Morning Mail: Mourning on 7 October anniversary; Coalition policy may risk India relations; and vale Richard Morecroft

Morning everyone. Three years on from the Hamas attack on Israel that set off a spiral of violence in the Middle East, our reporters have been talking to Israelis who survived the attacks on kibbutzim, border towns, military bases and music festivals.

At home, there are concerns that the Coalition’s plan to severely limit immigration would cause havoc with trade agreements, there are calls for Anthony Albanese to act on the unmarked graves scandal we exposed yesterday, and the media world mourns ABC newsreader Richard Morecroft.

Australia

• ‘A lovely man’ | Michael Rowland and Leigh Sales have led tributes to the veteran ABC newsreader Richard Morecroft, who has died aged 70.

• Migration risk | The Coalition’s plan to slash immigration risks breaching Australia’s free trade agreement with India, signed by the former Morrison government, allowing Indian students to stay and work for up to four years after completing their studies. It also seems certain to drag politics to the right, says our political editor.

• Climate crisis | Anthony Albanese has told delegates at the pre-Cop meeting in Tuvalu and Fiji that a rising “super El Niño” means Australia faces a hazardous summer, likely including floods, cyclones and extreme heat, and that it shows climate change is “here right now”.

• Unmarked graves | Albanese has been urged to use national cabinet to stop the use of unmarked communal graves to bury impoverished Australians and address failings that are leaving family and friends blindsided. Our revelations about the use of such graves prompted widespread condemnation from federal Liberal MPs, state Labor ministers and the Greens, and calls for federal action.

• Body found | A partially submerged body believed to be a woman has been discovered in a remote stockyard in northern New South Wales with the death being treated as suspicious.

World

• ‘My life project’ | Shlomo Margalit, 89, embodies the loss felt by Israelis on 7 October 2023. He is the caretaker of the cemetery at kibbutz Nir Oz and shows our reporters the graves of three of his oldest friends, founding members of the kibbutz in the 1950s. “This is my life project, as well as my home,” he says. Israelis taken prisoner that day three years ago explain how they have tried to piece their lives back together despite witnessing the horrific violence. In Australia, Israel’s ambassador says the third anniversary of 7 October is an opportunity for both countries to return to “traditional friendship”.

• French unrest | Nearly 90,000 students, staff and parents have taken to the streets in cities across France as protesters blockaded hundreds of high schools in a nationwide day of action against long hours, missing teachers and crumbling classrooms.

• Iran plot | Three alleged Iranian spies carried out surveillance and reconnaissance to target journalists in the UK as part of a plan to commit “serious violence”, a UK court heard

• Election fears | Prominent US election deniers have spent recent weeks stoking fears over election security before next month’s midterms, echoing claims pushed by Donald Trump – whose Republican party is on track to lose heavily – to justify asserting more control over voting.

• Royal ‘betrayal’ | The Norwegian princess Märtha Louise and her husband, the American businessman Durek Verrett, are suing several former members of their inner circle for defamation over what they described as a “calculated betrayal of trust”.

Full Story

Is Australia ready for a datacentre boom?

Josh Taylor joins Reged Ahmad to unpack why Australians are becoming so uneasy about datacentres, and whether government regulation can address their fears.

In-depth

As OpenAI’s representative on hostile ground and under pressure, Jason Kwon delivered a mea culpa for the company’s breach of government data in a helpful, quiet and calm manner. In fact, as Josh Butler observes, a bit like ChatGPT and leaving no one any the wiser.

Not the news

Traditionalists might object, but Alice Zaslavsky’s shortcut beetroot baked risotto – where the ingredients are baked with no need for constant stirring – looks like a perfect quick dinner for weeknights.

Sport

• Tennis | Alex de Minaur was forced to retire injured after only one game of the second set of the China Open final, handing the title to his opponent Novak Djokovic. Coco Gauff alleged she received an “insane” amount of racist comments on social media following a controversial point in her win over Sun Xinran.

• Olympics | South Africa is in the hunt to stage Africa’s first Olympics after it was named as one of seven countries that will formally present its case to host the 2036 Games.

• Football | There are more Nations League matches this morning including England v Czechia, plus Croatia v Spain, and Scotland v Slovenia.

The Australian says Angus Taylor is walking “an economic tightrope” after business pushed back on his hardline migration plans. University of Melbourne staff will take part in a week of industrial action to protest against the way artificial intelligence is changing their work, the Herald Sun reports. Mystery billboards with cryptic Powderfinger clues have fuelled speculation the band could announce a blockbuster reunion, the Courier Mail says.

What’s happening today

• Mining | High court judgment due in Mount Pleasant open cut coalmine case.

• Technology | Franciscan philosopher Paolo Benanti and Labor MP Andrew Leigh to address the National Press Club on AI and ethics at 5.30pm.

• Politics | Graeme Orr to deliver the Lucinda Lecture on political funding at 6pm.

Sign up

If you would like to receive this Morning Mail update to your email inbox every weekday, sign up here, or finish your day with Guardian Australia’s Politics, really newsletter, where our political team brings you up to speed on the stories that really matter and what they mean for you. You can follow the latest in US politics by signing up for This Week in Trumpland.

Brain teaser

And finally, here are the Guardian’s crosswords to keep you entertained throughout the day. Until tomorrow.