Anyone listening to Russian President Vladimir Putin beseeching people to vote for his United Russia party might think Sunday’s parliamentary election would be a tight race.

Lebanese leaders will put off a presidential election set for Friday for a sixth time to allow for talks expected to focus on the army chief’s nomination for a post now vacant for a week, political sources said.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov accused Washington on Thursday of threatening the future of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) by rejecting reform of its election monitoring arm.