Jon Land – Speculation is increasing that, after the stalemate that occurred at the first round of talks in October, the federal government and representatives of the East Timorese are readying to compromise on the future of the Timor Gap Treaty when talks eventually resume.

Robyn Marshall, Dili – Aurora Ximenes, the coordinator of the East Timor Women's Network, which comprises 15 grassroots organisations, is angry that women are being sidelined in the transition to independence.

Peter Johnston, Darwin – "We expect over 50% of the first elected parliament – definitely", Estanislau da Silva reassured trade unionists here on January 11, claiming that his party, Fretilin, is the only political group in East Timor with extensive grassroots support.

Mark Dodd, Dili – East Timor's hope for national reconciliation will take a step towards realisation this year with the introduction of a Commission for Reception, Truth and Reconciliation.

Hamish McDonald – Next month the legendary guerilla army Falintil, an acronym for Armed Forces of the Liberation of East Timor, will cease to exist as its remaining active fighters are absorbed into the new army being formed for their emerging nation.

Hamish McDonald, Dili – His full name is said to be Ely Foho Rai Boot, which translates from the main Timorese language Tetum as something like Ely Great Mountain, but he is known here just as "L7".

Jeremy Bowden, Singapore – East Timor is raising the stakes in talks on sharing offshore oil and natural gas revenues with Australia, according to Australian government sources.

Maggie O'Kane – The discovery of the bodies of four women murdered with machetes in different parts of the country last summer passed almost unnoticed in East Timor. Yet the Indonesian occupying army, which killed an estimated 200,000 people in its 24 years there, has gone, driven out by the UN cavalry over a year ago.

Hamish McDonald, Dili – The Australian Government is retreating from its tough opening stance on the oil revenue split in a new seabed boundary treaty with independent East Timor, a senior Timorese negotiator reports.

Jakarta – More than 150 East Timorese journalists, gathering at their inaugural congress in the East Timor capital of Dili, have agreed to build an independent, free press in their new country, a press statement issued Saturday by the UN Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET) said.

Jakarta – The South Jakarta District Court began on Thursday the trial of six pro-integration East Timorese for the murder of three United Nation High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) staff in Atambua, East Nusa Tenggara in September last year.

Chris McCall, Jakarta – Sitting in jail waiting to hear his fate, feared East Timor militia chief Eurico Guterres is accusing his nemesis Xanana Gusmao of selling out his people.

Catharine Munro, Jakarta – An unlikely gathering of Indonesian rock stars, criminals and retired soldiers yesterday converged on a Jakarta courtroom in support of East Timorese militia leader Eurico Guterres.

Denis Dragovic, Dili – For several months I have been watching the United Nations "rescuing" East Timor. The half-term report is not promising.

The UN's overzealous moves into missions where it lacks the experience, internal structural systems, or competent personnel will inevitably and regrettably lead to continuing failure – and eventual extinction.

Robert Garran – Australia and East Timor remain far apart in crucial talks over revenue from the Timor Gap oil and gas fields that could become a mainstay of the new country's economy.

Kupang – Following a clash between East Timorese refugees and local residents, hundreds of East Timorese refugees were returned to refugee camps, officials said on Wednesday. The refugees were returned to Noelbaki and Tuapukan refugee camps.

Jakarta – A notorious former East Timorese militia leader went on trial here Tuesday charged with inciting criminal activities against the state during a weapons handover in West Timor.

Compatriots! Timorese!

Louise Williams – Sydney, you can't rebuild East Timor with teddies and thongs. And you shouldn't even give a child a teddy to play with outside in a tropical climate, because the soft, new toy quickly becomes a filthy health risk.

Mark Dodd, Dili – Somewhere in Indonesian West Timor, in a camp controlled by some of the most notorious militia thugs who fled East Timor after its people voted for independence in August, 1999, there is a 16-year-old girl called Juliana dos Santos.

Dan Murphy, Jakarta – Shortly after Monitor contributor Sander Thoenes was killed in East Timor last year, it seemed as if justice would be served in his case. But that looks increasingly in doubt.

Jakarta – The Indonesian government has postponed the registration of some 100,000 East Timorese refugees still langishing in squalid camps in Indonesian West Timor, the state Antara news agency said Saturday.

Mark Dodd, Dili – Christmas brings out the best in the East Timorese. Last year, despite the misery and destruction inflicted by the militia and their Indonesian army backers, even the poorest shanty town dwellers could scrounge enough material to build a nativity scene.

Lindsay Murdoch, Jakarta – Australia has with held from United Nations prosecutors hundreds of hours of secret communication intercepts, which implicate dozens of people, including former armed forces chief General Wiranto, in last year's violence in East Timor.

