Gordon Peake – "If something happens that's wrong, you say sorry" said Evan Shackleton, son of one of the Balibo Five, last week. Shackleton was speaking to media at Balibo at commemorations for the five journalists murdered by Indonesian forces on the Timorese side of the border in 1975.

Saifulbahri Ismail, Dili, Timor-Leste – Timor-Leste is poised to make history as it prepares to formally join the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) when regional leaders gather for their summit in Kuala Lumpur later this week.

Terry Friel – Fifty years ago this week, five young journalists from Australia, the UK, and New Zealand were murdered in what was then East Timor by Indonesian troops – and their families are still angry that no one has been held accountable and that governments, especially Australia, have done nothing.

Anna O'Connor – Timorese President Jose Ramos Horta has honoured the members of China's 10th medical aid team with the Medal of Merit in recognition of their contributions to the country's health sector, reports the Portuguese news agency Lusa.

Nick Sas, Vonia Vieira, Rory Callinan – Walking in the same dirt his father did 50 years ago brews a stew of emotions for Evan Shackleton. This is the dirt, in the Timor-Leste border town of Balibo, where his father laid his last footprints.

Shannon Brincat – On October 16, 1975, five journalists were killed in the remote Timorese town of Balibo. To this day, no one has been charged with their deaths.

Timor-Leste is pushing to revive the Tasi Mane project, promising returns of up to US$52 billion by 2056 with development of the energy industry infrastructure, reports Portuguese news agency Lusa.

Seri Iskandar (Bernama) – Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim today confirmed that Timor-Leste will be officially made a full member of ASEAN on Oct 26.

Anwar, who is also the ASEAN Chairman, said Malaysia, through the Foreign Ministry, is working hard to ensure that Timor-Leste is accepted as a permanent member of the regional bloc.

Dili, Timor-Leste (Bernama-Kyodo) – Timor-Leste President Jose Ramos-Horta has expressed hope for increased Japanese investment following his country's accession to ASEAN at a summit in Malaysia later this month, Kyodo News reported.

Teh Lip Li – Twenty-three years after its independence, Timor-Leste confronts fundamental questions as it prepares to join the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) at the bloc's summit later this month: namely, what value does it bring to regional cooperation, and how will it transition from an ASEAN observer to a constructive partner?

Michael Rose – Two decades after Timor-Leste gained its independence, the country is a complicated and qualified success story. Poverty and deep economic problems persist, but the country boasts a thriving democracy. Its ascension to the ASEAN regional bloc will come later this month.

Li-Li Chen – Recent years have witnessed the rise of what some have termed the "Gen Z movement" – a wave of activism from young people born between the mid-1990s and the early 2010s.

Kuala Lumpur – Timor-Leste, Southeast Asia's youngest nation is finalising preparations for its imminent entry into ASEAN as a full member this month, having fulfilled 97 per cent of the regional bloc's membership requirement.

The government of Timor-Leste on Wednesday approved a Council of Ministers resolution to cancel licences for online gambling and betting, citing risks to security and social stability.

Ravaged by a brutal military occupation, East Timor won its independence just over two decades ago. The young nation has built itself into a stable democracy, but poverty remains widespread.

Timor-Leste's economy will slow down and grow by an average of 3.7% in 2025, 2026 and 2027, compared to 4.1% in 2024, according to the World Bank's (WB) biannual economic report.

"That growth will be driven mainly by public investment in infrastructure, the expansion of the service sector and improvements in digital connectivity and transport," the WB said in the report.

Alastair McCready – Demonstrators were angered by a plan to spend $4.2m on cars for lawmakers in one of Southeast Asia's poorest countries.

Lawmakers in East Timor have voted to end a law providing lifetime pensions for parliamentarians, following student-led demonstrations against lavish perks for public officials in one of Southeast Asia's poorest countries.

Dili, Timor-Leste (Bernama) – Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim commenced his official engagements with a ceremonial welcome at the Presidential Palace this evening.

The historic two-day visit began with a formal ceremony led by President Dr Jose Ramos-Horta at 4.10 pm local time.

Dili – Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, who has played a key role in advancing Timor-Leste's aspiration to join ASEAN, will begin his inaugural two-day official visit to the country tomorrow (Sept 23).

Lawmakers in one of the world's poorest countries have scrapped plans for lavish spending on themselves amid days-long protests led by Timorese students.

Dili – Timor-Leste has assured Myanmar's military regime that it will no longer allow Myanmar opposition groups to engage in political activities or open offices on its territory.

The diplomatic breakthrough came during a two-day visit to Naypyitaw by Timor-Leste's Foreign Minister Bendito dos Santos Freitas.

Dili (Reuters) – East Timor's lawmakers have agreed to scrap plans to provide lifetime pension allowances for themselves, they said Wednesday, bowing to pressure from thousands of students who have staged demonstrations against the plans since Monday.

Dili, Timor Leste – Timor Leste's parliament has bowed to public pressure and dropped a plan to buy SUVs for lawmakers in one of southeast Asia's poorest nations, but sceptical protesters returned to the streets on Wednesday.

East Timor police fired tear gas on Tuesday at protesters railing for the second day against a plan to buy new official cars for lawmakers, which became the latest flashpoint in one of the poorest nations in Southeast Asia.

