JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Former South African President Nelson Mandela has recovered from a lung infection and surgery to remove gallstones that kept him in hospital for nearly three weeks, the government said on Sunday.
Mandela, 94, who has been in frail health for several years, spent most of December in a Pretoria hospital - his longest stay for medical care since his release from prison in 1990. He has been receiving treatment at his Johannesburg home after he left hospital on December 26.
'President Mandela has made steady progress and clinically, he continues to improve,' the Office of the Presidency said in a statement.
Mandela had recovered from his surgical procedure and the lung infection, it said, citing his medical team.
Nobel Peace Prize laureate Mandela has a history of lung problems dating back to when he contracted tuberculosis as a political prisoner. He spent 27 years in prison, including 18 years on the windswept Robben Island off Cape Town.
He became South Africa's first black president after the first all-race elections in 1994 brought an end to apartheid.
(Reporting by Jon Herskovitz: Editing by Angus MacSwan)
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Sunday, January 6, 2013
Saturday, January 5, 2013
Venezuela searches for fashion boss Missoni's plane
CARACAS/MILAN (Reuters) - Venezuelan emergency services mounted a sea and air rescue mission on Saturday after a plane carrying fashion executive Vittorio Missoni went missing off the coast of Venezuela.
The plane carrying Missoni, 58, his wife, Maurizia Castiglioni, another couple and two Venezuelan crew members disappeared after taking off from the resort of Los Roques, an archipelago off the coast of Venezuela, Italian media said.
'It disappeared yesterday. They have been looking for it with helicopters and ships, but have not found anything yet. They are still searching for it this morning,' the Italian consul in Venezuela, Giovanni Davoli, told Reuters by phone.
Missoni is the oldest son of the founders of the fashion house famous for its exuberantly coloured knits, featuring bold stripes and zigzags. He is co-owner with siblings Luca and Angela, who handle the technical and design sides of the firm.
'The Missoni family has been informed by the Venezuelan consulate that Vittorio Missoni and his wife are missing, but we don't know any more,' said Missoni spokeswoman Maddalena Aspes.
Other members of the Missoni family are travelling back to Italy from a holiday in France, Aspes said.
Missoni and his siblings took over managing the company from their parents Ottavio and Rosita in 1996, aiming to relaunch the brand to a larger, younger market as rivals Gucci and Burberry have done. Under Vittorio's tenure, Missoni has opened hotels in Edinburgh and Kuwait and launched the Missoni Home collection.
By 2011, the brand's appeal was wide enough for U.S. mass-market retailer Target to ask it to design a collection.
The brand will celebrate its 60th anniversary this year.
(Reporting by Jennifer Clark and Andrew Cawthorne; Editing by Louise Ireland)
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The plane carrying Missoni, 58, his wife, Maurizia Castiglioni, another couple and two Venezuelan crew members disappeared after taking off from the resort of Los Roques, an archipelago off the coast of Venezuela, Italian media said.
'It disappeared yesterday. They have been looking for it with helicopters and ships, but have not found anything yet. They are still searching for it this morning,' the Italian consul in Venezuela, Giovanni Davoli, told Reuters by phone.
Missoni is the oldest son of the founders of the fashion house famous for its exuberantly coloured knits, featuring bold stripes and zigzags. He is co-owner with siblings Luca and Angela, who handle the technical and design sides of the firm.
'The Missoni family has been informed by the Venezuelan consulate that Vittorio Missoni and his wife are missing, but we don't know any more,' said Missoni spokeswoman Maddalena Aspes.
Other members of the Missoni family are travelling back to Italy from a holiday in France, Aspes said.
Missoni and his siblings took over managing the company from their parents Ottavio and Rosita in 1996, aiming to relaunch the brand to a larger, younger market as rivals Gucci and Burberry have done. Under Vittorio's tenure, Missoni has opened hotels in Edinburgh and Kuwait and launched the Missoni Home collection.
By 2011, the brand's appeal was wide enough for U.S. mass-market retailer Target to ask it to design a collection.
The brand will celebrate its 60th anniversary this year.
(Reporting by Jennifer Clark and Andrew Cawthorne; Editing by Louise Ireland)
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Ex-film star Bardot may seek Russian nationality
PARIS (Reuters) - Former French screen goddess Brigitte Bardot on Friday threatened to follow Gerard Depardieu in asking for a Russian passport, in protest not at tax hikes, but at the treatment of two circus elephants.
