Morning Mail: How datacentres play the political game; podcast delays sex offence trial; and Dolly Parton celebrated

Good morning. Lobbying and political donations from the companies behind the rapid datacentre development in Australia are in the spotlight, amid concerns over tech firms’ access to the nation’s decision-makers.

Meanwhile, court documents have revealed that The Australian’s podcast Shadow of Doubt led to a delay of 10 months for the sex offence trial of a “sadistic” paedophile already serving a decades-long term behind bars.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy says Donald Trump’s announcement of a partial ceasefire in the Russia-Ukraine war was “news to me”. And we head to rural New South Wales to witness Australia’s largest (and only) Dolly Parton festival.

Australia

• Exclusive | The Australian’s podcast Shadow of Doubt led to a delay of 10 months for the sex offence trial of a “sadistic” paedophile already serving a 48-year jail term for abusing his daughter.

• Datacentre scrutiny | Amid backlash over fast-tracked datacentres, the financial contributions of big tech firms – including donations to major parties and an ex-premier as a lobbyist – are facing scrutiny.

• Analysis | Australia has never driven migration into reverse by design. Yet, this is exactly what One Nation is promising to do if it wins power. So, would slamming on the brakes be calamitous?

• Digital duty of care | The Greens will push Labor to strengthen new laws designed to rein in big tech, calling for individuals to have the right to take platforms to court and win financial compensation.

• Analysis | The CPAC conference in Brisbane boiled down to how the conservative right would boot Labor from office. But despite the spectacle, it remains unclear how the parties would cooperate.

World

• Russia-Ukraine war | Volodymyr Zelenskyy has signalled support for a Russia-Ukraine “energy ceasefire” – despite saying Donald Trump’s partial ceasefire announcement was “news to me”. Trump’s Russian diesel deal will have little impact on US fuel prices, experts say.

• Middle East crisis | Riyadh’s King Khalid international airport has been hit again after a Houthi missile attack killed 12 people, the Saudi-led coalition says; the Houthi attack has forced a swift rethink of Donald Trump’s new strategy, Patrick Wintour writes.

• India protests | The leaders of India’s Cockroach movement accused Narendra Modi’s government of declaring “war with its own citizens”, as unrest rocked Delhi for a second day.

• Poland plot | The Polish prime minister, Donald Tusk, has said that a man accused of plotting to assassinate him and his defence minister, Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz, has been detained.

• Pontiff’s treatment | Pope Leo XIV has said he will undergo surgery in the coming days to remove a nodular lesion on his lung that was recently discovered during medical checks.

• ‘With heavy hearts’ | The Australian hiker Jordan Yap, who was last seen near the beginning of a challenging trek through the remote Andes mountains, has been found dead, his family has said.

Full Story

The Australians buried together in unmarked graves

Using evidence from family and friends, analysis of cemetery registries, and aerial and satellite imagery, a special investigation by Guardian Australia has found that “persons without means” are being buried in bare patches of earth between walkways and old headstones. Christopher Knaus and Ariel Bogle speak with Reged Ahmad about their investigation – and the families left devastated by the discovery of where their loved ones have been laid to rest.

In-depth

In a sporting oval in a rural Australian town 15,000km from Knoxville, Tennessee, dozens of Dolly Partons saunter down the runway as a boisterous crowd cheers and swats away flies with their cowboy hats. For one weekend a year, this is not the sleepy agricultural township of Narromine, 430km north-west of Sydney. This is Dollymine, where super fans and drag queens turn the town pink.

Not the news

The Australian surfing champion Mick Fanning was famously monstered by a great white shark while competing against fellow Aussie Julian Wilson in the 2015 world tour event final at Jeffreys Bay in South Africa. To the shock of many, the attack was broadcast live on television. In his new memoir, All Heart, he relives being dragged down into the churning water, fighting back – and no longer feeling invincible in the waves.

Sport

• Cricket | A record-breaking quartet put Australia in full control after day three of the first Test against South Africa in Durban.

• Football | A Rayan Cherki cracker capped Manchester City’s win at Liverpool in the face of Anfield taunts; Yéremy Pino finished off Nottingham Forest on Oliver Glasner’s unhappy Crystal Palace return; Mohamed Belloumi grabbed a point for Hull in a seesaw draw with Everton.

• Motorsport | The resurgent Max Verstappen held off Charles Leclerc to seal a dominant F1 Singapore Grand Prix win; Kimi Antonelli admitted he can taste F1 title glory.

• AFL | Two Carlton players were treated in hospital after needing care for “separate circumstances”, their club confirmed.

• Rugby union | The Wallabies were mugged at their own game against the All Blacks to leave coach Les Kiss mulling hard lessons, Angus Fontaine writes.

Domestic violence victim-survivor advocates say a crackdown on visa overstayers will only embolden abusers who weaponise Australia’s migration system, ABC News reports. A gaping hole in laws designed to protect first responders has left grieving families thousands of dollars out of pocket and police officers without proper recognition, the Sydney Morning Herald reports. Nearly one in six Tasmanians are waiting for medical treatment as the state government and Labor clash over record-long waiting lists, the Mercury reports.

What’s happening today

• QLD | The coronial inquest into the death of eight-year-old Elizabeth Struhs is due to begin today.

• NSW | The trial of broadcaster Alan Jones continues in Sydney.

• ACT | The RSL Australia national president, Peter Tinley, is set to address the National Press Club.

• ACT | A public hearing is scheduled in Canberra on the Vanuatu-Australia Nakamal agreement.

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Brain teaser

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