Melbourne – Woodside Petroleum expressed doubts its Greater Sunrise gas prospect could go ahead this decade, leaving it off a list of growth projects out to 2019 and beyond in its annual results presentation in a bad sign for impoverished East Timor.

Indepedent since 2002, East Timor is one of the world's newest nations. But when it comes to protecting the environment, it has a unique and ancient tradition to draw upon – the practice of tara bandu.

Dili – East Timor Monday inaugurated a new prime minister at the head of a unity government, as it seeks to hand power to the next generation of leaders more than a decade after gaining independence.

Kandhi Barnes, Dili, East Timor – Opposition party member Rui Maria de Araujo was sworn in Monday as East Timor's prime minister, leading a smaller 38-member Cabinet for the half-island nation.

Tom Allard – In the annals of East Timor's extraordinary emergence as a nation state after 500 years of foreign domination, no figure has loomed as large as Xanana Gusmao.

As a young man, he filmed East Timor's declaration of independence from Portugal in 1975, fleeing to the hills nine days later when Indonesia invaded.

East Timor's president has chosen former health minister Rui Araujo to be the new prime minister of the country, the government says. Mr Araujo replaces independence hero Xanana Gusmao, who stepped down last week to allow for a younger generation to lead.

With Dr Rui Araujo expected to be sworn in next week as East Timor's new Prime Minister, Timor Sea Justice Campaigners are calling for Australia to mark the occasion by committing to a fresh approach to negotiations over oil and gas in the Timor Sea.

Randy Fabi – East Timor's independence hero and out-going prime minister Xanana Gusmao will stay in the cabinet as investment minister, the government said on Wednesday, raising questions about the independence of the new prime minister.

After leading East Timor since independence, Xanana Gusmao has resigned as PM, paving the way for a government overhaul. DW examines his life from guerrila fighter to national hero, and the issues facing his successor.

Paulina Quintao – Member of the National Parliament MP Aurelio Freitas claims services at the National Hospital Guido Valadares (HNGV) are delivered too slowly because staff spend too much looking over the shoulder or bogged down with bureaucracy.

MP Freitas added public health services delivery has declined since the V Constitutional took office resulting in patient deaths.

Paulina Quintao – Child Rights Group Representative from Ermera District, Ivonia Martins, believes the Ministry of Social Solidarity (MSS) is failing to control the implementation of the financial assistance program for mothers (Bolsa da Mae-Mother's Subsidy) because some of the children receiving the assistance are the children of public servants.

Paulina Quintao – Lack of health posts and housing for doctors is preventing health care from reaching remote rural areas according to Deputy Health Minister Natalia de Araujo.

De Araujo added around 200 sukus out of a total 445 sukus nationwide have access to the health care while the others do not.

Venidora Oliveira – Members of Parliament have called for protection detail to be available to female justice officials when serving court summons.

Commission F (health, education, culture, veterans' affairs and gender equality) member Eladio Faculto said justice officials needed protection.

Angela Macdonald-Smith – Woodside Petroleum has called for a resolution between Australian and East Timor of the renewed uncertainty over the administration of the Sunrise gas resource in the Timor Sea as it seeks to break the stalemate around its long-stalled $US13 billion ($17 billion) Sunrise gas project.

East Timor's president Taur Matan Ruak has accepted Xanana Gusmao's resignation as prime minister, leaving the former resistance fighter to wind down his celebrated career.

The former guerilla fighter has served as either president or prime minister since East Timor became independent in 2002, after a long struggle against Indonesian occupation.

Dili – East Timor's president is expected to decide on a new prime minister by the end of this week after accepting the resignation of independence hero Xanana Gusmao, the government said in a statement on Monday.

Damien Kingsbury – The resignation from office by East Timor's prime minister, Xanana Gusmao, was not unexpected. He had flagged his intentions over the past year. But it has sent shock waves throughout East Timor, where many believe his departure will create an unfillable political void.

Gantry Meliana, Dili, East Timor – East Timor independence hero Xanana Gusmao resigned as prime minister Friday, stepping down ahead of an expected restructuring of the government next week.

Marcelino Pereira, Jakarta – Timor Leste's prime minister and independence hero Xanana Gusmao has resigned, the government said on Friday, but a successor has yet to be chosen.

Tom Allard – East Timor's Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao has offered his resignation to the country's president, paving the way for a new government that will share power among the country's usually fractious political parties.

Margareth S. Aritonang, National – Indonesia will soon have a legal foundation for its defense agreements with both East Timor and Pakistan, as the House of Representatives is expected to ratify the agreements struck between Indonesia and the two countries.

Paulina Quintao – In response to accusations the Ministry of Health has no control over public doctors working as private practitioners, Minister of Health Sergio Lobo da Costa said even though this is not supposed to be taking place that it is difficult to control because of a lack of a centralized ICT system to monitor the work of all doctors in the public health sector.

Venidora Oliveira – Member of the National Parliament MP Anastacia da Costa Amaral claims some 85 percent of rural Timorese are not familiar with the prepaid electricity system set up by the EDTL Electricity of Timor-Leste Directorate.

Paulina Quintao – Deputy Justice Ministry Ivo Jorge Valente said the draft Juvenile Justice Law has been completed and has been scheduled for debate at the Council Ministry (CoM) prior to being send to the National Parliament for further deliberation.

Marcelino Pereira, Dili – East Timor's Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao is meeting the president this week to discuss a possible government restructuring, sending perhaps the strongest signal yet that the independence hero wants to step down.