The animals, named Baby and Nepal and owned by a touring circus, are thought to be carrying tuberculosis and were ordered to be put down by a court in Lyon, southern France, on Friday as a precautionary measure.
Bardot's threat comes a day after fellow actor Depardieu caused a storm in France by becoming a Russian citizen in protest at high tax rates proposed by the Socialist government, which he accuses of penalizing success.
'If those in power are cowardly and impudent enough to kill the elephants... then I have decided I will ask for Russian nationality to get out of this country which has become nothing more than an animal cemetery,' Bardot said in a statement.
Owners Cirque Pinder also said on Friday they would appeal to save the elephants, which first tested positive for tuberculosis in 2010 but have since been kept in a zoo in Lyon away from the general public.
Bardot, who first rose to fame as a screen siren in the 1956 Roger Vadim film 'And God Created Woman', has become an increasingly controversial figure with her outbursts on animal rights, but also on gays, immigrants and the unemployed.
Since retiring from the screen in the 1970s she has become a semi-recluse, devoting herself to her Brigitte Bardot Foundation for animal rights, and has frequently taken aim at Eid al-Adha festivities when Muslims ritually slaughter sheep.
In 2008 she was convicted for a fifth time in 11 years for incitement to religious hatred, over a 2006 tract on Eid al-Adha in which she said the Muslim community in France was 'destroying our country by imposing its acts'.
(Reporting By Vicky Buffery, editing by Paul Casciato)
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The animals, named Baby and Nepal and owned by a touring circus, are thought to be carrying tuberculosis and were ordered to be put down by a court in Lyon, southern France, on Friday as a precautionary measure.
Bardot's threat comes a day after fellow actor Depardieu caused a storm in France by becoming a Russian citizen in protest at high tax rates proposed by the Socialist government, which he accuses of penalizing success.
'If those in power are cowardly and impudent enough to kill the elephants... then I have decided I will ask for Russian nationality to get out of this country which has become nothing more than an animal cemetery,' Bardot said in a statement.
Owners Cirque Pinder also said on Friday they would appeal to save the elephants, which first tested positive for tuberculosis in 2010 but have since been kept in a zoo in Lyon away from the general public.
Bardot, who first rose to fame as a screen siren in the 1956 Roger Vadim film 'And God Created Woman', has become an increasingly controversial figure with her outbursts on animal rights, but also on gays, immigrants and the unemployed.
Since retiring from the screen in the 1970s she has become a semi-recluse, devoting herself to her Brigitte Bardot Foundation for animal rights, and has frequently taken aim at Eid al-Adha festivities when Muslims ritually slaughter sheep.
In 2008 she was convicted for a fifth time in 11 years for incitement to religious hatred, over a 2006 tract on Eid al-Adha in which she said the Muslim community in France was 'destroying our country by imposing its acts'.
(Reporting By Vicky Buffery, editing by Paul Casciato)
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Friday, January 4, 2013
"Star Wars" creator George Lucas engaged to businesswoman
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - 'Star Wars' creator George Lucas will marry his longtime girlfriend Mellody Hobson, the director's production company Lucasfilm Ltd said on Thursday.
Lucas, 68, and Hobson, the president of Chicago investment firm Ariel Investments LLC, have been together for the past six years. It will be Lucas' second marriage. He was married to Oscar-winning film editor Marcia Lucas from 1969 to 1983.
No date or location for the wedding has been made public.
Hobson, 43, serves on the board of directors for Hollywood studio Dreamworks Animation SKG Inc, cosmetics company Estee Lauder Companies Inc, coffeehouse chain Starbucks Corp and Internet coupon company Groupon Inc.
Lucas, who rose to fame directing the 1971 science-fiction film 'THX 1138,' launched 'Star Wars' in 1977 developed it into one of the highest-grossing film franchises of all time.
Lucas sold Lucasfilm and the 'Star Wars' franchise to the Walt Disney Co in November for $4.05 billion.
(Reporting by Eric Kelsey, editing by Jill Serjeant and Lisa Shumaker)
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Lucas, 68, and Hobson, the president of Chicago investment firm Ariel Investments LLC, have been together for the past six years. It will be Lucas' second marriage. He was married to Oscar-winning film editor Marcia Lucas from 1969 to 1983.
