Beijing - Great potential is offered for European Union business investment in China's Sichuan province, parts of which were devastated by last May's earthquake, EU officials said Sunday.

"We want to give a sign that the situation is not just difficult, but that there are business opportunities there too," EU Chamber of Commerce President Joerg Wuttke said.

He was speaking during a conference of some 200 business people and officials attending a trade fair in Chengdu.

The area of the city and of nearby Chongding were home to 120 million people presenting "huge potential purchasing power", Wuttke said.

Paris - Frenchman Richard Gasquet withdrew on the opening day of the Paris Masters on Sunday, citing an elbow injury.

Amman - The Euro-Med Ministerial Conference on Water has been called off indefinitely due to differences over the participation of the Arab League, Jordanian Foreign Minister Salah Bashir said Sunday.

The conference had been slated for Tuesday in Jordan's Red Sea resort. Bashir was quoted by the official Petra news agency as saying the gathering was postponed "to allow room for reaching agreement on some issues, foremost the participation of the Arab League and its membership in the Union for the Mediterranean."

"Jordan rejects taking prior or individual attitudes that could influence the discussions due to take place in the coming meetings," he added.

Soelden, Austria - Daniel Albrecht won the men's alpine skiing season-opener on Sunday when he dominated a giant slalom ahead of fellow-Swiss Didier Cuche.

Albrecht clocked a combined total of 2 minutes 15.78 seconds from two runs on the glacier course to claimed his second career win.

Cuche had 2:15.92 and Ted Ligety of the US placed third, far off the pace in 2:17.03 minutes.

Munich - Plans for a costly mass in Rome to celebrate the birthday of Pope Benedict's elder brother have been criticized by a Catholic lay group in Germany, the weekly news magazine Focus reported Sunday.

Georg Ratzinger, a retired priest and former director of music at Regensburg Cathedral in Germany, is to celebrate his 85th birthday on January 15.

The Catholic Diocese of Regensburg plans to spend 100,000 dollars flying 90 boy choristers and 37 musicians to Rome to perform a Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart mass in the Sixtine Chapel in the Vatican especially for him.

Monsignor Ratzinger lives in the city of Regensburg and used to conduct the boys' choir.