Tito Belo, Dili – About a thousand students rallied outside East Timor's parliament on Wednesday to protest against a decision to buy 65 Toyota Land Cruisers – one for each member of parliament – in one of the world's poorest nations.

Aubrey Belford, Tibar, East Timor – East Timor, which gained formal independence in 2002 after a long history of occupation under Portugal and Indonesia, is Asia's youngest country in more ways than one.

Paul Toohey – A vindicated but bitter Mari Alkatiri, East Timor's Opposition leader, has vowed to sue political figures and journalists for reporting allegations he had received $2 million in bribes from Timor Gap's leading producer, ConocoPhillips.

Dili – At night Tomas Agusto and his family lie in their tent hoping nobody will set it alight. When he was moved out of the displacement camp in April, he was given US$4,500 to rebuild his house, but he is still too scared to do so.

Matheos Viktor Messakh, Jakarta – Human rights activists have sent a letter to the United Nations calling for an international tribunal to try those responsible for human rights violations during the Indonesian occupation of Timor Leste.

In a letter to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon, an international coalition of more than 90 human rights and other organizations urged the UN and the international community "to fulfill their long-standing commitment to see that justice is done for crimes against humanity committed in Timor-Leste" during Indonesia's two and one-half decade occupation.

His Excellency Ban Ki-Moon
Secretary-General
The United Nations
1 United Nations Plaza
New York, New York 10017-3515

Your Excellency,

Setyo Budi, Dili – East Timor President Jose Ramos Horta's decision to pardon those involved in the 1999 killings, and the violent incidents of 2006, has thrown a shadow over the fledgling country's justice system and efforts at reconciliation with former occupiers Indonesia.

Dili – East Timor will use a fraction of its oil fund worth over $2 billion to protect the poor from rising food and fuel prices, Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao said on Thursday.

Dili – East Timorese President Jose Ramos-Horta is confident about his young country's future, despite lingering poverty and swirling mistrust over rebel attacks three months ago that left him near death.

Dili – East Timor's President Jose Ramos-Horta said Wednesday he had slashed the seven-year jail sentence handed out to a former minister for distributing weapons during violent unrest in 2006.

Rebels who attacked the East Timorese leadership in February were trying to seize control of the country, President Jose Ramos-Horta says.

Dili – It is 8am and Star King in Dili, Timor-Leste's capital, is about to open. For most of the year, Star King, a dimly lit warehouse that sells tinned milk, noodles and cooking oil, is a store among a dozen just like it. But today police have been called to help manage the 100 or so anxious people waiting outside.

Jill Jolliffe, Dili – East Timorese citizens are celebrating the sixth anniversary of their independence today, but with an edge of uncertainty about their political and economic future.

Dili – East Timor is set to celebrate six years of independence Tuesday, with bursting national pride and dreams for the future contending with the harsh realities of poverty, violence and instability.

We will see how serious Kevin Rudd is in bringing the Balibo Five case to its logical conclusion, writes Paul Daley.

A week before the last election, Kevin Rudd placed on record his unambiguous views about a crime that many Australians have come to regard as perhaps the most shameful recent episode in Australian diplomacy.

Dili – East Timor's army will receive military training from Portuguese-speaking countries such as Brazil and Portugal as part of a military pact signed between the countries today.

Defence ministers of eight Portuguese-speaking countries signed the military agreement in former Portuguese colony East Timor's capital, Dili, in a bid to prevent conflict in their regions.

Dili – The advantages of Cuban basic reading and writing teaching method Yes, I Can, which combines the student's basic learning primer with video classes, outstood here Saturday on occasion of the National Reading Day in this capital.

Paul Toohey – Xanana Gusmao, his Australian wife Kirsty and their kids haven't been back to their home in the hills overlooking the East Timorese capital, Dili, since the morning of February 11, when his prime ministerial convoy was ambushed by a group of rebels. The family will never return to that home.

[The following comment was posted on the East Timor list in response to a May 14 report that appeared in Green Left Weekly titled "East Timor: Governing coalition on brink of collapse".]

The factual inaccuracy of this report is worrying. The AMP government is not on the "brink of collapse". It may be challenged next year – the "brink" is still some way off.

Stephanie March – The United Nations in East Timor is on the defensive after being lambasted by its own top lawyer in New York for hiring disgraced former defence minister, Roque Rodrigues, as a presidential security adviser.

Tony Iltis – A realignment of political forces appears to be underway in East Timor, with the signing of an agreement for a strategic alliance for future elections between the largest party in parliament, the Revolutionary Front of Independent East Timor (Fretilin), and the Timorese Social Democratic Association (ASDT) – the second largest party in the coalition of non-Fretilin part

Paul Toohey – The UN will wait until February to consider whether it will continue its peacekeeping mission in East Timor, despite President Jose Ramos Horta asking it to commit until at least 2012.

Mr Ramos Horta, still recovering from being shot in February, views his country as volatile despite the apparent calm following the surrender of rebels a fortnight ago.

The family of the lover of rebel leader Alfredo Reinado has called on the Australian government to withhold aid to East Timor until she is "charged or exonerated".

Angelita Pires, 33, was the first person to be arrested over the February 11 attacks on President Jose Ramos Horta and Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao.

High food and oil prices will put thousands in the Pacific at risk this year and could spark fresh violence in East Timor, an economist has found.