No date or location for the wedding has been made public.
Hobson, 43, serves on the board of directors for Hollywood studio Dreamworks Animation SKG Inc, cosmetics company Estee Lauder Companies Inc, coffeehouse chain Starbucks Corp and Internet coupon company Groupon Inc.
Lucas, who rose to fame directing the 1971 science-fiction film 'THX 1138,' launched 'Star Wars' in 1977 developed it into one of the highest-grossing film franchises of all time.
Lucas sold Lucasfilm and the 'Star Wars' franchise to the Walt Disney Co in November for $4.05 billion.
(Reporting by Eric Kelsey, editing by Jill Serjeant and Lisa Shumaker)
This news article is brought to you by STOCK MARKET BLOG - where latest news are our top priority.
Thursday, January 3, 2013
'Star Wars' creator George Lucas engaged to businesswoman
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - 'Star Wars' creator George Lucas will marry his longtime girlfriend Mellody Hobson, the director's production company Lucasfilm Ltd said on Thursday.
Lucas, 68, and Hobson, the president of Chicago investment firm Ariel Investments LLC, have been together for the past six years. It will be Lucas' second marriage. He was married to Oscar-winning film editor Marcia Lucas from 1969 to 1983.
No date or location for the wedding has been made public.
Hobson, 43, serves on the board of directors for Hollywood studio Dreamworks Animation SKG Inc, cosmetics company Estee Lauder Companies Inc, coffeehouse chain Starbucks Corp and Internet coupon company Groupon Inc.
Lucas, who rose to fame directing the 1971 science-fiction film 'THX 1138,' launched 'Star Wars' in 1977 developed it into one of the highest-grossing film franchises of all time.
Lucas sold Lucasfilm and the 'Star Wars' franchise to the Walt Disney Co in November for $4.05 billion.
(Reporting by Eric Kelsey, editing by Jill Serjeant and Lisa Shumaker)
This news article is brought to you by PERSONAL FINANCE BLOG - where latest news are our top priority.
Lucas, 68, and Hobson, the president of Chicago investment firm Ariel Investments LLC, have been together for the past six years. It will be Lucas' second marriage. He was married to Oscar-winning film editor Marcia Lucas from 1969 to 1983.
No date or location for the wedding has been made public.
Hobson, 43, serves on the board of directors for Hollywood studio Dreamworks Animation SKG Inc, cosmetics company Estee Lauder Companies Inc, coffeehouse chain Starbucks Corp and Internet coupon company Groupon Inc.
Lucas, who rose to fame directing the 1971 science-fiction film 'THX 1138,' launched 'Star Wars' in 1977 developed it into one of the highest-grossing film franchises of all time.
Lucas sold Lucasfilm and the 'Star Wars' franchise to the Walt Disney Co in November for $4.05 billion.
(Reporting by Eric Kelsey, editing by Jill Serjeant and Lisa Shumaker)
This news article is brought to you by PERSONAL FINANCE BLOG - where latest news are our top priority.
Putin makes French film star Depardieu a Russian
MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin has granted citizenship to Gerard Depardieu, the French movie star whose decision to quit his homeland to avoid a tax hike prompted accusations of national betrayal.
The 'Cyrano de Bergerac' and 'Green Card' actor bought a house across the border in Belgium last year to avoid a new tax rate for millionaires planned by France's Socialist President Francois Hollande, but said he could also seek tax exile elsewhere.
Putin said last month that Depardieu would be welcome in Russia, which has a flat income tax rate of 13 percent, compared to the 75 percent on income over 1 million euros ($1.32 million) that Hollande wants to levy in France.
French Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault called Depardieu's decision to seek Belgian residency 'pathetic' and unpatriotic at a time when the French are being asked to pay higher taxes to reduce a bloated national debt.
'I am leaving because you believe that success, creation, talent, anything different must be sanctioned,' the actor retorted in a letter published by a newspaper, saying he would hand in his passport and social security card.
Depardieu is well known in Russia, where he has appeared in many advertising campaigns. He worked in the country in 2011 on a film about the eccentric Russian monk Grigory Rasputin.
French media teased Depardieu, showing clips of the actor's Russian work that were unknown at home, including the Rasputin film and a commercial for ketchup.
Magazine L'Express put together a slideshow on its website of other countries that he could flee to, suggesting Italy where he has starred in commercials for Barilla pasta, or Japan, given that the actor owns a Japanese food shop in Paris.
