President Donald Trump reportedly is set to accept a luxury Boeing 747-8 jumbo jet as a gift from the royal family of Qatar during his trip to the Middle East this coming week, and the US could convert the plane into a potential presidential aircraft.

ABC News reported that Trump will use the plane as a new version of Air Force One until shortly before he leaves office in January 2029, when ownership will be transferred to the foundation overseeing his yet-to-be-built presidential library. 

The gift is expected to be announced when Trump visits Qatar as part of a trip that also includes stops in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, the first extended foreign travel of his second term.

Administration officials, anticipating questions about the president accepting such a large gift from a foreign government, have prepared an analysis arguing that doing so would be legal, according to ABC. 

The Constitution’s Emoluments Clause, Article I, Section 9, Clause 8, bars anyone holding government office from accepting any present, emolument, office or title from any “King, Prince, or foreign State,” without congressional consent. 

Trump intends to convert the Qatari aircraft into a plane he can fly on as president, with the Air Force planning to add secure communications and other classified elements to it. 

But it will still have more limited capabilities than the existing planes that were built to serve as Air Force One, as well as two other aircraft currently under construction, according to a former US official.

The existing planes used as Air Force One are heavily modified with survivability capabilities for the president for a range of contingencies, including radiation shielding and anti-missile technology. 

They also include a variety of communications systems to allow the president to remain in contact with the military and issue orders from anywhere in the world.

The official told Associated Press that it would be possible to quickly add some countermeasures and communications systems to the Qatari plane, but that it would be less capable than the existing Air Force One aircraft or long-delayed replacements.

Neither the Qatari plane nor the upcoming VC-25B aircraft will have the air-to-air refuelling capabilities of the current VC-25A aircraft, which is the one the president currently flies on, the official said.

Air Force One is a modified Boeing 747. 

Two exist, and the president flies on both, which are more than 30 years old. 

Boeing has the contract to produce updated versions, but delivery has been delayed while the company has lost billions of dollars on the project.

Delivery has been pushed to some time in 2027 for the first plane and in 2028 — Trump’s final full year in office — for the second.

ABC said the new plane is similar to a 13-year-old Boeing aircraft Trump toured in February, while it was parked at Palm Beach International Airport and he was spending the weekend at his Mar-a-Lago club. 

Trump’s family business, the Trump Organisation, which is now largely run by his sons, Donald Trump Jr and Eric Trump, has vast and growing interests in the Middle East. 

That includes a new deal to build a luxury golf resort in Qatar, partnering with Qatari Diar, a real estate company backed by that country’s sovereign wealth fund. 

Administration officials have brushed off concerns about the president’s policy interests blurring with the family’s business profits. 

They note that Trump’s assets are in a trust managed by his children and that a voluntary ethics agreement released by the Trump Organisation in January bars the company from striking deals directly with foreign governments. 

But that same agreement allows deals with private companies abroad. 

That is a departure from Trump’s first term, when the organisation released an ethics pact prohibiting both foreign government and foreign company deals.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, when asked Friday if the president during his upcoming trip, might meet with people tied to his family’s business, said it was “ridiculous” to suggest Trump “is doing anything for his own benefit”.

The US and China have resumed crucial tariff talks that have put the global economy on edge, but it’s unclear exactly how much progress negotiators are making behind closed doors.

US President Donald Trump wrote on social media that “great progress” was being made and even suggested a “total reset” was possible as the sides took their seats for the second and final scheduled day of discussions in Geneva on Sunday. 

Beijing has yet to comment directly, but its official news agency took a tough approach, saying China will “firmly reject any proposal that compromises core principles or undermines the broader cause of global equity”. 

Still, Trump wrote Sunday on social media that “great progress” was being made. 

He gave no further details, and officials at the White House also offered little information during and after the opening day of discussions. 

Two officials speaking to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter confirmed that the talks had resumed on Sunday morning.

The discussions could help stabilise world markets roiled by the US-China stand-off that has ships in port with goods from China unwilling to unload until they get the final word on tariffs. 

The discussions have been shrouded in secrecy, and neither side made comments to reporters as they left Saturday. 

“Talks should never be a pretext for continued coercion or extortion, and China will firmly reject any proposal that compromises core principles or undermines the broader cause of global equity,” Xinhua said in an editorial.

As with the day before, the delegations left the villa designated for talks after a couple of hours for a lunch break. 

Trump last month raised US tariffs on China to a combined 145 per cent, and China retaliated by hitting American imports with a 125 per cent levy. 

Tariffs that high essentially amount to the countries’ boycotting each other’s products, disrupting trade that last year topped $US660 billion ($A1.0 trillion).

