Axe Does Timor

East Timor not-so-proudly holds two distinctions: founded just five years ago after a long civil war, it’s the world’s newest country; and by some measures it is the poorest place on the planet. Institutional youth and extreme poverty for the million Timorese -- plus Timor’s unenviable location at the cross-roads of Muslim Southeast Asia and the Christian Commonwealth -- are a potentially explosive combination, so it’s no wonder that the place is crawling with native security forces, U.N. police and soldiers from Australia and New Zealand. The number of foreign forces is only growing in the wake of minor riots last year and with presidential elections on April 9. The world is eager to see its youngest child raised up right.