Rich James

Gaza suffering man-made mass starvation

Over 100 aid organisations and human rights groups have called on Israel to let supplies into Gaza.

Xi and Albanese to meet — with some touchy topics on the agenda

Good morning, early birds! The ownership of the Port of Darwin and the detention of a Chinese-Australian writer will likely be discussed when Albanese and Xi meet today. Plus, the Libs are launching a legal challenge of the outcome in Bradfield.

The staggering number of Australian jobs already lost to 'heavy investment' in AI

Jobs the World Economic Forum believes AI will create: 69 million.
Jobs the World Economic Forum believes AI will eradicate: 83 million.

YIMBYs vs NIMBYs in the battle for your backyard The Yes In My Backyard movement is lobbying for denser cities and more housing in places people want to work and live and YIMBYs want these homes built yesterday. But the NIMBYs haven't given up yet.

Spoke to dozens of people for this piece on Australia’s attempts to increase housing density, including the housing minister who says this is “not because of a New York Times bestseller”. Have a read!

www.abc.net.au/news/2025-07...

Experiment finds yoghurt can lower house temperature Dr Ben Roberts and a PhD student conducted research on two test houses at Loughborough University.

If you're wondering how well the UK is getting on with its latest heatwave.
Well...
"Dr Ben Roberts, a senior lecturer in healthy buildings at Loughborough University, said applying yoghurt to the outside of windows can lower the temperature by up to 3.5C."
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Do we think enough about parents who care for sick or disabled children – and how not to make things harder? | Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett Mina Holland’s book about parenting her seriously unwell daughter sheds light on the complicated psychology at play, says Guardian columnist Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett

Do we think enough about parents who care for sick or disabled children – and how not to make things harder?
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Leaked social media ban tech trial results don't support public claims, experts say Australia's age-assurance technology trial released 'preliminary findings' that the tech was ready to go. Now experts have seen the underlying data, they're not sure that's right.

Last month, Australia's social media ban tech trial said it proved the tech works, with proof to come later.

But experts advising the trial who've just seen draft test results say these claims are overstated — and may even misrepresent the evidence.

Read: www.crikey.com.au/20...

Welcome to Your Job Interview. Your Interviewer Is A.I.

You might have thought artificial intelligence was coming for your job. First it’s coming for your job interviewer:
www.nytimes.com/2025/07/07/t...

Albanese's plan to 'unleash the private sector'

Good morning, early birds! Anthony Albanese wants small business to become the driver of the economy as his government looks to increase productivity, and new childcare safety laws will be introduced in the first week of federal parliament.

There's been a heap of interest in Australia's teen social media ban, but a lot of confusion remains about how the law works, how it's being implemented and what we still don't know.

Here's my attempt to answer all your questions. (Did I miss something? Tell me!)

www.crikey.com.au/20...

Foreign policy approach under the microscope as Australia-US relationship stutters Following Penny Wong's talks with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, some experts have conceded it may finally be time for Australia to realign itself on the world stage.

Following Penny Wong's talks with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, some experts have conceded it may finally be time for Australia to realign itself on the world stage.

House prices skyrocket with no end in sight The average Australian home is $40,000 more expensive than this time last year as median house prices across the country edge towards $1m. Meanwhile, Donald Trump's 90-day tariff pause is due to expire next week.

The average Australian home is $40,000 more expensive than this time last year as median house prices across the country edge towards $1m. Meanwhile, Donald Trump's 90-day tariff pause is due to expire next week.

I-MED now asking to use patients' scans to train AI — after already handing over 100,000s of chest x-rays without consent

Australia's biggest radiology clinic says it can't remove your data from AI models trained using your data, even if you withdraw consent.

Tony Abbott loves to fail — and it keeps impacting politics He's had a shocker, frankly. An absolute mare.

Tony Abbott's addiction to failure isn't just his problem — in 2025, he's been as committed to making it his party's too.

Penny Wong to go head-to-head with US on defence spending at the Quad

Good morning, early birds! Penny Wong will meet with Marco Rubio amid relentless calls for Australia to increase its defence spending, and Angus Taylor might just be planning another tilt at the Liberal leadership.

