Anwar Faruqi – East Timor voted Saturday in the country's second presidential election as a free nation, seen as a key test for a young democracy taking charge of its own security as UN forces prepare to leave.

Tito Belo, Dili – East Timor kicked off a peaceful presidential election on Saturday, a critical test to whether Asia's youngest and poorest country can maintain stability and build confidence to develop the economy.

Dili, East Timor – More than 1,200 UN forces are ready to intervene in East Timor's presidential election this weekend if there is an outbreak of major violence, the top UN official in the country said on Friday.

Karlis Salna – East Timor's incumbent president, Jose Ramos-Horta, remains nonchalant even though this weekend could mark the beginning of the end for his career as one of the country's most respected and renowned political figures.

David McKittrick – At the funeral of Francisco Xavier do Amaral the president of East Timor paid handsome tribute to the man he described as "a symbol of unity in our aspiration to independence and freedom, a courageous nationalist with faith in democracy."

Anna Powles, Dili – Timorese voters will go to the polls twice this year to elect the nation's president and parliament for the third time since achieving independence in 2001. The elections, scheduled respectively for March and June, promise to be the most significant to date for Timor Leste, also known as East Timor.

Michael Bachelard, Dili – When East Timorese voters go to the polls on Saturday to choose their new president, every candidate with a chance of victory will be a veteran of the struggle against Indonesia.

Michael Bachelard – East Timor is a long way from realising its dreams of prosperity despite its oil revenue.

Timor Plaza's bleached interiors, glass-sided elevators and fluorescent lights mark it out as the cousin of every shopping mall in almost every city in the world.

Yemris Fointuna, Kupang – A number of foreigners, mostly wives of diplomats, have been reportedly flowing out of East Timor due to safety concerns ahead of the March 17 presidential election, Indonesian ambassador to Dili, Eddy Setiabudhi, said on Thursday.

Michael Bachelard – East Timor's presidential election race is heating up, with the Fretilin candidate Francisco "Lu Olo" Guterres accusing one of his main rivals of being a "cat's paw" of the government.

Concerns have been raised about possible intimidation of voters in a number of electoral districts in East Timor by members of the military loyal to their former chief and presidential hopeful Taur Matan Ruak.

East Timor's incumbent president Jose Ramos-Horta says he remains firm in the view that Australian and United Nations troops stationed in his country must withdraw before the end of the year.

Damien Kingsbury – (Unknown) 1937-6 March, 2012. East Timor's first president, for just 9 days ahead of Indonesia's invasion in 1975, Francisco Xavier do Amaral, has died in Dili at the age of 74 of complications caused by advanced cancer.

Damien Kingsbury – (Unknown) 1937-6 March, 2012. East Timor's first president, for just 9 days ahead of Indonesia's invasion in 1975, Francisco Xavier do Amaral, has died in Dili at the age of 74 of complications caused by advanced cancer.

East Timor's first and shortest-serving president Francisco Xavier do Amaral died on Tuesday after a long battle with cancer, a presidential spokesman said.

Karlis Salna – Former guerilla commander Francisco "Lu-Olo" Guterres has warned ahead of East Timor's upcoming presidential and parliamentary elections that the young country must resist returning to the violence of its recent past.

Lindsay Murdoch – They were East Timor's stolen generation. Between 1975 and 1999, about 4000 young and vulnerable Timorese were secretly taken to Indonesia, where some of them were forced to work in slave-like conditions while others were educated and grew up with the families of soldiers, an Australian academic has found.

Michael Leach – Timor-Leste goes to the polls again on 17 March to elect a new president for a five-year term.

While the president's role is largely symbolic, and government is formed at the parliamentary elections in June, the election is important in several respects.

Ted McDonnell – President Jose Ramos-Horta's bid for reelection in East Timor suffered a blow Thursday when a key political party said it would back his opponent.

The UN Security Council has decided to extend its peacekeeping mission in East Timor until the end of 2012 but to gradually phase it out after that.

The mission has about 1000 police and military advisers, most of them from Australia and New Zealand, who were deployed in 2006 to help the government in Dili maintain order and security.

East Timor's President Jose Ramos-Horta said Wednesday that many Timorese will waste their vote in a presidential election next month if they back one of the explosion of small parties in contention.

Karlis Salna – Police in East Timor are on high alert after two offices connected to the administration of upcoming elections were hit with firebombs.

The attack, at about 3am (5am AEDT) on Monday in the capital Dili, comes just weeks out from presidential elections which will be held on March 17.

Defence Minister Stephen Smith and East Timorese Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao have discussed Australia's future security role as East Timor moves towards elections and an end to the United Nations mission.

Hamish McDonald – As Australians recalled the Japanese bombing of Darwin 70 years ago yesterday, the leader of a small neighbouring country was reminding us gently that this was but a sideshow to the catastrophe that hit his people a day later.

In this open letter The Judicial System Monitoring Programme (JSMP), KontraS (the Commission for the Disappeared and Victims of Violence), and Amnesty International write to urge the Security Council to take immediate and effective steps to address the continuing impunity for crimes against humanity and gross human rights violations which occurred in Timor-Leste (then East Timor)

Australia's invasion of East Timor (yes, really) [1] in December 1941, is widely assumed to have been made in order to expel Japanese forces from the territory. In fact Japan had no forces in Portuguese Timor, as Australian policymakers knew at the time.

Damien Kingsbury – As Timor-Leste heads into the three rounds of 2012 elections, election observers have begun to organise to monitor the election process and to report their findings.

Accredited by Timor-Leste's National Electoral Commission (CNE), observers continue to play a critical role in the young country's still developing democratic process.

