LEBANON: The national parliament voted to elect army commander Joseph Aoun as head of state today, filling a more than two-year-long presidential vacuum.

The vote came weeks after a tenuous ceasefire agreement which has reduced the severity of the conflict between Hezbollah and the Israelis. But Israel has faced accusations that it has violated the ceasefire on numerous occasions.

MYANMAR: The government bombing of a village under the control of an armed ethnic minority group has killed about 40 people and injured at least 20 others, officials of the group and a local charity reported today. They said hundreds of houses burned in a fire triggered by the airstrike.