Tallinn  - Estonian social affairs minister Maert Maripuu announced her intention to resign Thursday, minutes after she saw off a parliamentary vote of no confidence.

The no-confidence motion accused the minister of delaying reforms, misinforming the public and general incompetence but MPs backed her by 51 votes to 35.

Tallinn - Herman Simm, a senior Estonian intelligence official awaiting trial on treason charges for allegedly spying for Russia, may have started selling his secrets in the mid-1990s, according to media reports Thursday.

Speaking in daily newspaper Eesti Paevaleht, the former commander of the Estonian defence forces, Johannes Kert, said he suspected Simm had set out to discredit him at that time.

"A rumour was leaked to Finland that I, as the then-commander of the Estonian defence forces, could not be trusted," Kert claimed.

Tallinn - The International Monetary Fund (IMF) gave a cautious assessment of Estonia's future prospects Monday, but said the Baltic nation does not need a bail-out package like the one recently requested by neighbouring Latvia.

"The most important aim at present is to achieve economies in budgetary expenditures," said Franciszek Rozwadowski, head of the IMF group which visited Estonia, at a press conference at the end of his trip.

"The most important aim at present is to achieve economies in budgetary expenditures," he said.

Tallinn - Estonia, the Baltic nation whose enthusiasm for all things related to the internet often sees it referred to as "E-stonia" has added another item to its cyber-portfolio by launching an online presidential blog Tuesday via the video website YouTube.

Visitors to YouTube can see Estonian President Toomas Hendrik Ilves giving a five-minute chat to the nation on the subject of the economy in what is claimed to be the EU's first presidential videocast.

Tallinn - Parliament and president were locked in a legislative stand-off in Estonia on Tuesday after the Estonian parliament, the Riigikogu, passed a bill on freezing the wages of deputies for a second time.

President Toomas Hendrik Ilves refused to sign the same piece of legislation last week.

The effort by Estonian parliamentarians to freeze their own salaries as part of a national austerity plan was blocked on November 24 when Ilves refused to sign the relevant bill into law, saying that it was contrary to the constitution.

Tallinn - Tallink Group, an Estonian operator of ferries in the Baltic Sea denied press reports Monday that it is preparing to take to the skies as well as the waves by purchasing national airline Estonian Air.

Newspaper Aripaev reported that Tallink and the Estonian Economy Ministry were working together on a plan to buy out the 49-per-cent stake of Estonian Air which is currently owned by pan-Scandinavian airline SAS.

Last week SAS said if it could not secure a majority share of Estonian Air, it would sell its shares.