The Vatican says some 600,000 people have attended Pope Francis’ Mass in East Timor, or nearly half the country’s population.

East Timor pulled out all stops for Pope Francis’ historic visit to one of the world’s youngest and poorest countries to the tune of $12 million, drawing rebuke from activists and human rights organizations.

Vote counting is underway in East Timor’s parliamentary election with two former independence fighters considered for the post of prime minister.

The United Nations and advocacy groups for survivors of clergy sexual abuse are urging Pope Francis to authorize a full investigation into Nobel Peace Prize-winning Bishop Carlos Ximenes Belo.

East Timor’s Catholics have reacted with shock but also expressions of support for revered independence icon and Nobel Peace Prize winner Bishop Carlos Ximenes Belo following allegations he sexually abused boys decades ago in the impoverished Southeast Asian nation.

The Vatican says it imposed disciplinary sanctions on Nobel Peace Prize-winning Bishop Carlos Ximenes Belo following allegations that he sexually abused boys in East Timor in the 1990s.

Voters in East Timor are choosing a president in a runoff Tuesday between former independence fighters who've blamed each other for years of political paralysis.

Vote counting is underway in East Timor’s presidential elections with two former fighters for independence, one current and one former president, considered to be the front-runners.