Depardieu welcomed the move to grant him Russian citizenship, according to excerpts of a letter published by a Russian state TV website.
'I love your culture, your intelligence,' the letter read. 'My father was a communist of that era. He listened to Radio Moscow! That is my culture too.'
Depardieu's publicist Francois Hassan Guerrar was not immediately available to comment on the letter.
Depardieu was one of several Western celebrities invited to celebrate the birthday of Ramzan Kadyrov, Chechnya's Kremlin-backed leader, in 2012.
Depardieu, 63, had told friends he was considering three options to escape France's new tax regime: settling in Belgium, relocating to Montenegro, where he has a business, or moving to Russia, French daily Le Monde reported in December.
Putin told a news conference last month: 'If Gerard really wants to have either a residency permit in Russia or a Russian passport, we will assume that this matter is settled and settled positively.
'I know that he (Depardieu) considers himself a Frenchman. He loves his country very much, its history its culture - this is his life, and I'm sure he is going through a tough time now,' Putin said.
The Kremlin's website said on Thursday that Putin had signed a decree granting Depardieu citizenship. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said it was not necessary for Depardieu to move to Russia - that would be the actor's decision.
Russia's Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin said Westerners still knew little of Russia's tax regime.
'When they find out, we can expect a mass migration of rich Europeans to Russia,' Rogozin, a nationalist politician and former envoy to NATO, said on Twitter.
WELCOME TO RUSSIA
Muscovites said they would welcome Depardieu. 'He is a normal guy. He is fond of drinking too, I suppose, the Russian way, so let him come here,' said one resident, Lev Nikolaevich.
Putin has in the past spoken of good relations with France, which he visited last June, but he is a frequent critic of the West. He had a tense summit with the European Union last month and wants the bloc to move faster toward visa-free travel.
Since the Cold War, Moscow has often expressed support for Westerners at odds with their governments - a way to counter what Putin says is hypocritical U.S. and European criticism of the Kremlin's treatment of its own citizens.
In 2010, a Kremlin official suggested Wikileaks founder Julian Assange should be nominated for a Nobel Prize.
News of the decree granting Depardieu citizenship set off a frenzy of wry commentary on Russian social networking sites, some musing on why a Westerner would want a Russian passport.
One cartoon posted on the Internet depicted Putin and Depardieu as characters from the French comic books Asterix.
Another showed what appeared to be a nude photo of Depardieu on vacation, with a caption that referred to him as 'our compatriot', playing on foreign criticism of how Russians behave on holiday.
Russia does not require people to hand in their foreign passports once they acquire a Russian one. Many Russians have citizenship of other countries and travel without problems.
Depardieu could also request Belgian nationality but has not yet made such a request, said Georges Dallemagne, head of Belgium's parliamentary committee that oversees naturalizations.
'As a Russian he could certainly remain in Belgium, he would possibly need the necessary visas but for a short period he could stay here,' said Dallemagne.
France's Constitutional Council last month blocked the planned 75 percent tax rate due to the way it would be applied - but Hollande plans to propose redrafted legislation which will 'still ask more of those who have the most'.
(Additional reporting by Steve Gutterman, Nikolai Isayev and Alexander Fedorov in Moscow, Catherine Bremer in Paris and Robert-Jan Bartunek in Belgium; Writing by Megan Davies; Editing by Tom Pfeiffer)
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The 'Cyrano de Bergerac' and 'Green Card' actor bought a house across the border in Belgium last year to avoid a new tax rate for millionaires planned by France's Socialist President Francois Hollande, but said he could also seek tax exile elsewhere.
Putin said last month that Depardieu would be welcome in Russia, which has a flat income tax rate of 13 percent, compared to the 75 percent on income over 1 million euros ($1.32 million) that Hollande wants to levy in France.
French Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault called Depardieu's decision to seek Belgian residency 'pathetic' and unpatriotic at a time when the French are being asked to pay higher taxes to reduce a bloated national debt.
'I am leaving because you believe that success, creation, talent, anything different must be sanctioned,' the actor retorted in a letter published by a newspaper, saying he would hand in his passport and social security card.
Depardieu is well known in Russia, where he has appeared in many advertising campaigns. He worked in the country in 2011 on a film about the eccentric Russian monk Grigory Rasputin.
