Riga - Latvia's economy shrank by 4.2 per cent in the third quarter, the government said Friday, while a downgraded credit rating added to the Baltic country's woes.

Fears about the future of the three Baltic economies grew as the flash estimate showed Latvia's gross domestic product (GDP) falling more than analysts had expected. Second-quarter growth in 2008 was 0.1 per cent.

Riga- Latvia and Belarus formally demarcated their border Thursday in a signing ceremony in the Latvian capital, Riga.

The move officially sets part of the European Union's eastern border.

The final protocol of the Latvia-Belarus state border demarcation was signed by Irina Mangule of the Latvian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Colonel Alexander Arhipov of the Belarus Border Guard. The ceremony ended a process that had gone on for more than ten years.

Riga - The three Baltic stock exchanges registered small losses overall Thursday, despite a handful of companies seeing sharp falls in their share prices by the close of trading.

The NASDAQ OMX Tallinn exchange in Estonia was down 0.52 per cent, and the Vilnius exchange in Lithuania was down 0.63 per cent, while the Riga exchange in Latvia actually rose by 0.25 per cent.

Riga/Tallinn/Vilnius  - Senior politicians in the three small Baltic states added their voices to the chorus of congratulations for Barack Obama after his US election victory Wednesday.

There was unanimity in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania that the result offered a chance to deepen an already warm transatlantic relationship.

Estonian foreign minister Urmas Paet told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa: "We congratulate Obama and his team on this victory. Bilateral relations between Estonia and the US will be as active, good and deep as they have been so far."

Riga/Tallinn/Vilnius  - Baltic leaders voiced hope Wednesday that ties with the US will strengthen further with Barack Obama as president, including cooperation in confronting Russia.

Top politicians in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania all said the outcome of Tuesday's election offered a chance to deepen an already warm trans-Atlantic relationship.

Congratulating Obama, Estonian Foreign Minister Urmas Paet said there is "a window of opportunity for even more active coordination and cooperation of foreign policy between the European Union and the United States, especially when we speak about issues like Afghanistan or policies vis-a-vis Russia."

Riga- The foreign and domestic policies of the Russian government continued to receive a mauling in the Latvian capital, Riga, Saturday with opposition political figures and international relations experts lining up to criticize the Kremlin at a NATO- sponsored conference.

Speaking Saturday afternoon, Boris Nemtsov, a one-time deputy prime minister of Russia under Vladimir Putin and now a leading opponent of his former boss, said: "Putinism means monopoly. Monopoly means corruption, no competition and no transparency."