Dili – Hundreds of East Timorese Catholics, angered by moves to demote religion classes in public schools, gathered in front of Dili's government building Tuesday to protest what they call "dictatorial" policies by Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri.

Comments made by Australian Foreign Minister, Alexander Downer, regarding advertisements featuring World War Two veterans criticising the Government's theft of East Timor's oil and gas resources, were today branded as ludicrous and disappointing by the Timor Sea Justice Campaign.

Dili – The struggle between East Timor's government and influential Roman Catholic Church intensified Monday with the church hierarchy accusing Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri's cabinet of being secret Marxists who endanger democracy.

Nick Lenaghan – A group of Australian World War II veterans have weathered criticism from the RSL and Canberra over an advertising campaign condemning the federal government's stance on East Timor's oil and gas rights.

Dili – Police in East Timor prevented about 200 people entering Dili late Monday to attend a demonstration in the capital called by supporters of the country's powerful Roman Catholic Church against a government trial to end compulsory religion classes in schools.

Timorese journalists, lawyers and MPs met in Dili on March 22 to debate media freedom and Timor-Leste's draft penal code at a seminar entitled "Media law and human rights" (Lei media ho direitus humanus).

More than 60 people attended the seminar, which was co-hosted by the Judicial Systems Monitoring Program (JSMP) and Internews.

Dili – Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri has accused leaders of East Timor's Roman Catholic Church of attempting to play the role of political opposition in its recent criticism of a government pilot scheme to end compulsory religious education in schools.

Max Lane – Around 200 East Timorese protesters were attacked on April 9 by police, including special branch paramilitary forces.

Dili – An increasingly bitter dispute between the government of East Timor and the country's spiritual leaders over plans to demote religious teaching in schools escalated Monday after two Roman Catholic bishops accused the Dili executive of causing "great offense" to their church.

Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono laid a wreath at an East Timor cemetery where Indonesian soldiers massacred dozens of pro-independence protestors 14 years ago.

Around 200 East Timorese protesters were attacked this morning (April 9) by East Timorese police, including special branch paramilitary forces.

Rendi A. Witular, Dili – Indonesia and East Timor announced on Friday an agreement on territorial borders as President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono began his two-day visit to the country's former colony.

Prime Minister John Howard has always recognised history and its interpretation as a potent political weapon.

With a 21-gun salute, Indonesia's president was greeted in East Timor on a visit to bolster reconciliation between Jakarta and the territory it once occupied with brutal force.

National anthems of both countries were played at Dili's rudimentary airport after Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono arrived on a Garuda Indonesian flight direct from a tour of Australia and New Zealand.

Julian Lee – Channel Seven and SBS have refused to air an ad campaign condemning the Prime Minister, John Howard, for "stealing" billions of dollars of East Timorese oil and gas revenues, a stance that may trigger court action and highlights the thorny issue of freedom of expression.

On the sixth anniversary of the massacres at the Catholic Church in Liquica, East Timor, the East Timor Action Network (ETAN) urged the international community to heed East Timorese cries for justice.

"The international community must keep its commitment to the victims of this and other horrific crimes committed in East Timor," said John M.

In this episode of The Editors, we discuss the commission of truth and friendship set up after Indonesia's occupation of East Timor and deaths of up to 200,000 people. Grace Phan speaks to Indonesia's Foreign Minister, Hassan Wirayuda, and human rights lawyer, Adirito de Jesus Soares.

Dili – Dozens of demonstrators demanding justice greeted the UN Commission of Experts on its arrival Tuesday in Dili to assess progress made by East Timor and Indonesia in trying those responsible for crimes against humanity in 1999 when the Timorese broke from Jakarta's occupation.

Hundreds of students and National Alliance for an International Tribunal members demonstrated Tuesday at Dili Airport to press a UN Commissions of Experts to seriously investigate abuses in East Timor in 1999.

The protesters underlined the lack of action on abuses perpetrated on East Timorese by wearing black gags emblazoned with "We need Justice" across their mouths.

Australia wants a final decision on the boundary in the Timor sea to be deferred for up to 100 years so that oil and gas projects worth 40 billion dollars can go ahead, and has offered Dili $3 billion to put aside its concerns about sovereignty.

Alecia D. McKenzie, Siem Reap (Cambodia) – The first lady of the world's newest nation, East Timor, is sitting in the audience of an international meeting, listening to the prime minister of Cambodia give an impassioned speech. In her arms she cradles a cherubic-looking baby, who smiles frequently.

Mark Dodd – It caused outrage among East Timorese and Australian troops sent to protect them, raised tensions among UN peacekeepers to a deadly new level and caused senior UN staff to resign in disgust.

The deployment of Jordanian peacekeepers to East Timor was probably one of the most contentious UN decisions to follow the bloody independence ballot.

Channel 7 and SBS have announced that they will not be screening the latest television commercials about the Timor Sea dispute written and funded by Australian businessperson Ian Melrose.

Canberra – Australia's treatment of East Timor over oil and gas revenues has been compared to the actions of the late disgraced businessman Christopher Skase.

Melbourne businessman Ian Melrose has funded television advertisements, which will air over the Easter weekend, criticising Australia's position on talks with East Timor over sea boundaries.

Lisbon – Foreign Minister Diogo Freitas do Amaral says Lisbon's new Socialist government intends to increase its cooperation with Portuguese-speaking African countries and East Timor, while simultaneously seeking a more dynamic role within the European Union.

