Growing pains of a new nation


  • Focus
  • Wednesday, 26 Feb 2025

People looking through second-hand clothes at a market in Ermera. — ©2025 The New York Times Company

THREE decades ago, Jose Ramos-Horta was a scrappy campaigner navigating the world’s corridors of power, dreaming of independence for his homeland.

Today, at 75, he stands as both president and tireless salesman for Timor-Leste, Asia’s youngest nation.

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