A high-level panel urged a major overhaul of U.N. peacekeeping operations Tuesday that would make political solutions the paramount goal, speed up deployment of peacekeepers, and require the naming and shaming of countries whose troops commit acts of sexual abuse.

The panel delivered its report to U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon amid a growing controversy over allegations of child sexual abuse by French soldiers in Central African Republic. Confidential documents show the U.N.'s top human rights officials did not follow up for more than six months after their staff discovered the alleged exploitation.

East Timor has officially dropped its case against Australia before the U.N.'s International Court of Justice, after Canberra returned sensitive documents relating to a controversial oil and gas treaty.

"The case brought against Australia in respect of a dispute concerning the seizure of data and documents which belongs to Timor-Leste... was removed from the court's list on June 11," the ICJ said Friday in a statement.

Australia expressed disappointment Friday that East Timor will resume a legal battle in the U.N.'s highest court over a controversial oil and gas treaty between the two countries, and vowed to "strongly defend" its case.

East Timor announced this week it would press ahead with its case against Australia at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in the Hague, after a six-month hiatus for talks failed to settle a dispute over the boundaries for vast maritime energy fields shared in the Timor Sea.

East Timor resistance hero Xanana Gusmao has submitted his resignation as prime minister, the government said Friday, after more than a decade leading the half-island nation during the fraught early years of its independence.

The president must now decide whether to accept the resignation of the 68-year-old, who has served as either president or prime minister since East Timor became independent in 2002 following a long struggle against Indonesian occupation.

Around 100 protesters in East Timor threw rocks at the Australian embassy Thursday and police responded with tear gas as a spying row between the nations intensified.

East Timor has expressed outrage over reports that Australia secretly bugged ministerial deliberations in Dili in 2004 to gain leverage in negotiations on an oil and gas revenue-sharing deal.

Police in East Timor have uncovered a mass grave of 52 people at the government palace in Dili, with initial examinations suggesting the bodies are not Timorese, an official said Tuesday.

Construction workers discovered the remains last week in a garden outside the beachfront government palace, which houses the office of Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao, and contacted police.

East Timor started voting for a new president Saturday, putting to test the young nation's political stability ahead of the departure of U.N. troops later this year.

The election is expected to be a three-way race between incumbent Jose Ramos Horta, former military chief Taur Matan Ruak and former parliamentary speaker Francisco "Lu-Olo" Guetteres.

Australian archaeologists have uncovered evidence that prehistoric humans living 42,000 years ago mastered the art of deep-sea fishing, they revealed Friday.

They also found the world's earliest recorded fish hook, made of shell and dating from between 23,000 and 16,000 years ago, during excavations at the Jerimalai cave site in East Timor.

A powerful earthquake hit waters off East Timor on Tuesday, but officials said it was too deep to trigger a tsunami. There were no reports of injuries or damage.

The U.S. Geological Survey said the 6.8-magnitude quake struck 171 miles (276 kilometers) from the capital, Dili, and was centered 300 miles (465 kilometers) beneath the Banda Sea.