Venidora Oliveira – Member of the National Parliament MP Arao Noe urges the Ministry of Justice to work towards translating the Timorese Civil Code Law to Tetun because it was difficult for Timorese to understand its current Portuguese version.MP Noe said it requires very high Portuguese language ability to understand juditial terms and if someone only speaks basic Portuguese he of she will not

Paulina Quintao – The Alola Foundation (FA) is urging the Timorese government to create regulation that will protect the originality of the Tais (traditional cloth) of Timor, including motifs used least it disappear.

FA's Executive Director Reis said currently fake tais from other countries copying traditional motifs of Timor dominate markets in the country.

Paulina Quintao – Women's Parliamentary Group president Josefa Alvares Pereira Soares says rural women are unfamiliar with laws prohibiting domestic violence.

She said awareness raising efforts by the State Secretariat for the Promotion of Equality (SEPI) were insufficient.

Paulina Quintao – Rede Feto (RF) women's network umbrella organization and the National Directorate for Terrestrial Transportation (DNTT) launched a campaign to raise public awareness and in particular of public and private transport drivers in Dili about gender based violence and the law against domestic violence.

Paulina Quintao – Cases of renal failure are on the rise in Timor-Leste with one of the potential causes being the poor quality of water consumed by the Timorese.

Estevao Nuno – One of the priorities for the Ministry of Education (ME) in 2015 is to use funds allocated in the State Budget for education to rehabilitate 800 schools presently in very poor condition in remote areas of the country.

Sara Everingham – East Timor's government is undergoing a restructure with the country's prime minister Xanana Gusmao likely to announce his retirement from the role within weeks.

Daniel Flitton – East Timor's independence hero and former guerrilla fighter Xanana Gusmao has told colleagues he will resign as Prime Minister in the next fortnight.

Mr Gusmao gathered most of his 53-member government a meeting on Wednesday night in the capital Dili where he outlined plans to step back in favour of a unity administration under a new leader.

Venidora Oliveira – The 2015 General State will continue to prioritize infrastructure development with the government believing there hasn't been a significant progress in the quality of roads and bridges across the country.

Prime Minister Kay Rala Xanana Gusmao said quality infrastructure will contribute towards sustainable economic growth and improve services delivery to the people.

Paulina Quintao – More than 100 Millennium Development Goal (MDG) houses are sitting abandoned in Lospalos sub-district in Lautem as the residents they were intended for refuse to live in them due to their poor condition.

Paulina Quintao – Health Ministry Department of Non-infectious Diseases chief Dr Herculano Seixas dos Santos says consultation on draft tobacco control legislation is complete and the laws will be submitted to the Council of Ministers for consideration before progressing to Parliament for debate.

Paulina Quintao – Breast and cervical cancer sufferers are forced to travel overseas for treatment due to a lack of facilities in Timor-Leste.

Paulina Quintao – Students have come forward concerned about the quality of teaching in schools across Timor because of teachers who abandon classes because they teach in more than one school concurrently.

Student Antonio da Costa believes the Ministry of Education is failing in its duty of care to prevent teachers on the public purse from double dipping.

Paulina Quintao – The results of an assessment conducted by the National Commission for the Rights of the Child (KNDL) in Timor-Leste show that some 67% of children get some form of physical punishment by school teachers in schools.

KNDL Commissioner Maria Barreto said physical violence should not be used by teachers to educate children.

Jakarta – The National Narcotics Agency (BNN) will form a local branch in Belu district, East Nusa Tenggara on the border of Indonesia and Timor Leste to intervene in the flow of drugs between the two countries.

Venidora Oliveira – Timor-Leste is unlikely to be admitted to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in 2015.

Foreign Affairs and Co-operation deputy minister Constbncio da Conceicao Pinto said the government had approached ASEAN member nations and worked towards ticking off the admittance criteria.

Paulina Quintao – CNRT, PD and FRETILIN party benches at the national parliament agree with the Prime Minister's decision to reshuffle the fifth Constitution Government as it has become ineffective.

Paulina Quintao – Former resistance member Olandina Caeiro has encouraged young women to involve themselves in politics in order to bring about positive changes to their lives.

"Many Timorese women are intelligent therefore young women should have the courage to compete to create a sense of equality between men and women in politics," she said.

Paulina Quintao – The bodies of many victims shot dead by the Indonesian military during the Santa Cruz massacre 23 years ago remain missing.

12 November Commission president Gregorio Saldanha said finding the bodies was a difficult task. "We have identified some but many have not been found yet," he said.

Venidora Oliveira – The recent incident that took place in Sailari in Baucau District resulting in injuries to six police officers won't affect national security according to the Timorese National Police (PNTL) Operations Commander, Superintendent Armando Monteiro.

Paulina Quintao – Women in rural areas feel disenfranchised and disconnected from Timor-Leste's development process, according to the Parliamentary Women's Group of Timor-Leste (GMPTL).

Paulina Quintao – Child abandonment cases are on the rise in Timor-Leste, according to Legal Assistance for Women and Children (ALFeLa) director Merita Correia.

She said the children abandoned were often born out of adulterous relationships. In the past, adultery was outlawed in Timor-Leste under the Indonesian penal code.

Yohanna Ririhena, Jakarta – Indonesia, Timor Leste and Australia are ready to move forward with a trilateral initiative for sub-regional integrated economic development linking eastern Indonesia, Timor Leste and northern Australia.

Paulina Quintao – Research conducted by Marie Stopes International in the District of Dili and Viqueque has revealed that the dowry system limits the ability of women to access family planning programmes.

Singapore – Dutch brewer Heineken said on Thursday it will begin building a beverage plant in East Timor this year that will manufacture a range of drinks including beer.

The company said in a statement that it had signed an agreement with the East Timor government to build the facility, which will require an investment of between US$30 million and US$45 million.