Sydney – East Timorese voters go to the polls next week to pick the person who will declare their country independent next month.

The winner of the April 14 presidential poll will take over the running of the half-island state from an interim United Nations administration May 20. The UN team was slotted in after Indonesia gave up the territory in 1999.

1512 - Portuguese explorers reach Timor, an island already known to Chinese as a source of sandalwood

1556 - Dominican friary opens at Lifau, in the Oecussi-Ambeno enclave

1642 - Portuguese soldiers arrive from nearby Solor island

1653 - Dutch build fort in the west of the island at Kupang, now the capital of the Indonesian province containing West Timor

Why is Francisco Xavier do Amaral running for president of East Timor when he knows he has no chance of winning? Amaral's sole opponent, independence hero Xanana Gusmao, is the most popular man in the former Portuguese colony, which will finally achieve independence on May 20.

Dili – The candidates are on the campaign trail, polling staff are ready and the stage is nearly set for East Timor's first presidential election, UNTAET's election chief announced today, nine days before the poll.

Joanna Jolly, Aileu – On a soccer field in East Timor's central mountains, thousands came to hear Jose Alexandre "Xanana" Gusmao make his campaign pitch.

Soon to become the world's newest country, East Timor is holding its first presidential election April 14, and the former guerrilla leader is the overwhelming favorite.

Jill Jolliffe, Atambua – The East Timorese presidential candidate Xanana Gusmao has joined forces with a former enemy soldier in an attempt to repatriate about 60,000 refugees trapped in militia camps in West Timor.

Jakarta – The UN authority in East Timor said on Friday it was "incredulous" at reported remarks by former Indonesian military chief Wiranto that bloodshed there in 1999 was allegedly sparked by an unfair independence ballot.

Dili – Nearly 2,000 refugees have already returned to East Timor from refugee camps in West Timor, Indonesia, during the first five days of this month, UN refugee officials said today.

Atambua – East Timor independence hero Xanana Gusmao on Thursday urged East Timorese refugees in Indonesia's West Timor to come home now, saying he guaranteed their safety.

New York – The East Timor government and the United Nations on Wednesday launched an AIDS awareness campaign on television, radio and print media, hoping the country can avoid the explosion in HIV/AIDS seen elsewhere in the region.

Hamish McDonald – It will stand on a hill overlooking Dili, the capital of newly independent East Timor: a massive flagpole entwined with the trunk and branches of a symbolic banyan tree forged in steel.

On a plaque at the base of this $200,000 independence monument will be words of thanks to its corporate sponsor: a generous Australian company, it is hoped.

Yemris Fointuna, Dili – The Indonesian government and the United Nations Temporary Administration at East Timor (UNTAET) have yet to find an appropriate way of solving the problem of Indonesian assets in the soon-to-be independent nation – even though, until now, they have held six rounds of discussions.

Mike Steketee – East Timorese Foreign Minister Jose Ramos Horta yesterday urged rich countries, including Australia, not to use artificial barriers such as quarantine restrictions to discriminate against exports from his and other poor nations.

Dili – Some members of East Timor's ruling party Fretilin were accused of waging a dirty tricks campaign to try to reduce the vote for independence hero Xanana Gusmao in this month's presidential election.

"We have received information from most of the districts documenting these allegations," said Milena Pires, Gusmao's campaign coordinator.

Jason Koutsoukis – Negotiations between the Australian Government and US-based Phillips Petroleum over the tax treatment of a gas project in the Timor Sea remained deadlocked last night amid concerns that further delays may scuttle the project.

Darwin – The Australian government is under pressure to make public its draft agreement on Timor Sea energy reserves to prove the East Timorese were not signing away their legal rights.

Andrew Trounson, Melbourne – East Timor Foreign Minister Jose Ramos Horta said Tuesday there will be no hitches to ratifying a treaty with Australia sharing potentially lucrative oil and gas production from the Timor Sea.

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.

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.

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 – 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.

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 – 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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:

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.