Bolshoi ballerina afraid to return to Russia: Newspaper

MOSCOW (Reuters) - A scandal involving allegations of blackmail and threats against a top ballerina at the Bolshoi is unfolding just days after the artistic director of ballet at Russia's most prestigious theatre was attacked, a Russian newspaper reported this week.

Dancer Svetlana Lunkina has extended a leave of absence because she is afraid to return home from Canada as a result of threats targeting her and her film producer husband, Russian daily Izvestia reported in stories it ran on Monday and Tuesday.

The alleged threats stem not from Lunkina's career at the Bolshoi, now on hold for several months at least, but from a dispute between her husband and his former partner in a project for a film about late Russian ballerina Matilda Kshesinskaya'.

"This has absolutely nothing to do with me, but they sent letters disparaging me ... to all the theatres," Izvestia quoted Lunkina as saying in an interview. She said her Facebook page was hacked into as part of a campaign of "provocations".

The reports come after an unknown assailant splashed acid in the face of Bolshoi Ballet artistic director Sergei Filin on January 17 - an attack he has said followed repeated threats and may have been motivated by rivalry or resentment.

Lunkina's husband, Vladislav Moskalyov, was sued for $3.7 million by a foundation linked to his former partner in the film, prominent Russian comic Vladimir Vinokur, shortly after Moskalyov left the film project, Izvestia reported.

It said letters had been sent to theatres alleging Moskalyov had laundered some of the money with help from Lunkina.

Russian police have opened an investigation based on allegations of theft from Vinokur's foundation, but have not named any suspects, Izvestia reported.

Vinokur could not be reached for comment. Izvestia quoted him as saying that "nobody threatened" the 33-year-old Lunkina but that she was "simply the wife of a man who has committed a crime and is hiding in Canada."

BALLERINA AND BOSS

According to Izvestia, Lunkina said she had sent letters to Filin telling him about her predicament, informing him she planned to extend her leave of absence and asking for his support - but had heard he did not want her back.

"I very much wanted to return (to the Bolshoi) and still want to, but I found out recently that my artistic director Sergei Filin does not want this," Izvestia quoted her as saying. "He told the dancers: 'Lunkina won't be back.'"

Izvestia quoted Bolshoi spokeswoman Ekaterina Novikova as saying that the theatre did not have the resources to guarantee Lunkina's security, but that Filin had nothing against her.

"Sergei has always had great respect and love for Svetlana and has insisted on her participation in performances."

Bolshoi spokesman Mikhail Yarush told Reuters that Lunkina has been on leave for several months "because of a family situation" and that the leave would likely last through the season, which ends in June or July.

"I was supposed to have had very interesting work (this season) - several premieres," Izvestia quoted Lunkina as saying.

The Bolshoi Ballet has pressed ahead with performances after the attack on Filin.

Russia's chief ophthalmologist has said that Filin, 42, would retain at least some sight in both eyes after several operations, and that he would go to Germany next week to begin what doctors say will be a long recovery.

(Additional reporting by Gabriela Baczynska, editing by Paul Casciato)

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Barbara Walters, hospitalized after fall, recovering from chicken pox

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Celebrity newswoman Barbara Walters, who was hospitalized earlier this month after falling and injuring her head, is recovering from chicken pox, her co-host Whoopi Goldberg said Monday on "The View" talk show.

Goldberg said Walters, 83, who is in a New York hospital, has been told to rest and is not receiving visitors.

"You all know that she fell and cut her head 10 days ago and then was running a temperature," Goldberg said on the show.

"But it turns out it is all the result of a delayed childhood. Barbara has the chicken pox," Goldberg adding, saying Walters had never had the illness as a child.

Walters, 83, had been admitted to a Washington hospital during President Barack Obama's inauguration weekend after she fell and cut her head at the British ambassador's residence, her network ABC said.

Goldberg joked: "She's been told to rest, she's not allowed any visitors, and we're telling you, Barbara, no scratching."

ABC-TV said Walters, who created the long-running talk show after working decades as one of television news' best-known journalists, was transferred to a New York hospital late last week from Washington and was expected to be discharged soon.

Despite Goldberg's light-hearted remarks about the illness, usually associated with children, chicken pox can be serious for adults and the elderly, accompanied by more severe itching from hundreds of blisters.

