Lusa – The President of Timor-Leste said on Thursday that the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP), which is taking place in Azerbaijan, is unlikely to be very different from the others in terms of funding.

Lusa – The president Timor-Leste said on Tuesday that National Youth Day, which marks the Santa Cruz massacre, is not only about "remembering", but also about strengthening the "freedom and dignity" of the Timorese.

Jim Della-Giacoma – On 12 November 1994, a group of 29 young Timorese men gathered to protest outside the US embassy in Jakarta. They were there to make sure the world did not forget what happened at the Santa Cruz cemetery in Dili on the same day three years earlier: a massacre of more than 250 Timorese civilians by Indonesian troops.

Douglas Kammen – For Timor-Leste, the 20th century was a century of repeated mass violence.

Mericio Juvinal dos Reis "Akara", Rheinhard Sirait – Timor-Leste is on the brink of a digital revolution with the anticipated arrival of a submarine cable promising faster and more affordable internet access.

Dili, Timor Leste – Along the waterfront of Timor Leste's capital, buzzing restaurants sell local dishes and Portuguese colonial fare facing turquoise waters where the Indonesian military launched an invasion nearly half a century before.

Stephen Dziedzic – Timor-Leste's president has sharply criticised exploitation in Australia's Pacific labour scheme, warning that unscrupulous employers are soaking workers from his country by over-charging them for accommodation and transport.

Tempo.Co, Kemlu.Go.Id, Petir Garda B, Jakarta – ASEAN foreign ministers convinced for ASEAN Coordinating Council (ACC) in Vientiane, Laos, on Tuesday, October 8, 2024. The ACC meeting discussed ASEAN's institutional process prior to the 44th and 45th ASEAN Summit in Laos.

Tory Shepherd – The $74bn Greater Sunrise gas project – which has been decades in the making – could be under way by the end of the year, the Timor-Leste president, Jose Ramos-Horta, said.

But he also said the pipeline and the accompanying processing work must go to his nation, not Darwin.

Estrella Resources has revealed high-grade manganese in Timor-Leste just days after nailing down new exploration licenses at its Samalari prospect in the nation's Baucau Municipality.

Ati Nurbaiti, Dili – The crowd called out one name: "Hakim, Hakim!" Drink in hand, Hakim Afonso happily joined the singer on stage. He waved his hands to the beat with revelers who sang along to "Labarik Lakon" – the missing children. "Yes, I must learn" the Tetun language, he told me.

Michael Rose – On Tuesday afternoon last week, around half the population of Timor-Leste, at least 600,000 people, attended a mass held by Pope Francis in Dili.

Dili – Timor-Leste President Jose Ramos-Horta said on Wednesday (Sep 11) that a deal with Australia on a vast fossil fuel project seen as crucial to the tiny nation's economic future will be struck by November.

Dili – Pope Francis on Monday (Sep 9) called for action on abuse of young people after arriving in Timor-Leste, the Catholic-majority nation that has been shocked by several child sexual assault cases involving clergy members in recent years.

Rights activists have criticized the Timor-Leste government for arresting activists who expressed solidarity with West Papuans' independence struggle during Pope Francis' visit.

Police arrested physically disabled Nelson Barros Pereira Xavier on Sept. 10, a day after Pope Francis arrived in the national capital for a three-day visit.

Niniek Karmini – East Timor has been criticised for the cost of Pope Francis' historic visit. The Pope made the visit to one of the world's youngest and poorest countries to the tune of 12 million dollars (#9.1 million), drawing rebuke from activists and human rights organisations.

Dili – Pope Francis arrived on Sept 9 in Timor-Leste – a predominantly Catholic nation in South-east Asia – for a three-day visit that will include an open-air celebration of mass, which the Vatican says may include more than half the population of 1.3 million.

Shannon Brincat – Timor-Leste has had much to celebrate recently. August 30 marked 25 years since the Popular Consultation – or "The Referendum", as many call it – when more than 98% of the population braced themselves against brutal repression to vote for their freedom.