Timor-Leste police have fired tear gas at protesters who rallied against a plan to buy new official cars for MPs, which triggered anger in one of the poorest nations in South-East Asia.

Jakarta – Crime syndicates may be setting up a scam centre in Asia's youngest nation, East Timor, the United Nations said on Thursday, as a multibillion-dollar online fraudindustry spreads across Southeast Asia.

The industry involves sprawling compounds housing tens of thousands of workers, many of them trafficked, who are forced to scam victims around the world.

Kuala Lumpur (Bernama) – Timor-Leste President Dr Jose Ramos-Horta has reaffirmed his nation's commitment to deepening relations with Malaysia through a comprehensive strategic framework.

The President highlighted the deeply-rooted history of Malaysian support dating back to Timor-Leste's 1999 Popular Consultation process.

Rome (AsiaNews/Agencies) – On Wednesday, some 300,000 people gathered at the Taci Tol esplanade in Dili, Timor-Leste, to mark the first anniversary of Pope Francis's visit to the Southeast Asian country.

Timor-Leste has welcomed 10,000 rabies vaccines donated by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as the southeast Asian nation races to contain an outbreak of the deadly disease, Lusa reports.

Beijing – Chinese Vice President Han Zheng on Friday met with Maria Fernanda Lay, president of the National Parliament of Timor-Leste, who is in China for a visit and the commemorations marking the 80th anniversary of the victory in the Chinese People's War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War.

Timor-Leste's national parliament has approved a US$4 million budget to purchase 65 new cars for lawmakers, which critics say is "irresponsible" in a country where nearly half of its children are malnourished.

The Timorese government announced the launch of formal negotiations with neighbouring Indonesia to delimit the maritime border between the two countries, reports Lusa.

Seremban (Bernama) – Timor-Leste's permanent membership in ASEAN is now in the documentation phase before its formal admission at the October summit.

Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan confirmed the progress during a press briefing today.

James Pearson – Estrella Resources has shifted its Timor-Leste campaign into top gear after trenching unearthed primary manganese with uber-rich visual estimates at its Ira Miri project. The company has sent samples to Jakarta for testing and expects to receive assay results in about six weeks.

The Timor-Leste government has dropped a proposed legal clause that sought to criminalize media freedom to criticize the state, following protests from journalists and civil society.

Criticisms continue to rage against the Timor-Leste government's plan to build a football stadium in a historically, culturally, and religiously significant environmental zone.

The opposition has grown as the government reportedly aims to start this year the proposed US$20 million stadium at Tasi Tolu, some eight kilometers west of the national capital, Dili.

Faced with a growing number of dengue cases and deaths, Timorese authorities are releasing thousands of mosquitoes bred to slow the spread of disease.

A proposal to amend Timor-Leste's media law has sparked strong criticism from journalists and activists who allege the move seeks to curtail press freedom and muzzle dissent in the tiny Catholic-majority nation.

The Secretariat of State for Social Communication recently proposed an amendment to the Social Communication Law, passed in 2014.

Adinda Jasmine, Jakarta – Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim expressed his support for Timor Leste to become a full member of ASEAN. He believes Timor Leste's inclusion will strengthen the regional organization by complementing its geographic presence.

Timor-Leste President Jose Ramos-Horta has denied violating the Catholic-majority nation's constitution and dismissed a ruling from a top court that accused him of interfering in judicial independence.

The Myanmar junta's rhetoric against Timor Leste is reaching hysterical pitch as the island state's accession to ASEAN looms.

Jayanty Nada Shofa, Jakarta – East Timorese President Jose Ramos-Horta boasted about Dili's economic strength, including its investments and low foreign debt, during a trip to Jakarta on Friday, as the half-island nation is set to join ASEAN in about two months.

Yogyakarta – Timor-Leste President Jose Ramos-Horta has proposed the establishment of an ASEAN Community Peace and Reconciliation Study Center by involving universities and civil society organizations across the region.

Winston Mwale, Geneva – The World Health Organization (WHO) has officially certified Timor-Leste as malaria-free, marking a remarkable achievement for the young nation that emerged from conflict and built a robust public health system from the ground up, writes Winston Mwale.

Jayanty Nada Shofa, Jakarta – ASEAN is set to officially accept Timor-Leste as its when the group's leaders gather in Kuala Lumpur this October, thus finally ending the half-island nation's decades-long wait.

Max Lane – ASEAN faces an intriguing test of its own decision-making procedures, as consensus might be elusive given the apparent obstruction of one member to the full accession of its eleventh member.

ASEAN member states have agreed to expedited completion of the documentation process, ensuring that Timor-Leste can take its place as a full member of the Southeast Asian bloc in October, reports Malaysian news agency Bernama.

Kornelis K, Tegar Nurfitra, Kupang – The governments of Indonesia's East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) Province and Timor-Leste have discussed the plan to form a technical team to advance economic cooperation and support development for their communities.

Timor-Leste has dismissed Myanmar's objection to it becoming the 11th member of ASEAN as "inconsequential and irrelevant."

Timor President Jose Ramos-Horta said his country's path to full membership of ASEAN has already been secured, according to UCA News.

Jakarta – Timor-Leste will officially become ASEAN's 11th member later this year, according to the Foreign Ministry's Director General for ASEAN Cooperation, Sidharto R. Suryodipuro.