Headaches, fever and chills, sometimes leading to pneumonia, can follow if the illness is not properly treated and precautions are not taken, or if the patient has a compromised immune system.

(Reporting by Chris Michaud; Editing by Patricia Reaney and Philip Barbara)

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First black South African billionaire donates fortune to poor

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa's first black billionaire, Patrice Motsepe, on Wednesday said he has signed up for the Giving Pledge, becoming the first African to join some of the world's wealthiest people in donating vast sums of personal wealth to the poor.

Mining magnate Motsepe, with assets estimated by Forbes magazine of $2.65 billion, said he is making the pledge to benefit the millions of South Africans who have seen little gain in their personal fortunes since white-minority rule ended in 1994.

The Giving Pledge is a philanthropic initiative started by U.S. billionaire Warren Buffet along with Bill and Melinda Gates that has recruited nearly 100 billionaires, mostly Americans, who have pledged to donate the majority of their wealth to charity.

Motsepe, founder and executive chairman of African Rainbow Minerals, did not say exactly how much he will donate but he "will contribute at least half of the funds generated by our family assets to the Motsepe Foundation."

Motsepe, along with his wife, told a news conference most of their donations will be used to bolster education and health in South Africa - the continent's richest economy blighted by mass poverty and some of the world's highest rates of income disparity.

"We recognize the huge responsibility and duty that the Motsepe family has to the poor," said Motsepe, adding he would push other wealthy South Africans to follow suit.

(Reporting by Sherilee Lakmidas; Editing by Jon Herskovitz)

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A Minute With: Rapper T.I. dips into comedy in "Identity Thief"

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Rapper Tip "T.I." Harris has seen and done it all - three Grammy Awards, a novel, time in jail, a fashion line, TV reality show, businessman and several movies.

Now the Atlanta-based singer is dipping into comedy, appearing in the film "Identity Thief" as an armed enforcer on the trail of a character played by Melissa McCarthy who is on the run from many of those she's swindled.

T.I., 32, sat down with Reuters ahead of the movie's February 8 release to talk about the film, what's left on his to-do list, and his personal views on gun control.

Q: How did you wind up in a comedic film?

A: "I met with (director) Seth (Gordon) and learned he was the director of one of my favorite comedies, 'Horrible Bosses.' I asked him how would this movie compare to 'Horrible Bosses' and he said it's going to be better. I said, 'I'm in.'"

Q: Were you OK taking a supporting role rather than a lead?

A: "I actually enjoyed the fact that all of the heavy lifting was not on my shoulders. It was Jason (Bateman) and Melissa's show, so the stage was set for me to not screw it up, you know what I mean?"

Q: Last year you appeared on television's "Hawaii Five-O" and "Boss." Do you have role models of hip-hop stars who have successfully crossed over to acting?

A: "Will Smith and Ice Cube. Looking at the roles Cube has been able to acquire, he created those opportunities for himself. So I think I could take that approach."

Q: Is there a certain perception of you out there that might hinder you from being taken seriously as an actor?

A: "I think people might wonder whether or not T.I. can be anything other than T.I., so it's constantly having to reassure people that I'm able to do what I already know I can do."

Q: For some, T.I. is a successful recording artist and for others he's someone who had several stints in jail on drugs and weapons charges. Can you confidently say that the past is the past?

A: "I'm not gonna say anything. It's day by day, you know what I'm saying? I'm saying today this is how I am, this is where I am. And tomorrow hopefully will be better than today."

Q: In 2011 after your last prison term, you showed a softer side by starring in the VH1 reality series "T.I. and Tiny: The Family Hustle," with your wife and six kids. Was that an attempt to right your past transgressions?

A: "Nah. I think it's a showcasing of who I am today. I don't think that it any way diminishes the mistakes of yesterday. It just makes a correction if people assume that the mistakes of yesterday are ever-present today. It gives people a stage of truth and knowledge to judge from. So if you must judge, at least you can judge from fact."

Q: You've just released your eighth album, "Trouble Man II: He Who Wears the Crown." You also have a your own urban fashion line, A.K.O.O. What else do you need to check off your to-do list?

