US President Donald Trump will visit ‌China for a state visit with Chinese President Xi Jinping ‌on May 14 and 15, and Xi will ‌visit Washington DC for a reciprocal visit at a later date, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt says. 

The visit had originally been slated ‌for next week but ⁠it was delayed amid the ongoing US-Israeli ​war on Iran. 

Leavitt said Xi understood the need to reschedule the trip.

“I’m pleased to announce that President Trump’s meeting and long-awaited meeting with President Xi ⁠in China will ‌now take place ​in Beijing on May 14th and 15th,” Leavitt ​said at ‌a press briefing.

“First Lady Melania and President Trump ​will also host President Xi and Madame Peng for a reciprocal visit in Washington DC at ​a ​later date to ​be announced this year.”

Trump’s last ‌trip to China, in 2017, was the most recent by a US president.

Trump’s visit will be the leaders’ first in-person talks since an October ​meeting in South Korea, where they agreed on ​a trade truce.

A humanoid robot has walked down a red-carpeted White House hallway, accompanying US first lady Melania Trump into an event where she ‌urged greater use of artificial intelligence in education.

The human-shaped robot, which introduced itself as “Figure 03,” joined ‌Trump in the East Room to welcome dozens of first spouses from around the world to the ‌technology-focused Fostering the Future Together summit.

“I am grateful to be part of this historic movement to empower children with technology and education,” the robot said, greeting guests in 11 languages.

Trump said Figure 03 was the first US-made humanoid guest at the White House, and used its appearance to promote the need ‌for governments ‌and major technology ⁠companies to work together to use AI for student instruction.

“Very soon ​artificial intelligence will move from our mobile phones to humanoids that deliver utility,” she said.

The first lady, a former model, described how in the near future a hypothetical humanoid teacher could quickly access classical studies, mathematics and other subjects to deliver personalised education to students based on their learning speed and “emotional state”.

US ⁠Education Secretary Linda McMahon, who is carrying out President ‌Donald ​Trump’s agenda of downsizing the federal education department, smiled from the front row as the first lady ​talked about ‌shaking up education.

“We can accelerate civilisation’s march forward when enterprise delivers innovation, government creates scale and ​our capital markets finance the distribution of these emerging technologies,” Trump said.

The president’s wife also warned of technological dangers, a concern echoed by France’s first lady Brigitte Macron, who touted ​her ​country’s moves to restrict screen time ​and social media for children.

Earlier on Wednesday, President Trump ‌appointed Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Oracle Executive Chairman Larry Ellison and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang to a council that will weigh in on AI policy and other issues.

A Los Angeles ‌jury has found Alphabet’s Google and Meta liable for damages in a landmark social media addiction lawsuit that will influence thousands of ‌similar cases against the tech companies.

The ‌jury awarded $US3 million ($A4.3 million) in damages to the plaintiff.

Meta will be liable for 70 per cent of the damages and Google for 30 per cent.

Punitive damages for the companies will be decided next.

The jury may consider whether Google or Meta’s products caused the plaintiff physical harm or whether the companies disregarded the health of other users, Judge Carolyn Kuhl said in court.

The case involves a 20-year-old woman who said she became addicted to Google’s YouTube and Meta’s Instagram at a young age because of their attention-grabbing design.

The jury concluded Google and Meta were ‌negligent in the design ‌of both apps ⁠and failed to warn about their dangers.

“Today’s verdict is a referendum – from a jury, to an ​entire industry – that accountability has arrived,” the plaintiff’s lead counsel said in a statement.

Shares of Meta were up 1.0 per cent and Alphabet shares were up 0.2 per cent, little changed after the verdict.

Meta disagrees with the verdict and its lawyers are “evaluating our legal options,” a company spokesperson said.

Google plans to appeal, company spokesman José Castañeda said.

The plaintiffs in the Los Angeles proceeding focused on platform design rather than content, making it harder for the companies to avert liability.

Snap and TikTok ⁠were also defendants in the trial.

Both settled with the plaintiff before it ‌began.

Terms of ​the agreements were not disclosed.

Large technology companies in the United States have faced mounting criticism in the last decade over child and teen safety.

​The debate has now ‌shifted to courts and state governments.

The US Congress has declined to pass comprehensive legislation regulating social media.

At least 20 US states enacted laws ​last year on social media usage and children, according to the nonpartisan National Conference of State Legislatures, an organisation that tracks state laws.

