Stephen Coates – East Timor's fragile stability will be tested in coming months as the country's political and business elite manoeuvre ahead of presidential and parliamentary elections in 2012.
Some foreign businessmen are already talking quietly about quitting the country during the election build-up, amid widely held fears of turmoil and possible violence.
The head of East Timor's armed forces stepped down last week, leading to speculation he may be preparing to run for President in nest year's elections.
Major General Taur Matan Ruak is a veteran of East Timor's independence struggles and a high profile military man.
Presenter: Liam Cochrane
East Timor's opposition called Thursday for Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao to step down as his cabinet faces scrutiny over corruption claims ahead of elections.
The anti-corruption commission said Monday it had handed six dossiers to the Attorney-General's Office, which has since called on two cabinet members for questioning.
Dili – The new monetary authority of East Timor will be called the East Timor Central Bank and will be inaugurated on 13 September, according to information published on the Central Banks of Portuguese-speaking Countries website.
Wendy Frew – A new documentary about East Timor has raised questions about a Gold Walkley-winning ABC TV program that led to the resignation of Mari Alkatiri as prime minister in 2006.
Breaking the News, directed by Nicholas Hansen, examines the relationship between local and foreign journalists in East Timor and examines the Four Corners program "Stoking the Fires".
Timor-Leste and international organizations today urged "the government of Timor-Leste to keep the nation debt-free and refrain from borrowing money from international lenders.... to protect its future generations."
The 6th of September is remembered as a day of national mourning to mark the Suai Church Massacre that was carried out by the Laksaur Militia with the support of the Indonesian military as part of an attack on and slaughter of civilians hiding in the Suai Church which resulted in the deaths of 3 priests and approximately 200 innocent civilians, as well as a large number of others wh
Dili, East Timor – The head of East Timor's armed forces, Major General Taur Matan Ruak, said Friday he had resigned, ahead of a possible run for the presidency in elections next year.
The veteran of East Timor's resistance struggle against Indonesia's occupation said that after three decades in the military he wanted to return to civilian life.
Manatutu, East Timor – For Pedro Damaeao, having a brother who was part of Falantil, the Timorese guerrilla group that fought Indonesia's army, meant endless harassment for his family throughout the occupation. So the day Indonesian soldiers detained and tortured his father seemed inevitable.
Guteriano Neves – Oil has different meanings for different societies. For developed societies like the United States, Japan, and Western Europe, oil is like an addictive drug that people only want more and more of. It enables them to go everywhere. It helps them cook and regulate the temperature of their dwellings.
Guido Goulart, Dili – A powerful earthquake hit waters off East Timor on Tuesday, but officials said it was too deep to trigger a tsunami. There were no reports of injuries or damage.
The US Geological Survey said the 6.8-magnitude quake struck 171 miles (276 kilometers) from the capital, Dili, and was centered 300 miles (465 kilometers) beneath the Banda Sea.
Simon Roughneen, Dili – Across the city, banners and posters signal the new country's increasing integration with the world outside, heralding events such as Timor-Leste's hosting of the EITI (Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative) regional conference on Aug. 25-27.
Simon Roughneen, Dili – Land, corruption and poverty are all on the table as Timor-Leste gets into political mode ahead of parliamentary and presidential elections scheduled for 2012, with one controversial figure already throwing his hat into the ring.
Mark Dodd – East Timor's small army will be supplied with Indonesian weapons after the signing of a ground-breaking agreement between the two countries that were once deadly enemies.
Klas Lundstrom – Blackouts remain a significant part of East Timor's capital, Dili, although Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao has promised the country's thirteen districts electricity by the end of the year – a promise which Gusmao is to realise with money from the country's oil fund, a fund increasingly tainted by corruption scandals and the falling US dollar.
Dili, East Timor – The East Timor parliament Tuesday approved the first change to the country's Oil Fund Law to allow greater flexibility and return on investments.
The change to the law approved by 34 votes in favour, three against and two abstentions, according to the document for the change of law to which Portuguese news agency Lusa had access.
Jakarta – World Bank managing director Sri Mulyani Indrawati commended Timor Leste Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao for his administrative and financial reform policies during the former's visit to Dili on Thursday.
Dili, East Timor – East Timor continues to demand that the natural gas from the Sunrise field, in the Timor Sea, be processed in the country, East Timor's deputy Prime Minister, Jose Luis Guterres, said after a meeting in Dili with the new chairman of Australian oil company Woodside.
Manila, Philippines – The East Timor economy is expected to maintain growth of 10 percent this year, driven by a rise in oil prices and by public investment, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) said in a report published Monday in Manila.
Dili, East Timor – East Timor on Saturday officially disbanded pro-independence armed unit Falintil who had fought against Indonesian occupation of the country for more than two decades.
Sara Everingham – East Timor's Council of Ministers has condemned recent violence in the country's south-west that left more than 100 families homeless.
A police officer was killed and the government said 79 houses were burnt or destroyed in the violence last Sunday in Kovalima district. The clashes involved members of martial arts groups, local media reported.
Peter Ker – The new Woodside Petroleum boss, Peter Coleman, will make a diplomatic mission to East Timor in a bid to revive hopes of building a major gas project in the waters between the tiny nation and Australia.
A friend in Dili tells ETAN that police recently broke up a demonstration in support of West Papua. As we get more information, we will post updates on ETAN's blog here.