A: "Just to remain relevant and meaningful to the cool young consumer of today. The cool kids are out there being admired by others in their peer group, so you want to find ways to continue to put yourself on their minds."

Q: How do you do that?

A: "(Social media) is a big aspect for those kids. ... So with Instagram, if you take pictures it has to be a picture worthy of showing. If you say something on Twitter, it has to be something that's worthy of listening to."

Q: With gun control being a hot-button topic today, and with your own experiences with firearms, what are your thoughts on gun ownership?

A: "I can't possess a firearm (due to previous convictions), so whether they make them illegal or not is gonna be the same thing for me. But I see a need for them. I've been in circumstances where I've had them every day and nothing happened. I've been in circumstances where I didn't have them, and I needed them. In certain areas of society, having a firearm is just as common as having bottled water."

Q: In what way?

A: "If you're a shopkeeper, a barbershop owner, a convenience store owner and you handle cash in and out of this area, if everyone knows that you don't have a firearm, then you are basically prey. In these areas, bullets are just as common as sticks of gum, you know what I'm saying? So I think I speak for those people."

(Reporting by Zorianna Kit; Editing by Jill Serjeant and Will Dunham)

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A Minute With: Director Deepa Mehta on "Midnight's Children"

MUMBAI (Reuters) - Film director Deepa Mehta is no stranger to controversy. Two of her movies - "Fire" and "Water" - were hit by protests from right-wing groups in India, and there were fears her latest cinematic offering would meet a similar fate.

"Midnight's Children", Mehta's adaptation of the Booker Prize-winning novel by Salman Rushdie, opens in Indian cinemas on Friday. The film, which chronicles the story of an Indian family living through the tumultuous events of India's recent past, features a voice over by Rushdie.

The book's depiction of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi's role during India's Emergency in the 1970s had thrown the film's screening into doubt. Rushdie's even more controversial 1988 book "The Satanic Verses," which many Muslims deemed blasphemous, remains banned in the country.

Mehta, 63, spoke to Reuters about "Midnight's Children," adapting a book for the screen and "un-filmable films."

Q: Many people had said that "Midnight's Children" might be un-filmable. Was it an easy book to adapt?

A: "This is not the first book that I have adapted. I worked on Bapsi Sidhwa's book for 'Earth'. All books, by their very nature, don't have to make good films. I think it depends on the filmmaker -- if the filmmaker finds that something in that inherent story has resonance for them, then you say let me try and do it ... One of the things you have to be aware of is that the film is not a facsimile of the book. It was the same with Midnight's Children. Yes, it was an iconic book. Yes, people said it was un-filmable. For me, it was a very clear narrative."

Q: Were there parts that you wanted to leave out?

A: "Absolutely. Early on I told Salman (Rushdie) ... to write down in narrative form what he thought the flow of the film should be and I'll do the same. Separately, we wrote down what we felt the progress of the story should be in the film. We found, much to our surprise, that the points were almost identical. You know then, that your vision is the same."

Q: There's always been a debate between book lovers and moviegoers whether books are better. What do you say?

A: "Some films are better than the book. I think 'The Constant Gardener', the film was much better than the book. And some books are so much better than the films. There have been some disastrous adaptations. I think it depends on what the film turns out to be. There is the adaptation police, a group of people going 'this book should never have been made into a film', but if Salman had no problem, what's theirs?"

Q: This was also a difficult film to shoot, right? You had to shoot in Sri Lanka under a fake working title because of security concerns?

A: "That's not true at all. We came to Mumbai, looked at locations and realized that if I wanted to shoot here, it would be very difficult because nothing looks period. There are high-rises everywhere, BMW cars on the streets. That's why it was important to shoot in Sri Lanka -- it's very similar, except that it isn't as built-up. There are lovely bungalows, etc. And the reason we had to shoot under a fake working title was because I didn't want to attract press, because it distracts the actors."

Q: You've made a lot of films about women and attitudes towards them in India. What do you think is behind these skewed attitudes?

A: "Patriarchy. We've always felt that the girl child is worth nothing and should in fact be aborted even before she is born. The boy can do no wrong. If the girl is treated as a sub-human, or the boy is raised to believe he can do no wrong, then this is what will happen."

Q: Do you think films can help change these attitudes?