A.I. Videos Have Never Been Better. Can You Tell What’s Real? In this quiz, you can guess whether these videos were made by A.I.

A.I. Videos Have Never Been Better. Can You Tell What’s Real?
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

Care of the Federal Court, the email trail of internal ABC correspondence exposed more than just the executives' “state of panic”…. it also revealed that a number of the complaints centred on a Crikey investigation…

Tony Abbott loves to fail — and it keeps impacting politics He's had a shocker, frankly. An absolute mare.

Tony Abbott's addiction to failure isn't just his problem — in 2025, he's been as committed to making it his party's too.

Ley leads quota charge as Libs debate their 'women problem'

Good morning, early birds! Sussan Ley is trying to sell a new policy approach — including an openness to gender quotas — to the Liberal partyroom. Meanwhile, the White House continues to slam the media for "irresponsible reporting" on Iran.

Donald Trump secures NATO defence spending commitments in whirlwind trip

Good morning, early birds! Donald Trump came and went in The Hague, using his brief stopover at the NATO summit to pressure member countries to up their defence spending. Back home, multiple rapid interest rate cuts are starting to look more likely.

Parents embarrassing themselves at sports day is a vital life lesson for kids Coming last or making no effort is not an option

It's that time of year again, Sports Day.
I wrote for @theipaper.com last year about the annual decision between going for gold in the parents' race and looking like an absolute manic vs shaming your family by making no effort and coming last. A true dilemma:
inews.co.uk/opinion/pare...

Expert resigns from teen social media ban tech trial advisory board over concerns 'There's been some questions raised about the way that this trial was constructed,' said one of the trial's former stakeholder board advisory members.

An expert advising Australia's teen social media ban tech trial has resigned.

"I think there’s been some questions raised everywhere about the way that this trial was constructed and the process of it,” Qoria managing director Tim Levy told Crikey.

www.crikey.com.au/20...

Fears of devastating escalation in US-Iran conflict echo across the world

After the US attacked three nuclear facilities in Iran over the weekend, officials in both nations have warned of further military action. World leaders have called for de-escalation — but there are fears Iran's response will lead to war.

VPNs and naughty parents: Teen social media trial isn’t testing some ways kids will get around the ban Experts are concerned the trial may 'lack credibility' because it's not testing all the ways people could seek to circumvent the scheme.

Experts warn the teen social media ban trial may "lack credibility" because it isn't properly testing for ways kids will get around it.

No matter how many times I read it - "Goodnight nobody, goodnight mush" - remains one of the most incredible pieces of writing I've ever experienced.
The mush bit just about makes sense from the previous page, but goodnight nobody is tremendous "ah, that'll do" energy

NEW: Conspiracy theorists are creating AI chatbots to convince people of their beliefs, and to help them to convince others.

This ranges from custom bots on major AI platforms like ChatGPT to training their own custom AI models on conspiracy content.

www.crikey.com.au/20...

Trump administration puts AUKUS under the microscope

Good morning, early birds! The US government has launched a review into the multibillion-dollar AUKUS deal with Australia and the UK, and Tasmania's governor has granted Premier Jeremy Rockliff another election.

I’ve gone part-time because the UK’s paternity leave is so bad Sacrificing 40 percent of his salary is not something Richard James had anticipated when he and his wife decided to have children - but it's the best career move he's ever made

On today's theme of UK's woeful and embarrassing paternity leave.
I wrote this last year and I think it still stands up:
inews.co.uk/inews-lifest... @theipaper.com

'Crossfire': A US officer shoots an Australia reporter, and the media goes passive. Why? 'To not include some sort of description of the fact that the police officer, or whoever it was, seemed to turn purposefully towards the reporter to fire. That is super, super serious.'

Journalists use "extreme caution" when reporting on unfolding events. But regarding a US officer shooting an Australian reporter with a rubber bullet, one journalism expert says it's “strange that the language has been so guarded”.

No bold new agenda: Albanese says he won't utilise massive majority for big change

Good morning, early birds! The prime minister will use today's address at the National Press Club to refute speculation about a radical new agenda, and Tasmania looks like it might be heading to the polls for yet another election.