Nobel laureate Jose Ramos-Horta was inaugurated as East Timor's president on Friday, pledging to break a longstanding political deadlock in Southeast Asia's youngest country as it celebrated its 20th independence anniversary.The former Portuguese colony, which became independent from Indonesia in 2002 after 24 years of occupation, marked the occasion with a concert and fireworks for thousands in the capital Dili.The 72-year-old revolutionary hero, himself a former president of East

A ruling family which was driven out of power 36 years ago, accused of spectacular greed and brutality, is all but set to return to Malacañang – the presidential palace.It is a stunning blow to those in the Philippines who have campaigned for accountability for the abuses of the old Marcos era.

With 98 percent of eligible ballots counted in an unofficial tally, Marcos won double the votes of his nearest rival.

The son of late Philippines dictator Ferdinand Marcos won a landslide presidential election victory Tuesday, as Filipino voters dismissed warnings his rise could put their fragile democracy at risk.With more than 90 percent of an initial count concluded, Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Junior had secured almost 30 million votes, more than double the tally of his nearest rival, liberal candidate Leni Robredo.That unassailable lead spells another astonishing turnaround for the fortunes of

Voting was underway in the Philippines Monday to elect a new president, with the son of former dictator Ferdinand Marcos the favourite to win the high-stakes race and restore his family to the pinnacle of power.Polls opened at 6:00 am (2200 GMT Sunday), AFP reporters said.

The election fever has intensified two days before the 9 May, 2022 election.

Ferdinand Marcos Jr, whose dictator father and namesake presided over massive plunder and human rights abuses in the Philippines, is on the verge of winning the presidency after a decades-long effort to revive the family brand.Voter surveys show Marcos Jr, known by his nickname "Bongbong", heading towards a landslide victory in the 9 May polls, boosted by a well-funded social media campaign that critics say has tried to rewrite history.In the 36 years since a popular uprising topple

Tens of millions of Filipinos go to the polls on 9 May to pick a successor to President Rodrigo Duterte and separately elect a vice president.Voter surveys show the son and namesake of former dictator Ferdinand Marcos is on the verge of victory in the crowded presidential race of 10 contenders.His running-mate and first daughter Sara Duterte leads the pack of nine vice presidential hopefuls.The following are the top contenders:Ferdinand Marcos Jr Ferdinand Marcos Junior, nicknamed &q

The frontrunner in the Philippines presidential race, Ferdinand Marcos Jr, has praised his father – the country’s late dictator – as a “political genius”, and his mother as the dynasty’s “supreme politician”, less than two weeks before an election that could return the Marcos family to power.Ferdinand Marcos Jr, known as Bongbong, has a clear lead in the polls ahead of an election on 9 May, despite his father’s notorious history.In an interview with CNN Philippines, Marcos Jr praised the poli

French President Emmanuel Macron is set to begin efforts to unite a deeply divided nation after winning re-election on Sunday in a battle against rival Marine Le Pen that saw the far right come its closest yet to taking power.Centrist Macron won around 58.6 percent of the vote in the second-round run-off compared with Le Pen's 41.4 percent, according to official results from the Interior Ministry.Macron is the first French president in two decades to win a second term, but his latest vic