Even before talks got underway, Trump suggested on Friday that the US could lower its tariffs on China, saying in a Truth Social post that ” 80 per cent Tariff seems right! Up to Scott!” — referring to lead negotiator and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.

The talks mark the first time the sides have met face-to-face to discuss the issues. 

And though prospects for a breakthrough are slight, even a small drop in tariffs, particularly if taken simultaneously, would help restore some confidence. 

“Negotiations to begin de-escalating the growing US–China trade war are badly needed and it’s a positive sign that both sides were able to gracefully move beyond their bickering over who had to call first,” Jake Werner, director of the East Asia Program at the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, said.

The tariff fight with China has been the most intense. 

Trump’s tariffs on China include a 20 per cent charge meant to pressure Beijing into doing more to stop the flow of the synthetic opioid fentanyl into the United States. 

The remaining 125 per cent involve a dispute that dates back to Trump’s first term and comes atop tariffs he levied on China back then, which means the total tariffs on some Chinese goods can exceed 145 per cent.

China’s trade deficit, which came to a record $US263 billion ($A410 billion) last year, has also been a major target of Trump’s complaints. 

Dumped cabinet minister Ed Husic believes speaking out on the conflict in Gaza may have contributed to his demotion as he fired shots at factional bosses behind the decision. 

The former industry and science minister lashed Richard Marles, with the move to ditch him thought to have been signed off by the Victorian right faction leader and deputy prime minister.

Speaking frankly after his ousting, Mr Husic said Mr Marles had chosen to “wield the factional club to reshape the ministry”.

“When people look at a deputy prime minister, they expect to see a statesman, not a factional assassin,” he told ABC’s Insiders program on Sunday.

Asked if Mr Marles put his ambition to boost his numbers ahead of the good of the Labor Party and government, Mr Husic said “a lot of people would draw that conclusion”.

The first Muslim to be made a cabinet minister, Mr Husic agreed his willingness to speak out following “the horrors of October 7”, when Hamas attacked Israel in 2023, triggering a large-scale assault on Gaza, may have factored into his relegation to the backbench.

“I think it’s been a factor in there,” he said.

“Would I do things differently? I don’t think so.

“I don’t think I could ever stay silent in the face of innocent civilians being slaughtered in their tens of thousands and being starved out of Gaza.”

Following Labor’s resounding win at the polls, the party’s progressive left and more conservative right factions have been carving up the limited ministerial spots.

Mr Husic was dumped to rebalance the ledger between the NSW and Victorian right, with the former over-represented in cabinet as spots are decided on a proportional basis between factions and states.

Mark Dreyfus also lost his spot as attorney-general in the factional antics.

He will be replaced by Victorian MP Sam Rae, a factional ally of Mr Marles.

Another Victorian from the right, Daniel Mulino, has been promoted to the ministry, as have senators Jess Walsh and Tim Ayres from the left.

Western Australian MP Anne Aly, the first Muslim woman elected to federal parliament, is expected to be elevated to the senior ministry. 

Former leader of Tasmanian Labor, Bec White, told Sky News she had not made a deal to secure an assistant minister spot ahead of her successful run in the federal seat of Lyons.

The prime minister will assign portfolios this week.

Mr Husic said he had “walked the political desert” before and would keep fighting for a technology-fuelled growth agenda from the back bench.

“We need to burn through the timidity that has shackled us in the first term,” he said. 

“We are going to need to make big changes in a world that is changing fast to ensure the country stands on its own two feet.”

As science and industry minister, he oversaw the set-up of a multi-billion dollar manufacturing fund and pushed quantum technology as a major opportunity for Australia.

Upcoming wages and unemployment data may have significant bearing on the Reserve Bank’s closely watched interest rate decision.

Domestic signals have taken somewhat of a back seat since US President Donald Trump’s tariff dump in early April.

But the wage price index and labour force figures, due to be published by the Australian Bureau of Statistics on Wednesday and Thursday, respectively, will be closely monitored.

They are the last remaining major data releases that will influence the Reserve Bank board’s decision when it meets to set interest rates on May 19-20.

Expectations of a rate cut have soared since Mr Trump’s tariffs roiled markets.

With global trade set to be impacted, the economic growth outlook for Australia and the rest of the world has tumbled, while cheap goods diverted to the local market could drive domestic inflation down further.

The rates market has fully priced in a 25-basis point cut for May, with traders rating a bumper 50-basis point cut at more than even odds.

At the previous board meeting on April 1, Reserve Bank governor Michele Bullock noted the labour market was still tight, which could make it harder to get inflation back down.

