Paulina Quintao – The Timor-Leste government and partners are developing a prevention plan to respond to rabies in the case of an outbreak.

The European Union will support Timor-Leste (East Timor) with a budget of 57 million euros over the next five years, under a cooperation agreement signed at the end of last week in Dili by the head of the EU delegation in Timor-Leste and the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of Timor-Leste.

Paulina Quintao – Data from the Secretariat of Technical and Electoral Administration (STAE) showed lower rates of voter participation in this year's presidential election, with 214,337 of 743,150 registered voters not taking part.

Former Timor-Leste President Jose Ramos-Horta said he was concerned that many voters had decided not to take part.

Paulina Quintao – President elect Francisco 'Lu-Olo' Guterres has congratulated the Timorese people for entrusting him with their votes for the 2017-2022 term.

"I am happy for this and congratulate everyone," he said at the Fretilin central office in Dili.

Sue Ingram – Last week, Francisco Guterres became Timor-Leste's first party-affiliated president. While the election broke new ground structurally and procedurally, the office of president is still firmly in the hands of the 1975 generation of resistance leaders.

A former guerrilla fighter vowed on Saturday to keep peace and unity as East Timor's new president, delivering a victory speech after the final tally showed he was on course to win the election.

When she was only five years old, Isabelina Pinto was taken from her family by an Indonesian soldier. She was one of thousands of children taken to Indonesia during its brutal 30-year occupation of East Timor.

Decades later she found her family and now works to reunite others. The BBC's Rebecca Henschke tells her story.

Venidora Oliveira – The National Parliament has established a law making it illegal to carry weapons while inside a vehicle.

National MP Antoninho Bianco said the context of the law was to criminalize and condemn those who consciously brought weapons such as swords, machetes and barbed arrows inside a car.

Venidora Oliveira – Timor-Leste Defense Force (F-FDTL) Chief, Major-General Lere Anan Timor has called on the government to give more attention to the wellbeing of 23 veterans who retired in 2015 and now live in miserable conditions.

He said the veterans were retired by the institution because of their age based on the military statute law.

Paulina Quintao – Clinical Director at the National Hospital of Guido Valadares Dr Flavio Brandao said that the number of kidney patients was continuing to increase each year due to problems accessing clean, filtered water across the country.

A Timorese lawyer who helped draft Timor Leste's constitution says the way this week's presidential election ran demonstrates the country is growing as a nation.

It was the first election conducted by the Timorese without any direct assistance from the international community.

David Hutt – Former guerrilla leader Francisco "Lu-Olo" Guterres is tipped to become the next president of Timor-Leste, also known as East Timor, after exit polls showed he won a clear majority at this week's polls.

Preliminary results show that Guterres received 57% of the vote, while analysts speculate that figure will be closer to 60% when the official result is announced.

Lindsay Murdoch, Dili – When invading Indonesian troops parachuted into Dili in 1975 Filomena Gomes fled into East Timor's cloud-shrouded mountains and for four years scrounged food and cooked for guerrilla fighters.

Jonas Guterres and Khoo Ying Hooi – The March 20 presidential election was the first election held in Timor-Leste without assistance from the international community since the United Nations (UN) Mission departed in 2012. It was considered a success, with elections held in an orderly and peaceful manner with no major incidents reported.

Damien Kingsbury – East Timor's presidential election looks to have produced a strong victory for Fretilin's serial candidate, Francisco Guterres, known as Lu-Olo. While results remains unofficial, based on a largely complete tally, Lu-Olo was looking to have just under 60% of the total vote for the mostly ceremonial role of president.

Lindsay Murdoch, Dili – A veteran guerrilla commander is heading for a decisive victory in East Timor's presidential elections and is expected to be sworn in as the country's next head of state in May.

Francisco "Lu-Olo" Guterres had received 57 per cent of the national vote with 90 per cent of votes counted in Monday's election.

Flavio Simoes – The big day has finally arrived for voters all across Timor-Leste and, for the first time since the restoration of independence in 2002, for Timorese also living in Australia and Portugal.

According to the electoral administration body STAE, there are 747,583 Timorese voters registered to vote during the March 20 presidential election and the July legislative election.

Lindsay Murdoch, Dili – East Timorese leader Jose Ramos Horta has lashed out at what he calls "outrageous" claims before an Australian parliamentary committee that his country could be heading towards becoming a failed state.

Michael Leach – The count so far in Timor-Leste's presidential election appears to have delivered a decisive victory for FRETILIN's Francisco 'Lu Olo' Guterres. With some 69% of votes counted, Guterres has received just under 60% of the national vote. Securing a clear majority in the first round will mean a run-off round won't be required for the first time since 2002.

Helen Davidson and Ben Doherty – A former revolutionary hero is expected to become Timor-Leste's next president as voters head to the polls in the country's first election since the departure of United Nations peacekeepers in 2012.

It is also the first time Timorese Australians have been allowed to cast absentee votes – in Sydney and Darwin – without having to travel back to Dili.

Lindsay Murdoch, Dili – They rode ponies, steered boats and walked for kilometres along cloud-shrouded mountain paths to vote in East Timor's presidential election on Monday.

The vote will be a key to the future of Asia's newest democracy amid concerns the half-island nation's oil and gas revenues are rapidly running dry.

Amanda Hodge – East Timorese voters go to the polls today to elect their fourth president since Independence, in a contest shaping up as a referendum on whether the tiny nation is ready to move on from its freedom-struggle narrative and focus on the economic struggle ahead.

Felicity James – The people of Timor-Leste head to the polls today to elect a new president, with former guerrilla fighter Francisco "Lu'Olo" Guterres widely tipped to out-poll seven other candidates.