A: "I don't think so. They can be an instrument of looking at things differently but then films also become old-fashioned and people move on."

(Editing by Tony Tharakan and Elaine Lies)

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UK's Prince Charles takes first "Tube" trip since 1986

LONDON (Reuters) - Four million Londoners cram onto the city's Underground passenger railway nearly every day, but it is a rarer event for Prince Charles. He rode the British capital's bustling commuter network on Wednesday for the first time since 1986.

The heir to the British throne and his wife Camilla took a one-stop journey from Farringdon to King's Cross on the Metropolitan Line as part of celebrations to mark the 150th anniversary of a transport service affectionately known to Britons as the "Tube".

The short journey was a rare enough event to cause some confusion at the prince's press office, which initially said he had last ventured onto the Tube in 1979.

"This is just to let you know that it has come to our attention that The Prince of Wales has travelled on the London Underground more recently than 1979. In 1986 The Prince and Princess of Wales travelled by tube to Heathrow Airport to open Terminal 4," a spokeswoman said in an email to media.

"We're sorry that our previous information was incorrect. Our archives of Royal engagements prior to 1988 are not computerized and in this particular instance a search under 'The Prince of Wales takes the Tube' did not bring up an event which had been logged as the 'official opening of Terminal 4'."

(Reporting By Estelle Shirbon, editing by Paul Casciato)

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Actor Jim Nabors weds long-time male partner: report

SEATTLE (Reuters) - American actor Jim Nabors, the star of 1960s television comedy "Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.," married his long-time male partner at a downtown hotel earlier this month, according to report by a television news program in Hawaii, where the 82-year-old actor lives.

Nabors, 82, also a singer, wed 64-year-old Stan Cadwallader, his partner of some 38 years, in a small ceremony on January 15 at the Fairmont Olympic Hotel in downtown Seattle, where the couple traveled after same sex marriage became legal in Washington state last month.

"I'm very happy that I've had a partner of 38 years and I feel very blessed. And, what can I tell you, I'm just very happy," Nabors said, according to the report by Hawaii News Now aired on stations KGMB and KHNL on Tuesday night.

"I'm not ashamed of people knowing, it's just that it was such a personal thing, I didn't tell anybody," Nabors said.

The marriage could not be independently confirmed by Reuters. A copy of the wedding certificate was not immediately found by a clerk at Seattle's King county Archives. A spokeswoman for the hotel said she could not confirm the report.

Nabors, an Alabama native, played goofy gas-station attendant Gomer Pyle on "The Andy Griffith Show" and in the spin-off "Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.," among many other television and musical appearances.

Nabors said he met Cadwallader, a former fire fighter in Honolulu, in 1975. Cadwallader eventually went to work for Nabors.

Nabors said he was open with his colleagues and friends about his sexuality but he chose not to be a vocal activist in the bitter national debate over same-sex marriage.

"It's pretty obvious that we had no rights as a couple, yet when you've been together 38 years, I think something's got to happen there, you've got to solidify something," Nabors said, before the ceremony, according to the report.

"And at my age, it's probably the best thing to do."

Nine of the 50 U.S. states plus the District of Columbia have legalized gay marriage. Another 31 states have passed constitutional amendments restricting marriage to heterosexual couples.

(Reporting by Eric M. Johnson and Laura Myers in Seattle; Editing by Paul Thomasch and Leslie Gevirtz)

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Despite previous beating, Rihanna back with Chris Brown

NEW YORK (Reuters) - It's official: R&B diva Rihanna says she is back together with Chris Brown, who is still on probation for assaulting her in 2009, saying "It's different now."

"I decided it was more important for me to be happy," Rihanna told Rolling Stone magazine in an interview published on Wednesday on its website.

"I wasn't going to let anybody's opinion get in the way of that. Even if it's a mistake, it's my mistake," she said of her renewed romance with singer Brown, 23, that has prompted consternation from fans and celebrity media because of their history.

"After being tormented for so many years, being angry and dark, I'd rather just live my truth and take the backlash," said Rihanna, 24, adding, "I can handle it."

The couple's reconciliation had been rumored for months, even before the pair unveiled a duet, "Nobody's Business," in November. That track was included on Rihanna's latest album "Unapologetic."

