Lillian Rangiah – Twenty-five years since Timor Leste voted to end more than two decades of Indonesian occupation, Lurdes Pires is still haunted by the memory of what came next.

"When I left, Dili was on fire," she said. "I went back ... and the whole place smelled of death – rotten flesh, rotten blood."

Dili – When Pope Francis touches down in the Timor-Leste capital of Dili this week, he will be landing in a totally different nation to the one visited by his predecessor.

Ato 'Lekinawa' da Costa – A Timorese scholar, Josh Trindade, currently pursuing a PhD at the Indigenous Knowledge Institute, Australia has issued a public demand for Pope Francis to apologize for the Catholic Church's historical and ongoing impact on Timorese culture and spirituality.

Michael Rose and Ivo Mateus Goncalves da Cruz Fernandes – Next week, Timor-Leste will welcome Pope Francis, its first papal visit in 35 years. Aside from being an enormous event in this deeply Catholic country, the two-day visit also has resonance in terms of its recent history.

Melisa Cavcic – Australia's energy giant Santos has signed a new mid-term liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply contract with Glencore Singapore (Glencore) and hammered out a deal for the divestment of a partial stake in an offshore gas project with Timor-Leste's national oil company, TIMOR GAP.

The Santos-led Bayu-Undan joint venture (JV) has agreed on the terms for a sale and purchase deed with TIMOR GAP, allowing the Timor-Leste state-owned company to join the Bayu-Undan upstream project.

TIMOR GAP will gain a 16% stake in the Bayu-Undan upstream project located in the Timor Sea. The transaction has an economic date of 1 July 2024.

David da Costa – Today (September 2, 2024), around 12 p.m., Nelson Roldao, a Timorese human rights activist supporting the pro-West Papua movement, was arrested at Timor-Leste the Prezidente Nicolau Lobato International Airport in Dili, Timor-Leste, while accompanying West Papuan activist, who was traveling back to his home country.

Will Hunter – Adelaide nurse Joy Booth sees the joy and hope that "life-changing" reconstructive surgery can bring to young people in Timor-Leste, but the working environment is often a stark departure from Australian clinical conditions.

Ms Booth recently embarked on her 11th surgical trip to train and assist local health staff.

Dili – Timor-Leste's leader thanked the international community Friday as his country celebrated the 25th anniversary of its referendum on independence from Indonesia, with visiting United Nations chief Antonio Guterres urging the world to do more to support the young democracy.

Gantry Meilana, Dili, East Timor – East Timor on Friday celebrated the 25th anniversary of a U.N.-backed referendum that secured its independence from its major neighbor Indonesia, which invaded the former Portuguese colony in 1975.

Dili – Timor-Leste's independence was a gift to the world because it showed conflict could be resolved through negotiation, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Aug 30, the 25th anniversary of its vote to separate from Indonesia.

Niniek Karmini, David Rising and Nicole Winfield, Dili, Timor-Leste – When the Vatican acknowledged in 2022 that the Nobel Peace Prize-winning, East Timorese independence hero Bishop Carlos Ximenes Belo had sexually abused young boys, it appeared that the global clergy sexual abuse scandal that has compromised the Catholic Church's credibility around the world had finally arrived in

Dili, East Timor – When the Vatican acknowledged in 2022 that the Nobel Peace Prize-winning, East Timorese independence hero Bishop Carlos Ximenes Belo had sexually abused young boys, it appeared that the global clergy sexual abuse scandal that has compromised the Catholic Church's credibility around the world had finally arrived in Asia's newest country.

Sas and Vonia Vieira, Dili – As always in Timor-Leste, there was a prayer before the big event. Minutes later, the bulldozers rolled in. And in an instant, the homes of Tasitolu were gone.

"I'm very sad," local resident Ana Bela da Cruz told the ABC as her home was demolished in the background.

Ahmad Syamsudin, Jakarta – As the tiny nation of Timor-Leste prepares to celebrate the 25th anniversary on Friday of its vote for independence from Indonesia, some Timorese say it is an apt occasion to reflect on whether freedom has improved their lives.

