Latest news with #Prevot
Reuters
29-04-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Belgium open to bigger role in Congo minerals sector, foreign minister says
KINSHASA, April 29 (Reuters) - Belgium is open to deeper involvement in Democratic Republic of Congo's minerals sector, its foreign minister said on a visit to the former Belgian colony, which is seeking to diversify its investment partners. The vast Central African nation is home to large reserves of copper, cobalt, lithium and uranium among other minerals, but chronic instability has long been an obstacle to the foreign investment needed to fully develop them. Kinshasa is currently on a push to attract new players to the sector and talks are already under way with Washington after a Congolese senator pitching a minerals-for-security deal contacted U.S. officials. Asked by Reuters on Monday about possible interest in Congolese minerals, Foreign Affairs Minister Maxime Prevot said Belgium had firms with the know-how to ramp up its role in the sector. "We have globally recognised expertise with players like Umicore and John Cockerill, who have the capacity to process all these rare critical materials," he said. "If one day the opportunity arises to also be an investment partner, we will not pull back," he added. Despite China's dominance, Belgian firms have been involved in mining, processing and trading Congolese cobalt, copper and diamonds for decades. Belgium-based global materials technology group Umicore ( opens new tab signed a deal with state miner Gecamines last year to ship germanium concentrates to Europe. Prevot said Belgium's approach to working with Congo was good for both countries, contrasting it with how some other partners operated. "We observe the motivations of other international actors that can sometimes have a more transactional approach," he said. Prevot was due to visit the city of Beni on Tuesday as part of a trip intended to draw attention to serious human rights issues, particularly in Congo's eastern provinces where the army is facing an offensive by Rwandan-backed M23 rebels.
Hindustan Times
29-04-2025
- Business
- Hindustan Times
Belgium open to bigger role in Congo minerals sector, foreign minister says
KINSHASA, - Belgium is open to deeper involvement in Democratic Republic of Congo's minerals sector, its foreign minister said on a visit to the former Belgian colony, which is seeking to diversify its investment partners. The vast Central African nation is home to large reserves of copper, cobalt, lithium and uranium among other minerals, but chronic instability has long been an obstacle to the foreign investment needed to fully develop them. Kinshasa is currently on a push to attract new players to the sector and talks are already under way with Washington after a Congolese senator pitching a minerals-for-security deal contacted U.S. officials. Asked by Reuters on Monday about possible interest in Congolese minerals, Foreign Affairs Minister Maxime Prevot said Belgium had firms with the know-how to ramp up its role in the sector. "We have globally recognised expertise with players like Umicore and John Cockerill, who have the capacity to process all these rare critical materials," he said. "If one day the opportunity arises to also be an investment partner, we will not pull back," he added. Despite China's dominance, Belgian firms have been involved in mining, processing and trading Congolese cobalt, copper and diamonds for decades. Belgium-based global materials technology group Umicore signed a deal with state miner Gecamines last year to ship germanium concentrates to Europe. Prevot said Belgium's approach to working with Congo was good for both countries, contrasting it with how some other partners operated. "We observe the motivations of other international actors that can sometimes have a more transactional approach," he said. Prevot was due to visit the city of Beni on Tuesday as part of a trip intended to draw attention to serious human rights issues, particularly in Congo's eastern provinces where the army is facing an offensive by Rwandan-backed M23 rebels.
