Paulina Quintao – As Timor-Leste heads to the polls to vote during the Legislative Election 2017 that will determine the composition of the VII Government that will rule over the next five years, the community urges more inclusive policies and programs and equitable development that leads to an equal sharing of prosperity.

Marcelino Perreira, Dili – Voters in East Timor queued up on Saturday to cast their vote in the country's fourth parliamentary elections since independence in a ballot where campaigning has focused on development and jobs in Asia's youngest democracy.

Lindsay Murdoch, Bangkok – Two major parties appear set to dominate voting on Saturday in East Timor's fourth parliamentary elections since the tiny half-island nation gained its independence 15 years ago.

After 24 years of brutal Indonesian occupation, Timorese have come to take their elections seriously, and turned out en-masse again at polling booths across the country.

Damien Kingsbury – In a colourful and noisy event, unblemished so far by the violence that marred the first few years of independence, Timor-Leste prepares for its fourth parliamentary elections this Saturday. By conventional criteria, it has passed the test of consolidating its young democracy.

The number of children involvement in the political party campaigning is still high according to the observations of the National Commission for Children Rights (KNDL) during the campaign period.

KNDL Commissioner Maria Barreto said children take part in the campaigns because they are interested about parties and political leaders.

Lindsay Murdoch – One of East Timor's largest political parties has denounced "acts of intimidation and terror" against some if its supporters ahead of Saturday's parliamentary elections.

Lindsay Murdoch, Bangkok – More than 750,000 East Timorese will cast votes on Saturday to elect a government that will face tough negotiations that could deliver the poverty-stricken nation billions of dollars or – should they fail – send it into bankruptcy, possibly within a decade.

Marcelino Perreira, Dili – Thousands of East Timorese ended weeks of political rallies and entered a campaign blackout on Thursday before parliamentary elections at the weekend, with fears for the economic future of Asia's youngest democracy the primary concern for voters.

Raimundos Oki and Stephen Wright, Dili, East Timor – Almost two dozen parties are contesting parliamentary elections in East Timor this weekend that are likely to return independence heroes to power despite frustration in the young democracy with lack of economic progress and warnings the country could be bankrupt within a decade.

Konradus Epa in Atambua, Indonesia – Rostiana Bareto experienced tough living conditions as a refugee when she and her family settled in Atambua, western Timor, on the border with Indonesia.

Despite the fundamental challenge of making ends meet, 49-year-old Bareto and her husband decided to stay and avoid the political instability back home.

Michael Leach, Dili – Twenty-one parties will contest 65 parliamentary seats and decide who governs Timor-Leste in national elections this Saturday.

Marching through the streets of East Timor's capital Dili with a rainbow flag in his hand, Natalino Guterres was overwhelmed with emotion, reminding him of how he felt 15 years ago when he saw the Timorese flag raised for the first time.

Tahnee Reed – There is a lot of doom and gloom about the possibility of Timor-Leste becoming a failed state. Caution is understandable, as failed states create regional instability. However, there is a tendency to overlook the positive steps that Timor-Leste takes toward stability.

Felicity James – Tourism businesses from an island off the coast of Timor-Leste's capital say they fear large-scale government projects could destroy their community and local voices are being ignored in the debate.

In Timor-Leste, there has been a push for the Government to develop the tourism sector as the country tries to end its reliance on oil and gas revenue.

Felicity James – Timor-Leste is developing rapidly – 15 years after independence it's got one of the world's highest proportions of women in parliament – but a younger generation is facing growing unemployment levels.

Michael Leach – Twenty-one parties will contest sixty-five parliamentary seats and decide who governs Timor-Leste in national elections on 22 July. In a population with a median age of just under nineteen years and a voting age of seventeen, a fifth of Timor-Leste's 750,000 registered voters will be participating for the first time.

Venidora Oliveira 00 The Judicial System Monitoring Program (JSMP) considers grave that five members of the national parliament raised their objection and did not make an intervention during the plenary session in Portuguese because they did not feel they were fluent enough in the official language.