Dili – Angry mobs of martial arts gang members set fire to dozens of homes Monday as they rampaged through an East Timorese town after one of their number was killed in a stabbing, police said.
More than 100 houses as well as vehicles caught fire in the unrest in Zumalai, on East Timor's southern coast, a police officer told AFP on condition of anonymity.
Asulao Sare – Babies are plentiful in Timor Leste – almost seven per woman on average – and so too are health problems in a country where chronic malnutrition is rampant and access to effective healthcare remains a luxury.
Cherie Hart – Long-running violence in a district just outside East Timor's capital ended last week with a dance, a prayer, a speech and the sacrifice of a goat and a pig.
Zely Ariane – It was not just for the sake of democracy that the Indonesian people overthrew Suharto's New Order dictatorship in May 1998, but also for justice and prosperity.
Specialty media have recently reported that China "has sought to take better advantage of the strategic value" of East Timor, "especially bearing in mind the prevalent regional and international context", the analyst states in a recent report on East Timor.
Tiny East Timor has its first airline. Timor Air was launched yesterday and will operate daily flights between Dili, and Darwin in northern Australia.
The new airline is the initiative of businessman Jerry Desousa. He fled Timor-Leste after 1975 and eventually became a successful businessman with a property and maintenance firm, then returned to Timor.
East Timor's President Jose Ramos Horta says the Australian company Woodside Petroleum is taking a stubborn approach to debate on the Greater Sunrise gas field.
East Timor says the gas should be funnelled to the island nation, but the company wants to process it on a floating platform.
Larine Statham – East Timor President Jose Ramos Horta says he supports Australia's refugee swap deal with Malaysia.
Dr Ramos Horta on Monday said he was glad Australia had found a solution to its asylum seeker "dilemma" several months after it sought to build a detention centre in East Timor.
What do Hugo Chavez, the President of Venezuela, and Richard Marles, the parliamentary secretary for Pacific island affairs in the Gillard government, have in common?
Answer: both are visiting Havana, Cuba, at the moment for reasons of a medical nature.
Police in East Timor have started a major security operation in Dili, following several shootings in the capital.
According to local media reports, the National Police will set up checkpoints and conduct an illegal weapons search in every suburb of the city. It comes after a Fatuhada woman and a Bidau youth were shot in separate attacks last week.
Matt Crook, Dili – It was a humid night and I wandered home in the dark, cursing the government of Timor-Leste for yet another power cut in Dili, the country's tiny capital.
Reliable Tempo Semanal sources said that the Chief of the East Timorese Defence Force, FALINTIL-FDTL has strongly indicated in public and in private that it is his intention to soon resign from the defence force because he intends to run in the 2012 Presidential election.
Ross Kelly, Sydney – East Timor is calling for Royal Dutch Shell PLC. to be excluded from discussions about the development of the Greater Sunrise gas field, claiming its promotion of floating liquefied natural gas technology represents a conflict of interest.
Kupang – The Indonesian border zone with Timor Leste, which was previously closed to the media, will be opened to journalists, a military commander says.
Yemris Fointuna, Kupang – Tension is reportedly gripping the Indonesia-Timor Leste border, where hundreds of residents have attempted for the past two days to stop the neighboring country from installing a solar-powered electricity network on a disputed 80-hectare area.
East Timor's Council of Ministers has approved revisions to the Petroleum Fund Law that will see one of the smallest countries in the world move its money out of the world's biggest economy, the United States.
Lindsay Murdoch – The Timorese-born Australian woman acquitted last year of conspiring to murder East Timor's President, Jose Ramos-Horta, plans to stand for his job next year.
Today Angelita Pires will announce the formation of a new political party, and her candidacy for the presidency, in the Timorese capital, Dili.
Dili – Prime Minister Kay Rala Xanana Gusmao has asked the inspector general of the state to investigate some members of government for having committed acts of maladministration and irregularities.
Dili – At the swearing in ceremony for the national director and department head of the State Inspector General, yesterday (8 June), the Minister for Finance Emilia Pires acknowledged that during the period of their governance it has been full of irregularities, and because of this the inspector general will undertake audits as expected by the state and the people.
An article from a former employee of the energy company Woodside has labelled their negotiating style "arrogant" and "adversarial", saying it's largely the company's own fault that long-running negotiations with East Timor are stalled.
Karlis Salna – With just over a year to elections in East Timor, it appears almost certain the same political players that have dominated its first 10 years as a nation will again be vying for power.
Karlis Salna – The United Nations remains on track to withdraw from East Timor at the end of 2012 but says international partners will need to maintain a significant presence in the country beyond next year's elections.
Brian Padden – The United Nations says that plans to end the East Timor peacekeeping mission in 2012 are on track. The UN took over the functions of the national police in 2006 after riots and factional fighting brought the country to the brink of civil war.
Last week, Connect Asia ran a story about coffee farmers in East Timor, who were shocked to hear the green coffee cheries they sold to middlemen for 30 cents US went on to be sold for 26 dollars or more in places like Australia, often as a fair trade product.
Jakarta – The United Nations Mission in East Timor (UNMIT) was on the back foot Friday after Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao angrily accused the world body of trampling on his country's sovereignty.
Sara Everingham and staff – The East Timorese prime minister has lashed out at the United Nations mission in East Timor, saying it should leave the country.
There's concern that a peace agreement between martial arts groups in East Timor may not hold if political trouble starts during future election campaigns.