Arab News
27-04-2025
- Politics
- Arab News
Rwanda's actions in DR Congo unjustified: Belgian top diplomat
KAMPALA: Belgium's foreign minister said that Rwanda's 'legitimate' security concerns in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo could not justify its former colony's backing for the M23 armed group. In an interview, Maxime Prevot urged both sides to negotiate an end to the conflict in the DRC's troubled east, where the M23 has seized swathes of territory from the Congolese government. 'There will be no military solution in the east of the Congo. We need dialogue,' Prevot said after meeting Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni in the capital Kampala on Friday. 'The situation there remains extremely precarious and the local population pays the price every day,' the minister added, raising concerns of human rights abuses. President Paul Kagame's government denies offering the M23 military support, but argues it faces threats from armed groups linked to the 1994 Rwandan genocide present in the DRC's east. 'There is an urgent need to act.' Since the beginning of 2025 the M23 armed group has forced the Congolese army out of swathes of the DRC's mineral-rich east, triggering a worsening humanitarian crisis and displacing hundreds of thousands. UN experts and some Western countries have accused Rwanda of backing the M23, whose lightning offensive has raised fears of a regional war. President Paul Kagame's government denies offering the M23 military support, but argues it faces threats from armed groups linked to the 1994 Rwandan genocide present in the DRC's east. Prevot said Rwanda's security concerns were understandable, but its actions in the eastern DRC were unacceptable. 'I think that Rwanda, and it is legitimate, is looking for security,' Prevot said. 'But I fully disagree with Rwanda considering the way it is acting in the east of Congo.' Prevot denied Belgium's position was linked to its colonial history. Belgium ruled Rwanda and neighboring Burundi from 1916 to 1962. Rwanda, which according to UN experts maintains 4,000 troops in the DRC to support the M23, severed diplomatic links with Belgium in March because of its stance on the conflict. 'We do not have any feeling of past colonialism regrets,' Prevot said. 'And certainly not for me. I have a lot of respect for Rwanda.' Prevot welcomed mediation efforts by Qatar and the United States between the DRC, the M23 and Rwanda but cautioned against false optimism. 'I hope I'm not being naive with the positive announcements' made this week, the minister said. The DRC and the M23 issued a statement this week pledging to work toward a ceasefire and to engage in dialogue to end the conflict, with Qatar facilitating the talks. Responding to suggestions that the parties to the talks were using a lull in the fighting to prepare a further military offensive, Prevot said: 'I hope that this is not a kind of smokescreen and that everybody is sincere.' Prevot acknowledged Belgium's limited influence, given diplomatic tensions with Rwanda, but said efforts should continue. 'I hope it will be possible in the coming months to reopen, maybe discreetly, maybe informally, communication channels,' the foreign minister said. 'The way Belgium is reacting is not against Rwanda, it's for the defense of international law, humanitarian law, sovereignty and territorial integrity.' Kristof Titeca, a Belgian academic specializing in the African Great Lakes region, told AFP that Belgium has played a key role in Europe advocating for sanctions against Rwanda. But he warned that the situation on the ground remains fragile, while domestic Congolese politics complicated the picture. 'It has become close to impossible for Kinshasa to regain the territories lost to M23 and Rwanda,' Titeca said. Any outside power hoping to intervene would have 'to navigate both Rwanda's support for M23 and the structural weaknesses in the Congolese political system,' he added. Titeca said Rwanda's minimum objective appears to be the establishment of a 'buffer zone' in the eastern DRC, either through the M23 or through influence over a local administration. Following his visit to Uganda, Prevot will continue his tour in Burundi and the DRC.
Yahoo
27-04-2025
- Yahoo
Boca Bash roars back as Florida's wildest floating party
About 6,000 to 10,000 revelers gather in their boats on a lake in Florida for the boozy Boca Bash on the last Sunday of April each year. The party is an annual celebration on Lake Boca Raton, along Florida's southeastern coast. The rave attracts people from near and far for the massive boating and drinking extravaganza. The event sells no tickets, and guests are given few instructions – just show up, and remember a floaty. The City of Boca Raton told Fox News Digital that it has no official involvement in putting on the party, but collaborates with community partners, like the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), to "ensure the safety of all attendees and protect our waterways." Boca Bash Boat Garbage Dumpers Face 'Imminent' Arrests As Florida Authorities Look To 'Send A Message' According to the Palm Beach Post, the annual, spring break-like event in Boca Raton has always been held during the last week of April. It started in 2007, when party seekers showed up even though officials had canceled the event. Read On The Fox News App Since then, thousands of party animals have flocked to Lake Boca Raton's shoulder-length deep waters. The 2018 Boca Bash turned tragic when 32-year-old Francis Roselin, of West Palm Beach, drowned. His friend, Strogoff Prevot, told WPTV in 2018 that their group had traveled to a sandbar. When Prevot turned around while swimming, Roselin had disappeared. Prevot swam back to the boat to look for Roselin while his friends found police officers and reported Roselin missing. Boozy Boca