“There are some risks on the upside and the labour market is one of them,” she said at the time.

“Not everyone agrees, but we still think there’s tightness in the labour market.”

Ms Bullock flagged the board would keep an eye on labour market data to help guide its rates decision.

In ABS data released later in April, unemployment edged slightly higher to 4.1 per cent in March.

ANZ Bank economists expect the jobless rate to climb to 4.2 per cent on Thursday, in line with the Reserve Bank’s forecast of 4.2 per cent from its February statement on monetary policy.

But the outlook for unemployment has since worsened.

The International Monetary Fund now predicts Australia’s unemployment rate to climb to 4.5 per cent by 2026, because economic growth is expected to be slower than previously assumed.

The British government plans to restrict skilled worker visas to graduate-level jobs and force businesses to increase training for local workers.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer is under pressure to cut net migration after the success of Nigel Farage’s right-wing, anti-immigration Reform UK party in local elections in May.

Under the government’s new plans, skilled visas will only be granted to people in graduate jobs, while visas for lower-skilled roles will only be issued in areas critical to the nation’s industrial strategy, and in return businesses must increase training of British workers.

The Labour government said the changes will be part of a policy document, known as a white paper, to be published on Monday setting out how ministers plan to reduce immigration.

High levels of legal migration were one of the major drivers behind the vote to leave the European Union in 2016 with voters unhappy about the free movement of workers across the bloc.

After Britain eventually left the EU in 2020, the then Conservative government reduced the threshold to allow workers in categories such as yoga teachers, dog walkers and DJs to be eligible for skilled worker visas.

“We inherited a failed immigration system where the previous government replaced free movement with a free market experiment,” Yvette Cooper, the British interior minister, said in a statement. 

“We are taking decisive action to restore control and order to the immigration system.”

While post-Brexit changes to visas led to a sharp drop in the number of EU migrants to Britain, new work visa rules and people arriving from Ukraine and Hong Kong under special visa schemes led to a surge in immigration.

Net migration, or the number of people coming to Britain minus the number leaving, rose to a record 906,000 people in the year to June 2023, up from the 184,000 people who arrived in the same period during 2019, when Britain was still in the EU.

US President Donald Trump has hailed talks with China in Switzerland, saying the two sides had negotiated “a total reset … in a friendly, but constructive, manner”.

“A very good meeting today with China, in Switzerland. Many things discussed, much agreed to,” Trump posted on his Truth Social platform.

“We want to see, for the good of both China and the US, an opening up of China to American business. GREAT PROGRESS MADE!!!” He did not elaborate on the progress.

Earlier, top US and Chinese officials wrapped up the first day of talks in Geneva aimed at defusing a trade war that threatens to hammer the global economy and planned to resume negotiations on Sunday, a source close to the discussions said.

Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng met for about eight hours with US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer in their first face-to-face meeting since the world’s two largest economies heaped tariffs well above 100 per cent on each other’s goods.

Neither side made any statements afterwards about the substance of the discussions nor signalled any specific progress towards reducing crushing tariffs as meetings at the residence of Switzerland’s ambassador to the UN concluded at about 8pm local time on Saturday (4am Sunday AEST).

Bessent, Greer and He were meeting in Geneva after weeks of growing tensions prompted by Trump’s tariff blitz starting in February and retaliation from Beijing that has brought nearly $US600 billion ($A935 billion) in annual bilateral trade to a virtual standstill.

The trade dispute, combined with Trump’s decision in April to impose duties on dozens of other countries, has disrupted supply chains, unsettled financial markets and stoked fears of a sharp global downturn.

The location of the talks in the Swiss diplomatic hub was never made public. However, witnesses saw both delegations returning after a lunch break to the gated UN ambassador’s villa, which has its own private park overlooking Lake Geneva in the leafy suburb of Cologny.

Earlier, US officials including Bessent and Greer smiled as they left their hotel on the way to the talks, wearing red ties and American flags on their lapels. Bessent declined to speak to reporters.

At the same time, Mercedes vans with tinted windows were seen leaving a hotel where the Chinese delegation was staying on the lakeside as runners preparing for a weekend marathon warmed up in the sunshine.

Washington is seeking to reduce its $US295 billion ($A460 billion) goods trade deficit with Beijing and persuade China to renounce what the United States says is a mercantilist economic model and contribute more to global consumption, a shift that would require politically sensitive domestic reforms.

Beijing has pushed back against what it sees as external interference. It wants Washington to lower tariffs, clarify what it wants China to buy more of, and treat it as an equal on the world stage.

