Clinton Fernandes – It is not hard to see why ASIO yesterday raided the office and home of a Canberra-based lawyer, Bernard Collaery, and the house of a former Australian intelligence agent.

Katharine Murphy and Lenore Taylor – A first-hand witness to alleged Australian spying against Timor-Leste in 2004 has been detained and searched at his Canberra home, according to a prominent human rights lawyer and academic, Frank Brennan.

A lawyer representing East Timor in its spying case against Australia says his office has been raided by the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO).

Tom Clarke – Indonesia isn't the only country in our region upset about Australia's spying. East Timor has accused Australia not just of spying on it, but of doing so for economic gain.

David Robie, Dili – On 28 November 1975, Timor-Leste made its fateful unilateral declaration of independence. A week later, a paranoid Indonesian military, fearful of an upstart "leftwing" neighbouring government, staged its brutal invasion and 24 years of repression and massacres followed.

Rory Callinan – Six years ago, NSW magistrate Dorelle Pinch recommended that the killings of Australian journalists Brian Peters, 29, Malcolm Rennie, 28, Gary Cunningham, 27, Gregory Shackleton, 29, and Anthony Stewart, 21, in Balibo, East Timor be investigated as a war crime.

Reheated allegations that Australia bugged Timor-Leste's leaders during negotiations over resource revenues will reinforce perceptions that colonialism still underpins our foreign policy approach to smaller, less wealthy and more troubled northern neighbours.

But they will surprise few seasoned diplomats and intelligence experts the world over.

Paulina Quintao – Despite the outcry from the community for the government to ban cigarette advertising in public spaces, the Minister of Health said it won't be able to because there is no law for this.

Joanne Wallis – In March 2013 Australia drew down the last members of the Australian Defence Force-led international forces that had been deployed to stabilise Timor-Leste after a major security crisis in mid-2006.

Dan Harrison – A senior East Timorese minister has backed Indonesian president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's call for a code of conduct on spying, questioning whether intelligence gathering by some nations had got out of hand.

This movement was established by the university students who are concerned about the serious crimes committed by the Indonesian soldiers from 1975-1999. The first rally of this movement was held on 2002 during the time where the government demobilized the FALINTIL in Dili, Timor-Leste.

Amy Ripley – The respected East Timorese human rights organisation La'o Hamutuk is demanding that the Indonesian government finally be held accountable for their bloody 24-year occupation of East Timor.

Amid the furore over allegations of spying on Indonesia's leaders, East Timor has repeated claims that Australia bugged its leaders during delicate negotiations on the Timor Sea resources treaty in 2004.

Conor Duffy, Nikki Tugwell, Peter Lloyd and staff – Australia is under further pressure over spying in the region, with East Timor accusing spies of bugging its cabinet room for commercial advantage, and threatening to scrap a potentially lucrative treaty that could have earned Australia billions in royalties.

Leo Shanahan – East Timor Minister of State Agio Pereira has said allegations of spying by Australian intelligence on Indonesia's President will not be used as ammunition in Dili's dispute with Canberra over espionage.

East Timor is accusing Australia of bugging its cabinet for commercial advantage and threatening to end a lucrative gas treaty over the claims.

Leigh Sales, presenter: New spying allegations have blown up around the Australian Government, with East Timor claiming Australia bugged its cabinet ahead of crucial talks on a lucrative gas deal in 2004.

The Abbott Government is facing fresh accusations of spying on a near neighbour and it could cost Australia dearly. The government of Timor Leste – East Timor – believes Australia's overseas spy agency covertly recorded Timorese ministers and officials in Dili in 2004.

Manila, Philippines – Economic losses frrom climate change could reach as much as 10% of Timor-Leste's annual GDP by 2100, making it one of the worst hit in the Pacific, says a new Asian Development Bank (ADB) study.

Fransisco Rosarians, Kupang – Commander of Security Forces of Indonesian-Timor Leste Border, Major Infantry Budi Prasetyo said the number of smuggling in the border area of the two countries was still quite high.

Celestino Gusmao – University students from Timor-Leste's eastern Baucau district gathered this week to commemorate the 1979 Matebian cave massacre in a month of events focused on protest against the impunity over atrocities during the illegal Indonesian occupation.

David Robie, Dili – While the Timor-Leste media industry was rejuvenated by a national congress last month that voted on a new code of ethics, one of the country's most independent chief editors has warned against the risks of a "media council elephant".

Agustinus Tetiro – State-owned construction companies Waskita Karya and Pembangunan Perumahan have set their eyes on the developing economy of East Timor.

The government of Timor-Leste (East Timor) plans to provide Cabo Verde (Cape Verde) land for agriculture, as part of an arrangement that is similar to what it already has with Angola and Paraguay, the Timor-Leste Agriculture Minister said Wednesday cited by Cape Verdean radio.

The Timor-Leste capital Dili's Chinese-built main heavy oil power plant at Hera, about 15 km from the city, still remains at the centre of controversy.

A fact-based page by the advocacy group La'o Hamutuk (Timor-Leste Institute for Development Monitoring and Analysis) cites many critical performance reports and is headed: "Mega-project or mega problem?"

Havana – A total of 246 medical students in Timor-Leste received their degrees today in that nation as a part of a joint project between the Latin American School of Medicine in Cuba and the National University in that Asian country.

