UNITED NATIONS (AP) – Surging global demand for critical minerals should be "a once-in-a-lifetime chance" for resource-rich countries in Africa and elsewhere to harness wealth and improve life for millions – but it has too easily triggered violence and poverty, the head of the World Trade Organization said Wednesday.WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala warned the United Nations Security Council that "critical minerals are increasingly viewed as strategic assets, not just commodities, and a major source of interstate competition."

The Security Council met Wednesday in New York to debate critical minerals — the lithium, cobalt and copper powering the clean energy transition. Demand is set to triple by 2030.…

The head of the World Trade Organization says surging global demand for critical minerals should be “a once-in-a-lifetime chance” for resource-rich countries in Africa and…