera reports analysts say they will not sway Israeli voters ahead of October's elections.
• In Yemen, the first fuel price increase in four years is driving up food and transport costs for families in Sanaa, per Al Jazeera.
• Indonesia acquired its first aircraft carrier as part of a military upgrade, saying the vessel will support disaster relief across the archipelago, Al Jazeera reports.

Underreported

• Nigerian police are probing deaths in custody involving 37 illegal mining suspects; officials blame a disease outbreak, while a survivor suggested they suffocated, Al Jazeera reports.
• In an exclusive, Al Jazeera reports ISIL supporters are sharing ways to bypass Big Tech AI safeguards — including Grok — to build bombs.
• Al Jazeera reports "aid influencers" are accused of exploiting Nepal flood survivors to boost social media followings.
• A cow in Brown County, Minnesota tested positive for rabies and nine people were treated, MPR News reports.
• Tangle asks whether Sen. Mitch McConnell — back in the Senate but not speaking to media on video since his return — is cause for worry, and separately weighs whether AI "doomers" should be taken seriously.
• Al Jazeera examines whether the economic squeeze — higher borrowing costs and weaker purchasing power hitting lower-income Americans — could sway U.S. voters.

Sources

• MPR News: ICE agent arrested in Minneapolis; vinegar attacker of Rep. Omar sentenced; body camera videos from apartment mass shooting; mail voting underway; Minnesota job growth stalls; Buckingham Palace responds to Charles Spencer book; Brown County rabies case
• Al Jazeera: Zaporizhzhia strike; Russia Duma election explainer; Kremlin and "managed opposition" (opinion); UN mission on Iran; Philippines school shooting; Australia visa crackdown; South Korea on U.S.-North Korea talks and Hormuz; Oman ship-to-ship transfers; Israeli voters and Western sanctions; Yemen fuel prices; Indonesia aircraft carrier; Nigeria custody deaths; ISIL's use of AI; Nepal aid influencers; U.S. economic squeeze and voters
• AllSides: Breaking down Trump's U.S.-Venezuela oil deal
• Tangle: EPA power plant deregulation; Mitch McConnell's return; AI "doomers" debate

Note: No right-leaning outlets were included in today's supplied source feed; the Right Perspective section is omitted rather than approximated.