The legislation includes bills that regulate the use of mobile phones in schools and require users to verify their ages to open a social ​media ​account.

NetChoice, a trade association backed by tech companies such ​as Meta and Google, is seeking to invalidate age verification requirements in ‌court.

A separate social media addiction case brought by several US states and school districts against technology companies is expected to go to trial this year in federal court in Oakland, California.

Another state trial is slated to begin in Los Angeles in July, said Matthew Bergman, one of the lawyers leading the cases for the plaintiffs.

It will involve Instagram, YouTube, TikTok and Snapchat.

Separately, a New Mexico jury on Tuesday found Meta violated state law in a ​lawsuit brought by the state’s attorney general, who accused the company of misleading users about the safety of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp and of ​enabling child sexual exploitation on those platforms.

Australian renters continue to have a hard time finding a home, despite vacancy rates slowly improving from post COVID pandemic lows.

Vacancy rates across Australian capital cities and the regions remain below two per cent, and competition for rentals is expected to remain strong, a report has found.

While higher interest rates could slow investor activity in 2026, tight rental market conditions means rental costs would continue to grow, the PropTrack Westpac Investor Report for 2026 found.

Property investors have been active in recent years, with new investor loans up 64 per cent from 2023 lows, REA Group senior economist Angus Moore said.

“On top of that, home prices have continued to rise, meaning that share of investor sales recording a profit has been the highest in at least a decade,” he said on Thursday.

Only seven in every 100 investor sales failed to make a profit in the last few months of 2025 – the highest level in more than a decade. 

Home price growth in Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth has been exceptional; with prices in these cities more than doubling since 2020.

Melbourne has recorded the slowest increase, with home prices up just over 20 per cent in six years, although investor inquiries about property in the southern capital were rising again.

Investors were particularly active in NSW, accounting for 44 per cent of home loans, up from 37 per cent in 2022 and 29 per cent in late 2020.

In Western Australia, South Australia, and Queensland, investors made up 40 per cent or more of total lending.

It was likely to be a challenging year for Australia’s housing market, with higher interest rates capping property price growth, and the Middle East war adding an extra layer of uncertainty, Westpac chief economist Luci Ellis said.

“For RBA policy, this makes it difficult to judge how upside risks to inflation compare to downside risks to growth,” Ms Ellis said.

“For housing though, the already very stretched starting point for prices means higher interest rates will weigh on affordability and buyer sentiment.

“We expect price growth to cool in 2026 to a more sedate five per cent gain nationally, down from eight per cent in 2025, and with a more pronounced slowing in the ‘hot’ markets of Brisbane and Perth.”

Australian renters continue to have a hard time finding a home, despite vacancy rates slowly improving from post COVID pandemic lows.

Vacancy rates across Australian capital cities and the regions remain below two per cent, and competition for rentals is expected to remain strong, a report has found.

While higher interest rates could slow investor activity in 2026, tight rental market conditions means rental costs would continue to grow, the PropTrack Westpac Investor Report for 2026 found.

Property investors have been active in recent years, with new investor loans up 64 per cent from 2023 lows, REA Group senior economist Angus Moore said.

“On top of that, home prices have continued to rise, meaning that share of investor sales recording a profit has been the highest in at least a decade,” he said on Thursday.

Only seven in every 100 investor sales failed to make a profit in the last few months of 2025 – the highest level in more than a decade. 

Home price growth in Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth has been exceptional; with prices in these cities more than doubling since 2020.

Melbourne has recorded the slowest increase, with home prices up just over 20 per cent in six years, although investor inquiries about property in the southern capital were rising again.

Investors were particularly active in NSW, accounting for 44 per cent of home loans, up from 37 per cent in 2022 and 29 per cent in late 2020.

In Western Australia, South Australia, and Queensland, investors made up 40 per cent or more of total lending.

It was likely to be a challenging year for Australia’s housing market, with higher interest rates capping property price growth, and the Middle East war adding an extra layer of uncertainty, Westpac chief economist Luci Ellis said.

“For RBA policy, this makes it difficult to judge how upside risks to inflation compare to downside risks to growth,” Ms Ellis said.

“For housing though, the already very stretched starting point for prices means higher interest rates will weigh on affordability and buyer sentiment.

“We expect price growth to cool in 2026 to a more sedate five per cent gain nationally, down from eight per cent in 2025, and with a more pronounced slowing in the ‘hot’ markets of Brisbane and Perth.”