Muhammad Al Azhari – A large mixed use property project, managed by an Indonesian building contractor, held a ground-breaking ceremony in Dili, East Timor, last week, signaling a stronger investment future between the infamously hostile nations.

Jakarta – The Timor Leste Attorney General's Office (AGO) plans to strengthen relations with the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) in the future.

Timor Leste Attorney General Jose da Costa Ximenes said on Tuesday the move was necessary to help the country combat corruption.

Truth and Justice are the foundations for developing democracy in Timor-Leste

November 12 is the 22nd anniversary of the Santa Cruz massacre. On November 12, 1991, Indonesian troops opened fire on a memorial procession – turned into a peaceful pro-independence demonstration – at the Santa Cruz cemetery in Dili, the capital of Timor-Leste. More than 270 mostly-young Timorese were murdered.

Stephanie Boulet – Legal experts and NGOs in East Timor say laws against domestic violence are failing to reduce rates of violence against women.

The government is nearing the end of a three-year campaign to reduce rates of violence in the country, but NGOs say perpetrators often go unpunished.

Australian RWB correspondent Mark Pearson tells us about an historic congress of Timor Leste journalists which was held in Dili from 25 to 27 October.

Paulina Quintao – The Marie Stopes International Timor-Leste (MSI-TL) Clinic Coordinator Maria Fernanda Serra said mothers who have unsafe abortions risk their lives and could die if they're not treated by health staff.

Michael Bachelard – East Timor's Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao has launched a swingeing attack "powerful countries [who] shamelessly violate the civic rights... of other countries" using electronic surveillance.

Nyan Lynn Aung and Tim McLaughlin – Aspiring ASEAN member Timor Leste appears likely to remain on the outside for at least another year, as Myanmar's Ministry of Foreign Affairs says the tiny country has not yet done enough to justify entry to the 10-member bloc.

Ezequiel Freitas – Members of National Parliament consider the work of the Anti-Corruption Commission (KAK) to be ineffective combating corruption, especially in the area of human resources.

"Their capacity is still low, they have minimal experience and their framework is still weak and needs to be fixed," Member of Parliament (MP) Pedro da Costa said.

In September 1999, Sander Thoenes, the Financial Times correspondent in Jakarta, travelled to East Timor to report on the turmoil engulfing the territory. Three weeks before his arrival, the people of East Timor had voted overwhelmingly for independence from Indonesia, seeking to end 24 years of brutal occupation.

Step Vaessen – In 1999, after East Timor voted to reject Indonesian rule, the region was plunged into violence. Al Jazeera's Step Vaessen was one of the journalists who covered the resulting mayhem, along with her husband and cameraman Andre.

Two dozen inmates escaped from an East Timor prison on Sunday by beating up wardens and fleeing through the main gate as they returned to their cells after mass, an official said.

Tom Benner, Dili, East Timor – The 2014 budget unveiled last week by tiny East Timor is a $1.5 billion spending plan funded almost exclusively – 95 percent – by lucrative oil and gas revenues. One of the fastest-growing budgets in the world in recent years, it ballooned from $64 million in 2004 to $604 million in 2009.

John Aglionby – Florindo Araujo is certain that Sander Thoenes was still alive when he last saw the Financial Times journalist.

An historic congress of Timor-Leste journalists held in Dili recently voted for their first code of ethics and a seven-member press council.

The next hurdle for media freedom in East Timor will be a press law currently before the national parliament, which it is feared will feature a journalist licensing system and criminal penalties, journlaw.com reported.

Step Vaessen – Everything seems easier in my role as a journalist; I handle the death, pain, danger and even murder I encounter scarily well. Protected by my professional shield I can observe, write, report and analyse without being too badly wounded myself. At least that is what I like to believe.

Thomas Ora, Dili – Like many of his Timor Leste colleagues, Fernando da Costa, an elementary school teacher in the mountainous district of Aileu, has struggled to learn Portuguese.

Ezequiel Freitas – The Asia Foundation is concerned about the government's decentralization program to be implemented in the districts because the program does not value the agriculture sector.

Venidora Oliveira – A Member of National Parliament strongly criticized the company Estrada Bo'ot Diak for constructing poor quality roads that are damaged a year after being built.

MP Ana Ribeiro raised the issue because the road in front of the shop Jacinto is already damaged again, in addition to roads in Bairo-Pite and Kuluhun.

Venidora Oliveira – The Rural Women's Group in Baucau district have complained about the Secretary of State for the Promotion of Equality's programs, which are just implemented at the district level and do not reach the villages and sub-villages.

Charlie Campbell – In East Timor, families have learned to dread the onset of November. It marks the start of "hungry season" – the time when cash from the annual coffee harvest dries up for around four months.

Tom Benner – There is a free health clinic in Dili, the capital of Asia's newest and poorest country, Timor-Leste, that treats some 400 people a day. The doctor who runs it was telling me about the kinds of cases he generally treats – tuberculosis, malaria, dengue, typhoid, malnutrition, stunting, poor growth, pregnancy complications.

Alison Bevege – Energy giant Santos has given the green light to expand its Bayu Undan gas project in the Timor Sea and has increased its gas exports from Darwin's Wickham Point LNG plant.

Mary O'Shea – Armindo de Deus has worked all his life as a coffee farmer in the Ermera district of Timor-Leste. He is a wiry, weather-beaten man with darting, milky eyes. When asked what his family's other sources of income are, he looks puzzled.