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  China controls the rare earths the world buys - can Trump's new deals change that? US President Donald Trump has signed a flurry of deals on his Asia visit to secure the supply of rare earths, a critical sector that China has long dominated. The deals with Japan, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia differ in size and substance and it's too early to assess their tangible impact. But they all include efforts to diversify access to the minerals that have become essential for advanced manufacturing, from electric vehicles to smartphones. The agreements, which aim to lock partners into trading with the US, are a clear bid to reduce dependence on China, ahead of a key meeting with its leader Xi Jinping. They could eventually challenge Beijing's stranglehold over rare earths, but experts say it will be a costly process that will take years. "Building new mines, refining facilities, and processing plants in regions such as Australia, the United States, and Europe comes ...
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 Hunt for rare daffodils that are feared lost

Rare British daffodils may be hiding in plain sight in gardens and parks and experts want to track them down.

They have drawn up a wanted list of long-lost varieties linked to local places, such as the vibrant "bonfire yellow" daffodil associated with bonfire nights in Sussex.

Rare varieties could be lost if they're not found and cared for, said Gwen Hines of the plant conservation charity, Plant Heritage.

"There's the joy that they bring to all of us in the springtime ... and also, in the future, they might be important for medicines for science," she said.

Believed to have been brought to Britain by the Romans, daffodils are a source of galantamine, a treatment for Alzheimer's disease.

The much-loved plants have been bred for centuries and now come in a dazzling array of about 30,000 different shapes, sizes and colours.

Most daffodils are yellow but some are white, orange and salmon-pink.

The gardening charity, the RHS, is asking for help in finding rare and missing daffodils that are feared lost to history and science.

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