Jose Sarito Amaral, Dili – The East Timor National Parliament urges its government to immediately complete the investigation over the procurement of 77 MP1-V2 firearms from an Indonesian company, Pindad Indonesia. An independent commission has been investigating the weapons deal for a year now, yet there has been no result.

Karon Snowdon – East Timor's foreign minister says a boatload of asylum seekers en route to Australia was not forcibly pushed away from his country in early July.

The group of 95 mostly Rohingyas from Myanmar arrived on East Timor's south coast from Indonesia, having managed to get close to Darwin before their damaged boat drifted north.

Timorese National Police (PNTL) Deputy Commander, Afonso de Jesus, has acknowledged that the police force has failed in its conflict prevention plans and this has left the impression that the police just come to the conflict areas to pick up dead bodies and wounded people.

Ezequiel Freitas, TDW – Survivors from 1975 continue to complain about injustice, so they've called on the government to accelerate the process of establishing an international court to process criminals who violated human rights in Timor-Leste in the past.

Program Coordinator of the Timor-Leste Coalition for Education (TLCE) Matias dos Santos said many Timorese students are studying illegally in Indonesia.

He said there are currently about 5,000 Timorese students in Indonesia, and many of them study illegally or don't have a passport.

The so-called "martial arts" groups in East Timor continue to wreak havoc in the community despite purported efforts by the government of Xanana Gusmao to reign in the violence.

The Timorese police threatened to shoot the group of asylum seekers then misled them to get them to leave on a boat to Indonesia, according to one of the asylum seekers.

The 95 asylum seekers and four Indonesians arrived off the coast of Viqueque on July 1 after they had trouble with their boat, which was on route to Australia.

The President of the Republic, Taur Matan Ruak asked the Prime Minister Kay Rala Xanana Gusmao not to pander too much private contractors of government projects.

Member of Parliament Ancelmo da Conceicao, from the National Congress for the Reconstruction of Timor (CNRT) bench, said when a member of the government doesn't do their job well, they should be changed.

The Timor-Leste Defence Force (F-FDTL) plan to install a naval base in Hera will cause a lot of problems for the community living in Hera, according to the Director of security monitoring organization Fundasaun Mahein.

The United Nations refugee agency, the UNHCR, says it's concerned about the welfare of a group of asylum seekers stranded on a remote island in Indonesia.

Program Coordinator of the women's political organization Caucus, Paula Corte Real said they do not have programs to prepare women to participate in the village chief election to be held in 2014.

SEPI hasn't set a target for female participation in the upcoming village elections, but expects women's participation will increase.

Vice President of the 12 November Commission Rogerio Castro da Cruz said the government's plan to build a monument in Santa Cruz hasn't been implemented.

He said while the former President Jose Ramos-Horta launched the plan last year at the Santa Cruz Cemetery, it remains a plan only.

Dili, Timor-Leste – The Government of Timor-Leste, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the people of Quintal Bot district participated in a special ceremony today to mark the arrival of safe, reliable water to the district for the first time in 10 years.

Uncertainty surrounds the plight of Myanmar's Rohingya Muslims attempting to seek asylum in Australia but turned away by East Timor.

Index: ASA 57/002/2013

Joint statement by Amnesty International, ANTI (The Timor-Leste National Alliance for an International Tribunal) and KontraS (the Commission for the Disappeared and Victims of Violence)

The Laclubar Health Centre Chief Armelinda da C. Pereira said the Medicine and Health Equipment Authority (SAMES) sent medicine to the health centre that had already expired and did not follow their order.

The National Director for Workplace Inspections Aniceto Leto Soro said they would give fines to individuals and employers who give hard, physical work to minors under 18 years old, because this goes against their rights.

Clayton Bennett – East Timor will open a consulate in Darwin. East Timorese President Taur Matan Ruak made the announcement to Chief Minister Adam Giles at a meeting in Darwin yesterday.

Mr Giles and President Taur Matan Ruak held their second round of talks in the Top End to discuss strengthening trade and diplomatic ties.

The Timor-Leste President Taur Matan Ruak has plans to introduce compulsory military service in the future for young people, but before this he will hold discussions with relevant institutions about the plan.

The Minister of Health Sergio da Costa Lobo said there are a lot of possibilities for private investment in the health sector, so they can better develop quality health assistance in the community.

Dili – Greater efforts are now needed to tackle the many challenges women face in accessing health care in Timor-Leste, which has one of the highest maternal mortality ratios (MMR) in the world, experts say.

Mark Colvin: East Timor's president, Taur Matan Ruak, is on his first official visit to Australia since he won last year's election.

One of the items on his agenda in Australia is East Timor's push for membership of the Commonwealth. The former Portuguese colony wants Australia's support.

Sara Everingham reports.

Martial arts gang have virtually taken control of the streets during the night in several parts of Dili and District locations, causing havoc and unrest, with police proving a little barrier according to civil rights organizations.

According to a women's rights advocate, traditional justice carried out in Timor-Leste, especially in the districts, doesn't benefit women who are victims of domestic violence and sexual abuse because they don't receive justice in their lives.

Australia's Deputy Opposition Leader and Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Julie Bishop is in East Timor.

