Li-Li Chen – Five days after polls closed, the presidential election in Timor-Leste, Asia's youngest democracy, seems set for a second-round of voting. As of 9 p.m.

Chris Barrett, Singapore – A bid by one of East Timor's founding fathers, Jose Ramos-Horta, to return to the presidency has been strongly endorsed by voters in Australia's near neighbour.

South-east Asia's youngest country went to the polls on Saturday for its fifth presidential election and while counting continued on Sunday, Ramos-Horta, 72, was clearly in front.

Voting is under way in East Timor, as Asia's youngest nation holds its fifth presidential election since independence amid concerns over political stability and economic security.

Ryan Dagur, Jakarta – Timor-Leste's Prime Minister Taur Matan Ruak has called on voters to ensure a successful and peaceful presidential election and exercise their right to vote in what promises to be the most competitive poll in the Catholic-majority country's history.

Dili, Timor Leste – The frontrunner in Timor Leste's presidential election, independence figure and Nobel laureate Jose Ramos-Horta, has said he hopes to restore political stability to Asia's youngest democracy, as the nation prepares to head to the polls.

Tempo.Co, Suci Sekarwati, Jakarta – The 1996 Nobel Peace Prize co-recipient Manuel Ramos-Horta said in a discussion held by the Foreign Policy Community of Indonesia (FPCI) on Thursday, March 17, 2022, that Timor Leste is hoping to join ASEAN. Jose acknowledges that the process would take some time.

Joao da Cruz Cardoso – Timor-Leste will hold its fifth presidential election on 19 March with an unprecedented 16 candidates competing to become the next head of state.

Avatar Fernando da Costa – Thousands of people in East Timor have flocked to presidential campaign rallies days before an election that will test the young country's stability amid a protracted political crisis and economic uncertainty.

Elizabeth Byrne – Evidence so secret that Canberra lawyer Bernard Collaery himself cannot know what it is will be permitted to be used by Commonwealth prosecutors in a trial against him.

Mr Collaery is accused of conspiring to reveal classified information about an alleged Australian spying operation in East Timor, during sensitive oil and gas treaty negotiations.

Ryan Dagur, Jakarta – Timor-Leste is mourning the death of a Portuguese Jesuit priest who served in the country for more than four decades and was credited with helping people in need during the struggle for independence during the Indonesian occupation.

Father Jose Alves Martins died on March 14 at a hospital in Portugal aged 80. The cause of his death was not revealed.

Li-Li Chen – Next week, Timor-Leste will hold the seventh presidential election that the country has conducted on its own since gaining its independence two decades ago.

Ryan Dagur, Jakarta – Catholic-majority Timor-Leste is to provide humanitarian assistance "in a show of solidarity with Ukrainians" following the Russian invasion of the Eastern European country.

The government announced on March 9 that US$1.5 million in aid would be provided through the UN's World Food Program.

Max Lane – There have been contentions in Timor Leste's political landscape in the run-up to the presidential elections. But Indonesia has less to worry about, given that political parties across the spectrum support strong relations with Jakarta.

Ryan Dagur, Jakarta – A Timor-Leste court has acquitted a priest and several of his staff over writing a report in favor of a defrocked priest jailed for sexually abusing young girls.

Andrea Fahey – In the midst of an international crisis, it is remarkable when small countries still find the courage to adhere to their democratic principles. This time the Timorese government has chosen to respect its independence history and democratic values by condemning the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Ryan Dagur, Jakarta – Catholic officials have urged candidates for Timor-Leste's forthcoming presidential elections to avoid politicizing the Church and using religious symbols or attributes during the campaign.

Ryan Dagur, Jakarta – Pope Francis' planned visit to Catholic-majority Timor-Leste has been confirmed for this year, according to a senior official in the Catholic-majority nation's apostolic nunciature.

Ryan Dagur, Jakarta – Candidates in Timor-Leste's upcoming presidential election have signed a national unity pact, part of a commitment to ensuring a free, fair and peaceful electoral process and not one tarnished by mudslinging and violence.

Ryan Dagur, Jakarta – Authorities in Timor-Leste have officially named 16 candidates to contest March's presidential election in what promises to be the most competitive poll in the Catholic-majority country's history.

Phnom Penh – Asean is launching a fact-finding mission to accelerate East Timor's accession into the bloc, a task expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2022, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.

Damon Evans – East Timor-based independent think-tank La'o Hamutuk has hit out at Santos' plans to store carbon from its proposed Barossa liquefied natural gas (LNG) development at the Bayu Undan field in the Timor Sea by filing a submission to the Northern Territory (NT) Environmental Protection Authority (NTEPA).

Kathmandu – Nepal and the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste have established diplomatic relations. With this, the number of countries with which Nepal has bilateral diplomatic relations reached 173.

Stephen Dziedzic – Documents filed in court claim that Australia may have been monitoring the phone calls of political leaders in Timor-Leste in 2000, four years before Australian intelligence agents allegedly bugged the tiny nation's Cabinet offices ahead of crucial negotiations over lucrative oil and gas reserves.

Ryan Dagur, Jakarta – Timor-Leste Prime Minister Taur Matan Ruak has been forced to cancel a visit to Australia after contracting Covid-19 for a second time.

The news of his infection comes amid a spike in cases that have spread across the Catholic-majority country in the past week.

Christopher Knaus – Former foreign minister Alexander Downer privately boasted that Timor-Leste was an "open book" to the Australian government in the year 2000, well before the infamous bugging scandal revealed by Witness K, a tribunal has heard.

Christopher Knaus – Newly released cabinet documents reveal Australia was preoccupied with the interests of major oil and gas corporations in the Timor Sea years before it bugged the Timor-Leste government during talks to carve up the crucial underwater resources.

