Australia's PM Albanese and Trump sign rare earths deal as US confirms Aukus defence agreement

Summary: US President Donald Trump and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese sign a deal on critical minerals and rare earths

The agreement is a key objective for the US as it seeks to move away from dependence on China, writes the BBC's Bernd Debusmann Jr.

Albanese says the US and Australia will contribute billions to crucial projects in the next six months as part of the new rare earths and critical minerals deal

Trump also says the Aukus defence agreement struck with Australia and the UK is a deterrent for China - but adds "we're not going to need it"...