By Charles Scheiner, Dili, Timor-Leste

Garry Maddox – Anthony LaPaglia will star in a film telling the story of the five newsmen who were shot dead in East Timor in 1975.

Agung Yudhawiranata, Jakarta – The Commission of Truth and Friendship (CTF) involving Timor Leste and Indonesia is organizing the fifth in its series of public hearings in Dili from Sept. 24-27.

Ati Nurbaiti, Dili – A former pro-integration leader told a public hearing here Wednesday that many Timorese civilians were forced by poverty to join pro-Indonesian militias.

Dili – An East Timorese who was a pro-Indonesia activist during the tiny nation's 1999 independence vote said Wednesday that Indonesia's military should be held responsible for violence occurring then.

Indonesia was responsible for the bloodshed surrounding East Timor's independence vote in 1999, a former pro-Jakarta militia chief told a commission set up to investigate the violence at a hearing.

Pro-Indonesian militiamen went on a violent rampage before and after the UN-sponsored vote that ended 24 years of Jakarta rule in the former Portuguese colony.

Ati Nurbaiti, Dili – A Timor Leste government official who said he was once a "double agent" in East Timor's resistance movement and the Indonesian Military, claimed offers of financial aid and weapons were made by Indonesian generals to "pro-integration" Timorese.

Jon Lamb – On September 12, the new East Timorese government led by Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao, tabled the Government Program for 2007-12. The coalition Parliamentary Majority Alliance (AMP) believes the program will help alleviate poverty and resolve internal unrest and security issues.

Dili – About 50 people demonstrated in East Timor's capital today, calling for an international tribunal to try individuals who committed atrocities during the vote for independence from Indonesia in 1999.

Paul Cleary – For a country controlling a maritime region of 15 million square kilometres – more than twice the size of its landmass – Australia has limited powers to stop unlawful exploitation of creatures such as endangered whales and fish, and the resources found underneath the seabed.

Chad Bouchard, Jakarta – Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao testified behind closed doors Monday on what he knew about the unrest that accompanied East Timor's vote to separate from Indonesian rule in 1999.

Desy Nurhayati, Jakarta – The joint Indonesia-Timor Leste Truth and Friendship Commission (CTF) is scheduled to hold its final hearing today, which could see Timor Leste Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao testify, along with several other key witnesses.

East Timor's government fears a jailed former minister, allowed to leave the country for medical care, won't return to serve his sentence for arming hit squads during last year's unrest.

The government has also flagged a possible corruption inquiry related to the case of the former Fretilin government's interior minister Rogerio Lobato.

Denpasar – East Timor's president on Friday brushed off a UN threat to boycott a commission charged with examining violence surrounding East Timor's 1999 independence vote, an official said.

Abdul Khalik, Jakarta – With the Indonesia-Timor Leste Commission for Truth and Friendship (CTF) due to hold its final hearing Monday, critics are asking if its findings will have any credibility with the victims or the international community.

Tito Belo, Dili – Chinese businessmen want to invest more than $100 million in East Timor over the next 10 years in a range of sectors from banking to agriculture, a Chinese business delegation said on Friday.

The Democratic Socialist Perspective (DSP), a Marxist tendency in the Socialist Alliance, is now calling for the immediate withdrawal of the Australian troops from East Timor. A meeting of the DSP National Committee resolved to investigate the prospects for building a public campaign around this demand.

The United Nations says authorities in East Timor have arrested five national police officers and two civilians over suspected involvement in arson attacks in the east during anti-government protests.

The outcome of Timor Leste's parliamentary election could be seen as a political victory for former President and now Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao. Some factors are running in his favour; but there are substantial challenges.

Maryann Keady – The current situation in East Timor makes me think of my first year American Politics essay: 'The American President as Actor; the American Actor as President: Discuss'. With Ronald Reagan at the helm, it wasn't difficult to write 10,000 words.

Avid East Timor-watchers of the past few years can be summed up in three ways:

Dili – East Timor's Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao pledged to prioritise security as he read out his plans for governingthe tiny nation over the next five years to parliament on Thursday.

Tito Belo, Dili – East Timor Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao pledged on Thursday to improve security and use funds earned from rich energy reserves to tackle poverty as he set out his new government's priorities for the tiny nation.

Jakarta – East Timor's new government will not last beyond two years because of mounting friction among its coalition parties, ex-prime minister Mari Alkatiri said in an interview published here Wednesday.

Alice Coster, Jakarta – The ruling Timor Leste government is "illegitimate" and "illegal", said former Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri, but building stronger relations with Indonesia based on truth was crucial.

Evelyn Leopold, United Nations – The UN Security Council called on East Timor to refrain from further violence after mayhem erupted when independence leader Xanana Gusmao became prime minister last month.

Jakarta – Secretary General of Timor Leste's Fretilin Party Mari Alkatiri visited the Prosperous and Justice Party (PKS) headquarters Monday in an attempt to foster relationships between the two parties.

