Australia, Kosovo, Lebanon, Russia, Venezuela

• Australia: Derek Wall writes in the Guardian that PM John Howard's environmental policy is no good, and that the Labour opposition isn't much better. And the Council on Foreign Relations takes a look at the influence of Australia's growing immigrant population in the upcoming vote.
  

• Kosovo: In the Guardian, Simon Tisdall warns of the perils of endorsing independence. The Wall Street Journal's Marc Champion says that Europe's divided on that issue but that there's an incentive to come together and look unified.
  

• Lebanon: Andrew Exum and Stephen McInerney critique America's Lebanon policy in the Washington Post, saying we're focusing too much on the role of Iran. Also in the Post, Alia Ibrahim has an interesting look at the lawmakers holed up in a hotel choosing (or not) the next president. That vote got delayed again, to Friday.
  

• Russia: Roland Flamini of World Politics Review discusses the "riddle wrapped in a mystery" that is Vladimir Putin. And for Reuters, Conor Sweeney looks at "Putin-style democracy".
  

• Venezuela: Chavez ally-turned-critic General Raúl Isaías Baduel is the hot topic in Venezeula news these days, arriving on the scene just a bit too late for Salon's Sexiest Man Alive feature. The NY Times' Simon Romero profiles Baduel. And Sam Logan takes a broader look at the "opposition collage" for ISN. Meanwhile, in a New Statesman piece that's well worth a look, Mark Weisbrot defends Chavez's constitutional reforms, and says the claims that Chavez is acting anti-democratically are overblown.