China’s official Xinhua News Agency said in a commentary on Saturday the United States’ “reckless abuse of tariffs” had destabilised the global economic order, but added the negotiations represented “a positive and necessary step to resolve disagreements and avert further escalation”.

“Whether the road ahead involves negotiation or confrontation, one thing is clear: China’s determination to safeguard its development interests is unshakable, and its stance on maintaining the global economic and trade order remains unwavering,” Xinhua said.

With distrust running high, both sides have been keen not to appear weak, and economic analysts have low expectations of a breakthrough.

Trump said on Friday that an 80 per cent tariff on Chinese goods “seems right”, suggesting for the first time a specific alternative to the 145 per cent levies he has imposed on Chinese imports.

Ed Husic has lashed factional boss Richard Marles after losing his spot on Labor’s frontbench.

The former industry minister has been ousted by internal powerbrokers, a move understood to be signed off by Victorian right faction leader and deputy prime minister Richard Marles.

Speaking for the first time since being axed from his industry minister job, Mr Husic said Mr Marles had chosen to “wield the factional club to reshape the ministry”.

“When people look at a deputy prime minister, they expect to see a statesman, not a factional assassin,” he told ABC’s Insiders program on Sunday.

Asked if Mr Marles put his ambition to boost his numbers ahead of the good of the Labor party and the government, Mr Husic said “a lot of people would draw that conclusion”.

Following Labor’s resounding win at the polls, the party’s progressive left and more conservative right factions have been carving up the 30 spots in the ministry.

Mr Husic was dumped to rebalance the ledger between the NSW and Victorian right, with the former over-represented in cabinet as spots are decided on a proportional basis between factions and states.

Mark Dreyfus has also lost his spot as attorney-general in the factional rejig.

Top United States and Chinese officials have wrapped up the first day of talks in Switzerland aimed at defusing trade tensions and plan to resume negotiations on Sunday, a source close to the discussions says.

Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng met for about eight hours with US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer in Geneva in their first face-to-face meeting since the world’s two largest economies heaped tariffs well above 100 per cent on each other’s goods.

Neither side made any statements about the substance of the discussions nor signalled any progress towards reducing crushing tariffs as meetings at the residence of Switzerland’s ambassador to the United Nations concluded about 8pm local time.

Bessent, Greer and He were meeting in Geneva after weeks of growing tensions prompted by US President Donald Trump’s tariff blitz starting in February and retaliation from China that has brought nearly $US600 billion ($A935 billion) in annual bilateral trade to a virtual standstill.

The trade dispute, combined with Trump’s decision last month to impose duties on dozens of other countries, has disrupted supply chains, unsettled financial markets and stoked fears of a sharp global downturn.

The location of the talks in the Swiss diplomatic hub was never made public.

However, witnesses saw both delegations returning after a lunch break to the gated UN ambassador’s building, the 18th-century “Villa Saladin,” which has its own private park overlooking Lake Geneva in the leafy suburb of Cologny.

Earlier, US officials including Bessent and Greer smiled as they left their hotel on the way to the talks, wearing red ties and US flags on their lapels.

At the same time, Mercedes vans with tinted windows were seen leaving a hotel where the Chinese delegation was staying on the lakeside as runners preparing for a weekend marathon warmed up in the sunshine.

The US is seeking to reduce its $US295 billion goods trade deficit with China and to persuade Chinese officials to renounce what the United States says is a mercantilist economic model and contribute more to global consumption, a shift that would require politically sensitive domestic reforms.

Chinese authorities have pushed back against what they see as external interference.

They want the United States to lower tariffs, clarify what it wants China to buy more of and treat it as an equal on the world stage.

China’s official Xinhua News Agency said in a commentary on Saturday that the United States’ “reckless abuse of tariffs” had destabilised the global economic order but added that the negotiations represented “a positive and necessary step to resolve disagreements and avert further escalation”.

“Whether the road ahead involves negotiation or confrontation, one thing is clear: China’s determination to safeguard its development interests is unshakable and its stance on maintaining the global economic and trade order remains unwavering,” Xinhua said.

With distrust running high, both sides have been keen not to appear weak and economic analysts have low expectations of a breakthrough.

Trump said on Friday that an 80 per cent tariff on Chinese goods “seems right,” suggesting for the first time a specific alternative to the 145 per cent levies he has imposed on Chinese imports.

He has suggested the discussions were initiated by China.

Officials in Beijing said the United States requested the discussions and that China’s policy of opposing US tariffs had not changed.

