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).

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.

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.

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.

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.

Independence leader Xanana Gusmao has resigned as president of his party following their recent election loss, reportedly saying the East Timorese people had lost faith in them.

The National Congress for Timorese Reconstruction (CNRT), headed by the former president and independence leader, lost eight seats in parliament following last month's election.

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.

Dili, East Timor – The prime minister of East Timor, Rui Maria de Araujo, said the country is "ready to become a member," with regard to the state's aim to join the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), in a recent interview with the Mainichi Shimbun.

The East Timor and Indonesia Action Network (ETAN) lauded the U.S. House of Representatives for urging a fair resolution to the maritime boundary dispute between Australia and Timor-Leste.

In July, the House noted that a fair and peaceful resolution to the dispute would set a positive example for the resolution of other maritime disputes in the region. (see text below)

There is to be a Hilton Hotels and Resorts-branded hotel in Timor-Leste. Under a management agreement with The Lay Group, Hilton will manage Hilton Dili Palm Springs in the capital city of Dili, the country's main centre of economic activity.

The Hilton Palm Springs will offer convenience to corporate and government travellers with its location in the heart of Dili.

Georgina Downer – For a nation that only won its hard-fought battle for independence 15 years ago, Timor Leste has travelled a long way fast.

Khoo Ying Hooi –- On July 22, 77 percent of Timorese cast their votes in the Timor-Leste's parliamentary election, which was contested by almost two dozen political parties in a country of just about 1.2 million people.

Thomas Ora, Dili – Timor-Leste's parliamentary election ended peacefully over the weekend with the fledgling country looking set for five more years of coalition government led by the former resistance movement party, Fretilin, and the National Congress for Timorese Reconstruction Party (CNRT).

Anthony Fensom – Elections in Timor-Leste have highlighted the challenges facing one of Southeast Asia's poorest nations, amid predictions that its key oil and gas resources could be depleted by the end of the decade.

Michael Leach – With final votes tallied in the Timor-Leste parliamentary elections overnight, the results in Dili suggest a reframed power-sharing government will emerge, showing some continuity with the previous government but with a different flavour.

David Hutt – Preliminary results from Timor-Leste's general election indicate the two largest political parties, which formed a de facto ruling partnership in 2015, have retained a majority of votes.

The country's 750,000 registered voters, of which a fifth went to the ballot for the first time, turned out on Saturday to select their 65 parliamentary representatives.

Dili (AFP) – Timor Leste is set for another coalition after the two governing parties in Asia's youngest democracy clinched a majority of the votes in a trouble-free contest praised on Monday (July 24) as "remarkable" by observers.

Felicity James – A Timor-Leste political party with links to martial arts gangs and "disenfranchised young men" will for the first time have seats in the country's new parliament.

Lindsay Murdoch, Bangkok – East Timor's Fretilin party has opened the way for the formation of a broad-based unity government to rule the tiny nation for the next five years as it led counting of votes in Saturday's national elections.

Lindsay Murdoch, Bangkok – Two major parties appear set to dominate voting on Saturday in East Timor's fourth parliamentary elections since the tiny half-island nation gained its independence 15 years ago.

After 24 years of brutal Indonesian occupation, Timorese have come to take their elections seriously, and turned out en-masse again at polling booths across the country.

Marcelino Perreira, Dili – Voters in East Timor queued up on Saturday to cast their vote in the country's fourth parliamentary elections since independence in a ballot where campaigning has focused on development and jobs in Asia's youngest democracy.

Paulina Quintao – As Timor-Leste heads to the polls to vote during the Legislative Election 2017 that will determine the composition of the VII Government that will rule over the next five years, the community urges more inclusive policies and programs and equitable development that leads to an equal sharing of prosperity.

The number of children involvement in the political party campaigning is still high according to the observations of the National Commission for Children Rights (KNDL) during the campaign period.

KNDL Commissioner Maria Barreto said children take part in the campaigns because they are interested about parties and political leaders.

Damien Kingsbury – In a colourful and noisy event, unblemished so far by the violence that marred the first few years of independence, Timor-Leste prepares for its fourth parliamentary elections this Saturday. By conventional criteria, it has passed the test of consolidating its young democracy.

Lindsay Murdoch, Bangkok – More than 750,000 East Timorese will cast votes on Saturday to elect a government that will face tough negotiations that could deliver the poverty-stricken nation billions of dollars or – should they fail – send it into bankruptcy, possibly within a decade.

Lindsay Murdoch – One of East Timor's largest political parties has denounced "acts of intimidation and terror" against some if its supporters ahead of Saturday's parliamentary elections.

Marching through the streets of East Timor's capital Dili with a rainbow flag in his hand, Natalino Guterres was overwhelmed with emotion, reminding him of how he felt 15 years ago when he saw the Timorese flag raised for the first time.

Raimundos Oki and Stephen Wright, Dili, East Timor – Almost two dozen parties are contesting parliamentary elections in East Timor this weekend that are likely to return independence heroes to power despite frustration in the young democracy with lack of economic progress and warnings the country could be bankrupt within a decade.

Marcelino Perreira, Dili – Thousands of East Timorese ended weeks of political rallies and entered a campaign blackout on Thursday before parliamentary elections at the weekend, with fears for the economic future of Asia's youngest democracy the primary concern for voters.

Konradus Epa in Atambua, Indonesia – Rostiana Bareto experienced tough living conditions as a refugee when she and her family settled in Atambua, western Timor, on the border with Indonesia.

Despite the fundamental challenge of making ends meet, 49-year-old Bareto and her husband decided to stay and avoid the political instability back home.

Michael Leach, Dili – Twenty-one parties will contest 65 parliamentary seats and decide who governs Timor-Leste in national elections this Saturday.

Tahnee Reed – There is a lot of doom and gloom about the possibility of Timor-Leste becoming a failed state. Caution is understandable, as failed states create regional instability. However, there is a tendency to overlook the positive steps that Timor-Leste takes toward stability.

Felicity James – Tourism businesses from an island off the coast of Timor-Leste's capital say they fear large-scale government projects could destroy their community and local voices are being ignored in the debate.

In Timor-Leste, there has been a push for the Government to develop the tourism sector as the country tries to end its reliance on oil and gas revenue.

Felicity James – Timor-Leste is developing rapidly – 15 years after independence it's got one of the world's highest proportions of women in parliament – but a younger generation is facing growing unemployment levels.

Michael Leach – Twenty-one parties will contest sixty-five parliamentary seats and decide who governs Timor-Leste in national elections on 22 July. In a population with a median age of just under nineteen years and a voting age of seventeen, a fifth of Timor-Leste's 750,000 registered voters will be participating for the first time.

Venidora Oliveira 00 The Judicial System Monitoring Program (JSMP) considers grave that five members of the national parliament raised their objection and did not make an intervention during the plenary session in Portuguese because they did not feel they were fluent enough in the official language.

Paulina Quintao – Some 97 percent of all children in Timor-Leste under the age of five years old received their full immunization according to national data provided by the Ministry of Health 2016.

Khoo Ying Hooi and Guteriano Neves – A total of 21 political parties are registered to contest the Timor-Leste parliamentary election on July 22.

Josh Jackman – A tiny war-torn island in Asia has taken two huge steps forward in promoting LGBT rights.

East Timor, which only declared its independence in 2002 after a traumatic, deadly struggle, held its first Pride parade last week. The celebration in the capital of Dili was attended by several hundred people, according to The Associated Press.