Celestina Soares – The representative Mria Dadi Magno from the Timor-Leste National Youth Council (CNJTL) said this is a proud moment for young people as so far there has been no youth policy.

"It is a big moment for Timor-Leste youth to be proud, we now have a national youth policy," she said during the ceremony of the launch of the National Youth Policy book in Dili.

Dili – The 7th Timorese constitutional government, a minority government, will face the first great test in Parliament next week, with the debate of the executive's Program to be able to condition the life in the country until the middle of 2018.

Erin Cook, Jakarta – A long-running territorial dispute between Australia and Timor-Leste is a step closer to resolution with last month's announcement that talks at The Hague arrived at a new maritime border treaty for the Timor Sea.

Sirisha Veera – 2017 has been a positive year for Timor-Leste politics. Despite initial fears, both the May presidential election and the July parliamentary election concluded peacefully.

With its longstanding dispute with Australia over the Timor Sea resolved, neighbouring Timor-Leste looks set to expand its petroleum and mineral industries.

Meanwhile, its government is actively seeking investors in agriculture and fisheries, tourism and services, according to Abel Guterres, Timor-Leste Ambassador to Australia.

In the coming days it is likely we will get more information about the "boundary breakthrough" announced on the 1st of September.

According to an article published last week by the Portuguese news agency LUSA, this week Timor-Leste, Australia and the UN Conciliation Commission are participating in meetings at The Hague to finalise remaining details.

Khoo Ying Hooi – After 15 years of its restoration of independence, Timor Leste is a country that remains unknown to many of us in the Southeast Asia region. Geographically, it is located on the eastern edge of the Indonesian archipelago. As a small state, the country has a population of only 1.2 million people.

Lindsay Murdoch – East Timor's three opposition parties say they are ready to form a parliamentary majority alliance to take office if programs of a newly sworn-in minority government fail to gain support, as political tensions rise again in Asia's newest democracy.

Nelson Da Cruz, Dili – East Timor President Francisco "Lu Olo" Guterres swore in the remaining members of the new cabinet on Tuesday and urged the first minority government since independence to focus on improving living conditions and avoiding political upheaval.

Gary Cox – In wealthy countries, free-to-air broadcast television may be giving way to marathon binge sessions on your favourite streaming service.

But in Timor-Leste, viewers are getting something extra in their terrestrial TV programming and it's proving a hit. A new locally-produced law and order drama is taking the fledgling nation by storm.

Caitlin McGee – Fifteen years since Timor-Leste gained its independence, there are growing fears it could face economic collapse.

Its main oil and gas reserve is nearly depleted and the government of the country formerly known as East Timor is pumping its savings into grand infrastructure schemes that critics say are wasteful.

Remembering the Balibo Five In the month of August, Union Aid Abroad-APHEDA was proud to support the Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance (MEAA) co-host two public events featuring East Timorese Journalist, Raimundos Oki who was in Australia undertaking a placement with Fairfax and the ABC.

Boni Jehadin, Kupang and Ryan Dagur, Jakarta – Neglected for almost two decades, pro-Jakarta Catholic Timor-Leste militias who relocated to Indonesia after the country's independence have demanded the government begin a process to remove them from the United Nation's serious crime list, which prevents them traveling abroad.

Beijing – Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on Monday extended congratulations to Mari Alkatiri on his election as Timor-Leste's prime minister, China's Xinhua news agency reported.

Singapore – Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has written to Timor-Leste's Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri To congratulate him on his appointment, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a media release on Monday (Sep 25).

Kupang – A total of 13,000 ex-East Timorese residents proposed eight demands to the Indonesian government through the East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) Provincial Government during a demonstration at Jalan El Tari Kupang in front of the NTT governor's office.

Khoo Ying Hooi – Led by Mari Alkatiri, secretary-general of the Revolutionary Front for an Independent East Timor (Fretilin) for the second time as the prime minister, the Seventh Constitutional Government of Timor-Leste was finally sworn in on September 15.

Thomas Ora, Dili and Michael Sainsbury, Bangkok – Timor-Leste faces fresh political uncertainty after the youth focused Khunto Party pulled out of a three-way coalition two days before the Sept. 15 inauguration of the cabinet.

The move casts doubt over whether the now-minority government can last a full five year term.

Guteriano Neves – After almost two months of intense political theater among the Timorese political elites, the new government was finally sworn in on September 15, 2017 with the new minority government model.

Michael Leach – Almost two months since the 22 July election, a new government will be sworn in today in Dili. Fretilin, with 23 seats in parliament, has joined with Democratic Party (PD) which has seven representatives, giving them 30 seats in the 65-seat house.

East Timor swore in a new government Friday, led by a returning prime minister who experts say will need to wean the country off its reliance on oil revenues and diversify the economy.

Mari Alkatiri, secretary general of the Fretilin party, was inaugurated with 10 members of his 30-person administration at a ceremony in the capital Dili.

Nelson Da Cruz, Dili – East Timor is set to swear in Mari Alkatiri for a second stint as prime minister, the country's president said on Thursday, with Asia's youngest democracy facing stiff challenges to boost a flagging economy heavily reliant on oil and gas.

Jakarta – Indonesia and Timor Leste have been committed to solving their border problem at Noelbesi-Citrana in Kupang district, East Nusa Tenggara province, a senior minister said.

"The dispute persists there. But it does not mean that it cannot be solved," Indonesian Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs Wiranto said here Tuesday.

Thomas Oro, Dili – Muslim politician Mari Alkatiri, who quit as prime minister 2006 after four years as the mainly Catholic nation's first parliamentary leader after its independence, is set for a dramatic return to lead the government for the next five years.

