Bruce Loudon – At the time, the authorities dismissed it as a straightforward case of journalists tragically caught in the crossfire.

Dili – East Timor has launched an official website to promote tourism in the world's newest nation.

The new site www.turismotimorleste.com has versions in Portuguese and English and contains key facts on Timor's history and culture, as well as information on accommodation and specialist holidays including hiking, diving and bird watching.

Peter Sweeney – Australia has been called on to give a "fairer go" to East Timor over the oilfields issue. The Federal Government has been accused of "megaphone diplomacy" in its negotiations with its battling neighbour.

Karen Michelmore, Darwin – Most Australians believe an independent adjudicator should decide the location of Australia's maritime boundary with East Timor if negotiations fail, a national poll found today.

The Australian Greens today challenged Labor to pledge to refer the dispute between Australia and East Timor over oil and gas reserves to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) if it wins government.

Greens Senator Bob Brown pointed to a Newspoll survey showing overwhelming support among Australians for the independent adjudicator to settle the matter.

East Timor Foreign Minister Jose Ramos-Horta said Wednesday his country is to participate in the ASEAN Regional Forum for the first time in Laos next June.

East Timor Foreign Minister Jose Ramos-Horta on Wednesday extended the former Indonesian province's congratulations to Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on winning Indonesia's presidential election.

Nigel Wilson, Energy writer – Talks on a maritime boundary between Australia and East Timor concluded on schedule in Darwin yesterday after both sides agreed there was little chance of early agreement on key terms.

Nick Everett, Canberra – On September 20, 70 people demonstrated outside the foreign affairs department to demand the Australian government stop trying to steal East Timor's oil and gas resources. The protest coincided with the resumption of negotiations between Dili and Canberra on Timor Sea oil and gas revenue.

Bob Briton – Australia's Foreign Minister Alexander Downer is now in a hurry to conclude an agreement with the government of East Timor over the maritime boundary between the two countries.

New York (Antara) – The Indonesian government, under President Megawati Soekarnoputri, has taken legal action against the alleged perpetrators of human rights abuses in East Timor in 1999, Minister of Foreign Affairs Hassan Wirayuda said here on Tuesday.

Businessman Ian Melrose today launched a new TV commercial to promote a fair deal for East Timor in negotiations over oil and gas reserves in the Timor Sea. The talks began in Canberra this week and will continue in Darwin next week.

New York – Presidential front-runner Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono could strengthen bilateral ties between Indonesia and Timor Leste, Timor Foreign Minister Jose Ramos Horta said here on Thursday.

Greens MLC Lee Rhiannon's motion to recognise the importance of the Timor Sea Boundary negotiations for the future of East Timor passed through the NSW Upper House today with unanimous support.

"The Greens are heartened to receive the full support of all parties on such a vital issue for East Timor." said Ms Rhiannon.

Former Australian peacekeepers in East Timor accused the federal government of stealing from the fledgling nation today as talks resumed over the carve-up of gas and oil reserves in the Timor Sea, five years to the day since the first peacekeepers arrived.

[The following statement was issued by the HAK Association, Haburas Foundation, Oxfam Australia, Alola Foundation, La'o Hamutuk (East Timor Institute for Reconstruction Monitoring and Analysis), East Timor Community Radio Association (ARKTL), the Mirror of the People (Labeh), Forum Tau Matan (FTM) and the East Timor Students Association.]

Reporter: Anne Barker

Mark Colvin: A few short years ago East Timor lost hundreds of thousands of people to death and deportation in the militia-led violence of 1999. But today there's a remarkable turnaround. Results from the first national census show a population heading for one million by next year - one of the fastest growing populations in the world.

East Timor's leaders will seek public support against moves to establish an international tribunal over alleged human rights violations during Indonesia's 24-year occupation, Foreign Minister Jose Ramos-Horta said Tuesday.

Last week was the fifth anniversary of the independence vote in East Timor and the Indonesian atrocities that followed. At the time of the killings there was an international uproar and some confidence that the perpetrators would be prosecuted. That confidence has now turned to dust. As promised, Indonesia put its own military on trial.

East Timor's foreign minister reaffirmed his opposition to an international rights tribunal Wednesday, telling parliament that the country's economic future depended on good relations with its former occupier.

Lisbon – East Timor's religious leader, Catholic Bishop Basilio do Nascimento, is optimistic over efforts, backed by Portugal, to re-introduce the use of Portuguese in his newly independent country.

Semarang – Some 25 former residents of East Timor descended upon the Central Java provincial administration on Monday, demanding that the Indonesian government pay the compensation promised to them after they fled East Timor in 1999.

The East Timorese relocated to Indonesia, mostly to areas in Central Java, after East Timor claimed independence in 1999.

Jonathan Head, East Timor – Five years ago the people of East Timor had their first opportunity to choose their own future and a staggering 98% of registered voters turned out to cast their ballots in favour of independence.

What do people have a right to expect five years after winning a Titanic struggle for independence?

A labor dispute in Timor-Leste (East Timor) is putting the World Bank's "dream [of] a world free of poverty" to the test.

The dispute challenges the Bank to apply to itself the standards the institution claims to promote, including a commitment to rule of law, poverty elimination, fundamental labor rights and sustainable development.

Dennis Shanahan – A gas revenue deal worth $5 billion for the infant nation of East Timor is expected to go ahead despite the election campaign clashing with scheduled negotiations next month.

