Lebanon's newly elected president, Joseph Aoun, said Thursday that "a new phase" has started for the war-ravaged country and pledged to rebuild the state, adopt a policy of "positive neutrality" and fight corruption.

BEIRUT: Lebanese lawmakers elected army chief Joseph Aoun as president on Thursday (Jan 9), ending a more than two-year vacancy in a step towards lifting the war-battered country out of financial crisis.

General Joseph Aoun was widely seen as the preferred candidate of the United States, which funds, trains, and arms the Lebanese military and helped broker a cease-fire between Israel and the militant group Hezbollah in November.