Safety fears at childcare centres; trauma in Gaza; renewable power surge

Good morning. With Israeli airstrikes in Gaza continuing to escalate, there are mounting signs that children living under the bombardment are developing symptoms of severe trauma. While some aid has crossed from Egypt into Gaza, the World Food Programme is warning that the humanitarian situation for the 2.3 million people trapped there is catastrophic.

Meanwhile, early childhood centres across Australia are sounding the alarm over severe staff shortages that they say are putting children and babies at risk. They are struggling to fill thousands of roles while battling headwinds including post-pandemic burnout and the sector’s low pay.

Plus: we dig into notorious online forum Kiwi Farms and attempts to shut it down, there’s good news on renewable energy in Australia, and India are now the only team undefeated in the Cricket World Cup after beating New Zealand.

Artificial intelligence is increasingly being used by employers to help decide who to hire, with résumé screening and preliminary interviews outsourced to AI. There are now more than 250 commercial AI recruitment tools being used across the country, with about a third of Australian organisations reporting that they are using them. What does this recruitment by robots mean for candidates – and their future bosses?

Zonked, frazzled, drained, pooped, knackered, running on fumes, or just totally exhausted. Is there anything about 21st-century life – our screen addictions, side-hustle culture or always-on mindsets – that means we are more tired, or are we just noticing it more? And when should you start to worry?

Optometrists are warning of a myopia epidemic as the proportion of children presenting with short-sightedness almost doubles at some clinics – with their worsening eyesight partly due to excessive screen time, the Age reports. An audit of Department of Health staff in Tasmania identified a “significant number” of hospital employees had accessed patient records “not in connection with performance of their duties”, the Mercury reveals. The head of the NSW public education system has called on schools to double down on the use of explicit instruction in a bid to boost results, the Sydney Morning Herald reports.

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