Angie Bexley - "Gembel" is an Indonesian word meaning homeless person, bum or vagrant. A group of Timorese youth in Dili, Timor Leste, co-opted this derogatory term to use as their collective name for creative projects which include visual art, music and theatre. Gembel have no studio, no government support, no official structure and little by way of equipment and materials.

East Timor's government says closing the country's internal refugee camps represents only a small part of the effort needed to ensure a full recovery from the civil conflict of two years ago.

More than 100,000 people fled their homes and settled in camps across East Timor when violence erupted in 2006.

Jakarta – The former commander of the Indonesian army's special task force [Kopassus], Prabowo Subianto, held a friendly meeting with former enemy, Lere Anan Timur, in Jakarta on Friday.

During the meeting, Lere, a former commander of the Fretilin guerrilla army, was accompanied by Timor Leste's deputy defense minister, Julio Thomas Pinto.

A new report by the Small Arms Survey group says East Timor still has a serious problem with controlling weapons.

Former Indonesian president BJ Habibie says a letter from then-Australian prime minister John Howard pushed him into acting quickly on independence for East Timor.

In 1998 Mr Howard wrote a letter to Mr Habibie supporting a move towards East Timorese independence within a decade.

Angus Grigg, Jakarta – Woodside Petroleum's $14 billion Greater Sunrise project may be delayed indefinitely as relations between East Timor and the energy major turn openly hostile over the location of a downstream processing plant.

Dili – Young people from around the world gathered this week in East Timor to participate in a conference to share ideas on identity, conflict and peace as the country, one of the most at-risk nations in Asia, tries to come to terms with long-standing violence in its society.

Barry FitzGerald, Resources Editor – Woodside chief executive Don Voelte has raised the prospect of Woodside sidestepping the Federal Government's planned carbon emissions trading scheme by "floating" its planned Sunrise liquefied natural gas project out of Australian waters into waters administered by East Timor.

East Timor's Court of Appeal has ruled that the $400 million mid-year budget is illegal. The government had sought to take an extra $290 million from the nation's petroleum fund than its own finance ministry had deemed sustainable.

Lucy Williamson, Jakarta – The Constitutional Court in East Timor has ruled against the government in a key political battle.

The government, led by former independence fighter Xanana Gusmao, got parliament's approval earlier this year for a vastly increased national budget. It planned to dip into East Timor's oil savings by more than double the usual amount to pay for it.

Today we are all thinking back on the major event which took place 17 years ago, thinking anew about an event with significant impact for our youth and which woke up the international community.

D. Aveiro – Ximenes Belo, former archbishop in Dili and Nobel peace laureate, said Wednesday that, 17 years after the massacre at the cemetery of Santa Cruz, is yet to make the accounting of the dead.

Angela Macdonald-Smith – Australia risks losing the Sunrise liquefied natural gas project to East Timor, where the venture could avoid the effects of the government's proposed carbon trading system, said operator Woodside Petroleum Ltd.

Jesse Wright, Dili – As the official photographer for the thousands of civilians walking to a cemetery for a burial, Simplisio de Deus watched through a camera lens as the Indonesian military slaughtered hundreds at the Santa Cruz Cemetery November 12, 1991. It was the last time he would see some of his friends.

Lindsay Murdoch, Darwin – Trouble appears to be brewing in East Timor again as security forces step up roadblocks and increase security around government buildings.

Fretilin, the largest political party, is organising an anti-Government protest march across the country, prompting threats by the Prime Minister, Xanana Gusmao, to jail participants.

Lisbon – The Revolutionary Front of Independent East Timor (Fretilin) threatened to abandon the Timorese Parliament by the end of the year, accusing the deputies of the parliamentary majority of complicity with the local government and a boycott of the initiatives of the opposition.

John Lyons – John Howard braced himself for the possibility of up to 30 Australian soldiers being killed by the Indonesian military when he made his decision to send troops to intervene in East Timor.

Susan Harris Rimmer – Will the date October 30 mark the last best chance for justice for survivors of occupation in East Timor?

Andra Jackson – Jill Jolliffe knows that often in wars it is the heroes who are remembered while the suffering of ordinary people goes unnoted. But the Australian journalist, who has spent more than 25 years reporting on the East Timorese independence struggle, has found a way of ensuring that the memory of these silent sacrifices will be preserved.

Ruth Ratcliffe – "They've been trying to solve problems by using only money, but not to solve the political problems through political means, that they've failed", Fretilin leader Mari Alkatiri, told Radio Australia on October 26.

"The government has failed at all levels, and they're trying to blame others for their own mistakes", Alkatiri continued.

Dili – Timor-Leste is addressing ancient land disputes created by centuries of occupation and confusion over land titles.

Lindsay Murdoch, Darwin – East Timor's President, Jose Ramos-Horta, has found the man who shot and almost killed him, instantly recognising him during a visit to Dili's Becora jail.

"I stared at him. He turned away, embarrassed and couldn't look me in the eye," Mr Ramos-Horta told the Herald yesterday. "I have been waiting for him to come forward and confess his crimes."

Dili – Mounting tension between East Timor's government and the opposition and continued regional-based rivalries in the police and army have left the country in a state of "pre-crisis and fatalism", a Timorese expert in strategic affairs warned Tuesday.

Ross Peake – The Australian Defence Force is in East Timor for the long haul although the size of the contingent will vary according to the stability of the tiny nation.

