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Australia to stockpile critical minerals in strategic reserve

Australia will stockpile critical minerals in a new strategic reserve, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Thursday, as nations scramble to source rare earths and coveted metals outside China. Mining superpower Australia sits on bulging deposits of lithium, nickel and cobalt — metals used in everything from smartphones to electric vehicles. But most of this boon is sold …

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S. Korea’s economy shrinks in first quarter as trade war hits exports

South Korea’s economy unexpectedly contracted 0.1 percent in the first three months of this year, the country’s central bank said Thursday, as the Asian export giant reels from months of political chaos and heightened trade tensions. US President Donald Trump’s threatened 25 percent “reciprocal” tariffs on export-dependent South Korea have rattled Asia’s fourth-largest economy, sending Seoul-listed …

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