Shoppers are being warned to brace for inevitable price hikes with supply chains facing major oil disruptions as the conflict in Iran drags on.

It was no longer a question of if, but when, higher costs will flow through to consumers, supply chain management and logistics expert Elizabeth Jackson said. 

“Every kilojoule of food that comes from an Australian farm is moved by a diesel-powered vehicle,” Dr Jackson told AAP.

“Even the most basic of foods – fresh fruit and vegetables that don’t go through any sort of processing – right through to the most processed exported foods, are dependent upon transport systems.

“They are also dependent upon diesel for their manufacture in terms of mechanisation that goes into food production, like tractors.”

Price rises are likely to begin with fresh produce because of its short supply chains and constant need for transport.

Increases were possible within two to three weeks with a “slow burn” most likely rather than one sudden spike.

“The fresher the produce, the quicker we’re going to see the prices increase,” Dr Jackson said.

At least 107 petrol stations in NSW have run out of diesel, while more than 40 have reported not having any fuel at all.

Dr Jackson said the situation underscored the need for stronger fuel resilience in Australia, including greater investment in alternative energy sources such as biofuels, rather than continued reliance on fossil fuels.

In the short term, she said governments were limited in how much they could intervene beyond managing supply. 

Coles said it would review how much it was paying companies transporting food and groceries to its stores more frequently. 

The supermarket giant did not say whether this would lead to an increase in prices for shoppers.

“We will be temporarily increasing the frequency that we review the fuel component of our freight rates from monthly to twice per month – so that changing fuel costs are reflected more quickly and fairly,” a Coles spokesperson said. 

“In the current climate, this means transport providers will be able to recoup more of the rising fuel costs.”

Commonwealth, state and territory leaders will meet next week for another national cabinet meeting on the shortages.

OpenAI is shutting down its social media app Sora, which went viral as a place to share short-form videos generated by artificial intelligence but also raised alarms in Hollywood and elsewhere.

OpenAI said in a brief social media message on Tuesday that it was “saying goodbye to the Sora app”, and it would share more soon about how to preserve what users already had created.

“What you made with Sora mattered, and we know this news is disappointing,” it said.

The company behind ChatGPT released Sora in September as an attempt to capture the attention, and potentially advertising dollars, that follow short-form videos on TikTok, YouTube or Meta-owned Instagram and Facebook.

But a growing chorus of advocacy groups, academics and experts expressed concern about the dangers of letting people create AI videos on just about anything they can type into a prompt, leading to the proliferation of non-consensual images and realistic deepfakes in a sea of less harmful “AI slop”. 

OpenAI was forced to crack down on AI creations of public figures – among them, Michael Jackson, Martin Luther King Jr and Mister Rogers – doing outlandish things, but only after an outcry from family estates and an actors’ union.

Disney, which made a deal with OpenAI in 2025 to bring its characters to Sora, said on Tuesday that it respected “OpenAI’s decision to exit the video generation business and to shift its priorities elsewhere”. 

“We appreciate the constructive collaboration between our teams and what we learned from it, and we will continue to engage with AI platforms to find new ways to meet fans where they are while responsibly embracing new technologies that respect IP and the rights of creators,” Disney’s statement said.

Australians could face more local news and program blackouts if the national broadcaster’s management cannot reach a resolution with striking workers.

For the first time in two decades, ABC staff went on strike for 24 hours from 11am AEDT on Wednesday to push for better pay and conditions.

Workers are warning of further industrial action if their demands aren’t met.

As its employees walked off the job, the ABC was forced to broadcast content from the BBC, re-runs and members statements in federal parliament to fill the void.

Youth broadcaster Triple J switched over to a pre-prepared playlist of music as staff walked out.

Nightly news bulletins and flagship current affairs program 7.30 did not go to air on Wednesday evening and ABC News Breakfast won’t be broadcast on Thursday morning along with local breakfast and morning radio programs.

Thousands of striking journalists, camera operators, technicians and other staff rallied outside more than 60 ABC offices, including in Melbourne and Sydney.

It was a strange feeling for Victorian state political reporter Richard Willingham, who said workers were walking off the job because they don’t feel they can get ahead or survive working as a journalist.

Management had long told workers everything was rosy at the ABC, but business journalist Dan Ziffer said they had ignored the unstable, insecure employment conditions and stagnating pay.

“The ABC is a bit like a shit boyfriend,” he told the crowd in Melbourne.

Radio presenter David Marr said workers had sent management a warning there would be more staff strife if things did not change.

