Riga- The long-term prospects for the economies of the three Baltic states were called into question Friday when London-based ratings agency Fitch downgraded its opinions on Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.

Fitch revised downward its foreign and local currency Issuer Default Ratings (IDRs) and its Country Ceilings for all three countries by one notch, while its overall Outlooks remain "Negative" for each country.

Riga/Vilnius  - A charter flight from the Lithuanian capital, Vilnius, to the Turkish resort of Antalya was delayed Thursday after passengers joked about the presence of a bomb on board.

According to local media reports, a Boeing 757 operated by charter airline Aurela was due to depart at 6 am but a badly mistimed joke three minutes prior to take-off led to a full security alert and a detailed search of the aircraft.

The remarks were reportedly made by a holidaying couple from the western city of Klaipeda, Lithuania.

Riga/Tallinn - Foreign ministers of the three Baltic nations and the Benelux countries concluded a two-day mini-summit in Estonia on Thursday with a call for continued dialogue with Belarus.

"We touched upon the latest developments in Belarus following the elections there and we discussed the future of our dialogue given the positive developments, such as the release of political prisoners and the green light granted to OSCE observers to monitor the elections," Latvian Foreign Minister Maris Riekstins told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa.

However, Riekstins also noted that question marks remain about the September 28 election in which opposition parties failed to win a single seat in the Belarussian parliament.

Riga - Foreign ministers of the three Baltic nations and the Benelux countries met in Estonia on Wednesday in a forum meant to promote cooperation between smaller European Union states.

The agenda for ministers from Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands includes Georgia, EU relations with Russia, the EU's stalled Lisbon Treaty and energy security, officials said.

The two-day meeting is taking place in the opulent surroundings of Sagadi manor, a former baronial estate located on Estonia's northern coast.

Riga/Tallinn - Estonian President Toomas Hendrik Ilves urged his country's stateless residents to adopt full citizenship on Wednesday.

Speaking at a ceremony in Tallinn at which he handed citizenship certificates to newly-qualified citizens, Ilves said: "Your will demonstrates that you trust and need Estonia. I affirm to you that Estonia trusts and needs you."

Estonia has an estimated 100,000 residents who do not have full citizenship, out of a total population of 1.3 million. Most non- citizens are ethnic Russians.

Riga/Vilnius  - Latvia's main airport is giving unfair preference to the nation's flag carrier, hurting a rival Baltic airline, a court in neighbouring Lithuania ruled Tuesday.

At the request of FlyLAL-Lithuanian Airlines, the district court ordered that the assets of Riga International Airport and Latvia's airBaltic, the largest airline in the three Baltic nations, be frozen.

It was not clear how the decision would affect airBaltic, which immediately rejected the ruling as against European Union law.