Lebanese parliament elects army chief Joseph Aoun new president

Lebanon’s parliament elected army chief Joseph Aoun head of state on Thursday, filling the vacant presidency with a general who enjoys US approval and showing the diminished sway of the Hezbollah group after the Israeli invasion of Lebanon.

The outcome reflected shifts in the power balance in Lebanon and the wider Middle East, with Hezbollah group badly pummelled from last year’s war, and its Syrian ally Bashar al-Assad toppled in December.

It also indicated a revival of Saudi influence...