Our daily trip around the world

🇷🇸 Thousands of Serbians are protesting plans for Europe's largest lithium mine. The $2.4 billion Rio Tinto project, a joint effort by Serbia and the EU, aims to eventually produce 90% of Europe's lithium, which is widely used in batteries for EVs, cellphones, laptops, and more. Protesters calling for the project's cancellation say it would cause irreversible environmental damage and deplete local water sources. Serbia’s government plans to organize a referendum on the project by the end of 2025.

💥 Israel-Hamas update: An Israeli military court held a preliminary hearing yesterday for nine IDF soldiers arrested earlier this week on allegations of sexually abusing and assaulting a Palestinian prisoner. The soldiers’ legal counsel has denied allegations of sexual abuse, and accused the prisoner – a high-ranking Hamas militant – of attacking officers during a search. On Monday, several hundred Israeli protesters demanding the soldiers’ release broke into the military base where they were being held, but were soon forced out.

🇪🇹 Ethiopia reached a $3.4 billion bailout deal with the International Monetary Fund. The IMF funds, which will be spread out over four years, aim to stimulate economic growth and combat high inflation in Ethiopia following its two-year civil war from 2020-2022. As part of the deal, Ethiopia reversed its long-standing policy of government-fixed currency exchange rates, with the Ethiopian birr falling 30% against the US dollar yesterday following the move.