Hundreds of people in Serbia have spent part of a holiday weekend blocking roads to protest plans for lithium mining in the Balkan countryBELGRADE, Serbia -- Hundreds of people in Serbia spent part of a holiday weekend blocking roads Saturday to protest plans for lithium mining in the Balkan country. The protests came a day after Orthodox Christians in Serbia and many other countries celebrated Christmas. Anti-mine activists have organized weekly gatherings to keep pressure on the populist government of President Aleksandar Vucic to scrap the possibility of lithium excavations in western Serbia. Experts have warned that mining for lithium, a material used for car and other batteries, would destroy the region’s farmland, ecosystem and water. Improving environmental protection is one of the criteria Serbia needs to fulfill to advance on its path to joining the European Union.

Source: ABC News January 08, 2022 18:13 UTC