UCA News reporter, Phnom Penh – Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen has asked Timor-Leste to buy Cambodian rice and invest in local rice mills and warehousing after backing Dili's bid to join the Association of South East Nations (ASEAN).

Mom Kunthear – Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Prak Sokhonn and his Timorese counterpart Adaljiza Magno agreed to resume trade activities and accelerate pending agreements on other sectors.

Mom Kunthear – East Timorese foreign minister Adaljiza Magno has requested Prime Minister Hun Sen to help her country become an ASEAN member and for technical support on its preparation to accede to the World Trade Organisation (WTO).

Dili – The cost of recovery from the severe damage caused by Tropical Cyclone Seroja in East Timor in April 2021 could exceed US$420 million, but rebuilding offers the opportunity for strengthening infrastructure and enhancing disaster preparedness, according to a World Bank report released this week.

Michael Rose, ANU – In May 2022, Timor-Leste will mark 20 years of renewed independence.

Ryan Dagur, Jakarta – Six police officers in Timor-Leste have been arrested for allegedly killing a man and injuring two others in a case that has sparked calls for reforms within the country's police force.

Ryan Dagur, Jakarta – Former president and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Jose Ramos-Horta has announced his candidacy in Timor-Leste's presidential election, where he has the support of Xanana Gusmao, a fellow key figure in the country's independence struggle.

Dili, Timor Leste – Former Timor Leste President Jose Ramos-Horta on Sunday announced he would run for the top job again in the upcoming election, a decade after the end of his first term.

The 72-year-old was a critical figure in East Timor's independence struggle, winning the Nobel Peace Prize in 1996 along with Carlos Filipe Ximines Belo.

Josh Lewis, Perth – Plans for a giant oilfield redevelopment off the coast of Timor-Leste have taken a huge blow following the disappointing results of a newly drilled appraisal well.

Michael Leach – After two years marked by Covid-19 and floods, Timor-Leste is now gearing up for presidential elections on 19 March. A runoff round for the top two candidates will be held on 19 April if no candidate receives a majority.

Ryan Dagur, Jakarta – Timor-Leste has recorded a significant increase in dengue fever cases with this year's death toll already touching 14, making it the deadliest year in recent times.

A report by the Ministry of Health published on Jan. 20 confirmed that the 14 deaths recorded so far this year had surpassed the 11 and 10 deaths recorded in 2021 and 2020 respectively.

Ryan Dagur, Jakarta – Former Catholic priest Martinho Germano da Silva Gusmao has officially announced his candidacy for Timor-Leste's presidential elections on March 19.

Pope Francis revoked the priesthood status of the diocesan priest last November, clearing the path for his intended run for president in the Catholic-majority nation.

Christopher Knaus – The federal government has been accused of making a "disgraceful" attempt to cast secrecy over a case relating to Australia's negotiations with Timor-Leste in the years prior to the controversial bugging operation revealed by Witness K and Bernard Collaery.

Ryan Dagur, Jakarta – Timor-Leste President Francisco "Lu-Olo" Guterres has officially declared that he will be making a bid to retain power at the elections due in March.

Guterres, chairman of the Revolutionary Front for an Independent East Timor Party (Fretilin), announced his candidacy at the historic St. Mary Church in Ermera municipality on Jan. 16.

Annie Sloman – Thursday night, hot, humid and sweaty as the sun sets over the capital of Timor-Leste. On the side of the road a large crowd gathers around a makeshift stage. Beside it are paintings thrown in a pile like junk – powerful art works depicting Timorese veterans, years of guerrilla struggle, heroes of this young nation.

Ryan Dagur, Jakarta – The main hospital in Catholic-majority Timor-Leste is forcing people to share beds as it battles a significant spike in dengue fever cases that has killed six children over the last month.

Dili – After the dual shocks of COVID-19 and natural disasters, East Timor's economy is showing some signs of recovery and this year's gross domestic product (GD) growth in real terms is expected to improve to 1.9 percent, according to the latest World Bank economic update, 'Timor-Leste Economic Report: Steadying The Ship', released earlier this month by the global lender based in W

Antonio Sampaio in Oecusse, Timor-Leste – Defrocked American priest Richard Daschbach, 82, has been sentenced to 12 years in prison for the crimes of sexual abuse of orphaned and vulnerable girls in his care.

He was sentenced on Tuesday for various sexual offences against girls at the Topu Honis orphanage which he controlled.

Ryan Dagur, Jakarta – A court in Timor-Leste has sentenced a defrocked American priest to 12 years in prison for sexually abusing young orphaned and underprivileged girls in his care.

Richard Daschbach, 84, was found guilty by Oecusse District Court after becoming the first cleric in the Catholic-majority country to be prosecuted for child sex abuse.

Russell Searancke – Privately-owned operator Timor Resources said it has made an oil and gas discovery in Timor-Leste with the first of two planned onshore exploration wells.

In a brief statement, the operator said the discovery comprised oil and gas, and that Schlumberger had run wireline logs on the well to help measure the amount of oil and gas discovered.

A court in East Timor has jailed a defrocked American priest for 12 years after he was charged with sexually abusing several orphaned and disadvantaged girls in his care.

The sentencing of Richard Daschbach took place on Tuesday.

Chris Barrett, Singapore – Jose Ramos-Horta, one of East Timor's historic leaders, is weighing up a bid to return to the presidency of the country in next year's elections.

"I have been approached and lobbied by many thousands of people around the country pleading with me to run again," he told The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.

Ryan Dagur, Jakarta – Catholic-majority Timor-Leste is paying a special tribute to the late journalist Max Stahl in recognition of his exemplary work and contribution to the independence of the nation.