The marriage of the actor Orlando Bloom and the model Miranda Kerr has ended. A joint statement said they "have been amicably separated for the past few months" and "recently decided to formalise their separation" after six years together. Bloom, 36, and Kerr, 30, were married in 2010. They have a 2-year-old son. Bloom is currently making his Broadway debut as Romeo in David Leveaux's revival of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. — AP

Subhash Ghai announces three new films

The filmmaker Subhash Ghai's company Mukta Arts celebrated its 36th anniversary on Thursday and, to mark the occasion, Ghai announced three new projects in production: the social drama Ishq De Maare, the biopic Sarabjit and the comedy Idiot Nalayak Useless. "We have a healthy story bank, so we thought we should get into production in a big way," he said. Directed by Neeraj Pathak, Ishq De Maare will star the veteran actor Dharmendra and his sons Sunny and Bobby Deol. Sarbajit is about Sarabjit Singh, an Indian prisoner on death row who died in a Pakistan hospital in May, succumbing to his injuries after being attacked by other inmates. Ishwar Singh Muchhal will direct the biopic. Ghai said Ken Ghosh will direct Idiot Nalayak Useless. — The National staff

Malaysia cancels Ke$ha concert

The American pop singer Ke$ha has been forced to cancel a concert due to take place yesterday at the national stadium in Kuala Lumpur after authorities said it would undermine religious and cultural sensitivities. "We are distraught to confirm that the show … will be cancelled," the concert organiser Livescape said in a statement, adding that it was losing 1.1 million ringgit (Dh1.3m) because of the ban. Livescape said it had received a letter from the authorities on the decision to ban the concert "at the 11th hour" on Friday, despite agreeing to "modify the show to suit the Malaysian culture and sensitivities". The ministry of communications and multimedia said in a statement on Friday that it had rejected the application for the concert on grounds that it "touches on religious sensitivities and cultural values of Malaysians". – AFP

Pearl Jam beats McCartney to top charts

In a battle of veteran rockers, Pearl Jam beat Paul McCartney to the top of this week's Billboard 200 album chart. Lightning Bolt, the 10th studio album by Pearl Jam, sold 166,000 copies in its first week, while McCartney, 71, came in at No 3 with his latest record New, which sold 67,000 copies. That was behind Miley Cyrus' Bangerz, which dropped one spot to No 2 this week. On the digital songs chart, which measures single track downloads, Eminem shot to the top with his new single Rap God, knocking the New Zealand singer Lorde's Royals to No 2 and Katy Perry's Roar to No 3. — Reuters

Quincy Jones sues Jackson’s estate

Quincy Jones is suing Michael Jackson's estate, claiming he is owed royalties on some of the superstar's hits and was improperly deprived of a producer credit on music used in the 2009 film This Is It. Jones's lawsuit, filed on Friday in Los Angeles, seeks millions in damages from the singer's estate. The suit claims Jackson's estate reworked some of the superstar's music that Jones produced and cut him out of the royalties and other profits. Jones produced some of Jackson's most popular albums, including Off the Wall and Thriller. — AP

[ artslife@thenational.ae ]