Jenna Hand – East Timor's Opposition Leader has denied a rally of up to 70,000 anti-government protesters would breach the fragile peace in the South-East Asian nation.

Matt Crook, Dili – The streets of Dili are quiet – for now. Clashes between rival gangs have subsided and thousands have finally returned to their homes after fleeing the fighting that erupted in East Timor in 2006.

But behind the veneer of calm, the entrenched conflicts that sparked that street violence simmer.

East Timor's Opposition Leader has rejected Government accusations that the Fretilin party is stoking security tensions by planning a mass demonstration.

Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao says the Government will not hesitate to arrest violent demonstrators.

Dili – A move to soften tough abortion laws in mainly Catholic East Timor is stirring opposition from the powerful Church.

Activists are backing a proposed law that would loosen the country's blanket ban and allow abortions for women whose lives are in danger.

Sydney – Australia will reduce its troop deployment to East Timor because of the improved security situation, Defence Minister Joel Fitzgibbon said Wednesday.

Australian troop numbers in the fledgling country peaked earlier this year in the wake of attacks on the tiny nation's president and prime minister.

Karen Michelmore, Ubud, Bali – Naldo Rei's thick, wavy hair trails down his back. He has worn it this way for much of his life, for protection, and as a symbol of resistance.

Although the fight to free East Timor is long over, the 33-year-old continues to wear his hair this way, perhaps as he battles his own lingering personal demons.

Canberra – East Timor's government accused the opposition Fretilin party of stoking security tensions in the restive country Wednesday, as Australia announced plans for a limited troop withdrawal.

Dili – In the high, craggy mountains south of East Timor's capital, Dili, a tangled blanket of wild, unkempt coffee trees is blooming. If the flowers, now tiny flecks of white against the dark green trees, do well, it could mean more than 7 million dollars in the pockets of some of the poorest people on earth.

Dili – East Timorese Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao threatened Monday to arrest protesters who respond to opposition calls for a mass antigovernment rally, amid concerns for the country's stability.

"We will arrest those involved in any protests for the sake of the nation's security," he said when asked about the rally planned by opposition party Fretilin.

On 9 October, President Jose Ramos Horta has submitted the report to Timor Leste's Parliament in Dili, and it was received by Parliament head Fernando de Araujo (Lasama).

Dili – Last week on eBay a search for East Timor would have come up with a black, wooden, hand-carved statue of a male, not quite a metre high.

Rob Taylor, Canberra – East Timor is facing a food crisis and more than half the fledgling country's youngest children are now going hungry as global food prices soar, a new aid report warned on Thursday.

The village of Tai Tete is a 40-minute climb from the town of Maliana, in the west of East Timor.

Dili – The East Timorese ministry of justice is preparing a penal code which would decriminalise many abortions, but with little visible public support and no public debate, civil society groups are questioning the law's origins.

Soibada, East Timor – East Timor president Jose Ramos-Horta said Monday he wants the United Nations to drop its investigation into bloodshed surrounding a 1999 independence vote from Indonesia.

An opposition plan for a massive march on East Timor's capital and rumours of tension in the police force are raising concerns of a return to instability in the tiny Southeast Asian nation.

An unsigned pamphlet has been circulated in Dili complaining of official discrimination against Timorese from the impoverished country's western region in favour of those from the east.

Lindsay Murdoch, Darwin – Trouble appears to be brewing in East Timor again as security forces step up roadblocks and increase security around government buildings.

Fretilin, the largest political party, is organising anti-government protest marches across the country, prompting threats by Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao to jail participants.

The police chief of East Timor's second biggest city has been arrested amid rising tensions within the force. Stephanie March reports Baucau police commander Aderito da Costa Ximenes was arrested by members of the UN police on Thursday.

Dili – East Timor celebrated Cuba's Independence day within the World Drive Against the Blockade with a new telephone line (roaming) joining both countries.

East Timor's President and chief prosecutor are at odds over the prosecution of senior military figures for their role in illegally arming civilians during the 2006 crisis.

Last week, the prosecutor general said it was the president's fault he'd not yet been able launch the action, while Jose Ramos Horta says there are other priorities.

Presenter: Stephanie March

Dili – Tens of thousands of people are preparing for their third bout of flooding since 2006 in camps for internally displaced people (IDPs) as the rainy season once again descends on Timor-Leste.

Many ordinary people were celebrated as heroes for the role they played during East Timor's struggle for independence from Indonesia.

Dutch journalist Tjitske Lingsma, who reported on the conflict, tracked down a young man who saved the Timorese enclave of Oecussi by smuggling a desperate plea for help inside his flip flops.

East Timor's prime minster says he will not allow a new wave of instability as the opposition Fretilin party prepares for a demonstration in the capital Dili.

Police in East Timor have been ordered to set up checkpoints and step up patrols to stop officers from taking weapons home, amid signs of mounting tensions in the force.

Police have been ordered to search cars for illegal weapons, with one aim of the operation to stop police from unlawfully taking their weapons home when they finish work.

Paul Toohey – East Timor's fragile political and justice system is again being put to the test with the country's most senior military figure, Brigadier Taur Matan Ruak, facing possible prosecution over his role in arming civilians during the crisis of 2006.

Jose Sarito Amaral, Jakarta – Prime Minister of East Timor Xanana Gusmao dismissed Fretilin's threat to bring in thousands of supporters to urge East Timor government to hold a general election, slamming the threat as a dream and no more than that of a kid.