Jill Jolliffe, Gleno – Just two weeks after a lopsided campaign began for East Timor's presidential elections due on April 14, there are signs that it may be turning dirty.

Margot Cohen, Zumalai – Juana Dos Reis fought off a wave of revulsion as the woman held her in a tight embrace. "In my heart I felt sick, but I could still control myself," says Dos Reis, recalling the February encounter at a refugee camp just across the border from East Timor in Indonesian-controlled West Timor.

Yemris Fointuna, Dili – Life is hard in East Timor despite three years after it voted to break away from Indonesia, unemployment remains a serious problem plaguing the country's former province, currently under the UN administration.

Most of the local workforce are jobless due to the limited vacancies and lack of business capital on their part.

Dili - A Special Panel for Serious Crimes in East Timor sentenced a former Mahidi militiaman Wednesday to four years in prison for his role in a murder during the violent aftermath of the UN-run ballot on the future of the territory.

Also Wednesday, a major Crimes Against Humanity trial resumed after a three-week recess.

Joanne Collins, Jakarta – Whether he wants to lead the world's newest nation or not, East Timor's independence hero Xanana Gusmao looks bound to get the job.

A legend among the people and one of the best political talents the territory has to offer, Gusmao is the hot favourite to win the two-man presidential race just over two weeks away.

Yemris Fointuna, Dili – East Timorese residents want their compatriots – including former anti-independence militiamen – currently sheltering at refugee camps in East Nusa Tenggara to return home, signifying their full acceptance in their homeland.

Hamish McDonald – Australia yesterday announced it would no longer submit to international legal rulings on maritime boundaries – after leading lawyers advised East Timor that Canberra was poised to rob it of tens of billions of dollars in oil and gas revenue.

The Legislative Assembly, formerly known as the Constituent Assembly, called a two-week recess today after extending its powers over the weekend to cover the remaining two months before East Timor's independence.

Prangtip Daorueng, Jakarta – Two months after the Indonesian government put an end to humanitarian assistance to East Timorese refugees living in West Timor, these displaced people are on the brink of starvation, their lives mired in uncertainty.

Don Greenlees, Jakarta – Indonesia's attempts to convince foreign critics that it is serious about justice in East Timor suffered two significant setbacks this week: a public show of solidarity by senior generals for officers accused over a 1999 massacre and a verdict of "not guilty" in the trial of three militiamen charged with the murder of a New Zealand peacekeeper.

Jill Jolliffe, Dili – The East Timorese are distinguished from their Islamic neighbours by their love of pigs, which normally amble at will around city streets.

Carol Pineau, Dili – East Timor's reluctant president-in-waiting Xanana Gusmao said on Wednesday he would do his best if voters, as expected, choose him to lead the world's newest nation next month.

Jakarta – An Indonesian court on Wednesday found three East Timorese militiamen not guilty of murdering a New Zealand peacekeeping soldier in East Timor in July 2000.

Jakarta – The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reported a rise in the number of refugees returning to East Timor from camps in West Timor, Indonesia, a report said Tuesday.

Carol Pineau, Dili – Independence leader and presidential candidate Xanana Gusmao is no longer a national leader, East Timor Chief Minister Mari Alkatiri said ahead of April 14 elections.

The disclosure in the Herald this week of highly classified Defence Signals Directorate intercepts gathered during the 1999 East Timor crisis has, understandably, raised concerns within the Government that vital "sources and methods" of intelligence may be compromised.

A witness to any crime has responsibilities that are essential to maintaining a civilised society. The first responsibility is to the victim, to offer whatever help is possible. The second is to help bring the offender to justice. Australia, as a result of its intelligence gathering, has emerged as a key witness to crimes against humanity.

Hamish McDonald – Canberra's predictable reaction to the disclosure of signals intelligence material on the Indonesian Army's covert East Timor campaign has been to try to find and plug the leak.

East Timor4s presidential election campaign kicked off Friday with a rally in Dili and UN administrator Sergio Vieira de Mello predicting a peaceful race.

Craig Skehan – Australian Federal Police are investigating the leaking of classified material showing that high-level Indonesian officials were involved in orchestrating the wave of violence linked to East Timor's independence ballot in 1999.

The Defence Minister, Robert Hill, confirmed the police investigation in Parliament yesterday.

Hamish McDonald – The evidence is contained in the most tightly held archive in Canberra: the electronic data base of the Defence Signals Direct-orate (DSD), the result of months intercepting secret communications between Indonesian officers involved in a shadowy campaign to thwart East Timorese hopes of independence in 1999.

Hamish McDonald – The Australian Government sat on explosive intelligence material which showed the direct involvement of senior Indonesian army generals in the violence which swept East Timor in 1999.

Kate Rope – On May 20, a new country will be born. At the helm of the finally free East Timor will most likely be Jose Alexandre "Xanana" Gusmao, the reluctant but ineluctable leader of this century's first new nation.

The Special Representative of the Secretary-General in East Timor Sergio Vieira de Mello today briefed the Council of Ministers on the services currently provided by UNTAET to government and the community that will no longer be provided by the UN successor mission after independence on 20 May.

