Warring factions in East Timor agreed to a truce yesterday so soccer fans could get behind Portugal in their match against England.
Portugal was for 400 years the colonial power in the ravaged half-island, which became independent of Indonesia after 24 years of occupation in 2002. Portuguese is the national language.
Dozens have died and an estimated 150,000 been shunted into makeshift refugee camps by the looting and arson sprees of rival ethnic gangs. More than 2,000 Australian, Malaysian, New Zealand and Portuguese troops are in East Timor to curb the violence.
"Tonight we will all be together for Portugal," an East Timor army officer told Australia's AAP news agency in Dili.
He was speaking at the Metinaro barracks, where Australian troops will host local soccer fans. Others are expected to pack bars and cafes where the Portuguese troops will be watching the game.
"Everybody wants to be there to watch, but they cannot fit many in," one aide worker said. "There is no electricity in the camps for a television."
Meanwhile, outgoing foreign minister Jose Ramos-Horta will head the government until a new premier is appointed in coming days, sources said yesterday.
Discussions were continuing to appoint a successor to Mari Alkatiri, the former prime minister who quit last Monday after being blamed for stoking the civil unrest and factional fighting that left at least 21 people dead and forced nearly 150,000 people to flee their homes.
Ramos-Horta told diplomats he had Alkatiri's blessing to carry on the "coordinator" job until a successor has been appointed, according to the source.
Alkatiri's Fretilin party, which holds 55 of 88 parliamentary seats, has vigorously campaigned to name the next premier.
Senior party officials gathered yesterday to discuss names with minister for state Ana Pessoa -- Ramos-Horta's ex-wife -- and agriculture minister Estanislao Da Silva, who are front-runners for the top job.
In other developments, Fretilin yesterday called for a police probe into faked leaflets that showed Alkatiri under arrest and being marched off by a foreign soldier.
At a hastily convened press conference, Fretilin said the "irresponsible" photograph, which showed Alkatiri with his hands behind his back and a soldier's hand on his shoulder, was designed to destroy the prime minister's dignity.
Fretilin officials said the photograph was brought to their attention by Australian troops, who told them to publicly deny the claim.
The government is aiming to recruit 1,096 foreign English teachers and teaching assistants this year, the Ministry of Education said yesterday. The foreign teachers would work closely with elementary and junior-high instructors to create and teach courses, ministry official Tsai Yi-ching (蔡宜靜) said. Together, they would create an immersive language environment, helping to motivate students while enhancing the skills of local teachers, she said. The ministry has since 2021 been recruiting foreign teachers through the Taiwan Foreign English Teacher Program, which offers placement, salary, housing and other benefits to eligible foreign teachers. Two centers serving northern and southern Taiwan assist in recruiting and training
WIDE NET: Health officials said they are considering all possibilities, such as bongkrekic acid, while the city mayor said they have not ruled out the possibility of a malicious act of poisoning Two people who dined at a restaurant in Taipei’s Far Eastern Department Store Xinyi A13 last week have died, while four are in intensive care, the Taipei Department of Health said yesterday. All of the outlets of Malaysian vegetarian restaurant franchise Polam Kopitiam have been ordered to close pending an investigation after 11 people became ill due to suspected food poisoning, city officials told a news conference in Taipei. The first fatality, a 39-year-old man who ate at the restaurant on Friday last week, died of kidney failure two days later at the city’s Mackay Memorial Hospital. A 66-year-old man who dined
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‘CARRIER KILLERS’: The Tuo Chiang-class corvettes’ stealth capability means they have a radar cross-section as small as the size of a fishing boat, an analyst said President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday presided over a ceremony at Yilan County’s Suao Harbor (蘇澳港), where the navy took delivery of two indigenous Tuo Chiang-class corvettes. The corvettes, An Chiang (安江) and Wan Chiang (萬江), along with the introduction of the coast guard’s third and fourth 4,000-tonne cutters earlier this month, are a testament to Taiwan’s shipbuilding capability and signify the nation’s resolve to defend democracy and freedom, Tsai said. The vessels are also the last two of six Tuo Chiang-class corvettes ordered from Lungteh Shipbuilding Co (龍德造船) by the navy, Tsai said. The first Tuo Chiang-class vessel delivered was Ta Chiang (塔江)