“Further down the track there’s going to be more trouble unless this fundamental is addressed – decent wages,” he told the Sydney gathering.

Public service union organiser Sam McCrone said staff across the nation had shown up and were willing to fight after management applied for a hearing in the Fair Work Commission.

“If that change of venue doesn’t come with a change of attitude from management, this fight will continue,” he said.

ABC managing director Hugh Marks defended the last rejected pay offer – 10 per cent across three years – as financially responsible and competitive for the industry.

Unions and workers across many sectors were showing an increasing willingness to take industrial action, Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer partner Rohan Doyle said.

“Workers are understandably pushing for pay increases that keep pace with inflation … but at the same time many employers are under pressure,” the enterprise bargaining and industrial disputes expert told AAP.

With both sides of the bargaining table being squeezed, Mr Doyle expects strikes to become more prevalent unless productivity gains can be found.

“There’s no simple fix,” Mr Doyle said.

The industrial action is the broadcaster’s first major strike since 2006.

More than 4400 people work at the ABC, including 2000 in news, the largest division.

Communications Minister Anika Wells signalled she wouldn’t intervene to end the dispute.

With fuel shortages biting amid global tensions, the federal government is betting Australia’s future on a tighter link between industry, science and research.

Industry Minister Tim Ayres used his first National Press Club address to outline Labor’s strategy for a more connected system.

His speech came three weeks into the Iran war where “the world is being remade around us, rules and norms are in flux” as service stations run dry of fuel as the conflict escalates. 

“We don’t have time to stand around admiring problems. We must make Australia stronger, smarter, safer and more resilient to the shocks that keep coming,” he said on Wednesday.

Senator Ayres spent the morning in central Queensland announcing a $2 billion bailout to secure the future of the Boyne aluminium smelter.

He was asked about the government’s decision to support Rio Tinto, which owns the smelter and turns over billions in profits each year, instead of other start ups.

“It delivers economic security for that region, it connects that industrial region with the Australian economy, it represents a $7.5 billion investment from Rio Tinto and power purchasing agreements that will build new renewable energy projects,” Senator Ayres said. 

“That is a slam dunk in productivity terms, in investment terms, and we are working hard in an environment where the market for products … is being shaped by international markets that aren’t level playing fields.”

Senator Ayres said he was “unashamedly for regional economies” and they were essential for Australia’s future security and resilience. 

“There are a few people up in parliament – Matt Canavan and Angus Taylor and Andrew Hastie – who posture alongside other people’s muscle cars and pretend they have always been interested in Australian automotive manufacturing,” he said.

“Save us the hypocrisy of the approach, a very confused approach from people who pretend to have recently discovered industrial policy and sovereign manufacturing.”

Asked if he would follow calls from the Australian Academy of Science to secure ongoing public funding for the CSIRO after major job cuts, Senator Ayres said the government would protect its future.

“We’ll be here for Australian science, we’ll back Australians science capability, because it’s there,” he said. 

CSIRO cut up to 250 jobs in late 2025, following over 800 previous redundancies, with the environment, agriculture and food units among those hit the hardest.

On Monday, Senator Ayres revealed eight per cent of Australia’s service stations were without at least one type of fuel, and told the press club the current times “require deep thinking, heavy lifting and a co-ordinated effort”.

“Times are tough, and budget processes are tough. But this is the Albanese government’s mission,” he said.

“To stop the drift and replace it with discipline and determination to deliver at a critical juncture in Australia’s history.”

Taking credit for “the largest pro-manufacturing industrial policy in Australian history”, Senator Ayres said it would be “all hands-on deck” to bring together governments and the private sector.

“My job is to bring that effort together, to squeeze every ounce out of the system and deliver with impact,” he said.

The local share market has had its best day in almost a year, after reports the US is seeking a ceasefire with Iran buoyed investor sentiment.

The S&P/ASX200 surged 154.9 points on Wednesday, up 1.85 per cent, to 8,534.3, as the broader All Ordinaries gained 174 points, or 2.03 per cent, to 8,745.3.

It was the bourse’s best day since April 10, 2025, helping it claw back more than $56 billion of an estimated $300 billion wiped from its combined value since the conflict began.

Beaten down mining stocks were the biggest benefactors after three weeks of heavy losses, the basic materials sector up more than four per cent and clambering out of bear market territory.

The Australian dollar is buying 69.76 US cents, up from 69.66 US cents on Tuesday at 5pm.