Jakarta – East Timorese voters headed to the polls on Sunday in a parliamentary election that analysts said would likely see two resistance-era figures battle to be prime minister.

Sunday's poll is the country's fifth parliamentary election since East Timor gained full independence in 2002 following decades-long occupation by Indonesia.

Dili, Timor Leste – Timor Leste holds parliamentary elections Sunday with independence hero Xanana Gusmao hoping to make a comeback as prime minister and end political deadlock in Asia's youngest country.

The polls are the fifth for the legislature since Timor Leste became independent from Indonesia in 2002 after 24 years of occupation.

Chris Barrett, Dili – When Timor-Leste was reborn as an independent nation in 2002, formalising its freedom from Indonesian occupation and, before that, Portuguese colonialism, boys and girls wrote down their aspirations for the new state on the back of postcards.

Marian Faa, Dili – When 63-year-old Armanda Ferriera talks about her country's struggle for independence, tears spill from her eyes.

She wipes them away forcefully, as if trying to erase the painful memories they hold – these tears are angry tears.

Chris Barrett, Maubisse, Timor-Leste – In the cool air of Timor-Leste's central highlands, Xanana Gusmao takes to a makeshift stage before hundreds of devotees in a park across from the local Catholic church.

Melissa Conley Tyler and Andrea Fahey – Sunday May 21 is election day in Timor-Leste, when voters decide on 65 members of parliament to represent them.

Chris Barrett, Suai, Timor-Leste – Timorese resistance hero and the country's first president, Xanana Gusmao, has sent a blunt message to Australia: give it a chance to further develop its own gas industry and let the underdeveloped nation flourish.

Jayanty Nada Shofa, Jakarta – Timor Leste Prime Minister Taur Matan Ruak said at his grand ASEAN Summit debut on Wednesday that his country was on the right track to becoming a full member of the regional grouping.

Chris Barrett, Dili – It is election season across much of South-East Asia, but nowhere in these parts will the torch of democracy shine brighter than here in Timor-Leste (also known as East Timor).

Michael Leach – East Timorese voters at next month's parliamentary elections will be dressed a little differently from usual. The decision to hold the vote on the Sabbath – an unusual choice in a strongly Catholic nation – will bring tens of thousands of voters to the polling booths in their Sunday best.

Paul Osborne – Woodside's boss says the energy company is committed to finding a path forward on the multibillion dollar Sunrise gas project.

The development, about 450km northwest of Darwin and 150km south of East Timor, comprises the Sunrise and Troubadour gas and condensate fields.

Parker Novak – Election campaigns in Timor-Leste are a vibrant affair. The contesting political parties hold boisterous rallies, often featuring local cultural traditions and music, and party flags dot the landscape in cities and villages alike.

A senior bishop in predominantly Catholic Timor-Leste has appealed to political leaders to promote healthy politics and maintain stability ahead of campaigning for a general election next month.

Voters in one of the youngest countries in the world will be heading to the polls on May 21 for the country's fifth parliamentary election since 2002.

Tegar Nurfitra, Kupang – Indonesian Police (Polri), represented by East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) Regional Police Chief (Kapolda) Inspector General Johanis Asadoma, intensified cooperation with the Timor-Leste Police (PNTL) by attending its head's inauguration ceremony in Dili, Timor-Leste, Mar 27.

According to National Procurement Commission (CNA) figures cited in China-Lusophone Brief, companies from China won 44 contracts worth a total of US$714.6 million during the period. Indonesian enterprises were awarded 72 contracts worth nearly US$499 million.

Rick Wilkinson – Jadestone Energy, Singapore, has resumed oil production at its troubled Montara field in the Timor Sea offshore northern Australia following a 7-month shut-in due to oil leaks and related problems on the Montara Venture floating production storage and offtake vessel (FPSO).

A senior Vatican official in Timor-Leste has lauded the government's commitment to providing annual financial assistance to the Catholic Church, calling it a long-term investment in people rather than a donation.

Timor-Leste's airline, Aero Dili, made its inaugural international flight Monday with its sole jet aircraft, an Airbus 320.

The service connected the Timorese capital of Dili with the Indonesian island of Bali, according to a report by the Portuguese news agency Lusa.

Patrick Dupont – On February 13, Timor-Leste's Prime Minister Taur Matan Ruak met his Indonesian counterpart President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo in the Indonesian satellite city of Bogor, home to one of the country's many presidential palaces.

Timor-Leste president Jose Ramos-Horta has appealed to international partners to invest in Church organizations and civil society groups stating that the government has sufficient funds but lacks the necessary resources to execute social development programs.

Jose Matheus – Authorities in Timor-Leste are pushing for Portuguese to be adopted as the sole medium of instruction in the country's schools, even though some 80 per cent of the country's educational establishments are currently teaching in other languages.

Joe Hoppe – Baron Oil PLC said Tuesday that a competent person's report for the Chuditch-1 gas discovery, offshore East Timor, shows the project is likely to be economically viable.

The London-listed oil and gas company – which has a 75% operated effective interest in Chuditch – said the report estimates Chuditch-1 contains 1,084 billion standard cubic feet of gas.

Cindy Frishanti Octavia, Kupang – Governor of East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) Viktor Bungtilu Laiskodat has said that 30-40 large industries will be built to support the development of economic zones along the border shared by NTT and Oecusse, Timor Leste.

The government of Timor-Leste has approved the demarcation of 7 mining zones, comprising 49 concession areas, and is drawing up conditions for tenders, the Portuguese news agency Lusa reports.

Parker Novak – On 21 May, voters in Timor-Leste will head to the polls for the country's fifth parliamentary election since 2002. Elections in one of Southeast Asia's most vibrant democracies are always a competitive affair, and the Timorese treasure their right to vote because the simple act of casting ballots secured their path to independence in 1999.

