London - Demonstrators at an oil refinery in Britain were Wednesday urged to abandon their protest after a deal was reached in marathon talks between trade unions and employers at the plant owned by French energy company Total.

Trade union officials said they had won a pledge from management at the Lindsey oil refinery in Lincolnshire, eastern England, that
100 new jobs would be created for British workers at the plant, the equivalent of 50 per cent of the 200 posts under dispute.

Strasbourg, France - The European Parliament on Wednesday called on EU governments to help the new US administration close the Guantanamo Bay prison camp and to consider hosting some of the released inmates who would face torture if sent back home.

The parliament "calls on the member states ... to cooperate in finding solutions, to be prepared to accept Guantanamo inmates in the EU, in order to help reinforce international law, and to provide, as a priority, fair and humane treatment for all," read a resolution adopted by the parliament in Strasbourg.

Val d'Isere, France - Maria Riesch's world championship medal hopes were in danger after the German skier crashed in downhill training on Wednesday.

Riesch, 24, bruised her spine, damaged a ligament in her left knee and suffered light facial injuries when she crashed into the safety nets. She was able to ski down to the finish line on her own but it remains unclear how the injuries will affect her.

Riesch has won four of the last five slalom races of the season and is a medal contender in this event as well as the super combined race scheduled for Friday. She ranks second in the World Cup.

Wiesbaden, Germany - Representatives of six major powers met Wednesday to discuss how they could resolve the stand-off with Iran over its controversial nuclear programme.

The meeting of China, Britain, France, Germany, Russia and the United States is the first on the subject since the administration of US President Barack Obama took office last month.

A German foreign ministry spokesman said the talks in the city of Wiesbaden were intended to demonstrate the unity of the six powers in their approach to Iran.

Strasbourg, France - Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Wednesday renewed his request to the European Union to send peacekeepers to the Middle East and to help him organize elections in the Palestinian territories.

"The time has come for the international community to bear its legal, political and moral responsibilities and provide it with adequate international protection," Abbas told the European Parliament in Strasbourg.

"I would like to stress again our request to send international forces in order to protect our people," he said.

Val d'Isere, France - Swiss veteran Didier Cuche claimed a first big alpine skiing title at last on Wednesday when he won world championship gold in the men's super-g.

Cuche, 34, mastered the treacherous Piste Bellevarde in 1 minute 19.41 seconds, shaking off his runner-up image to give Switzerland its first super-g world title in two decades since Martin Hangl's 1989 success.

Peter Fill of Italy was a distant second in 1:20.40 and two-time 2007 world champion Aksel Lund Svindal of Norway third in 1:20.43 minutes.

The standings were provisional after 40 of the 70 starters had competed.