Timor-Leste President Jose Ramos Horta has termed the preparations for the upcoming visit of Pope Francis a "logistical nightmare" due to various challenges, but expressed hope everything will go as planned, says a report.

Peter Milne – Santos could lose control of its Bayu Undan gas project north of Darwin on Friday unless it agrees with the Timor-Leste government to give it a share of the project, according to a letter from the country's minister of petroleum seen by this masthead.

The government of Timor-Leste announced on Friday that it would be proceeding with a project to expand and modernise President Nicolau Lobato International Airport in Dili.

Dili – President Droupadi Murmu announced during her address in Timor-Leste on Saturday that India will soon open an embassy in the country as part of the growing India-Timor-Leste friendship.

President Murmu arrived in Timor Leste on Saturday, after concluding her visits to Fiji and New Zealand, in the third leg of her three-nation tour.

Antonio da Costa, Dili – Rights groups are questioning Timor-Leste, an impoverished Asian nation, for allocating US$12 million for Pope Francis' visit next month, including US$1 million to build an altar for a papal Mass.

Church sources said some 700,000 Catholics, primarily from the nation's 1.3 million-strong Catholic majority, are expected to attend the Sept. 10 Mass.

Ha Noi – Timor-Leste President Jose Ramos-Horta left Ha Noi on Saturday afternoon, wrapping up his four-day state visit to Viet Nam at the invitation of President To Lam.

During his stay, the leader paid tribute to late President Ho Chi Minh at his mausoleum and laid wreaths at the monument to war heroes and martyrs on Bac Sin Street in Ha Noi.

Adil Al Hasan, Jakarta – The Indonesian Financial Services Authority (OJK) and Banco Central de Timor Leste (BCTL) or the Central Bank of Timor Leste have officially agreed to boost cooperation by signing an amendment to the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Mutual Cooperation on Cross-Border Supervision.

The president of Timor-Leste is in Beijing on the first state visit to China by any Timorese leader, Xinhua reports. China was the first country to establish diplomatic relations with the Portuguese-speaking Southeast Asian nation back in 2002, the same year it gained independence from Indonesia.

Dioceses bordering Timor-Leste and the Indonesian government are collaborating to help Catholics attend the papal visit to the Catholic-majority Asian nation in September.

Jude Conway – The hardships endured by the East Timorese are detailed in a memoir by Dr Vacy Vlazna, both a story of courage and a political analysis. Dr Jude Conway reviews "East Timor Reveille for Courage: Recollections of an Australian Human Rights Activist, 1998-2001".

Sandy Yule – When Melbourne-born Helen Hill, an outstanding social activist, scholar and academic, died on May 7, 2024, at the age of 79, the Timorese government sent its Minister for Education, Dulce de Jesus Soares, to deliver a moving eulogy at the funeral service at Church of All Nations in Carlton.

Timorese President Jose Ramos-Horta said in a visit to Luanda that Timor-Leste becoming the 11th member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in 2025 will open new opportunities for all Portuguese-speaking countries.

Timor-Leste and Mozambique signed a series of cooperation agreements last Friday in Maputo as part of Timorese President Jose Ramos-Horta's working visit to the African country.

Luanda – Angola and East Timor signed three agreements on Monday to strengthen bilateral cooperation, in a ceremony attended by the presidents of the two countries, Joao Lourenco and Jose Ramos Horta in Luanda.

Singapore – Singapore passport holders will soon be able to travel to Timor-Leste without a visa under a new agreement, said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) on Thursday (Jun 27).

Bill Birtles and Zevonia Vieriq – An Australian man has been sentenced to 11 years in jail in Timor Leste after he was convicted of abusing a girl under the age of 12.

Robert Trott, 76, was found guilty on two counts of aggravated sexual abuse of a minor by a panel of judges at a court in the capital Dili.

Timor-Leste will now issue entry visas at seven embassies in order to "simplify" the process and improve border control.

