内容摘要：Vucic said that he expected “reaction and attacks” over the Moscow trip at an upcoming European Political Community summit in Albania. He pledged that Serbia will soon pass media and anti-corruption laws needed to move forward in the accession process.

Vucic said that he expected “reaction and attacks” over the Moscow trip at an upcoming European Political Community summit in Albania. He pledged that Serbia will soon pass media and anti-corruption laws needed to move forward in the accession process.

Doudou Dramé, president of the Observatoire Territoriale du Secteur Extractif, an organization that advocates for safer conditions for gold miners, poses for a portrait at a mining site in the Kedougou region of Senegal on Thursday, Jan. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Annika Hammerschlag)“If it hurt right away, like a knife, people would stop. But the issue is that it takes years for the dangers to manifest,” said Doudou Dramé, president of the Observatoire Territoriale du Secteur Extractif, an organization that advocates for safer conditions for gold miners in Kedougou. “People are dumping it directly into the river. They’re burning it in the open, releasing toxic smoke into the air. It’s extremely dangerous.”

Artisanal and small-scale gold mining is the largest global source of mercury emissions, even more than the burning of coal, according to the UN Environment Programme. In Senegal alone, artisanal mines are estimated to release between 12 and 16 metric tons of mercury each year.“Kedougou has rich land — very rich land,” Dramé said. “Now mercury is everywhere. Our animals consume it, and it comes back to us. Even the soil is no longer fertile.”Women process gold at a mining site in the Kedougou region of Senegal on Thursday, Jan. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Annika Hammerschlag)

Women process gold at a mining site in the Kedougou region of Senegal on Thursday, Jan. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Annika Hammerschlag)Along the muddy banks of a rust-colored pond, dozens of women wade knee-deep as they rinse piles of sediment in search of gold. Children dart between mounds of earth while the runoff pools around their feet. With little access to clean water, many women spend long hours in local waterways to work, bathe their children, wash clothes and clean dishes.

“Women are much more exposed than men,” said Modou Goumbala, the monitoring and evaluation manager at La Lumiere, an NGO that supports community development in southeastern Senegal.

That exposure can be especially dangerous for pregnant and nursing women. Mercury can cross the placenta, putting fetuses at risk of developmental delays and birth defects. Infants may also absorb the toxin through contaminated breast milk.“He was never ever a Cubs fan, so I don’t know where that came from. He was always a Sox fan,” John said, adding that the confusion might stem from the fact their mother’s side of the family were North Siders and Cubs fans.

When he has the time, the pope picks up a“I consider myself quite the amateur tennis player,” Leo said in

after taking over the Vatican’s powerful Dicastery for Bishops following years as a missionary in Peru.“Since leaving Peru, I have had few occasions to practice so I am looking forward to getting back on the court,” Leo added. “Not that this new job has left me much free time for it so far.”