Europe

LONDON (AP) — British police have spoken with Prince Philip after the husband of Queen Elizabeth II was photographed apparently driving without wearing a seatbelt — just two days after he was involved in a serious car crash.

British media on Saturday published a photograph showing the 97-year-old royal driving a new Land Rover near the royal residence at Sandringham in eastern England.

Norfolk Police said “suitable words of advice have been given to the driver.”

DAVOS, Switzerland (AP) — The founder of the World Economic Forum says U.S. President Donald Trump would have been an “interesting discussion partner” at its annual Davos event starting this week, but acknowledges that the partial U.S. government shutdown scuttled those plans.

Klaus Schwab says he saw Trump shortly before Christmas and heard he had been “very much looking forward to coming back.” Last year, Trump was a highlight attendee at the elite gathering in the Swiss Alps, where he dined with business executives and met foreign leaders.

20 Jan 2019; DW: German Chancellor Angela Merkel stressed the importance and significance of German-French ties in a video message posted on Saturday.

After centuries of war between the two countries, the friendship that now exists between Berlin and Paris was "anything but self-evident," she said.

Her remarks come just days before she and French President Emmanuel Macron are due to sign a new friendship treaty in the city of Aachen.

20 Jan 2019; AFP: A suspected car bomb exploded in the Northern Irish city of Londonderry on Saturday, police said, with leading politicians alleging the blast was terror-related.

The Police Service of Northern Ireland tweeted a photograph of the scene outside a courthouse as it warned that evacuations were taking place due to a second suspect vehicle in the British province's second city.

"Police are in attendance at the scene of an incident in Derry/Londonderry city centre," the PSNI tweeted.

19 Jan 2019; DW: Grace Meng's lawyer says she has formally requested refuge from French authorities as she is afraid she may be kidnapped. Her husband, Meng Hongwei, went missing in September after traveling to his native China.

The wife of the former Interpol chief being held in China on corruption charges has applied for asylum in France, her spokesperson has said.

19 Jan 2019; AFP: In a vault under the streets of Dublin a pot of gold owned by anxious investors is growing every day Britain edges closer to leaving the EU without a deal.

"They're worried about a significant devaluation in sterling if there's a hard Brexit," said Seamus Fahy.

Fahy is co-founder of Merrion Vaults, a gold brokerage and safe deposit facility in the centre of the Irish capital.

19 Jan 2019; AFP: France's "yellow vests" took to the streets on Saturday for a 10th straight weekend of anti-government protests, defying attempts by President Emmanuel Macron to channel their anger into a series of town hall debates.

A police source said the authorities expected the protests to be "at least as big as last week" when over 80,000 people demonstrated over inequality, the privileges enjoyed by senior public servants and the governing style of a president accused of arrogance.

BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union insisted Friday that agriculture be kept out of the EU-U.S. trade negotiations, despite Washington’s wishes to include the vast sector, and said any overall deal will be limited in scope.

The EU Commission announced its proposals for a negotiating mandate from the 28 member states and said that the EU negotiations will be “strictly focused on the removal of tariffs on industrial goods, excluding agricultural products.”

17 Jan 2019; AFP: British Prime Minister Theresa May will miss next week's annual World Economic Forum meeting in Davos to focus on Brexit negotiations, sending ministers in her place, Downing Street said on Thursday.

"She will not be going to Davos. She will be focused on matters here," May's spokeswoman said, adding that "there will be government ministers attending".

18 Jan 2019; DW: Beijing and Berlin have signed agreements to boost cooperation in the banking and insurance sectors. A trade spat with the US has left China looking for other trade partners.

China and Germany vowed closed financial cooperation on Friday, affirming initiatives to open their respective markets further to each other's banks and insurers. Berlin stopped short of choosing a side in the US-China trade war, however.