Paulina Quintao – Some 97 percent of all children in Timor-Leste under the age of five years old received their full immunization according to national data provided by the Ministry of Health 2016.

Khoo Ying Hooi and Guteriano Neves – A total of 21 political parties are registered to contest the Timor-Leste parliamentary election on July 22.

Dili, East Timor – Gay rights have taken a step forward in East Timor with its first LGBT pride parade and the prime minister announcing that the young nation's development depends on respecting the rights of all its citizens.

Josh Jackman – A tiny war-torn island in Asia has taken two huge steps forward in promoting LGBT rights.

East Timor, which only declared its independence in 2002 after a traumatic, deadly struggle, held its first Pride parade last week. The celebration in the capital of Dili was attended by several hundred people, according to The Associated Press.

Shannon Power – In an act described as a 'breath of hope in the region', Timor Leste's Prime Minister has made a definitive statement in support of LGBTI rights.

Thomas Ora, Dili – The Catholic Church in Timor-Leste has urged political parties not only to compete for parliamentary seats but also to ramp up their efforts to reduce poverty and improve the lives of people ahead of parliamentary elections next month.

Guteriano Neves and Khoo Ying Hooi – In July, Timorese voters will go to the polls for the second time this year to elect the country's parliament.

Paulina Quintao, The network Timor – Leste Coalition for Education (TLCE) recommended the Ministry of Education to conduct in-depth research on the implementation of mother tongue education in basic schools so there is more information and accurate data about this approach.

Paulina Quintao – Some 340 students of Bogor and Maubara Public High Schools, in Liquisa municipality did not sit for their exams for first semester due to a strike called by volunteer teachers awaiting formalization of their status by the Ministry of Education.

Paulina Quintao – The Timor-Leste National Youth Council (CNJTL) considers language ability as one of the barriers impeding young Timorese access to opportunities offered in neighbouring countries with access to scholarships and jobs.

Paulina Quintao – National Members of Parliament (MPs) have questioned teaching quality and education standards across the country as grade five students in basic schools are still struggling to speak Portuguese.

National MP David Dias Ximenes said that in the past first grade students already had a good understanding of the language, but students nowadays found it difficult to read.

The coalition government is under fire for ignoring East Timor and failing to send any ministers to Dili since it came to power in 2013. Opposition foreign affairs spokeswoman Penny Wong has just wrapped up a two-day visit to the capital Dili.

Kavi Chongkittavorn, Bangkok (Reporting ASEAN) – By the time ASEAN turns 50 years old next year, Timor Leste could already be its eleventh member state. After filing its application six years ago, Timor Leste is poised to join ASEAN under the chairmanship of the Philippines, which is very keen to bring the region's young democracy into its embrace.

Federal Labor is hopeful Australia can reset ties with East Timor after years of turbulence over a maritime boundary dispute.

Opposition foreign affairs spokeswoman Penny Wong is off to Dili on Wednesday. She will meet new President Francisco "Lu-Olo" Guterres, Prime Minister Dr Rui Maria de Araujo and senior ministers.

The lawyer representing a former-Australian-spy-turned-whistleblower in an East Timor bugging saga has called for a Senate inquiry.

"It's a litmus test on our moral leadership," Bernard Collaery told a rally of about 50 people outside Parliament House in Canberra on Wednesday.

Havana – The Minister of the State, Coordinator of Social Affairs and Education Minister of Timor-Leste, Antonio da Conceicao, arrives today to Cuba to fulfil an official visit until Thursday.

Khoo Ying Hooi, University of Malaya – "Quirky is one way of describing this art space," writes the Lonely Planet about Arte Moris. But Arte Moris (or Living Art) is much more than an art gallery or a fine art school.

Rhiannon Elston – At Rainha da Paz school in Dili, students play in the shadow of a burnt-out building.

