Thousands protest lithium mining in Serbia. Officials say it's a plot against populist president

BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — Tens of thousands of protesters rallied on Saturday against lithium mining in Serbia, despite officials' warnings of their alleged plot to topple populist President Aleksandar Vučić and his government.

Vučić said earlier he had been tipped off by Russian intelligence services that a “mass unrest and a coup” were being prepared in Serbia by unspecified Western powers that wish to oust him from power.

The crowd chanted: “There will be no mining” and “Treason, treason.”

After one of the biggest protests in downtown Belgrade in years ended, some people in the crowd marched toward the capital's two main railway stations, pledging to block train traffic until their demands that lithium mining be officially banned are met.