French media teased Depardieu, showing clips of the actor's Russian work that were unknown at home, including the Rasputin film and a commercial for ketchup.
Magazine L'Express put together a slideshow on its website of other countries that he could flee to, suggesting Italy where he has starred in commercials for Barilla pasta, or Japan, given that the actor owns a Japanese food shop in Paris.
Depardieu welcomed the move to grant him Russian citizenship, according to excerpts of a letter published by a Russian state TV website.
'I love your culture, your intelligence,' the letter read. 'My father was a communist of that era. He listened to Radio Moscow! That is my culture too.'
Depardieu's publicist Francois Hassan Guerrar was not immediately available to comment on the letter.
Depardieu was one of several Western celebrities invited to celebrate the birthday of Ramzan Kadyrov, Chechnya's Kremlin-backed leader, in 2012.
Depardieu, 63, had told friends he was considering three options to escape France's new tax regime: settling in Belgium, relocating to Montenegro, where he has a business, or moving to Russia, French daily Le Monde reported in December.
Putin told a news conference last month: 'If Gerard really wants to have either a residency permit in Russia or a Russian passport, we will assume that this matter is settled and settled positively.
'I know that he (Depardieu) considers himself a Frenchman. He loves his country very much, its history its culture - this is his life, and I'm sure he is going through a tough time now,' Putin said.
The Kremlin's website said on Thursday that Putin had signed a decree granting Depardieu citizenship. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said it was not necessary for Depardieu to move to Russia - that would be the actor's decision.
Russia's Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin said Westerners still knew little of Russia's tax regime.
'When they find out, we can expect a mass migration of rich Europeans to Russia,' Rogozin, a nationalist politician and former envoy to NATO, said on Twitter.
WELCOME TO RUSSIA
Muscovites said they would welcome Depardieu. 'He is a normal guy. He is fond of drinking too, I suppose, the Russian way, so let him come here,' said one resident, Lev Nikolaevich.
Putin has in the past spoken of good relations with France, which he visited last June, but he is a frequent critic of the West. He had a tense summit with the European Union last month and wants the bloc to move faster toward visa-free travel.
Since the Cold War, Moscow has often expressed support for Westerners at odds with their governments - a way to counter what Putin says is hypocritical U.S. and European criticism of the Kremlin's treatment of its own citizens.
In 2010, a Kremlin official suggested Wikileaks founder Julian Assange should be nominated for a Nobel Prize.
News of the decree granting Depardieu citizenship set off a frenzy of wry commentary on Russian social networking sites, some musing on why a Westerner would want a Russian passport.
One cartoon posted on the Internet depicted Putin and Depardieu as characters from the French comic books Asterix.
Another showed what appeared to be a nude photo of Depardieu on vacation, with a caption that referred to him as 'our compatriot', playing on foreign criticism of how Russians behave on holiday.
Russia does not require people to hand in their foreign passports once they acquire a Russian one. Many Russians have citizenship of other countries and travel without problems.
Depardieu could also request Belgian nationality but has not yet made such a request, said Georges Dallemagne, head of Belgium's parliamentary committee that oversees naturalizations.
'As a Russian he could certainly remain in Belgium, he would possibly need the necessary visas but for a short period he could stay here,' said Dallemagne.
France's Constitutional Council last month blocked the planned 75 percent tax rate due to the way it would be applied - but Hollande plans to propose redrafted legislation which will 'still ask more of those who have the most'.
(Additional reporting by Steve Gutterman, Nikolai Isayev and Alexander Fedorov in Moscow, Catherine Bremer in Paris and Robert-Jan Bartunek in Belgium; Writing by Megan Davies; Editing by Tom Pfeiffer)
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Putin gives tax exile Depardieu Russian citizenship
MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin has granted citizenship to Gerard Depardieu, the French movie star who is quitting his homeland to avoid a tax hike on the rich, the Kremlin said on Thursday.
The 'Cyrano de Bergerac' actor bought a house across the border in Belgium last year to avoid a new tax rate for millionaires in France planned by Socialist President Francois Hollande but said he could also seek tax exile elsewhere.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Depardieu had applied for citizenship after Putin told reporters last month that he would be welcome in Russia. 'The citizenship could not have been granted to him without (such an) appeal,' Peskov said.