Bash Partiers Dump Heaps Of Garbage Into Atlantic As Over A Dozen Arrested In Annual Aquatic Rave Marine units, along with a police helicopter, Ocean Rescue and the Coast Guard, began a search, but they were unable to find the 32-year-old, police said. A swimmer later discovered Roselin at the bottom of the Intracoastal Waterway. The Boca Raton Police Department later announced that Roselin had drowned. His girlfriend, Tamekia Rich, filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the City of Boca Raton, alleging negligence on the city's part for failing to control the crowds and failing to provide adequate supervision of the water. The city countered, saying that it had not hosted the Boca Bash. WATCH: Boca Bash revelers caught dumping trash in the water Viral drone footage in 2024 captured two teenagers, 15 and 16, hefting two trash bins filled with bottles and other plastics over the railing of their fishing vessel as they sped away from the boozy gathering on April 28, 2024. As the boat of partiers zooms away into the choppy waters of the Boca Raton inlet, the video pans out to the spread of debris left floating in their wake. Footage from the front of the boat shows the teens waving and laughing. The video prompted outrage and the Boca Bash's Facebook page wrote that they were "angered and disturbed by these actions." "Once the video was posted, we quickly got to work with the community to discover who the owner of the boat was and who was on the vessel in this particular instance committing an egregious act," they wrote. The two teens turned themselves in to police and face third-degree felony charges for causing pollution "so as to harm or injure human health or welfare, animal, plant or aquatic life or property," the Miami Herald reported. One of the boy's parents issued an emailed statement to The Palm Beach Post through a spokesperson. "We take responsibility for caring for our oceans and our community very seriously, and we are extremely saddened by what occurred last weekend at Boca Bash," the family wrote. "We want to extend our sincerest apologies to everyone who has been impacted and rightfully upset by what occurred." Fox News' Chris Eberhart contributed to this article source: Boca Bash roars back as Florida's wildest floating party
Fox News
27-04-2025
- Sport
- Fox News
Boca Bash roars back as Florida's wildest floating party
About 6,000 to 10,000 revelers gather in their boats on a lake in Florida for the boozy Boca Bash on the last Sunday of April each year. The party is an annual celebration on Lake Boca Raton, along Florida's southeastern coast. The rave attracts people from near and far for the massive boating and drinking extravaganza. The event sells no tickets, and guests are given few instructions – just show up, and remember a floaty. The City of Boca Raton told Fox News Digital that it has no official involvement in putting on the party, but collaborates with community partners, like the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), to "ensure the safety of all attendees and protect our waterways." According to the Palm Beach Post, the annual, spring break-like event in Boca Raton has always been held during the last week of April. It started in 2007, when party seekers showed up even though officials had canceled the event. Since then, thousands of party animals have flocked to Lake Boca Raton's shoulder-length deep waters. The 2018 Boca Bash turned tragic when 32-year-old Francis Roselin, of West Palm Beach, drowned. His friend, Strogoff Prevot, told WPTV in 2018 that their group had traveled to a sandbar. When Prevot turned around while swimming, Roselin had disappeared. Prevot swam back to the boat to look for Roselin while his friends found police officers and reported Roselin missing. Marine units, along with a police helicopter, Ocean Rescue and the Coast Guard, began a search, but they were unable to find the 32-year-old, police said. A swimmer later discovered Roselin at the bottom of the Intracoastal Waterway. The Boca Raton Police Department later announced that Roselin had drowned. His girlfriend, Tamekia Rich, filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the City of Boca Raton, alleging negligence on the city's part for failing to control the crowds and failing to provide adequate supervision of the water. The city countered, saying that it had not hosted the Boca Bash. WATCH: Boca Bash revelers caught dumping trash in the water Viral drone footage in 2024 captured two teenagers, 15 and 16, hefting two trash bins filled with bottles and other plastics over the railing of their fishing vessel as they sped away from the boozy gathering on April 28, 2024. As the boat of partiers zooms away into the choppy waters of the Boca Raton inlet, the video pans out to the spread of debris left floating in their wake. Footage from the front of the boat shows the teens waving and laughing. The video prompted outrage and the Boca Bash's Facebook page wrote that they were "angered and disturbed by these actions." "Once the video was posted, we quickly got to work with the community to discover who the owner of the boat was and who was on the vessel in this particular instance committing an egregious act," they wrote. The two teens turned themselves in to police and face third-degree felony charges for causing pollution "so as to harm or injure human health or welfare, animal, plant or aquatic life or property," the Miami Herald reported. One of the boy's parents issued an emailed statement to The Palm Beach Post through a spokesperson. "We take responsibility for caring for our oceans and our community very seriously, and we are extremely saddened by what occurred last weekend at Boca Bash," the family wrote. "We want to extend our sincerest apologies to everyone who has been impacted and rightfully upset by what occurred."