During Indonesia's 25-year occupation of East Timor, about 4-thousand children were transferred to Indonesia to live with adoptive parents. Some were taken by soldiers and others were sent by government and religious organisations.

Damien Kingsbury – The various contenders for Timor-Leste's presidency in the 17 March election have begun to try to persuade the voting public why they should be elected as president. A number of candidates have said that, if elected, they will institute particular changes or reforms. These promises appear, however, to misunderstand the role of Timor-Leste's president.

The UN Security Council will renew UNMIT's mandate following discussions on Timor-Leste on 22 and 23 February in New York. To inform their debate, La'o Hamutuk has written the following letter to the Council, which can also be downloaded from http://www.laohamutuk.org/reports/UN/LHtoUNSC15Feb2012En.pdf.

Bangkok – The Southeast Asian half-island nation of Timor-Leste is falling short on most Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), experts warn.

"The areas that remain challenging or off-track compared to the 2015 targets include poverty, underweight children, maternal mortality and sanitation," Felix Piedade, the national adviser of Timor Leste's MDG Secretariat, told IRIN.

Jim Della-Giacoma – Early in 2010, Afghan President Hamid Karzai was sitting in Kabul with some diplomats who had served in Indonesia and Timor-Leste.

"Is it true", he asked, "that Indonesia just walked away from East Timor after 1999?" "Absolutely", they replied.

East Timor or Timor-Leste on Wednesday sought Thailand's assistance and support in its quest for membership of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations or Asean.

The request was made by East Timor's Foreign Minister Zacarius Albano da Costa who is visiting the country as a guest of the Thai foreign ministry.

Agus Wandi – On a recent trip to East Timor, while talking to fishermen on Areia Branca Beach, hanging out with taxi drivers, getting lost cycling in Dili with its new street names, catching up with friends working for the United Nations there, having dinner with a Nobel laureate and coffee with a presidential candidate, it was clear that there is one common feeling among East Timor

Rory Callinan – East Timor President Jose Ramos-Horta has been forced to fend off allegations that he is trying to avoid media scrutiny before the upcoming presidential elections by refusing to pay an outstanding debt to a corruption-busting newspaper.

The Timorese-born Australian Angelita Pires recently declared her nomination in East Timor's Presidential election and is now preparing to begin her campaign.

In 2010 Angelita Pires was acquitted of conspiring to murder the current President Jose Ramos-Horta. She is the former partner of the rebel leader Alfredo Reinado who was shot dead during that attack.

Sara Everingham – A Timorese-Australian who was acquitted of conspiring to kill East Timor President Jose Ramos-Horta is now running for his job.

Angelita Pires has returned to Darwin from Dili where she has declared her candidacy for next month's Presidential election. Ms Pires was charged over the 2008 shooting of President Ramos-Horta but was acquitted in 2010.

Damien Kingsbury – As Timor-Leste's political climate warms up ahead of next month's presidential elections, many people are asking who is most likely to be elected president. In a country that does not have political polling, there are no obvious indications as to which candidates are most preferred by voters.

Damien Kingsbury – As Timor-Leste's political climate warms up ahead of next month's presidential elections, many people are asking who is most likely to be elected president. In a country that does not have political polling, there are no obvious indications as to which candidates are most preferred by voters.

Makassar – The Indonesian government is seeking the release of six traditional fishermen from South Sulawesi caught by Timor Leste police last year.

"We will not stay idle with regard to the arrest of our fishermen by police in the neighboring country," Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Minister Sharif C. Sutardjo said on Saturday.

Dili – East Timor President Jose Ramos-Horta said Thursday that his young nation was capable of handling its own security after UN troops depart at the end of this year, despite fears of violence.

East Timor's Ministry of Education says it will go ahead with a pilot program to teach young students in their own minority language, despite vocal opposition from some civil society groups.

East Timor's strong economic growth is at risk from high inflation fueled by government spending, the International Monetary Fund warned Wednesday.

The oil-rich but impoverished island state, which a decade ago achieved independence after a long struggle, has made "substantial progress toward restoring stability and rebuilding the country," the IMF said in a statement.

Karlis Salna – East Timorese presidential hopeful Francisco Guterres has called for peaceful elections that will avoid the violence which broke out five years ago when the young country last went to the polls.

Fransisco Guterres, better known as 'Lu Olo', lodged his official nomination for East Timor's presidency on Tuesday with the endorsement of the Fretilin party.

In the last Presidential election Lu Olo received the most votes in the first round but didn't reach the required 50 per cent. He was beaten by Jose Ramos Horta in the second round.

Presenter: Liam Cochrane

East Timor President Jose Ramos-Horta said Tuesday he will seek another term in March polls, as the young nation votes for the first time since an assassination bid that almost killed him.

Damien Kingsbury – The announcement by President Jose Ramos-Horta that he will seek re-election for a second term in office has thrown open Timor-Leste's presidential race, all but guaranteeing that the process will now run to a second round of voting.

Michael Bachelard, Jakarta – Nobel peace prize winner Jose Ramos-Horta is expected to announce today that he is in the running for another five-year term as president of East Timor.

Your Excellency
Fernando Lasama de Araujo
President
National Parliament
Timor-Leste

Berlin, 24. January 2012

Your Excellency

Citra Dyah Prastuti – From his village around 160 km from East Timor's capital Dili, Miguel Amaral recalls the day his 6-year-old son Cipriano was taken away. "It was 1977 and the Indonesians came in a military helicopter," he says. "We had no warning. We just saw a helicopter flying away with our son in it."