China could be looking for the same 90-day waiver on tariffs that the US has given other countries as negotiations take place while any kind of tariff reduction and follow-up talks would be seen as positive by investors.

Swiss Economy Minister Guy Parmelin met both parties in Geneva on Friday and said the fact that the talks were taking place was already a success.

“If a road map can emerge and they decide to continue discussions, that will lower the tensions,” he told reporters on Friday, saying talks could continue into Sunday or even Monday.

Switzerland helped to broker the meeting during recent visits by Swiss politicians to China and the United States.

Chinese Vice-Premier He Lipeng have held talks with US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent in Switzerland in a tentative first step towards defusing a trade war that is disrupting the global economy, according to China’s state-owned news agency and two people close to the talks.

Bessent and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer were due to meet He in Geneva on Saturday after weeks of growing tensions that have resulted in duties on goods imports between the world’s two largest economies soaring well beyond 100 per cent.

The trade dispute, combined with US President Donald Trump’s decision in April to impose duties on dozens of other countries, has disrupted supply chains, unsettled financial markets and stoked fears of a sharp global downturn.

US President Donald Trump said on Friday an 80 per cent tariff on Chinese goods “seems right”, suggesting for the first time a specific alternative to the 145 per cent levies imposed on Chinese imports.

The location of the talks has been kept secret, although a witness saw over a dozen police cars outside a private residence in a leafy Geneva suburb.

Mercedes vans with tinted windows were seen leaving a Geneva hotel where the Chinese delegation was staying on the banks of Lake Geneva.

Earlier, a delegation of over a dozen US officials, including Bessent and Greer, were seen smiling and wearing red ties and American flags on their lapels as they left their hotel.

Bessent declined to speak to reporters.

Tens of thousands of men, women and children have marched across Australian capital cities and regional towns calling for determined action to end gendered and sexual violence.

Advocates say the issue was not properly addressed during the federal election campaign, with funding pledges “barely even hitting the sides”.

The No More: National Rally Against Violence saw attendees gather in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide, Canberra, Hobart and regional centres in between. 

Founder of support organisation What Were You Wearing, Sarah Williams, called for more preventative action.

“We need to be able to stop it before it starts,” she told a two-thousand-strong crowd on the steps of Parliament House in Melbourne on Saturday.

“We need more funding for primary prevention, more trauma-informed response training for police, increased crisis housing, bail law reform and uniform consent laws,” she later told AAP.

Similar rallies played out almost simultaneously in every state capital as well as several regional cities and towns.

Hundreds met in Sydney’s Hyde Park while the regional centres of Newcastle and Wollongong saw a similar turnout, including the family and friends of Mackenzie Anderson, a young mother who was stabbed 78 times and brutally murdered by her former partner in 2022.

Hundreds more rallied in Brisbane, carrying signs reading “We weren’t asking for it” and “Weak laws cost lives.” 

Former Liberal staffer Brittany Higgins, who accused ex-colleague Bruce Lehrmann of raping her at Parliament House, was also at the rally with a sign reading: “25 women killed and still not an election issue.”

In the lead-up to the rallies, organisers urged more men to attend and take accountability over violence against women.

“Men listen to men … we need more male role models out there,” Ms Williams said.

Consent and healthy relationship education should be expanded to more schools with additional funding, and community sporting clubs and major codes could also play a role in reaching different generations, she said.

A total of 128 women have been killed since January 1 last year, according to the Australian Femicide Watch website.

Its founder Sherele Moody read aloud the names of the women as images of their faces were laid before Melbourne’s Parliament steps.

“We’re here because men keep killing us,” she said. 

“Violence against women is primarily a male problem … it’s not a women’s problem to solve but it’s women who are the ones who do the work.”

Advocates say a government-run national domestic violence register is desperately needed to track the issue.

Domestic and Family Violence Prevention Month, marked each May, is an opportunity to raise community awareness of the impacts of violence and the support available to those affected.

The rallies also called for fully funded frontline domestic violence services, expanded crisis accommodation and increased funding for primary prevention programs.

Mandatory trauma-informed training for all first responders should also be rolled out, organisers said.

The re-elected Labor government previously promised to prevent domestic violence perpetrators from abusing tax and superannuation systems.

It has also pledged to invest more funding to stop high-risk perpetrators through electronic monitoring.

But Ms Moody said ministers and leaders needed to sit down with frontline services to figure out what works.

“All the safety nets have holes in them and the funding barely even hits the sides,” she told AAP.

Ms Williams also said the government should engage with a wider range of organisations and advocates in the sector.

1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732)

Lifeline 13 11 14

National Sexual Abuse and Redress Support Service 1800 211 028