Damien Kingsbury – East Timor goes to the polls on today to elect a new president. After this small and still impoverished country's profoundly troubled history, the election should, happily, be relatively unproblematic.

Lindsay Murdoch, Dili – The front-runner to be elected East Timor's president at elections on Monday has offered new hope for a breakthrough with Australia in a bitter stand-off over $40 billion in oil and gas fields.

Alexandre Assis, Dili – East Timorese flocked to political rallies on the final day of campaigning ahead of Monday's presidential election, as Asia's youngest democracy grapples with persistent poverty and corruption at a time when oil revenues are rapidly running dry.

Daniel Flitton – The site in East Timor where Indonesian troops killed five Australian journalists in 1975 will be transformed with the construction of a new conference centre after a $100,000 donation by the Victorian government.

Victoria will also provide $60,000 to East Timor over the next three years to train nurses for a new dental clinic.

Gobie Rajalingam, Susan Marx – Politics in Timor-Leste is always engaging and colorful, and the lead-up to the 2017 presidential election on March 20 is no exception.

Venidora Oliveira – Police have ended their operations targeting illegal casinos in Dili after the government, through the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Environment, legalized the gambling venues.

Second General Commander National Police of Timor-Leste (PNTL), Commissioner Faustino da Costa said under the law, the government previously banned casinos.

Venidora Oliveira – National Member of Parliament has raised strong suspicions over the selection process of new students at the National University of Timor-Leste (UNTL) as some students with low grades are being selected while those with higher grades are not.

Experts have told a parliamentary inquiry that if the Greater Sunrise oil and gas field is not developed East Timor may become a failed state or aid dependent.

Venidora Oliveira – Criminal Investigation Service (SIK) registered 4049 criminal cases in 2016.

Second General Commander of the National Police of Timor-Leste (PNTL) Commissioner Faustino da Costa said of that number there was a high prevalence of assault cases, with 969 registered cases.

Thomas Ora, Dili – Timor-Leste's Dili Diocese has declared 2017 as the Year of the Bible to boost people's faith and understanding of the Gospel as the main source of Christian life.

The declaration was made based on recommendations from a liturgy conference held last year.

An interview with the head of Timor-Leste's national human rights institution.

Venidora Oliveira – Secretary of State for the Socio-Economic Support of Women (SEM) has provided training to policewomen to help improve their leadership and public speaking skills.

The head of SEM's training department, Filomena Martins, said the main objective of the training was to improve the decision-making abilities of policewomen in senior positions.

Venidora Oliveira – Police registered 1741 traffic accidents in 2016, which caused the deaths of 71 people.

Second General Commander National Police of Timor-Leste (PNTL), Commissioner Faustino da Costa said that the majority of accidents occurred in Dili municipality, where 1600 accidents were registered. "The accidents mostly happen because the driver loses control," he said.

Paulina Quintao – The government through the Health Ministry has allocated funding to establish a special mental health clinic, with an appropriate site now in the process of being identified.

Paulina Quintao – Deputy Ministry of Health Ana Isabel Soares said improving the professional ethics and attitude of medical personnel remains a significant challenge for the Ministry of Health, particularly in terms of providing quality treatment.

She said communities continued to have concerns over the insensitive language used by the health personnel when treating patients.

Farol, Dili – Today, on 8 March 2017, we come together as a collective of Timorese organisations to put forward our call for positive change; to bring about equality, justice and freedom for all women. We, along with many women across the world, struggle against patriarchal systems that promote the use of violence, struggle against inequality and the exploitation of us and the environment.

Paulina Quintao – Private secondary schools are refusing to accept young mothers wanting to continue their studies after giving birth as there is still no legal basis.

Thomas Ora, Dili – In a sign of how much influence the Catholic Church retains in Timor-Leste all eight presidential candidates together with 5,000 people, joined a prayer rally in Dili to mark the start of campaigning ahead of the March 20 election.

Wellington – New Zealand's top military officer left for Timor-Leste Monday in a show of support for the young Pacific nation's security.

The Chief of Defence Force, Lieutenant General Tim Keating, said he would hold talks with Commander of the Timor-Leste Defence Force Major General Lere Anan Timur, Prime Minister Dr Rui Maria de Araujo and President Taur Matan Ruak.

Khoo Ying Hooi – Timor-Leste's 15 years of independence have been marked by a mixed performance of progress and crisis. Having emerged from war and internal conflict in the late 1990s, Timor-Leste has a challenging path to get on par with other countries, in particular on issues related to development.

Michael Leach – Election year arrives again in Dili, with the presidential campaign starting today and culminating in a national vote on 20 March.

New Zealand and Timor Leste have signed a five-year cooperation agreement aimed in part at helping reduce the Southeast Asian nation's reliance on oil.

Timor Leste, formerly known as East Timor, formally gained independence from Indonesia 15 years ago, after an armed intervention led by New Zealand and Australia.

Thomas Ora, Dili – Timor-Leste's Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Environment has launched a joint effort to tackle coastal abrasion by restoring about twelve hectares of mangroves which were damaged by El-Nino or cut down for firewood.

Felicity James – East Timor's electoral commission is giving some Timorese Australians the chance to vote in the country's upcoming elections for the first time since independence.

Citizens living in Darwin and Sydney will be part of the trial, which allows them to vote without flying home.

The ultrasound machine donated to Timor-Leste by Forbes Medical Centre is in constant use in Same Hospital, saving patients a very long trip by rough roads to the capital Dili.

Sometimes communities can decide to support a project that can really make a difference to the lives of others.

Paulina Quintao – The Alola Foundation has called on women's weaving groups to preserve and maintain the originality of tais traditions as part of the country's identity.

Director of the Alola Foundation Alzira Reis said that some foreign companies were copying common tais patterns to respond to market needs.