The last federal cabinet meeting before the Coalition goes into election "caretaker" mode cleared the way yesterday for a deal on gas revenues from the Timor Sea.

Jakarta – Indonesian foreign affairs department spokesman Marty Natalegawa has said that the Indonesian government will not allow the United Nations Expert Commission to enter Indonesia as it would be highly inappropriate to authorize a third party institution to evaluate and monitor a legal process that still prevails in a sovereign country.

Dili – Five years after his tiny nation voted in a UN referendum to end 24 years of Indonesian occupation, East Timor's president warned on Monday that the poverty-stricken country still faced major challenges.

It's been five years since the referendum in East Timor which lead to its independence. On August 30 1999, the people voted overwhelmingly to break away from 25 years of repressive – even brutal rule by Indonesia. But the jubililation turned to terror as violence and bloodshed, organised by pro Jakarta militia left a trail of destruction during and after the ballot.

Janaki Kremmer, Sydney – Not so long ago, Australians were being feted for helping tiny East Timor, their northern neighbor, gain independence from Indonesia.

East Timor urged the United Nations not to be hasty in withdrawing its peacekeeping forces from the fledgling nation, after the world body said it was considering further cutting back the mission.

Nelson Santos, the secretary-general of East Timor's foreign ministry, said that security along the country's border with Indonesia had improved but remained fragile.

New York – A number of countries have expressed concern about the trial of gross human rights violations in East Timor carried out in Indonesia and in East Timor by the Serious Crime Unit of the UN Mission for Support in East Timor (UNMISET).

Jakarta – East Timor urged the United Nations on Wednesday not to be hasty in withdrawing its peacekeeping forces from the fledgling nation, after the world body said it was considering further cutbacks to the mission.

New York – Although East Timor continues to make progress towards self-sufficiency, it still requires international assistance for the foreseeable future, a senior United Nations official has told the Security Council.

Jill Jolliffe, Dili – After a month in hiding, the guerilla hero known as L-7 has made a triumphal return to the East Timorese capital and supported claims that police shot at him and other demonstrators on July 20.

Jakarta – The Indonesian government has no comment to make on UN Secretary General Kofi Annan's report to the UN Security Council in which he expressed dissapointment about the outcome of Indonesian court trials of human right violations in East Timor in 1999, a spokesman said. .

New York – United Nations (UN) Secretary General Kofi Annan has expressed dissatisfaction over the result of the trials conducted by Indonesia's ad-hoc court for human rights violations in East Timor.

New York – As the United Nations readies next year's withdrawal of its mission to East Timor, Dili is making significant progress towards running its own affairs, UN Secretary- General Kofi Annan says in a new report debated by the Security Council on Tuesday.

Vannessa Hearman – On August 11, East Timorese foreign minister Jose Ramos Horta and Australian foreign minister Alexander Downer agreed on a "framework" for a Timor Sea agreement. According to Downer, an agreement could be reached by Christmas.

Jon Lamb – On August 5, the ad hoc human rights court in Indonesia accepted an appeal, and acquitted four generals of any involvement in the killing of at least 1500 East Timorese during the 1999 terror campaign that was orchestrated by the Indonesian Armed Forces (TNI).

Vannessa Hearman – Kirsty Sword-Gusmao, the Melbourne-born wife of East Timorese President Xanana Gusmao and chairperson of the Alola Foundation for women and children of East Timor, has condemned the stance taken by the Howard government on the Timor Sea oil and gas negotiations.

Four martial arts gangs, armed with machetes and swords, fought pitched battles in the streets of East Timor over the weekend, leaving a police commander dead and dozens of houses burned to the ground, police said Monday.

Denpasar – The East Timorese government has stated its commitment to prevent the establishment of an UN Expert Commission, aimed at investigating human rights violations in East Timor following the 1999 ballot.

A sensible, if imperfect, compromise appears to have retrieved relations with East Timor.

The people of East Timor are under no illusions about how much they owe Australia for its help in winning independence from Indonesia. So when East Timor recently accused Australia of bullying and stealing oil revenue this signalled a serious dispute.

Timothy Mapes and Patrick Barta, Jakarta – Australia and East Timor have worked out the broad outlines of a possible compromise that could help end a bruising two-year dispute over control of giant oil and natural-gas fields in the Timor Sea, officials familiar with the talks said.

US-based rights groups called for a UN inquiry to bring to justice Indonesian security officers let off the hook for atrocities during East Timor's 1999 violence-marred independence vote.

Dan Eaton, Jakarta – East Timor urged its friends on Monday not to push for a U.N tribunal for Indonesian forces accused of abuses during its bloody 1999 vote for independence, saying such a court would not help the fledgling state.

David Gollust, State Department – The United States Monday expressed dismay over an Indonesian appeals court ruling overturning convictions of security officials for crimes against humanity in the 1999 violence in East Timor. The State Department called the Indonesian legal process "seriously flawed."

Matthew Moore, Jakarta – Three Indonesian soldiers and a police officer have won their appeals against convictions for gross human rights abuses in East Timor, in a decision that means all Indonesian security force personnel have now been cleared of the violence that resulted in the deaths of about 1600 people.

Jill Jolliffe, Dili – "I saw seven police firing their pistols at L-7, a volley of bullets directed at his legs. It would be surprising if he hadn't been hit."

John Aglionby, Jakarta – A UN prosecutor and human rights groups called for international action yesterday after an Indonesian appeal court quashed the four outstanding convictions of members of the country's security forces prosecuted for their alleged involvement in violence in East Timor in 1999.