Lebanon's parliament elected the former army commander president after a two-year vacancy for the head of state.

Lebanon's parliament elected army chief Joseph Aoun head of state on Thursday, filling the vacant presidency with a general who enjoys U.S. approval.

The Presidency is reserved for a Maronite Christian in the country's sectarian power-sharing system and has been vacant since Michel ... of the group's ally Bashar al-Assad in neighboring Syria.

Aoun, 60, has been commander of US-backed Lebanese army since 2017 and played a key role in shoring up a ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel.

Election of Joseph Aoun is seen as a step towards reviving government institutions and securing international aid for Lebanon’s struggling economy.

The move fills the vacant presidency with a general who enjoys US approval and showing that Hezbollah's influence in the country has diminished after a devastating war with Israel.

Lebanon's last president, Michel Aoun, left office two years ago, and the position has remained vacant since. He bears no relation to Joseph Aoun. On Thursday, the country is set to hold elections to fill the top post, potentially ushering in a new era of leadership.

Lebanon’s parliament has elected Joseph Aoun, the United States-backed Army Chief, as the country’s new president, breaking a two-year political stalemate

Lebanon parliament elected Army Chief Joseph Aoun as the country new president on Thursday bringing an end to a prolonged political deadlock and presidenti

France's president said Friday that Paris will soon host an aid conference to help rebuild Lebanon after the Israel-Hezbollah war last year, as he visited Beirut in a show of

Around 6.2 million Syrians fled the country during the 13-year conflict. Since the fall of Assad in a rebel offensive on 8 December 2024, just 125,000 Syrians have returned, according to the latest UN figures.

United Nations rights chief Volker Turk Wednesday urged an easing of economic sanctions on Syria after Bashar al-Assad's fall, during the first-ever visit by someone in his post to the country.