Brown pleaded guilty in 2009 to beating and punching Rihanna. He was sentenced to community service, anger management classes, given a restraining order and is still on probation.

The Barbadian singer told Oprah Winfrey in an emotional interview in August that she and Brown now had a "very close friendship," and that she still loved him.

"When you add up the pieces from the outside, it's not the cutest puzzle in the world," Rihanna admitted to Rolling Stone, which hits newsstands this week with her gracing the cover above the headline, "Rihanna Crazy In Love."

"You see us walking somewhere ... and you think you know. But it's different now. We don't have those types of arguments anymore. We talk," she said. "We value each other."

But she noted that Brown is on probation with her as well, saying, "He doesn't have the luxury of (messing) up again."

"That's just not an option ... And I wouldn't have gone this far if I ever thought that was a possibility."

The interview was published three days after Brown's latest dustup, which involved fellow musician Frank Ocean, over a parking space at a West Hollywood recording studio. Ocean has said he wants Brown prosecuted following the Sunday brawl.

In 2012 Rihanna was rated by Time and Forbes magazines as among the world's and celebrity arena's most powerful people.

(Reporting by Chris Michaud; Editing by Jill Serjeant and Philip Barbara)

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Lindsay Lohan could face jail after March trial in California

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Actress Lindsay Lohan will stand trial on March 18 on charges she lied to California police about a June car crash and violated probation, raising the possibility she could be sent back to jail.

A judge in Los Angeles on Wednesday set the trial date on charges related to the car crash and said the court will hold a hearing at the same time on whether Lohan in the incident violated probation from a 2011 jewelry theft.

The star of the movie "Mean Girls," who has been in and out of rehab and jail since 2007, wore a black sleeveless dress and looked tired at the brief court hearing. She arrived in Los Angeles late Tuesday from New York and has abandoned her longtime lawyer in favor of new attorney Mark Heller.

Lohan has pleaded not guilty to three misdemeanor charges of reckless driving, lying to police and obstructing police when she said she was not behind the wheel of her sports car, which smashed into a truck in Santa Monica, California in June.

Lohan, 26, left court without speaking to the media.

The former "Parent Trap" child star has been in and out of trouble since a 2007 arrest for drunk driving and cocaine possession.

Sautner warned Lohan that she could be found in violation of probation even if she is acquitted on charges connected to the car crash because the standard of proof is lower.

Lohan was ordered to appear at Wednesday's hearing because she decided to switch lawyers, firing longtime attorney Shawn Holley this month.

She was arrested in New York on a misdemeanor assault charge on the same day in November that the Santa Monica car crash charges were filed. The Manhattan district attorney's office has not filed a criminal complaint in the assault case.

Lohan's appearance in Los Angeles had been in doubt after Heller wrote to the court earlier this week saying was suffering from an upper respiratory infection and could not appear.

"Glad to see you're feeling better," Judge Stephanie Sautner told Lohan at the hearing.

(Reporting by Eric Kelsey, editing by Jill Serjeant and Cynthia Osterman)

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Last of 1940s hitmakers Andrews Sisters dies in California

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Patty Andrews, the last surviving member of popular The Andrews Sisters singing trio of the 1940s and 1950s, has died in California at the age of 94, her spokesman said on Wednesday.

Alan Eichler said Andrews died of natural causes at her home in the Northridge area of Los Angeles.

Patty Andrews was the youngest of the threesome who made up The Andrews Sisters, whose tight harmonies with "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy" and "Don't Sit Under the Apple Tree" were hits.

The Andrews Sisters sold more than 75 million records and became household names in the 1940s when they entertained World War Two troops in Africa, the United States and Europe.

The sisters specialized in swing and played with some of the best-known big bands of the era, including those led by Glen Miller, Benny Goodman and Tommy Dorsey.

They also appeared in 16 films, including roles alongside Bud Abbott and Lou Costello in "Buck Privates" and "Hold that Ghost," and with Bob Hope and Bing Crosby in "Road to Rio."

Born in Minnesota, the sisters started their careers by performing in local talent shows and moved to California after finding fame. LaVerne Andrews died of cancer in 1967, and Maxene Andrews died in 1995 of a heart attack.

(Reporting By Jill Serjeant; Editing by Philip Barbara)

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