Jakarta – Former pro-Indonesia militia leaders from East Timor's Baucau district are preparing for a one-day visit to their homeland to see whether it's safe enough to bring 6,000 refugees home, their leader said Wednesday.

Jakarta – East Timor militia leader Eurico Guterres will open the new year unlike any other as he faces court proceedings against him on January 2. He is charged with involvement in the seizure of weapons from an Atambua police station in East Nusa Tenggara in September.

Mark Dodd – East Timor independence leader Jose "Xanana" Gusmao has called for international support for a South African-style truth and reconciliation commission as the best means of achieving peace for his country.

Jakarta – Eurico Guterres, a former pro-Jakarta East Timorese militia leader, has been charged in connection with the death of three foreign workers of the UN High Commission on Refugees (UNHCR) in Indonesia-ruled West Timor in September, a leading Indonesian newspaper said Friday.

Jakarta – Anger over an international probe into last year's atrocities in East Timor on Thursday prompted Indonesia's parliament to review its agreement with the United Nations. The move follows repeated threats by the army and MPs to reject the accord with the UN administration in East Timor (UNTAET).

Dan Murphy – A United Nations prosecutor in East Timor indicted 11 men Monday for crimes against humanity in what promises to be a first step on a long and contentious road to justice.

Jakarta – Indonesia's armed forces chief on Tuesday threw his support behind lawyers who have rejected UN attempts to quiz officers accused of masterminding last year's wave of terror in East Timor.

Jakarta – The UN administration in East Timor said on Tuesday it has called on the Indonesian government to punish the perpetrators of an "unpleasant and shocking" attack on two of its officials in Jakarta.

An Australian soldier was injured in a suspected militia attack in East Timor overnight, the East Timor Australian National Command said today.

Jakarta – The Army has vowed not to let the UN Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET) question its soldiers over human rights abuses in the former Indonesian province last year.

Dili – Four East Timor advisory Cabinet members who threatened to resign backed down Saturday after a meeting with the UN administration of the former Indonesian province, saying they were satisfied they will receive more power in the future.

Jakarta – A joint investigation team, comprising of officials from the Attorney General's Office and the UN Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET), will start on Thursday the questioning of 22 people as witnesses over human rights abuses in East Timor last year.

Jon Land – Australian domestic demand for natural gas is projected to steadily increase over the next decade, with the fields off the coast of Western Australia and the Northern Territory – especially those in the Timor Sea – being the alternative source to the diminishing reserves in central Australia and Bass Strait.

Jakarta – The Investigative Commission for Human Rights Abuses in East Timor [KPP HAM] yesterday confirmed the existence and validity of the Garnadi Document which ordered the burning of the troubled region.

Joanna Jolly, Dili – Arrest warrants could soon be issued for middle-ranking Indonesian military personnel suspected of involvement in crimes against humanity in East Timor last year.

United Nations troops searched yesterday near the East Timor border town of Balibo for suspected pro-Indonesia militia who shot and wounded an Australian peacekeeper.

Mark Dodd, Dili – The East Timorese independence leader, Xanana Gusmao, has resigned as president of the National Council over a dispute involving the timetable for the handover of power by the United Nations.

Jakarta – Some 134,000 East Timor refugees residing in East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) province will have to decide whether to stay or leave the country in a one-day registration slated for December 13, officials said on Wednesday.

Vanja Tanaja, Dili – Five women considered to be "indecently" dressed were chased by a mob of mainly young men near the Mercado Lama (Central Market) here on November 10. Four managed to hide in an NGO-run clinic which was then stoned by the mob. Another was dragged by the mob to UN Civilian Police Headquarters.

Jon Land – On November 21, some 400 East Timorese refugees were repatriated from West Timor. This was the first coordinated return of refugees since the murder of UN workers in the West Timor town of Atambua on September 6.

Heather Paterson, Dili – Thousands of people rallied in Dili on Tuesday to mark the 25th anniversary of East Timor's initial declaration of independence, giving a hero's welcome to the territory's first president, Fransisco Xavier do Amaral.

Mark Dodd, Kupang – Francisco Soares is finally going home. After drawn out negotiations the Indonesian Army has finally settled his salary arrears and paid his pension. The United Nations has promised that he and his family will be protected. So he and his family will go back to his old home in Los Palos, on the eastern tip of East Timor, and start a new life as a rice farmer.

Jakarta – Refugee repatriation agencies hailed the return to East Timor of a group of demobilised soldiers as a success, but refugee leaders in West Timor said Monday reported attacks on returning soldiers were setting back further repatriation efforts.

Vaudine England, Jakarta – The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Mary Robinson, yesterday offered to help Indonesia set up a special court to hear cases against suspects accused of atrocities in East Timor last year.