Paul Malone – The announcement by the Permanent Court of Arbitration last week that Australia and Timor Leste have reached an agreement on maritime boundaries will hopefully bring to an end a shameful episode in Australia's foreign affairs history.

Bec Strating – Last Friday, the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) announced a 'breakthrough' in maritime boundary conciliation proceedings between Timor-Leste and Australia. The two parties 'reached an agreement on the central elements of a maritime boundary delimitation' and on a 'Special Regime' governing the development of Greater Sunrise and the allocation of resulting revenue.

Donald R. Rothwell – The announcement on the weekend by the Timor Sea Conciliation Commission is the first indication that Australia and Timor Leste are making real progress towards resolving their maritime boundary dispute.

Damien Kingsbury – Australia's agreement with East Timor to settle a permanent maritime boundary in the Timor Sea appears to bring to an end a long-running and often bitter dispute, which has marred relations between the two countries.

Michael Leach – In a major joint announcement on Saturday, Timor-Leste and Australia declared they had reached an agreement on "central aspects" of a maritime boundary determination. Since April last year, the two countries have been involved in a Compulsory Conciliation Process under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, or UNCLOS, initiated by Timor-Leste.

Analysts have cautiously welcomed a new maritime agreement between Australia and Timor-Leste.

The deal ends a long running row between the two nations that's stalled a multibillion-dollar offshore gas project in the Timor Sea. The details will remain confidential until they are finalised next month.

In what has been described as a "breakthrough" by the two governments, Australia and East Timor have reached an agreement for the framework of a new treaty that will finally set permanent maritime boundaries between the two countries.

The Timor Sea Justice Campaign's spokesperson, Tom Clarke, welcomed the news but warned it was not yet a done deal.

Lindsay Murdoch, Bangkok – Australia and East Timor have reached agreement on developing billions of dollars of oil and gas reserves in the Timor Sea, ending years of bitter disagreement.

A deal has been reached on a maritime boundary as well as sharing arrangements for the $US50 billion Greater Sunrise oil and gas field.

Jane Norman – Australia and Timor-Leste have resolved their bitter and long-running dispute over maritime boundaries in the Timor Sea, in what is being described as a "landmark day" in the relationship between the two nations.

East Timor's new parliament is ready to be sworn in next week but it's still unclear who will be prime minister.

The Fretilin Party narrowly claimed victory at the parliamentary elections in late July and is still in negotiations for the makeup of a coalition government. The talks are expected to continue over the weekend along with the jostling for ministerial positions.

Curtis S. Chin – A decade ago, I traveled to East Timor, also known as Timor-Leste, to look at the condition of roads and other infrastructure in Asia's newest country. I was working with the Asian Development Bank at the time, and returned in 2010 for a follow-up visit.

Today, the 30th of August, is a bittersweet day for the Timorese. It is the anniversary of the Popular Consultation, the UN sponsored referendum held in 1999 that finally gave the Timorese people a chance to vote for their freedom.

In her new book Crossing the Line Kim McGrath exposes Australia's brutal opportunism towards East Timor, and the atrocities we were willing to condone to serve our national interest.

Jun Suzuki, Dili – China is increasing its influence in East Timor as the small Southeast Asian nation's relations with its traditional aid providers weaken.

Police fired tear gas at hundreds of students protesting against allegedly corrupt government officials at East Timor on Monday, forcing members of Parliament to suspend a scheduled auction of government cars, reports Reuters.

Dili – Hundreds of students in East Timor clashed on Monday with police who fired tear gas to disperse the crowds protesting against alleged government corruption.

Lindsay Murdoch, Bangkok – The hero of East Timor's independence, Xanana Gusmao, will continue to lead his country's sensitive negotiations over maritime boundaries with Australia despite his party losing office in the July elections.

Bec Strating – Amid the celebrations of ASEAN's 50th birthday last week, the question of whether Timor-Leste will soon be granted full membership lingers.

Siktus Harson, Jakarta – Three weeks after its parliamentary election, Asia's most Catholic nation Timor-Leste remains leaderless and could be heading for a minority government.

Fretilin, which won most seats in the July 22 poll, has so far failed to form a government with its former coalition partner – the National Congress for Timorese Reconstruction (CNRT).

A new party in East Timor's parliament has tapped into rising disenfranchisement among the youth and anxiety over the country's economic survival.

The party's founder spent two years in prison after members of his martial arts group became involved in a violent brawl.

Damien Kingsbury – Although unlikely to be formalized before 22 August, the shape of Timor-Leste's next government is starting to become clear. It appears that Fretilin, as the 'most voted' party, will form a minority government, probably in alliance with the 'youth' party, KHUNTO. This alliance will give the government 27 seats in the 65 seat parliament.

Adam Henry – Archival documents show the British Government – like Australia and the U.S. – actively assisted Indonesia cover up crimes against humanity in East Timor. Dr Adam Henry reports.

In recent research in the National Archives (UK) regarding the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) and East Timor, three things emerged repeatedly.

Michael Leach – East Timorese politics remain in a post-election limbo as the parties elected to parliament just over a fortnight ago negotiate to form government.

Curtis Chin, Ainaro, Timor Leste (The Jakarta Post/Asia News Network) =- Bright blue election boxes and indelibly inked index fingers. These are just some of the vivid colors of democracy that come to mind as I think back to something momentous that just happened in Southeast Asia.

Lindsay Murdoch – The hero of East Timor's independence struggle Xanana Gusmao has resigned from the presidency of his party only days after national elections, throwing moves to form a coalition government into disarray.

Damien Kingsbury – Timor-Leste came through the 2017 parliamentary elections with a general expectation that the two major parties, CNRT and Fretilin, would continue to dominate the small country's politics and return to the coalition they had since 2015. That coalition gave Timor-Leste stability and promised stability into the future, if at the expense of a viable opposition.