Russia's Bolshoi Theatre Thursday acknowledged that the sensational resignation of its best known dance couple had affected preparations for the premiere of the first full ballet in its restored theatre.

In a battle of competing forces worthy of any ballet, world renowned soloists Ivan Vasiliev and Natalya Osipova stunned the dance world this week by announcing they were to join a lesser known Saint Petersburg theatre.

Russia on Monday successfully launched three astronauts for the International Space Station, boosting morale after accidents raised doubt about the reliability of its space program.

The launch of two Russians and an American on a Soyuz-FG rocket had been delayed for almost two months after a unmanned Russian Progress supply ship in August crashed into Siberia shortly after its launch on a similar rocket.

A senior U.S. official was in Beirut on Wednesday to inquire about the role of the Lebanese banking sector in the alleged transfer of Syrian money to Lebanon to escape sanctions imposed on Damascus by the United States and the European Union.

Deputy Assistant Secretary for Terrorist Financing and Financial Crimes in the Department of Treasury Daniel Glaser will hold talks with top officials to stress the need for Lebanese authorities to remain vigilant against attempts by the Syrian regime to evade the U.S. and EU sanctions (by resorting) to the Lebanese financial sector,” As Safir daily quoted U.S. sources as saying.

Six men who spent 520 days in isolation in Moscow to simulate a flight to Mars on Tuesday spoke of their pride at becoming "spacemen" but complained of the monotony and cravings for crusty baguettes.

Wearing blue jumpsuits and badges with the project name Mars 500, the international team of one Chinese, one Italian, one Frenchman and three Russians said they were proud of their "flight" in a Moscow car park.

Russia has informed Hizbullah that the March 8 forces should resign from the government and form a new cabinet that remains committed to international resolutions if the Shiite party and its allies rejected to fund the international tribunal, diplomatic sources said.

The sources told An Nahar daily published Sunday that Moscow’s stance was announced during a meeting last week between the Russian deputy foreign minister, Mikhail Bogdanov, and a Hizbullah delegation led by MP Mohammed Raad.

The head of the Loyalty to the Resistance bloc MP Mohammed Raad stated on Friday that the Resistance is keen on finding solutions to disputes in Lebanon through national dialogue, which it believes is the only way to end the current political divide in the country.

He said during a seminar from Moscow: “The Resistance is not deluded in believing that it can singlehandedly rule a country, even if it was in a position of power.”

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin on Tuesday said he was bewildered by the seven-year sentence handed to his former Ukrainian counterpart Yulia Tymoshenko.

The Russian leader spoke in Beijing after a Ukrainian judge earlier in the day sentenced Tymoshenko to seven years in jail for abusing her powers in a gas deal with him in 2009.

Moscow and Beijing are ready to propose a U.N. resolution on Syria that is more "balanced" than the West's draft that they controversially vetoed last week, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Monday.

Lavrov said in an interview with Profil magazine that the Moscow-drafted version would condemn violence carried out both by the regime of Bashar Assad and the rebel opposition.

Russian billionaire Alexander Lebedev, owner of two leading British newspapers, punched a man in the face during a television debate on the financial crisis to be aired on Sunday.

A clip posted on the NTV television channel's website shows Lebedev, a former KGB agent who has made a fortune in banking, landed a right jab to the face of ex-real estate baron Sergei Polonsky.

Pro-democracy activists in Syria have called for a "day of anger" against Russia on Tuesday to protest Moscow's backing for President Bashar al-Assad, who for more than six months has tried to stifle an anti-regime uprising.

"Do not support the killers. Do not kill the Syrians with your position" in favor of the regime, the activists urged Russia in a posting on The Syrian Revolution 2011, a Facebook page that has been the engine for anti-Assad revolt.