The former head of the Defence Intelligence Organisation falsely claimed he did not know the flow of intelligence to Australian troops in East Timor had been deliberately cut, the ACT Supreme Court was told yesterday.

The top UN official in East Timor said Thursday the fledgling country that gained its independence five years ago remains fragile but is no "failed state" as recurring political turmoil and street violence have led some to believe.

Tito Belo, Dili – The United Nations mission in East Timor may be extended by another five years from 2008 to oversee the revamp of the young nation's fragile security forces, its chief said on Monday.

Hamish McDonald – A wealthy businessman will spend nearly $500,000 trying to get Asia-Pacific leaders to focus on human rights abuses this week.

Paul Cleary – Four years ago, then premier (of Victoria State) Steve Bracks led a solemn procession through the main street of Balibo, East Timor, wearing the headdress and rainbow-coloured skirt of a Timorese king. At his side, and in the same garb, was the hero of East Timor's long struggle for independence, Xanana Gusmao.

[Andre Vltcheck interviewed Mari Alkatiri on September 13, in the Sultan Hotel in Jakarta, Indonesia. Alkatiri was the first prime minister of East Timor, serving from May 2002 until June 26, 2006.]

Q: What is the relationship status between Indonesia and East Timor right now?

Roderick Campbell – The Defence Intelligence Organisation's former director denied yesterday claims of a cover-up over a cut in intelligence to Australian troops in East Timor.

Dili – Australia's Foreign Minister Alexander Downer arrived in East Timor on Thursday for a one-day visit on the anniversary of the tiny neighbouring nation's 1999 independence vote.

Tony Iltis – Former East Timorese prime minister Mari Alkatiri has called for the withdrawal of Australian troops from his country. Speaking to Agence France-Presse on august 20, he said: "It would be better for Australian troops to just return home if they cannot be neutral.

This mountain town in Timor's eastern highlands has known its share of horrors and in recent weeks bad times returned with a wave of violent demonstrations and the alleged rape of an 11-year-old girl which some assert was a political crime.

Defence has rejected claims from East Timor renegade Alfredo Reinado that Australian soldiers broke the necks of two wounded men and shot dead civilians during the raid on his hideout five months ago.

Dili – As a veneer of calm descends on East Timor after Thursday's clashes, the political tension remains high.

In an interview with Adnkronos International (AKI) Jose Texeira, an MP with the largest party, Fretilin, said that his party will not accept prime minister Xanana Gusmao's invitation to join his government.

Gangs armed with steel darts and machetes clashed in the town of Metinaro in Timor Leste on Thursday. The Metinaro market where the brawl happened was almost completely destroyed while 26 houses were burned down according to local police.

Dili – Hundreds of rampaging youths torched dozens of houses and clashed across East Timor on Thursday, leaving at least two people dead, the UN said, in violence sparked by the appointment of independence hero Xanana Gusmao as prime minister.

Dili – Hundreds of machete-wielding youths clashed in an East Timorese town Thursday in the latest outbreak of violence following the appointment of a new government early this month, the UN and police said.

Dili – East Timor Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao has offered the disgruntled former ruling party Fretilin several seats in his cabinet, in an apparently conciliatory gesture, a report said Thursday.

Tony Iltis – On August 6, East Timorese President Jose Ramos Horta appointed his predecessor, Xanana Gusmao, prime minister and asked him to form a government without Fretilin, the largest party in the parliament elected on June 30. Despite the constitutional legitimacy of this being unclear, Gusmao's government was sworn in on August 8.

[Shakedown: Australia's grab for Timor oil. By Paul Cleary. Allen & Unwin, 2007. 336 pages, $29.95. Reviewed by Vannessa Hearman.]

[East Timor: Beyond Independence. Edited by Damien Kingsbury and Michael Leach Monash University Press, 2007. 302 pages, $36.95. Reviewed by Jon Lamb.]

Lindsay Murdoch, Darwin – Australian troops in East Timor stole flags of the deposed Fretilin party, tore them up and wiped their backsides with them, Fretilin claimed yesterday.

Today, more than sixty organisations, comprising local and international non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and United Nations agencies have issued a public statement condemning recent acts of violence against children in Timor-Leste.

East Timor's former ruling party has abandoned plans for a court challenge to the legality of the Government sworn in last week, an official said.

But the party, Fretilin, still should be part of a unity government, its deputy president Arsenio Bano said amid continuing uncertainty following an inconclusive parliamentary election in June.

Stephen Fitzpatrick, Dili – A furious United Nations chief in East Timor has rejected as "lies" a claim by the former ruling Fretilin party that his staff was responsible for triggering recent violence, including an armed attack on a UN police convoy on Friday.

Dili – East Timor's newly-appointed Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao on Tuesday accused the former ruling party of Fretilin of failing to halt ongoing outbreaks of violence in the tiny nation.