Washington, Dec 8 : Researchers in Finland say they have identified the first potential "biomarker" that could be used in development of a sputum test for early detection of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), a condition that causes severe difficulty in breathing — most often in cigarette smokers.

Vuokko L. Kinnula and colleagues point out that until now, no disease marker for COPD currently exists, despite extensive efforts by scientists to find one.

Previous studies pointed to a prime candidate — surfactant protein A (SP-A), which has a major role in fighting infections and inflammation in the lung.

Helsinki - Citing the global financial slowdown, Finnish- based Nokia, the world's largest maker of mobile telephones, Thursday lowered its forecast for the fourth quarter and again revised its 2009 estimates for the global handset market.

Nokia said it expected fourth-quarter global handset sales to "be lower" than the earlier estimate of 330 million units. Third-quarter sales were 310 million units.

Citing "insufficient visibility in the marketplace," Nokia said it also had dropped its earlier forecast of keeping or slightly increasing its 38 per cent global market.

Helsinki - The Caucusus region after the recent war between Russia and Georgia was one of the main themes when foreign ministers from the 56-nation Organization of Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) meet Thursday, the Finnish foreign minister said Wednesday.

Foreign Minister Alexander Stubb, who holds the rotating chairmanship, said the ministers were also to discuss proposals for a new European security structure floated by among others Russia and France.

Kuusamo, Finland - A World Cup ski jump team event postponed on Friday will now take place later Saturday.

Helsinki - The government of Ireland is not planning to make any decisions on a new referendum on the European Union reform treaty until a EU summit next month, Irish Prime Minister Brian Cowen said in Helsinki late Thursday.

Cowen's remarks were made after talks with his Finnish counterpart Matti Vanhanen, Finnish news agency STT reported.

Voters in Ireland earlier this year rejected the Lisbon Treaty, which aimed to streamline decision-making in the 27-nation bloc. It cannot enter into force until all member states have ratified it.

Stockholm/Helsinki - A weekend blizzard blanketed eastern Sweden and southern Finland, causing cancellations and delays at Stockholm's Arlanda Airport and Helsinki's Vantaa airport on Monday.

Arlanda was temporarily closed Sunday evening due to the heavy snowfall along with strong sidewinds and icy conditions.

Delays and cancellations continued Monday as both airports only used one runway due to the snowfall.

Airport officials advised travellers to expect some delays as the strong northerly winds were not expected to subside until later Monday.