East Timor officially gained independence from Indonesia in 2002 after a landmark ballot. Photo: AP PHOTO

East Timor MPs have agreed to scrap plans to provide lifetime pension allowances for themselves, bowing to pressure from thousands of students who have staged demonstrations against the plans since Monday.

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East Timor, commonly known as Timor-Leste, has a population of 1.3 million people living on an island slightly bigger than Qatar. It is one of Southeast Asia's poorest nations and is dependent on dwindling reserves of oil and gas.

Earlier, more than 1000 students protested fo

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