Their school, like many others across Timor-Leste, had to be rebuilt after Indonesia's scorched-earth withdrawal policy in 1999 left vast tracts of infrastructure destroyed.

Helen Davidson, Dili – Before becoming the fourth president of one of the world's youngest countries, Francisco "Lu'Olo" Guterres spent almost a quarter of a century in the Timorese resistance against Indonesian occupation.

I visited Timor Leste this May, just as the first new nation of the new millennium turned fifteen. Dili was bedecked with the red, yellow and black colours of the Timor flag and the spirit of the people was infectious.

Paulina Quintao – The Director of Clinical Services of the National Hospital Guido Valadares (HNGV), Flavio Brandao said medical specialist services in Timor-Leste still depend on foreign specialists due to the lack of national specialists.

James Scambary – On 26 October 2015, East Timor's Audit Chamber vetoed the largest contract in the country's history – worth US$719 million dollars – for 'non-compliance with basic standards in force in Timor-Leste'. This contract was part of a highly ambitious 'resource corridor' intended to span the country's entire south coast.

Helen Davidson – A journalist has avoided jail over an erroneous article about the now prime minister of Timor-Leste, after a Dili court threw out the criminal defamation charges.

Raimundos Oki, a senior reporter for the Timor Post, and his former editor Lourenco Martins Vicente, were found not guilty of "slanderous denunciation on Thursday at the district court in Dili.

Michael Vincent – The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has hailed as a victory the acquittal of two journalists in East Timor who had faced the threat of jail for a story they wrote about Prime Minister Rui Maria de Araujo in 2015.

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) joins its affiliates the Timor Leste Press Union (TLPU) and the Timor Leste Journalists Association (TLJA) in welcoming the decision today by the Timor Leste judiciary to dismiss charges against two journalists charged with slanderous denunciation.

The foreign affairs department continues to deny a passport to a former-spy-turned-whistleblower despite a spying legal case being dropped.

The former Australian Secret Intelligence Service agent was a key witness for East Timor in a case against Australia over allegations Dili's cabinet rooms were bugged during negotiations over a gas and oil treaty in 2004.

Lindsay Murdoch – East Timor's prime minister has asked a Dili court not send two journalists to jail in a controversial defamation case he brought against them that was condemned by human rights and press freedom organisations.

Lisa Martin – Australian peacekeepers led an international force that helped curtail the carnage and bloodshed in the aftermath of East Timor's vote for independence.

Pro-Indonesian militias, with some backing from elements of the Indonesian military, went on a violent looting and arson rampage. An estimated 1500 East Timorese were killed and about 500,000 displaced.

Helen Davidson, Dili – "If the court wants to send me to jail, I won't be happy but I have to be brave. I will accept the final decision. I'm ready to be in prison if the court maybe wants to put me in the prison."

Helen Davidson in Oecusse and Dili – In Timor-Leste's Oecusse province, a band of children wash in the river beneath a multimillion-dollar bridge, yet to open. On a freshly paved road towards a US$9m-plus irrigation project, a young girl hauls a bucket of water out of a ground well.

Rhiannon Elston – In Timor-Leste's western enclave of Oecusse, change is coming fast. Reuban Landos and his family run a tiny village store on the edge of a paddy field.

Vast mountains decorate the horizon, but soon the landscape will have another defining feature – a 56-room hotel with six presidential suites is under construction nearby.

David Hutt – On May 19, as dignitaries gathered in Dili for the inauguration of Timor-Leste's new president, Francisco "Lu-Olo" Guterres, the ceremony had an added significance as the new nation celebrated 15 years of independence from repressive and conflict-plagued Indonesian rule.

Thomas Ora, Dili – Timor Leste's new president Francisco Guterres inherits a nation beset by critical problems, including poor education, high employment, and abject poverty.

During a 12-hour inauguration ceremony in the capital Dili on May 20, Guterres popularly known as Lu-Olo vowed to overcome these problems, pursue sustainable development and promote national unity.