Putin told a news conference last month: 'If Gerard really wants to have either a residency permit in Russia or a Russian passport, we will assume that this matter is settled and settled positively.'
The Kremlin's website said Putin had signed a decree granting Depardieu citizenship.
Russia has a flat income tax rate of 13 percent, compared with the 75 percent on income over 1 million euros ($1.32 million) that Hollande wants to impose in France.
The 63-year-old Depardieu told friends he was considering three options to escape France's new tax regime: settling in Belgium, relocating to Montenegro, where he has a business, or fleeing to Russia, French daily Le Monde reported in December.
He has said he plans to hand in his French passport and social security card.
'Putin has already sent me a passport,' Le Monde quoted the actor as jokingly saying in December.
Asked, whether Depardieu had plans to move to Russia, the Kremlin spokesman said it was up to him and was 'absolutely not mandatory.' Putin and Depardieu did not speak one-on-one before the decision to grant him citizenship, Peskov said.
An assistant to Depardieu declined to comment.
France's Constitutional Council last month blocked the planned 75 percent tax rate due to the way it would be applied - but Hollande plans to propose redrafted legislation which will 'still ask more of those who have the most'.
Depardieu is well-known in Russia where he has appeared in many advertising campaigns. He worked in the country in 2011 on a film about the life and times of the eccentric Russian monk Grigory Rasputin.
In 2012 he was one of several Western celebrities invited to celebrate the birthday of Ramzan Kadyrov, Chechnya's Kremlin-backed leader.
Some Muscovites said they would welcome Depardieu in Russia.
'He is a normal guy, he is fond of drinking too, I suppose, the Russian way, so let him come here. It will be like a rebuke to the French who are burning cars already,' said Muscovite Lev Nikolaevich, an apparent reference to a tradition among disaffected suburban youths of destroying cars on New Year's Eve.
(Writing by Megan Davies; Additional reporting by Nikolai Isayev and Alexander Fedorov and by Catherine Bremer in Paris; Editing by Robin Pomeroy)
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The 'Cyrano de Bergerac' actor bought a house across the border in Belgium last year to avoid a new tax rate for millionaires in France planned by Socialist President Francois Hollande but said he could also seek tax exile elsewhere.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Depardieu had applied for citizenship after Putin told reporters last month that he would be welcome in Russia. 'The citizenship could not have been granted to him without (such an) appeal,' Peskov said.
Putin told a news conference last month: 'If Gerard really wants to have either a residency permit in Russia or a Russian passport, we will assume that this matter is settled and settled positively.'
The Kremlin's website said Putin had signed a decree granting Depardieu citizenship.
Russia has a flat income tax rate of 13 percent, compared with the 75 percent on income over 1 million euros ($1.32 million) that Hollande wants to impose in France.
The 63-year-old Depardieu told friends he was considering three options to escape France's new tax regime: settling in Belgium, relocating to Montenegro, where he has a business, or fleeing to Russia, French daily Le Monde reported in December.
He has said he plans to hand in his French passport and social security card.
'Putin has already sent me a passport,' Le Monde quoted the actor as jokingly saying in December.
Asked, whether Depardieu had plans to move to Russia, the Kremlin spokesman said it was up to him and was 'absolutely not mandatory.' Putin and Depardieu did not speak one-on-one before the decision to grant him citizenship, Peskov said.
An assistant to Depardieu declined to comment.
France's Constitutional Council last month blocked the planned 75 percent tax rate due to the way it would be applied - but Hollande plans to propose redrafted legislation which will 'still ask more of those who have the most'.
Depardieu is well-known in Russia where he has appeared in many advertising campaigns. He worked in the country in 2011 on a film about the life and times of the eccentric Russian monk Grigory Rasputin.
In 2012 he was one of several Western celebrities invited to celebrate the birthday of Ramzan Kadyrov, Chechnya's Kremlin-backed leader.
Some Muscovites said they would welcome Depardieu in Russia.
'He is a normal guy, he is fond of drinking too, I suppose, the Russian way, so let him come here. It will be like a rebuke to the French who are burning cars already,' said Muscovite Lev Nikolaevich, an apparent reference to a tradition among disaffected suburban youths of destroying cars on New Year's Eve.
(Writing by Megan Davies; Additional reporting by Nikolai Isayev and Alexander Fedorov and by Catherine Bremer in Paris; Editing by Robin Pomeroy)
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