East Timor president Jose Ramos-Horta was wounded in a pre-dawn attack on his home that killed a guard.

Nobel Prize winner Jose Ramos-Horta vowed to heal deep political and social rifts in East Timor after poll results showed him on course for a landslide victory in presidential elections in Asia’s newest nation.

Nobel Peace Prize winner Jose Ramos-Horta was heading for a landslide victory today in East Timor’s presidential elections, according to figures released by the poll commission.

Troubled East Timor today voted for a new president, choosing between a Nobel Prize winner and an ex-freedom fighter in an election critical to maintaining peace a year after the tiny nation was pushed to the brink of civil war.

East Timor began voting today for a new president, a critical step in Asia’s newest nation following violence and political turmoil last year that took it to the brink of civil war.

East Timor goes to the polls tomorrow to pick a new president, with voters in the tiny nation to choose between Nobel Peace Prize winner Jose Ramos-Horta and an ex-fighter who spent years in the jungle battling Indonesian rule.

East Timor’s presidential elections may require a second round of voting, a top election official said today.

Voters in East Timor lined up today to choose a new president, hoping the election would end bitter political rivalries and widespread poverty threatening the future of Asia’s youngest nation.

Uniting crisis-torn East Timor is more challenging now than the task of building it from the ruins of its bloody separation from Indonesia in 1999, Prime Minister Jose Ramos-Horta said today.

About 40 prisoners escaped from a jail in East Timor today, officials said, adding to security concerns in the tiny nation as it prepares for elections following political turmoil and violence last year.

Jennifer Lopez will receive an award for her work as producer and star of a film examining the continuing murders of hundreds of women in a Mexican border town, Amnesty International said today.

Irish aid agency Concern today welcomed the appointment of a former Nobel Peace Prize winner as the new prime minister of East Timor.

Nobel Prize winner Jose Ramos-Horta became East Timor’s new prime minister today, the president said, announcing the formation of a new government following months of violence and political instability.

East Timor’s ruling party will give the country’s president a list of prime ministerial candidates tomorrow – and Nobel prize-winning Foreign Minister Jose Ramos-Horta may be on it, party members said.

Gangs hurled rocks at a camp housing refugees and torched buildings in East Timor’s capital today, as fresh violence erupted between supporters and opponents of former prime minister Mari Alkatiri.

East Timor’s leaders were trying to decide on a new prime minister today following the resignation of Mari Alkatiri, raising hopes for an end to months of political paralysis and violence in Asia’s newest nation.

East Timor’s embattled prime minister announced his resignation today, triggering celebrations in the violence-scarred capital and raising hopes for an end to weeks of political turmoil and unrest.

East Timor’s president was reconsidering his threat to resign, a Roman Catholic bishop said after meeting the popular leader today, as protesters demanding the resignation took to the streets, raising fears of fresh violence.

Children in families that have flocked to tent camps to escape violence in East Timor’s capital face a high risk of malnutrition and disease, health officials warned today, as they kicked off a mass measles vaccination campaign.

THE European Union signed a €18 million aid deal with East Timor’s government yesterday, pledging to support democracy and economic development in the nation which has been torn by violence in recent weeks.

The UN should help oversee elections in East Timor and stay involved in the violence-scarred nation for at least a decade, the foreign minister said today, noting that restoring order and building a democracy would take time and money.

A UN-led police force will be deployed in East Timor for at least two years to help restore stability to one of the world’s youngest nations, the country’s foreign minister said today.

An East Timor rebel leader today said he was willing to hold talks on ending the troubled country’s wave of violence, but made clear that any solution should not include a role for the current prime minister.

Tiny East Timor has invited Irish rock group U2 and country music star Garth Brooks to perform at independence celebrations on May 20 next year.

The Australian Government appears to have rejected an offer by UN officials on East Timor to accept the hundreds of refugees who are stranded on a ship that rescued them .

East Timor is willing to temporarily accept about 460 immigrants stranded on a cargo ship off Australia.