Max Lane – The Socialist Party of Timor (PST) evolved out of the national liberation struggle in Timor Leste in the 1970s. In the first stage of that struggle, socialist ideas circulated, originating from contact with Portugal, Brazil or the national liberation struggles in the Portuguese African colonies.

Max Lane – Last week, while in Dili, I had the opportunity for a chat over coffee with the Cuban Ambassador to Timor Leste, Alina Aldama. I had met the Ambassador briefly at the State Restoration of Independence Day Celebrations on 20 May.

Andrew Probyn – Australia is offering Timor-Leste a multi-billion-dollar lifeline to fast-track the Greater Sunrise offshore gas project, which promises generational wealth for the fledgling nation while keeping Beijing at bay.

Max Lane – On May 19th, one day before the commemoration of Timor Leste's second proclamation of Independence I accepted the Medal of Honour of Timor Leste from President Ramos Horta at a ceremony where 14 other people also accepted such awards.

The Coffee Association of Timor-Leste (known by its Portuguese initials ACT) is calling for Timorese coffee, particularly a game-changing Robusta-Arabica hybrid, to be added to the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Ahmad Syamsudin, Dili, Timor-Leste – Jose do Santos was once a construction foreman in Dili who oversaw the rise of buildings symbolizing Timor-Leste's progress after its triumphant vote for independence from Indonesia nearly 25 years ago.

Now, he barely makes ends meet navigating the city's streets as a minibus driver.

Fidelis Magalhaes – Prabowo Subianto's recent election win has sparked varied reactions, and while some interpret it as a setback for democratic progress since the 1998 reformasi, I see it as an opportunity for fostering deeper reconciliation between Timor-Leste and Indonesia.

Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara – The Indonesian Army (TNI AD) received 235 improvised firearms left over from the 1999 East Timorese crisis from East Nusa Tenggara residents living on the Indonesia-Timor Leste border.

The president of Timor-Leste, Jose Ramos-Horta, has questioned whether the country is prepared to join the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) next year, as currently planned, given its lack of key infrastructure.

Ahmad Syamsudin, Dili, Timor-Leste – At Timor-Leste's museum of memory, Hugo Fernandes supervises exhibits chronicling resistance and oppression during the Indonesian occupation – an era when Prabowo Subianto, now Indonesia's president-elect, is alleged to have overseen atrocities.

Timor-Leste's minister of foreign affairs, Bendito Freitas, travelled to China on Tuesday for an official visit aimed at strengthening cooperation and diplomatic relations between the two countries, the government in Dili said.

Michael Philipps – Estrella Resources has officially been granted exploration tenure of more than 500 square kilometres in Timor-Leste making history as one of the first companies to receive exploration rights in the country.

The nation is looking to build its industry in this resource-rich part of the world and ASX-listed Estrella is the first through the gate.

The Timor-Leste non-governmental organisation Mahein Foundation on Thursday alerted the government to the public's discontent with the lack of "seriousness and urgency" in improving people's living conditions since it took office.

Around 360,000 people in Timor-Leste, a country with a population of 1.3 million, face critical levels of food insecurity, according to a report assessing the food situation in the country, released by the World Food Programme (WFP).

John Martinkus – Indonesia's president-elect, Prabowo Subianto, has form. As the son-in-law of the former dictator, Suharto, he rose quickly through the ranks of the military to become head of the greatly feared Indonesian special forces, Kopassus.

Jordyn Beazley and Luca Ittimani – Natalino Guterres likens getting the chance to march down Oxford Street in pure queer pride to the feeling he had when he was 12 and Timor-Leste achieved independence after a brutal occupation.

"It's really emotional for me," he said. "It's one of those moments when you're really happy and get to look forward to having some momentum."

The government of Timor-Leste signed the accession protocol to the World Trade Organization (WTO), the culmination of nearly eight years of work, at the 13th WTO ministerial conference in Abu Dhabi this week.

Vonia Vieira in Oecusse, Timor-Leste and the Pacific Local Journalism Network's Nick Sas – Noviana Tome leads a simple life.

The farmer from Timor-Leste's far-west Oecusse region attends her rice fields every day, leaving early in the morning and coming home late in the afternoon.