Following are some examples of affected services mentioned by the SRSG:

Dili – A candidate in East Timor's upcoming presidential election on Tuesday announced a concession which will allow his only rival, independence hero Xanana Gusmao, to stand in the poll.

Lela E. Madjiah – With full independence now a matter of two months away, East Timor must deal with various unanswered questions, one being its relations with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

Although not an immediately pressing issue, it is worth pondering, given recent developments in the region, in particular with its closest neighbor, Indonesia.

Jakarta – An Indonesian legal team investigating the 1999 murder of a Dutch journalist in East Timor has ended a visit to the territory after making "significant inquiries", UN staff said Friday.

Joanna Jolly, Dili – The United Nations is optimistic that a dispute threatening the participation of East Timorese independence leader Jose Alexandre "Xanana" Gusmao in the nation's first elections will be solved soon, a spokesman said Sunday.

Dili – East Timor's reluctant presidential favourite, Xanana Gusmao, threatened Saturday to withdraw from next month's elections over an electoral technicality.

Gusmao, the independence hero considered a sure winner of the territory's first presidential polls on April 14, is angry over United Nations electoral authority requirements that candidates use a logo.

Jill Jolliffe – From the other side of the cyclone wire fence, a man with a large scorpion tattooed on his face peers into East Timor.

Dili – East Timor, where women hold 24 per cent of Constituent Assembly seats, joined the world today in celebration of International Women's Day during a ceremony held in Dili attended by UN Transitional Administrator Sergio Vieira de Mello, NGO representatives and diplomats.

Fairus Husaini, Dili – The UN Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET), the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the International Organization for Migration have assisted more than 190,000 East Timorese refugees make voluntary returns home from West Timor since October 1999.

An Indonesian court has jailed a militiaman for six years for the brutal murder of a New Zealand peacekeeping soldier in East Timor in 2000.

Jacobus Bere was found guilty of murdering Private Leonard William Manning, 24, near Suai in East Timor on July 24, 2000.

Marianne Kearney, Jakarta – A tussle has broken out between the presidential palace and the Parliament in Jakarta over the control of foreign policy, and the focus of their dispute is, strangely – East Timor.

Grassroots opinion on East Timor's draft Constitution has been summarized by Constituent Assembly members over the last three days before a final debate on the document.

Dili – Almost half East Timor's population don't have enough food to eat and eke out a living on or below the poverty line, a survey carried out with the UN and other international agencies showed.

Joanna Jolly, Dili – The first contingent of 24 Japanese military engineers arrived Monday to join a U.N. peacekeeping force amid protests over Japan's brutal occupation of East Timor in World War II.

Jakarta – Prosecutors of the United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET) have launched cases against three men accused of 27 crimes against humanity during a violent campaign against pro-independence supporters in 1999.

Dominic Whiting, Bangkok – East Timor independence hero Xanana Gusmao, the front-runner to lead the nascent Southeast Asian state, said on Tuesday he wanted to be defeated in his country's first presidential elections. Last month Gusmao, backed by 11 of the tiny territory's 16 political parties, accepted their nomination as a presidential candidate.

Mark Baker, Manila – Burma's military regime has sparked a rift within the Association of South-East Asian Nations by blocking moves towards East Timor joining the regional grouping after the country achieves independence next year.

Dili – The people of East Timor this week once again displayed intense interest and enthusiasm in the democratic process as more than 80 public consultations in all districts on the final draft of the nation's Constitution often drew hundreds of people.

Jakarta – A cemetery for Indonesian servicemen in East Timor's capital Dili has been converted to a cassava farm, Indonesia's state-run news agency Antara said Friday.

Yemris Fointuna, Kupang – Udayana Military Commander Maj. Gen. Wellem T. da Costa has ordered soldiers to shoot East Timor refugees found committing violence against Indonesians living near refugee camps in West Timor.

"... I order all TNI members to shoot any criminal on the spot. I am ready to be sued over this decision," Wellem said.

Achara Ashayagachat – East Timor needs 10 years to prepare for joining the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, de facto Foreign Minister Ramos Horta said.

Manila – Myanmar has objected to a proposal to grant East Timor observer status to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Philippine officials said Thursday.

Yemris Fointuna, Kupang – Thousands of East Timorese refugees have begun to use violence and terror against local villagers in a bid to survive in East Nusa Tenggara province following the halt of their food assistance early last month.

Yemris Fointuna – The East Timor Commission for Truth, Reception and Reconciliation is planning to question several proindependence leaders, including Jose Alexandre "Xanana" Gusmao, for allegedly committing human rights abuses in the territory during the period of April 1974 to October 1999.

Dili – A preliminary government report that indicates 41 per cent of East Timor's population live in poverty and 48 per cent are illiterate was presented today to the Council of Ministers.

Dili – The General Prosecutor of East Timor issued an indictment today charging militia commander Bernadino da Costa – also known as "Mata Satu" – with nine counts of Crimes Against Humanity including murder, persecution and the forcible transfer of hundreds of East Timorese to West Timor.

Indonesia's recent indictment of seven military officers for crimes against humanity committed in East Timor in 1999 does not alleviate concerns that Indonesian courts can provide justice for the thousands of victims of military violence in East Timor, observed an East Timorese activist and the East Timor Action Network/US(ETAN).