HELSINKI (Reuters) - Global sales of mobile phones fell 2 percent in January-March after ten straight quarters of growth, as Chinese buyers held back in anticipation of new models and economic uncertainties weighed on developed markets, research firm Gartner said. The data, published on Wednesday, confirmed South Korea's Samsung became the world's largest cellphone maker in the quarter, ending Finnish group Nokia's 14-year reign after years of losing ground, particularly in smartphones. ...

HELSINKI (Reuters) - Want a 170-year-old beer? Finnish researchers say they may be able to recreate beer from the 1840s after finding living bacteria in beer from a shipwreck near Aland islands. The 2010 discovery of the ship, believed to have sunk in the 1840s, also included the world's oldest champagne considered drinkable which has since been auctioned off. Researchers analysed two bottles of beer, which they admitted "had not stood the test of time well" but retained a pale golden colour and could originally have had hints of rose, almond and cloves. ...

Hopes dimmed Monday for staging major nuclear talks later this year between Israel and its Muslim rivals, as Iran and Arab countries at a 189-nation conference accused Israel of being the greatest threat to peace in the region and Egypt warned that Arab states might rethink their opposition to atomic arms.

The United States lost to Slovakia 4-2 Monday for its first loss at hockey's world championships after opening with two victories.