Jack Board, Dili – An alien structure is humming over the distant lapping of some of the world's clearest and biodiverse waters.

The locals from Akrema village on the remote island of Atauro have never seen anything like it before – 40 hydropanels in rows, tilted towards the sky, performing a mysterious process to give them a commodity they so badly need: Clean water.

The Timorese government is evaluating options to allow Portuguese teachers who left the country in April, due to the Covid-19, to return to Timor-Leste, the deputy prime minister told Lusa.

"The Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Minister of the Interior are coordinating so that they can prepare for the return of teachers to Timor-Leste," said Jose Reis to Lusa.

Pacific Media Centre – When New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced the country had managed to stamp out the coronavirus, it was met with much fanfare – with many experts lauding Aotearoa for its effective response.

But another small Pacific nation has had even greater success in eradicating the coronavirus – Timor-Leste.

Jonathan Mitchell – Two new training centres have opened in Timor-Leste to help locals gain trade skills, as the country remembers a fallen New Zealand soldier.

In response to widening criticism, Timor-Leste's Ministry of Justice has revised its proposed criminal defamation law to exempt criticisms of political parties and public servants, but has retained sections which criminalise defamation.

By Dr Susanna Barnes, Teresa Hall, Dr Balthasar Kehi, Quintiliano Mok and Associate Professor Lisa Palmer, University of Melbourne.

As of early July, there are currently no active cases of COVID-19 in Timor-Leste, one of Australia's closest neighbours.

Ian Cunliffe – Anyone who is interested knows in their heart that the Australian Secret Intelligence Service, on behalf of the government, bugged the cabinet room and other offices of the Timor Leste government in 2004 to give Australia a major edge over our impoverished neighbour in negotiations for the ownership of massive underwater oil and helium reserves.

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has submitted a legal advice highlighting the dangers of the proposed re-introduction of criminal defamation law into Timor-Leste to Prime Minister Taur Matan Ruak on July 14.

John Hewson – Scott Morrison has stated he wants to govern in the "Howard tradition", but sadly that has also entailed adopting the worst of John Howard's strategies: to admit or explain as little as possible.

Kim McGrath – In the first week of January 2019, a private jet landed at Presidente Nicolau Lobato International Airport in Dili, the capital of Timor-Leste. The former Victorian premier Steve Bracks emerged into the monsoonal heat and was greeted by staff from the office of Xanana Gusmao, Timor-Leste's chief maritime boundary negotiator.

Christopher Knaus – Bernard Collaery has signalled he will appeal against a ruling that shrouds crucial parts of his trial in secrecy.

Collaery is facing trial for allegedly conspiring with his former client, intelligence officer Witness K, to expose an Australian bugging operation against Timor-Leste during negotiations to carve up oil and gas resources in the Timor Sea.

Anne Barker – In the shadow of the whitewashed Catholic church in Ainaro, Timor-Leste, Kalistru walked down the steps onto the dusty road. He was just a boy, eight years old. He couldn't have known he would never see his mother or father again after that day.

Lia Timson – When a boatload of people arrived unannounced on an idyllic beach at the eastern tip of Timor-Leste, one Australian watched what happened next with a mix of trepidation and pride.

Helen Davidson and Christopher Knaus – Decades-old documents relating to Australia's involvement in the Indonesian invasion of Timor-Leste will remain secret after a court upheld the Australian government's refusal to release them.

Binoy Kampmark – This week has not been a good one for the Australian legal system. For those who feel that an open justice process requires abuses of power to be exposed and held to account, it was particularly awful.

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) calls for the immediate withdrawal of a bill that would criminalize defamation in Timor-Leste again, six years after a similar law inherited from the Portuguese colonial era was removed from the criminal code as a result of the adoption of a new press code.

Andrew Wight – Timor-Leste, also known as East Timor, has seen more than 50 days without new COVID-19 cases and has yet to report a single death, thanks in part to water initiatives designed to increase resilience to outside shocks.

Media and civil society leaders in Timor-Leste have expressed concern about the possible reintroduction of a criminal defamation law in the country.

Jim Nolan – The coronavirus pandemic has provided just the latest cover for a variety of authoritarian moves criminalising journalism across Southeast Asia.

Egi Adyatama, Jakarta – Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal, and Security Affairs, Mahfud MD, visited the Indonesia-Timor Leste cross-country border post (PLBN) in Motaain, East Nusa Tenggara, Thursday, June 18. Mahfud came with Home Affairs Minister Tito Karnavian.

Catherine Graue – June in Timor-Leste would usually mean the end of the wet season and a drop in cases of dengue fever.

But changing weather patterns have seen the rains continue across the country and cases of the mosquito-borne disease are double last year's total.

Patrick O'Connor – The East Timorese government has widened the multi-party coalition on which it is based, securing the support of 41 out of the 65 parliamentarians.

Pacific Media Watch – Timor-Leste's Minister of Justice plans to present to the Council of Ministers a proposal to include criminal defamation in the country's penal code.

The Minister of Justice in Timor-Leste plans to present to the Council of Ministers a proposal to include criminal defamation in the country's penal code. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and its affiliate the Timor-Leste Press Union (TLPU) protest the move that would undermine press freedom and public interest journalism.

Jose Antonio Belo – Timor-Leste just celebrated its 18th year of independence. The celebration was muted partly due to Covid19 but even more so due to the political crisis.

Various parties have blamed each other as being the root of the political crisis. The question to consider is whether there is a deeper root to the crisis that has gone unnoticed?