Jakarta – President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo welcomed on Monday Timor-Leste's membership of ASEAN and called for greater cooperation between the two neighboring countries in the future.

Fajar Pebrianto, Jakarta – Indonesian President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo and Timor Leste Prime Minister Taur Matan Ruak agreed on a number of commitments during a meeting at the Bogor Presidential Palace, West Java on Monday, February 13, 2023. One of the commitments was related to the establishment of a bilateral investment treaty.

Jayanty Nada Shofa, Jakarta – Close neighbors Indonesia and Timor Leste agreed to speed up their negotiations on the remaining land border disputes, following a meeting between President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo and visiting Prime Minister Taur Matan Ruak at the Bogor Palace on Monday.

Riani Sanusi Putri, Jakarta – Director of the Indonesian Bureau of Logistics (Buloag) Budi Waseso, admitted that he had received reports concerning rice smuggling to Timor Leste. The rice was smuggled to neighboring countries through Atambua, East Nusa Tenggara. In Timor Leste, the smuggled rice are being sold at Rp20,000 per kilogram.

Henry Jom – In a show of friendship, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has reaffirmed the country's enduring relationship with Timor-Leste, also known as East Timor, during a visit by the island nation's prime minister and his delegation on Feb. 8.

Melbourne – Woodside Energy Group and its partners on Monday formally committed to working rapidly to pick the best option for developing the Greater Sunrise natural gas field, factoring in for the first time the potential benefits for East Timor.

The Catholic Church in Timor-Leste will assist to ensure upcoming parliamentary elections are peaceful after previous polls were marred by violence, says the country's top Catholic leader.

Hariz Baharudin, Jakarta – Asean members are supportive of observer Timor-Leste's participation in the bloc, but full membership comes with heavy responsibilities and obligations which can be a steep hill to climb, said Singapore Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan.

Jayanty Nada Shofa, Jakarta – Timor Leste, which finally got the green light to join ASEAN "in principle" last year, made its ASEAN meeting debut on Friday hosted by neighboring Indonesia which holds the current presidency.

Timor Leste's former president and four-time prime minister Xanana Gusmao has come under fire for joining the birthday party of a defrocked American priest jailed for child sex abuse.

Rosmalis Anuar, Kuala Lumpur – After more than a decade of seeking full membership of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Timor Leste was finally, in principle, given approval to join the regional bloc as its 11th member state by ASEAN leaders who gathered in Phnom Penh for the 40th and 41st ASEAN Summits and Related Summits in November last year (2022).

Malcolm Brown – Shirley Shackleton knew the risks. Married to journalist Greg Shackleton for just over nine years, and a mother of one, she was worried like any wife whose husband is about to embark on a dangerous assignment. But she resolved not to stand in his way.

Anne Barker, Jakarta – Shirley Shackleton once sat on her husband's grave and declared it a crime scene.

In the late 1980s in Dili, she personally confronted the army general who had led Indonesia's invasion of then Portuguese Timor.

Now she has been remembered as feisty, courageous and passionate, after dying at the weekend aged 91.

She was an unlikely hero.

Joanne Lin, Singapore – Timor-Leste may have received a consolation prize last year when it received in-principle approval to join the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) as its 11th member state. However, it may have a long way to go in to reach the ultimate prize – full membership.

Chris Barrett, Singapore – East Timor President Jose Ramos-Horta has called on the Australian government to finally release secret documents relating to the Indonesian invasion and occupation of the south-east-Asian nation as he led tributes to Balibo Five widow Shirley Shackleton.

Daniel A. Fajri, Jakarta – Indonesian Foreign Affairs Minister Retno Marsudi welcomed a visit by her Timor Leste counterpart Adaljiza Magno in Jakarta on Wednesday, January 11, 2023. A number of issues were discussed at the bilateral meeting, such as opportunities to boost economic partnership and settlement of land boundaries between the two.

Hunter Marston – At the 41st ASEAN Summit in Phnom Penh in November 2022, the leaders of the grouping agreed 'in principle' to admit Timor-Leste as their 11th member.

Rui Graca Feijo – In the past few years, everyday life in Timor-Leste has been disrupted by the multiple effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Conditions were imposed on the exercise of public liberties, the composition of government and the dynamics of political life were challenged, economic performance weakened and the wellbeing of the population suffered.

Fiona Gruber – Journalists' lives are often peripatetic, and few more so than foreign correspondent Jill Jolliffe, whose career included covering war in Angola, investigating secret Nazi gold in Portugal and documenting the sex-slave trade in Europe.

Henry Jom – East Timorese President Jose Ramos Horta has urged Australian PM Anthony Albanese to publicly support the development of a gas pipeline in the Timor Sea following Woodside Energy's new position on the project.

The US$490 million-Tibar Bay Deepwater Port, in Timor-Leste was inaugurated last week by the President of Timor-Leste Jose Ramos Horta and high-ranking officials from the government.

Aloysius L, Fardah, Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara – The number of people crossing the border between Indonesia and Timor Leste has increased to an average of 200 people per day, according to the Atambua Immigration Office in Belu District, East Nusa Tenggara Province.

Philip J. Heijmans – Timor-Leste President Jose Ramos-Horta said that Australia has shown no signs moving forward with a long-stalled gas pipeline project that runs through the Southeast Asian country, leaving around $100 billion in potential revenue untapped.

Hariz Baharudin, Singapore – Timor-Leste will work actively with the Asean Secretariat and others in the region to accelerate preparations for its membership to the regional grouping, said the country's president, Dr Jose Ramos-Horta.

Jean Iau, Singapore – Singapore on Thursday launched a training programme for Timor-Leste officials in support of the country's bid for Asean membership.