Dili – When Pope Francis becomes the first pontiff to visit Timor Leste, he will confront a clergy beset by child abuse scandals that have been largely ignored by the deeply Catholic country's freedom heroes.

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) expresses concern following the recent arrest of journalist Antonieta Kartono Martins, who was covering the eviction of street vendors in Timor-Leste's capital. This obstruction of journalism in a country widely regarded as a regional model of press freedom sends a troubling signal.

Niniek Karmini, Dili, East Timor – East Timor pulled out all stops for Pope Francis' historic visit to one of the world's youngest and poorest countries to the tune of $12 million, drawing rebuke from activists and human rights organizations in a nation where almost half the population lives in poverty.

Lillian Rangiah – Twenty-five years since Timor Leste voted to end more than two decades of Indonesian occupation, Lurdes Pires is still haunted by the memory of what came next.

"When I left, Dili was on fire," she said. "I went back ... and the whole place smelled of death – rotten flesh, rotten blood."

Dili – When Pope Francis touches down in the Timor-Leste capital of Dili this week, he will be landing in a totally different nation to the one visited by his predecessor.

Melisa Cavcic – Australia's energy giant Santos has signed a new mid-term liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply contract with Glencore Singapore (Glencore) and hammered out a deal for the divestment of a partial stake in an offshore gas project with Timor-Leste's national oil company, TIMOR GAP.

Michael Rose and Ivo Mateus Goncalves da Cruz Fernandes – Next week, Timor-Leste will welcome Pope Francis, its first papal visit in 35 years. Aside from being an enormous event in this deeply Catholic country, the two-day visit also has resonance in terms of its recent history.

Ato 'Lekinawa' da Costa – A Timorese scholar, Josh Trindade, currently pursuing a PhD at the Indigenous Knowledge Institute, Australia has issued a public demand for Pope Francis to apologize for the Catholic Church's historical and ongoing impact on Timorese culture and spirituality.

The Santos-led Bayu-Undan joint venture (JV) has agreed on the terms for a sale and purchase deed with TIMOR GAP, allowing the Timor-Leste state-owned company to join the Bayu-Undan upstream project.

TIMOR GAP will gain a 16% stake in the Bayu-Undan upstream project located in the Timor Sea. The transaction has an economic date of 1 July 2024.

David da Costa – Today (September 2, 2024), around 12 p.m., Nelson Roldao, a Timorese human rights activist supporting the pro-West Papua movement, was arrested at Timor-Leste the Prezidente Nicolau Lobato International Airport in Dili, Timor-Leste, while accompanying West Papuan activist, who was traveling back to his home country.

Will Hunter – Adelaide nurse Joy Booth sees the joy and hope that "life-changing" reconstructive surgery can bring to young people in Timor-Leste, but the working environment is often a stark departure from Australian clinical conditions.

Ms Booth recently embarked on her 11th surgical trip to train and assist local health staff.

Dili – Timor-Leste's leader thanked the international community Friday as his country celebrated the 25th anniversary of its referendum on independence from Indonesia, with visiting United Nations chief Antonio Guterres urging the world to do more to support the young democracy.

Dili – Timor-Leste's independence was a gift to the world because it showed conflict could be resolved through negotiation, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Aug 30, the 25th anniversary of its vote to separate from Indonesia.

Gantry Meilana, Dili, East Timor – East Timor on Friday celebrated the 25th anniversary of a U.N.-backed referendum that secured its independence from its major neighbor Indonesia, which invaded the former Portuguese colony in 1975.

Niniek Karmini, David Rising and Nicole Winfield, Dili, Timor-Leste – When the Vatican acknowledged in 2022 that the Nobel Peace Prize-winning, East Timorese independence hero Bishop Carlos Ximenes Belo had sexually abused young boys, it appeared that the global clergy sexual abuse scandal that has compromised the Catholic Church's credibility around the world had finally arrived in

Ahmad Syamsudin, Jakarta – As the tiny nation of Timor-Leste prepares to celebrate the 25th anniversary on Friday of its vote for independence from Indonesia, some Timorese say it is an apt occasion to reflect on whether freedom has improved their lives.