Antonio Sampaio, Dili – Former East Timorese President Jose Ramos-Horta says it is not opportune for the government to be debating the possible criminalisation of defamation, with the risk of jeopardizing citizens' rights.

Instead, he says, the Timor-Leste government should concentrate on issues like the economy.

Apriza Pinandita, Jakarta – The Indonesian Red Cross (PMI) has sent the Timor Leste Red Cross (CVTL) medical supplies for COVID-19 mitigation measures as part of ongoing efforts to strengthen the spirit of collaboration between the two cross-border institutions.

Loro Horta – On March 21, 2020 Timor Leste reported its first case of COVID-19, a Dutch national arriving from Europe. Many expected the small Southeast Asian state to face a severe crisis and necessitate urgent international assistance.

Rui Feijo – Francisco Guterres Lu Olo seems to have won the long tug of war that began soon after he was elected in May 2017, involving directly the president and the charismatic nationalist leader Xanana Gusmao, and has asserted a vigorous interpretation of the president's role in the delicate semi-presidential balance of powers in Timor-Leste.

Michael Leach – As Timor-Leste continues to perform very well in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, especially compared to neighbouring Indonesia, the political dramas of the past few weeks have formed a striking counterpoint.

Dili – President Francisco Guterres Lu Olo swore in eight new cabinet members on Friday. For the first time a woman has become deputy prime minister in Timor-Leste. After the ceremony the president held a speech focussing on the struggle against the corona-virus.

Dili – Timor-Leste tightens security in its Western border areas to make sure nobody crosses the frontiers, which are closed to stop the corona-virus from spreading. This decision was made because of the increasing number of COVID-19 cases in neighbouring Indonesia.

Dili – Six members of the government of Timor-Leste resign from their posts. They follow the decision of the CNRT president to withdraw the party from the eighth constitutional government. Three cabinet members who are not CNRT-members but had been proposed by the party decided to remain part of the government.

Sophie Raynor – During the coronavirus pandemic, one of the biggest concerns for health officials has been the spread of misinformation about COVID-19 – especially via social media sites like Facebook and WhatsApp.

Dili – The medical supplies jointly donated by Jack Ma Foundation & Alibaba Foundation to Timor-Leste arrived at the Dili airport by a cargo plane on Tuesday.

Dili – The Council of Ministers has approved the request from the Integrated Crisis Management Centre (Sentru Integradu Jestaun Krize – SIJK) for the extension of the state of emergency with 30 more days.

Akito Ximenes and Michael Rose – Timor-Leste is an agricultural nation. At least 70% of the population relies on some sort of farming to survive and virtually everyone has relatives that live on some type of farm.

Dili – The president of the CNRT (Congresu Nasional Rekonstrusaun Timor, National Congress for Timorese Reconstruction), Kay Rala Xanana Gusmao, said that his party will join the political opposition to the eighth government and awaits to compete again in the elections that will take place in 2023.

Lia Timson – East-Timor's Prime Minister has asked the Timorese people to "maintain calm" and allow the country's leaders to restore order, after Parliament devolved into pushing and shoving for a second consecutive day.

Pacific Media Watch – Following yesterday's parliamentary row in the national chamber of Timor-Leste, chaotic scenes were streamed live on social media today for more than half an hour live as police were called.

Media consultant Bob Howarth reports that the police were called into the Parliament with rival politicians screaming insults and makng threatening gestures.

Robert Baird, Dili – Timor-Leste has no active cases of covid-19 for the first time since its first confirmed case on March 21, say health authorities.

The Integrated Crisis Management Centre (CIGC) confirmed yesterday a 24th patient had recovered from the virus.

Michael Leach – Just two months after it was announced by Xanana Gusmao, Timor-Leste's majority parliamentary coalition has collapsed.

Fidelis Magalhaes – The Timorese people and their government are about to combat a historic shock to our struggling health care system and emerging economy.

Dili – The political party Kmanek Haburas Unidade Nasional Timor Oan (KHUNTO) has withdrawn from the new coalition led by CNRT's president, Kay Rala Xanana Gusmao. The reason for leaving the Parliamentary Majority Alliance (Aliansa Maioria Parlamentar, AMP) is because KHUNTO is not certain this alliance will be the solution to the political crisis in Timor-Leste.

Antonio Sampaio, Dili – Xanana Gusmao, president of the second largest Timorese party, has criticised the decision to extend Timor-Leste's state of emergency, considering that it is not justified at the present time and can bring increased risks to the economy of families and the country.

Joao da Cruz Cardoso – The economic impact of coronavirus has been made even more severe in oil-producing countries due to the consequences of Covid-19 itself and a collapse in oil prices. Crude has fallen below US$20 per barrel as demand for oil has plummeted. This dual shock has made it harder for oil producing countries to fight the virus.

Li-Li Chen – Many Southeast Asian countries adopted a state of emergency to combat COVID-19. Likewise, Timor-Leste, with 24 confirmed cases and zero deaths to date, also declared a state of emergency, in force from March 28 until April 26 (later extended).

Dili – East Timor announced on Friday that a nurse at a centre caring for patients with COVID-19 had been infected by the coronavirus, the first medical worker in the tiny Southeast Asian country to contract the disease.

Dili – Cuba's medical team is still providing attention today to the population of Timor Leste in the face of Covid-19, a disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus which has already caused a high number of deaths around the world.

Ali MC – Domingos Pinto Gabrial, also known as Berliku, was a 19-year-old school teacher in the northeastern city of Baucau when Indonesian forces invaded East Timor in December 1975.