Eighteen months ago East Timor became the world's newest nation, but the euphoria of the independence celebrations is now long over.

Peter Kammerer – East Timorese look at Iraq in wonderment.

Post-independence confidence in East Timor has declined, with nearly 40 per cent of East Timorese saying they feel worse off now than under Indonesian rule and less than half optimistic

Frederik Balfour – Kay Rala Xanana Gusmao became President of the world's newest country, East Timor in May, 2002.

Jill Jolliffe, Dili – East Timorese politicians are hoping a formal headcount to identify former pro-independence guerillas will end their discontent and return them to the social mains

Damien Kingsbury, Melbourne – As the United Nations winds down its presence in East Timor ahead of next May's departure, the fledgling state is still wrestling with forces that could of

From a correspondent in Dili – East Timor introduced its own coins today, hoping to spur economic development and create a symbol for the country following its hard-won independence fro

Just four years after the vote for independence in East Timor, the country's first lady, Kirsty Sword Gusmao, believes the country's peace is still too fragile to enter into the politic

Louis Beckerling – East Timor president Xanana Gusmao warned Asian business leaders yesterday that if people in the poorest countries of the region were left without food, there could b

Linda Mottram: Australian troops in East Timor are preparing for the pull out of UN peacekeepers next year.

Jill Jolliffe, Batugade – East Timorese self-sufficiency came a step closer at the weekend as United Nations peacekeepers handed control of the Indonesian border area to local police.

Michael Casey, Jakarta – The prime minister of East Timor said Friday that his nation has little hope of overcoming its desperate poverty unless the United Nations extends its presence

Alan Sipress, Dili – "Turn around!" the police cadet barked. "Get on your knees! Cross your legs!" The suspect dropped to the hot asphalt and obligingly stretched his arms behind him.

Alan Sipress, Laga – On a narrow road strung perilously along a rock ledge above the beach, Cornelio Gama stopped his jeep and motioned to the spot where his rebel band had ambushed a c

Paulo Gorjao – East Timor is seen at the United Nations headquarters as one of its state-building success stories in the past few years.

The new UN police chief in East Timor says one of her top priorities is to provide training to the local police force to take over policing of the young nation.

Marianne Kearney – One year after formal independence and almost four years after East Timorese voted in a United Nations-backed referendum to split from its former occupier Indonesia,

Dili – Foreign donors have confirmed their support for the struggling new nation of East Timor, a World Bank spokesman said at the end of a semi-annual meeting here.

Lisa Clausen, Dili – Domingos Ximenes pulls off his T shirt to reveal a body that tells the story of two decades of war and suffering.

As the do-gooders move on, carpetbaggers and corrupt locals are left to count the loot.

Twelve months ago there was great fanfare when East Timor was declared the world's newest nation.

East Timor, the world's newest nation, marked its first birthday but President Xanana Gusmao found little to celebrate.

Jill Jolliffe, Dili – On May 20 last year the Democratic Republic of East Timor became the first new nation of the second millennium.

Michael Casey, Dili – A year after independence, dozens of burned-out buildings dot East Timor's capital – haunting reminders of the country's bloody history.

Maumeta – Cancio dos Santos readily admits he joined pro-Jakarta militias and torched three homes in East Timor when it voted for independence from Indonesia in 1999.

Dili – As Indonesia marks five years as a democracy, its former territory of East Timor is celebrating its own landmark: one year as an independent nation.

New York – The United Nations Security Council has approved a one-year extension of the UN mission in East Timor, while diplomatic sources caution that the new nation could experience m

New York – The UN Security Council is scheduled to meet Monday to discuss a one-year extension of the UN mission in East Timor, a recommendation by Secretary-General Kofi Annan.

Mari Alkatiri – As the world watched events unfold in the Middle East, we heard talk of the territorial integrity of the nation of Iraq.

President Xanana Gusmao concedes security will be a concern when United Nations peacekeepers pull out of East Timor.

Chris McCall – Small boys play on a rusting warship off Dili harbour, the detritus of war that has become their home. On the beach, men scavenge for rubbish they can use or sell.

Alan Boyd, Sydney – East Timor is preparing for next year's withdrawal of United Nations peacekeeping troops with a diplomatic offensive aimed at confronting worsening security and soci

United Nations General Secretary Kofi Annan has recommended to the Security Council to slow the withdrawal of UN troops from East Timor.

Dili – Sitting by the road on the Dili waterfront, Jose Belo Pereira ekes out a living selling coconuts to passers-by.

Shepard Forman, New York – Even as the United Nations focuses like a laser on Iraq, it must not lose sight of its other commitments.

Canberra – The United Nations and Australia agreed it was too early to withdraw peacekeepers from East Timor after riots in December but its police must be strengthened so they can take

John Martinkus – Almost three weeks after a series of militia incursions into East Timor from neighbouring Indonesia left five people dead, the two largest contingents of the peacekeepi

Jill Jolliffe, Dili – President Xanana Gusmao has denied a report that East Timor is seeking increased Australian military involvement in the territory to curb militia infiltrations fro

East Timorese President Xanana Gusmao said yesterday that it may be necessary to extend the mandate of the 5,000-soldier UN peacekeeping force in East Timor beyond June 2004, its schedu

Dili – The atmosphere of instability looming over East Timor is leading to a deterioration of relations between national and UN security structures.

Xanana Gusmao's first new year's address as president of an independent East Timor encapsulated the fragility of his young nation.

Joco Boavida – The riot of 4 December 2002 took residents of Dili and news listeners and watchers worldwide by surprise for the extent of anger and violence that suddenly erupted and va

Dili – The UN will respect its engagement with East Timor and has no plans for an anticipated reduction or withdrawal of its civilian team and peacekeeping forces, Dili's UN ambassador

United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan issued a report on East Timor Thursday, stressing what he termed "the vital necessity" of continued UN aid for the world's youngest nation.

Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo – My native East Timor became the 191st member of the United Nations last week.

Dili – East Timor becomes the 191st member of the United Nations on Friday, an historic day for the world's newest nation after a bloody transition from Indonesian rule, but East Timore

Irwin Arieff, United Nations – The tiny Southeast Asian nation of East Timor, the first country to be born in the 21st century, won a seat at the United Nations on Friday, swelling the

New York – East Timor's fragile peace will only hold if the international community continues to provide assistance and not abandon the country, said the fledgling nation's foreign mini

The leader of East Timor's Catholic community, Bishop Carlos Ximenes Belo, appealed Monday to Portugal's people to give more help to his country, whose situation, he said, is "worse tha

The Federal Defence Minister says Australian military commitment to peacekeeping in East Timor will be phased out over the next 18 months.