Serbia: Lithium mine opponents block roads in bad weather

BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — Hundreds of people in Serbia have spent part of a holiday weekend blocking roads 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. The demonstrations took place on Saturday in the capital, Belgrade, and several other locations. 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. Prime Minister Ana Brnabic told Serbia’s pro-government Pink television that her government was “close to annulling” any deals with multinational mining company Rio Tinto, which has explored the area and wants to extract lithium.