Timor Leste Must Settle Maritime Boundary

May 25th, 2007 | By Barrie | No Comments »

Timor Leste’s recent successful election has given the country a new president, Jose Ramos-Horta. Voters have a lot riding on the Nobel Peace Prize winner’s ability to overcome the myriad challenges facing the young country. One of those challenges, and one that Timor Leste must prioritize now, is the settlement of the country’s maritime boundaries.

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The Language Soup: Timor Leste

April 22nd, 2007 | By Barrie | No Comments »

Portuguese is one of the two official languages in East Timor, or as it is now known, Timor Leste, but you can hardly hear it spoken in the streets of the young nation. The tiny country was a Portuguese colony for more than three centuries, but only an estimated 5 percent of its one million people now speak the European language.

UN Observers in Landmark Elections: Timor Leste

April 3rd, 2007 | By Barrie | No Comments »

More than 2,000 national and international election observers will monitor next Monday’s landmark presidential elections in Timor-Leste, the first polls held in the tiny nation since it gained independence from Indonesia in 2002, the United Nations mission to the impoverished country.

The Danger of Fundamentalism: Indonesia

January 19th, 2007 | By Barrie | No Comments »

It seems to be a fact of life wherever we travel in the world these days; the threat of danger from radical groups bent on the destruction of the western world. Sounds harsh I suppose, but, it is fact.

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Casting Producers Suffering: Yogyakarta, Central Java, Indonesia

January 10th, 2007 | By Barrie | No Comments »

Small-scale aluminum casting producers in Yogyakarta are on the brink of collapse, losing out to a boom in Chinese products and handicapped by limited access to capital as Slamet Susanto reports.

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Ancient Cave Found: Timor Leste

December 23rd, 2006 | By Barrie | No Comments »

An Australian archaeologist has discovered the oldest evidence of occupation by modern humans on the islands that were the stepping stones from South-East Asia to Australia.

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Dialects Under Threat of Disappearing: Indonesia

December 23rd, 2006 | By Barrie | No Comments »

As the world progresses at an even faster rate, and the English language becoming more prevalent throughout the world, local dialects apparently are disappearing at an alarming rate.

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Rural Java and Poverty: Indonesia

December 22nd, 2006 | By Barrie | No Comments »

I was reading the Opinion the other day and there was a fascinating write-up by Wilmar Salim regarding the rural poor in Java. When I was travelling through Java recently, it was more than obvious that the people are suffering and not just because of natural disasters.

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Gusmao Documentary – Jakarta International Film Festival: Jakarta, Indonesia

December 16th, 2006 | By Barrie | No Comments »

In yesterday’s JP there was an excellent article about a documentary, A Hero’s Journey, by East Timorese leader, Xanana Gusmao.

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Dealing with Dengue Fever: Indonesia

September 6th, 2006 | By Wombat | 1 Comment »

You have heard about dengue fever — demam berdarah (bleeding fever) or “break bone” fever. You probably know people who have had it. You know it is in Jakarta and it is a little dangerous. But you may do not know what you can do about it.
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