Dili, East Timor – When the Vatican acknowledged in 2022 that the Nobel Peace Prize-winning, East Timorese independence hero Bishop Carlos Ximenes Belo had sexually abused young boys, it appeared that the global clergy sexual abuse scandal that has compromised the Catholic Church's credibility around the world had finally arrived in Asia's newest country.

Sas and Vonia Vieira, Dili – As always in Timor-Leste, there was a prayer before the big event. Minutes later, the bulldozers rolled in. And in an instant, the homes of Tasitolu were gone.

"I'm very sad," local resident Ana Bela da Cruz told the ABC as her home was demolished in the background.

Timor-Leste President Jose Ramos Horta has termed the preparations for the upcoming visit of Pope Francis a "logistical nightmare" due to various challenges, but expressed hope everything will go as planned, says a report.

Peter Milne – Santos could lose control of its Bayu Undan gas project north of Darwin on Friday unless it agrees with the Timor-Leste government to give it a share of the project, according to a letter from the country's minister of petroleum seen by this masthead.

The government of Timor-Leste announced on Friday that it would be proceeding with a project to expand and modernise President Nicolau Lobato International Airport in Dili.

Dili – President Droupadi Murmu announced during her address in Timor-Leste on Saturday that India will soon open an embassy in the country as part of the growing India-Timor-Leste friendship.

President Murmu arrived in Timor Leste on Saturday, after concluding her visits to Fiji and New Zealand, in the third leg of her three-nation tour.

Antonio da Costa, Dili – Rights groups are questioning Timor-Leste, an impoverished Asian nation, for allocating US$12 million for Pope Francis' visit next month, including US$1 million to build an altar for a papal Mass.

Church sources said some 700,000 Catholics, primarily from the nation's 1.3 million-strong Catholic majority, are expected to attend the Sept. 10 Mass.

Ha Noi – Timor-Leste President Jose Ramos-Horta left Ha Noi on Saturday afternoon, wrapping up his four-day state visit to Viet Nam at the invitation of President To Lam.

During his stay, the leader paid tribute to late President Ho Chi Minh at his mausoleum and laid wreaths at the monument to war heroes and martyrs on Bac Sin Street in Ha Noi.

Adil Al Hasan, Jakarta – The Indonesian Financial Services Authority (OJK) and Banco Central de Timor Leste (BCTL) or the Central Bank of Timor Leste have officially agreed to boost cooperation by signing an amendment to the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Mutual Cooperation on Cross-Border Supervision.

The president of Timor-Leste is in Beijing on the first state visit to China by any Timorese leader, Xinhua reports. China was the first country to establish diplomatic relations with the Portuguese-speaking Southeast Asian nation back in 2002, the same year it gained independence from Indonesia.

Dioceses bordering Timor-Leste and the Indonesian government are collaborating to help Catholics attend the papal visit to the Catholic-majority Asian nation in September.

Jude Conway – The hardships endured by the East Timorese are detailed in a memoir by Dr Vacy Vlazna, both a story of courage and a political analysis. Dr Jude Conway reviews "East Timor Reveille for Courage: Recollections of an Australian Human Rights Activist, 1998-2001".

Sandy Yule – When Melbourne-born Helen Hill, an outstanding social activist, scholar and academic, died on May 7, 2024, at the age of 79, the Timorese government sent its Minister for Education, Dulce de Jesus Soares, to deliver a moving eulogy at the funeral service at Church of All Nations in Carlton.

Timorese President Jose Ramos-Horta said in a visit to Luanda that Timor-Leste becoming the 11th member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in 2025 will open new opportunities for all Portuguese-speaking countries.

Timor-Leste and Mozambique signed a series of cooperation agreements last Friday in Maputo as part of Timorese President Jose Ramos-Horta's working visit to the African country.

Luanda – Angola and East Timor signed three agreements on Monday to strengthen bilateral cooperation, in a ceremony attended by the presidents of the two countries, Joao Lourenco and Jose Ramos Horta in Luanda.