Dili – The government's attempt to hold on to power is dangerously depleting the country's reserve of rice and could lead to social disorder, claimed an analyst.

Loro Horta said prime minister Xanana Gusmao should immediately create a more effective food distribution system and change the way he is managing the emergency stock of rice.

Arnaldo Musa – East Timorese Foreign Minister Zacarias Albano da Costa met with Cuban Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque in Havana where he thanked the country for its continuous support of East Timor, "even under the most difficult circumstances."

Fabio Scarpello, Denpasar – Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao's already fragile government has been dealt a blow with the defection of a coalition partner to the opposition Fretilin, leaving it relying on independents.

Paul Toohey – Xanana Gusmao's Timorese Government is heading close to collapse as parties in his ruling Parliamentary Majority Alliance (AMP) coalition turn against him and leave the door open for Fretilin, the party with the biggest majority, to form its own coalition.

Presenter: Monica Attard

A tale of East Timor's struggle for independence through the eyes of child resistance fighter - Naldo Rei.

Monica Attard: Hello, you've joined Sunday Profile and I'm Monica Attard. This week we're speaking to Naldo Rei, whose personal account of growing up amid East Timor's clandestine resistance movement has just been published in Australia.

Eleanor Hall: It's more than 30 years since five Australian based newsmen were shot dead at Balibo in East Timor.

Few deaths have caused so much controversy in Australia for so long – with several parliamentary inquiries and last year's coronial inquest which found that Indonesian soldiers executed the men as they invaded the former Portuguese territory from West Timor.

Jakarta – The joint Commission for Truth and Friendship (CTF) announced Wednesday it had completed its final report on human rights violations committed during the 1999 independence vote in East Timor.

Thorny issues from the past have often derailed relations between Timor Leste and its former master Indonesia. Timor Leste Prime Minister Kayrala Xanana Gusmao, on an official visit to Indonesia, discussed with The Jakarta Post's Riyadi Suparno and Matheos V. Messakh bilateral issues and the future of Timor Leste. What follows are excerpts:

East Timorese authorities hosted an alcohol-fuelled party for a band of rebels after they surrendered for trying to assassinate the nation's top leaders.

The soiree for the 12 rebels, including their leader Gastao Salsinha, was held at the joint headquarters of the police and military, hours after the men gave themselves up in Dili on Tuesday.

Stephen Fitzpatrick, Jakarta – As East Timorese President Jose Ramos Horta convalesces in Dili, some of his compatriots perhaps are wishing he had taken a while longer to recuperate, not least among them Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao.

Loro Horta, Dili – With its political and security institutions in shambles, East Timor, also known as Timor Leste, is now emerging as a soft landing spot for regional organized crime syndicates.

Paul Toohey – East Timor President Jose Ramos Horta yesterday came face to face with and shook the hand of the rebel he believes shot him on February 11 at a formal surrender ceremony in Dili that marked the end of a two-year rebellion.

Desy Nurhayati, Jakarta – Timor Leste and Indonesia agreed Tuesday to greater cooperation on many issues, with the leaders of the two nations expressing a commitment to preserving good bilateral ties.

The agreement followed a meeting between visiting Timor Leste Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao and President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

Desy Nurhayati, Jakarta – Timor Leste President Jose Ramos-Horta has expressed regret for publicly accusing Indonesian elements of being involved in an assassination attempt against him, the neighboring country's prime minister said here Tuesday.

John Aglionby, Jakarta – Justice for the victims of Indonesia's occupation of East Timor appeared more remote than ever on Tuesday after the two nations' leaders said they would draw a line under the past and forge a relationship focused on co-operation.

Tito Belo, Dili – The leader of a group of East Timor rebels accused of trying to assassinate President Jose Ramos-Horta surrendered on Tuesday, raising hopes that the troubled young nation can find some rare stability.

Australia will withdraw 200 troops deployed to East Timor following February's attacks on the troubled country's president and prime minister, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd says.

John McBeth – When Mr Xanana Gusmao pays his first visit to Indonesia as Timor Leste's Prime Minister next week, the former guerilla leader and President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono will have plenty to talk about – including possibly an Indonesian television talk show called Kick Andi.

Call for U.S. response to CAVR report

The Honorable Condoleezza Rice Secretary of State
U.S. Department of State
Washington, DC

Dear Secretary Rice,

Recent comments about the establishment of a military court raise serious questions about how best to ensure the accountability of armed forces personnel. This issue has been sparked by the use of a site in Colmera, rather than the prison in Becora, as a detention facility for four captured dissident soldiers.

The previous week saw the country rejoice at the safe return of President Jose Ramos-Horta, now recovered from an attempt on his life. Since the President's re-entry into political life, he has made a number of surprising public statements, most recently this last Wednesday, 23 April.

Karen Michelmore, Jakarta – East Timor's President Jose Ramos Horta today said some people involved in the attempt on his life had fled to Australia.

He said "elements" outside East Timor had provided support to rebel leader Alfredo Reinado for at least a year leading up to the February attacks, including money, communications equipment and clothing.

Paul Toohey – East Timor has been consumed with rumours since President Jose Ramos Horta began looking beyond his own shores to an international conspiracy to assassinate him on February 11.

Lindsay Murdoch – Three rebels involved in attacks on East Timor's top two political leaders have been arrested in Indonesian West Timor where they were staying at the invitation of Joao Tavares, a notorious former pro-Jakarta militia commander.