ASEAN & Timor-Leste: A week of coverage highlights Timor-Leste’s growing regional pull, including a look at how ASEAN membership is pushing the country toward deeper trade and faster digital payments—while cash still dominates and financial inclusion remains uneven outside Dili. Livestock & Food Security: Timor-Leste’s Secretary of State for Livestock, José Vieira de Araújo, is set to outline government priorities on RTTL’s “Government Page” TV show, focusing on boosting livestock production, animal health and sanitation, disease control, and expanding locally produced milk into school meal programmes. Agrifood Systems (Regional context): Indonesia and FAO launched a 2026–2030 Country Programming Framework aimed at more resilient, inclusive agrifood systems—covering better production and nutrition, biodiversity and natural resource management, and One Health risk-response approaches. Forestry conservation (Regional context): A new report flags dire pressure on threatened oak species across Southeast and East Asia, including Timor-Leste, calling for targeted surveys, expanded protected areas, and restoration propagation. Shipping costs (Regional trade): Maersk raised peak season surcharges for container imports to Maldives and Sri Lanka, with the fee applying to origins including Timor-Leste—effective late August into early September. Digital connectivity (Regional tech): Starlink launched commercially in Vietnam, and the report notes East Timor as one of the ASEAN countries where the service is already available.