Kupang – The Government of East Timor still did not have enough funds to reimburse the Indonesian government, state owned enterprises, and private Indonesian citizens for assets left behind in East Timor, following the 1999 ballot on independence.

The establishment of a Commission of Truth and Friendship (CTF) by the Indonesian and East Timorese governments has been severely criticised by a group of non-governmental organisations in East Timor and Indonesia.

They see this as a hasty move and suspect that it is the result of political deals struck between the two states.

Dili – "Lia Foun", East Timor's first fully bilingual newspaper, hit the streets Friday, with the weekly's director forecasting it will underline the importance of Portuguese to the country's cultural identity.

Bob Burton, Canberra – The Australian government has been accused of hypocrisy in its attempt to draw maritime boundaries with its neighbors. While setting a mid-point boundary with New Zealand, after ratifying a treaty, Canberra has refused to adopt the same standard with East Timor, which lays claim to rich oil and gas deposits beneath the Timor Sea.

Yemris Fointuna and Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta – The government promised on Tuesday to provide free rice and labor-intensive jobs for people in several drought-stricken East Nusa Tenggara regencies.

Jon Lamb – "We went to East Timor to help those people, and now we are slapping them in the face and stealing their oil." This is what Chip Henriss-Anderssen, a former major in the Australian military who served with the International Force for East Timor, told reporters on March 7. "We thought we were doing something decent.

The model for the proposed Commission of Truth & Friendship ("CTF") between Indonesia and Timor Leste was settled on 9 March 2005 when the respective governments signed its Terms of Reference ("ToR").

A man who served as East Timor's temporary leader in 1975 before it was invaded by Indonesia resigned Monday from his country's legislature, citing the government's failure to attract foreign investment and saying he wants to prepare for 2007 elections.

Sian Powell, Dili – Pigs nose about in the flooded playground of Rumpia primary school in Caecoli, a poor suburb of Dili. None of the classroom windows has any glass, some of the children have no shoes.

"Pity them," says teacher Carlota Morilius da Silva. "There are those families who can afford shoes and books, and there are those who can't."

Canberra – Australia and East Timor have agreed on a framework for sharing US$30 billion in seabed oil and gas royalties, Australia's foreign minister said.

Negotiators representing one of the region's richest nations and one of the poorest met in Canberra for three days this week to discuss where their common maritime boundary should lie in the Timor Sea.

Michael Richardson – The latest round of negotiations between Australia and Timor Leste – formerly known as East Timor – on how to share energy reserves in the Timor Sea ended this week with an agreement to hold more talks soon.

With the latest round of maritime boundary negotiations between Australia and East Timor coming to an end yesterday, an Australian lobby group claims the Australian Government's refusal to abide by current principles of International Law will impede any significant progress towards a just outcome to the dispute.

Rob Taylor – Australian companies exploiting huge oil and gas reserves in the Timor Sea were destroying marine life and threatening its fragile environment, an Indonesian watchdog group said today.

Human rights activists have accused East Timor of putting diplomacy before justice after the fledgling nation agreed to drop charges against accused war criminals under a deal signed with Indonesia.

The United Nations, which oversaw East Timor's violent break away from Indonesian rule six years ago, has also criticised the accord.

Today in Bali, the Presidents of Indonesia and Timor-Leste (also known as East Timor) are expected to formally agree to form a joint Commission of Truth and Friendship.

Indonesia and East Timor have agreed to set up a commission to deal with atrocities surrounding East Timor's 1999 vote for independence, despite criticism led by the United Nations.

A lot is riding on the outcome of the negotiations between the Australian and East Timorese Governments over the resource rich Timor Sea which concludes today. Not least the Australian Government's reputation.

Reporter: Ian Melrose

Mark Colvin: Negotiations between Australia and East Timor on a seabed boundary resumed in Canberra this afternoon, with oil and gas reserves worth tens of billions of dollars at stake.

Australia is offering East Timor a cash-for-sovereignty deal – put aside a final boundary settlement and take an extra $3-billion.

World War II veterans will appear in ads on Anzac Day aimed at embarrassing the federal government over the carve up of oil and gas reserves with East Timor.

East Timor has argued it is being cut out of billions of dollars through an incorrect understanding of the sea boundaries.

Canberra – Canberra and Dili entered a new round of negotiations – the third so far in a year – as Australian and East Timorese officials on Monday again deliberated on how to divide up oil and gas deposits under the Timor Sea.

Roy Eccleston – Senior members of the US Congress have stepped up pressure on the Howard Government to settle the dispute with East Timor over the rights to billions of dollars worth of sub-sea oil and gas between the two countries.

Jakarta – The Constitutional Court's (MK) Panel of Judges have decided To reject a judicial review on the human rights court legislation proposed By the former governor of East Timor, Abilio Jose Osorio Soares. The Rejection was read out by the chairman of the Panel of Judges, Jimly Asshiddiqie, on Thursday (3 March) at the Constitutional Court House.

Senior US senators and representatives today urged "Australia to move quickly and seriously to establish a fair, permanent maritime boundary with Timor-Leste," as the two countries prepared to resume negotiations on the issue.

Dini Rahim, Washington – Food shortages in East Timor, two and half years after the territory achieved independence from Indonesia, are causing complaints that the government is paying too little attention to agriculture.

Australia's support for an end to the UN mission in East Timor reflected a desire to improve relations with Indonesia and extend its influence in the former Portuguese territory, a US thinktank says.

An analysis of Australia's support for an end to the United Nations operation which expires on June 30, was carried out by Stratfor, the private sector intelligence group.