East Timor celebrates inauguration of leader

Former East Timor independence fighter and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Jose Ramos-Horta was sworn in as president of Asia’s youngest country late Thursday as it marks its 20th anniversary of independence.

Crowds cheered as he then traveled by motorcade to Parliament, where a ceremony kicked off nationwide festivities commemorating independence from Indonesia, which invaded the former Portuguese colony in 1975.

Ramos-Horta, 72, who led the resistance during Indonesia’s occupation, called for national reconciliation and unity as he took the oath of office shortly before midnight, the time the country declared independence 20 years ago.