At the age of 14,Ornella Byak had an encounter that shaped the course of her life.
Australia is offering a multi-billion-dollar lifeline to fast-track an offshore gas project the government hopes will keep Beijing at bay.
From covering Shane Warne’s tragic death to travelling with Penny Wong to her home town,Chris Barrett saw a bit of everything.
Consistently rated one of the world’s top diving sites,and still unspoiled by mass tourism,Atauro has thankfully avoided becoming a resort destination.
The Timor-Leste capital Dili’s Catholic Portuguese past is present as soon as we enter the harbour,and its splendour is best taken in by sea.
Defending his country’s upgrading of ties with Beijing,Timor-Leste President Jose Ramos-Horta says China is “more respectful of Australia’s position than Australia is of the Chinese position”.
The president defended last week’s strategic deal with Beijing as purely for infrastructure and agriculture investment. His country needs to “feed its people”,he said.
China has built ties with small nations in the Pacific,worrying the US,Australia and New Zealand,who have long seen the region as their sphere of influence.
ASIO allegedly installed listening devices in Timor-Leste’s cabinet room to gain an edge during hotly contested negotiations over maritime boundaries in 2004.
The independence hero and first president of Timor-Leste is poised to return as prime minister after his party scored a resounding win in parliamentary polls.
With a national median age of just 21,Asia’s youngest nation’s population holds the future in its hands.