Ms Bishop is scheduled to meet the Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao and Foreign Minister Jose Luis Guterres. She'll also be visiting development projects funded by Australia's aid agency, AusAID.

Presenter: Richard Ewart

The issue of the procurement of guns for the East Timor police service continues to dog the government with the country's peak security monitoring NGO, Fundasaun Mahein, calling on the National Parliament to demand that the government of independence hero Xanana Gusmao establish an investigation into the procurement process.

The East Timor Law and Justice Bulletin has over the last few years published several reports on cases of babies being abandoned by their mothers in East Timor. The latest case was particularly appalling when the remains of a baby were found on a rubbish dump apparently having been partly eaten by dogs.

The East Timor police have provided training to village community police in two Districts – Cova Lima and Liquisa – that focused on working with the community to provide security in the villages on those Districts.

Australia's deputy opposition leader and foreign affairs spokeswoman, Julie Bishop, is in East Timor to meet with the country's prime minister Xanana Gusmao and foreign minister Jose Luis Guterres.

Dili – Timor Leste and Australia will go to a tribunal over a deal on sharing energy revenues after the half-island nation accused Canberra of spying during negotiations, the Timorese prime minister has said.

East Timor is seeking partners for human resource training, infrastructure construction and development of the oil, agriculture and tourism sectors, East Timorese Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao said in Dili.

Kupang – Timor Leste's plan to import chicken meat from Indonesia, specifically East Nusa Tenggara (NTT), has been impeded by the absence of an official notification from the province's administration stating the province is free from bird flu.

The Timor Leste Consul in Kupang, Feliciano da Costa, said it had been importing chicken meat from Brazil to meet demand.

On 26 June 2013 the Suai District Court conducted a mobile hearing in Maliana, Bobonaro District. The hearing was held so the court could read out its decision in a case involving aggravated sexual violence. The defendant in this case CP committed sexual violence against a girl JMF who is a minor.

A representative of disabled women in Timor-Leste said disabled women were not involved in the celebrations for International Women's Day and National Women's Day, and described this as discrimination.

Mira Maya, a disabled woman from the disability organization Hadomi Timor Oan, says SEPI should include women with disabilities in National Women's Day celebrations.

Dili – More work is needed to improve nutritional behaviour in Timor Leste, where 58 percent of children under five are stunted (too short for their age) due to chronic malnourishment, experts say.

The foreign ministers of Japan and East Timor agreed to deepen bilateral cooperation in developing basic infrastructure in the violence-wracked Southeast Asian nation, during talks Sunday on the sidelines of Association of Southeast Asian Nations-related meetings in Brunei, the Japanese Foreign Ministry said.

The Dili District Court (TDD) has sentenced police officer Mariano da Silva to 16 years jail after finding him guilty of shooting dead Armindo Pereira soares in Hera on June 16, 2012.

Dili – Timor-Leste is on track to post growth of 9.5% in 2013 the strongest rate in the Pacific region but some downside risks for the economy loom, says the latest Pacific Economic Monitor, released today by the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

Wellington – The governments of New Zealand and Timor-Leste on Wednesday signed a defense agreement to enable smoother cooperation between their armed forces.

The European Union plans to donate 20.5 million euros to Timor-Leste (East Timor) to repair and maintain roads in three districts of the country, under the terms of an agreement signed Monday in Dili.

Today is the third day of the Development Partners Meeting in Timor-Leste. ANTI notes that the agenda for the Development Partners Meeting did not touch on the issue of justice, especially past human rights violations.

Fundasaun Mahein has raised questions about the process of purchasing guns for the PNTL from Indonesia last year.

The organization Fundasaun Mahein has recommended that Parliamentary Commission B demand the government create an investigative commission to research the PNTL's purchase of guns last year.

More rigorous oversight of development projects is needed to improve aid effectiveness in Timor-Leste, according to the consensus reached following the annual Timor-Leste Development Partners Meeting in Dili.

Dili – Timor-Leste needs to do more at the national and district levels to boost disaster preparedness, especially in rural areas, say experts.

Each year, communities face an increasing number of natural hazards with 185 floods recorded since 2010, compared to 32 between 2001 to 2009, according to the National Disaster Management Directorate (NDMD).

Ina Parlina, Jakarta – Indonesia and neighboring Timor Leste have agreed to enhance what they deemed "good relations", as well as shoring up support for Timor Leste's bid for membership of ASEAN, both leaders said on Friday.

Jakarta – Timor Leste President Taur Matan Ruak is scheduled to meet Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono at the State Palace in Jakarta on Friday afternoon.

According to the President of the Parliamentary Women's Group of Timor-Leste, MP Josefa Alvares Soares, now is not the time to localize prostitution to one place because society and the church are strongly against this behaviour.

The Timor-Leste Defence Force Chief, Major General Lere Anan Timur, has called on the defence and security institutions in the country to obey by the country's rule of law following a spate of cases involving police personnel taking the rule into their own hands.

Jakarta – Belu Deputy Regent Lodovikus Taolin said that Indonesia and Timor Leste would work to uphold law enforcement along the border of the two countries in Belu regency.