Holly to Bolly: Aerosmith star in hospital, Bollywood stars speak out against animal abuse, and more

Thoko Chikondi AP photo

Mark Von Holden / Invision / AP File

AFP / STR

Illumination Entertainment and Universal Pictures via AP

Aerosmith star in hospital after taking ill on stage

Musician Joe Perry was taken to hospital after he had to leave the stage during a performance in New York City. The Aerosmith guitarist became ill on Sunday while performing with Johnny Depp and Alice Cooper in their band Hollywood Vampires at Ford Amphitheater in Brooklyn's Coney Island. An administrator at Coney Island Hospital confirmed the 65-year-old was undergoing tests. Hollywood Vampires's record label representative Sujata Murthy said Perry was "stable and resting". Cooper tweeted that "our brother" is stable and with his family. A video posted by a fan on social media showed Perry sitting down on stage in the middle of a song and then walking off. The band completed the show without him. – AP

Madonna visits kids’ hospital in Malawi

Pop star Madonna has visited the under-construction children's wing of a hospital that her charity is funding in Blantyre, the second largest city in the African country of Malawi. The singer has been in the country for a week and will also meet president Peter Mutharika and health minister Peter Kumpalume. She visited Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital to view the paediatric unit, construction of which started in May last year. It is expected to open early next year. Madonna was ­accompanied by the two children from Malawi that she adopted, David and Mercy, and her son Rocco. She said she will continue to work to get the unit the staff and equipment it needs. It will have Malawi's first paediatric intensive care unit, three operating rooms for children's surgery, a day clinic and a 50-bed ward. It will enable the hospital to double the number of operations performed on children and provide critical care before and after surgery. – AP

Chaka Khan enters rehab

Singer Chaka Khan and her sister have entered a drug rehabilitation programme to battle their addictions to prescription drugs. Khan says the death of her friend Prince helped hasten her decision to get help. The 63-year-old Grammy-­winning singer said she has been battling an addiction to the same medication that led to Prince's death. He was found dead at his Minnesota home on April 21 after an overdose of fentanyl, a powerful opioid painkiller. "Unfortunately, I will miss concert appearances over the summer," said Khan. "However, it's vital that I put my health and well-being first. I know that I am disappointing some of my fans, but I also know they would want me to recover and be well and healthy." The singer entered the intensive rehabilitation and aftercare programme with sister, Yvonne Stevens, also known as Taka Boom. Khan said they "agreed we would take this journey together and support each other through the recovery. The tragic death of Prince has had us both ­rethinking and re-evaluating our lives and priorities. We knew it was time to take action to save our lives. My sister and I would like to thank everyone for their support, love and prayers". – AP

Bollywood stars speak out against animal abuse

Alia Bhatt and Anushka Sharma have condemned the "ridiculous" and "heinous" act by two medical students who threw a dog from the roof of a multistorey building. The ­Bollywood stars called for serious action to be taken against Gautam Sudarshan and Ashish Paul, of Madha Medical College in Chennai, who were arrested and released on bail on July 6. A video of the incident, uploaded to social media, showed Sudarshan on top of a building holding a dog, which he then threw off. Bhatt wrote on Twitter: "This is absolutely ridiculous! I am appalled! These two medical students have thrown a puppy off the roof for fun." Sharma tweeted: "This heinous act is a mirror shown to the society we ('educated') people live in. Punishment for this should be serious." The dog was found by animal-rights activist Shravan Krishnan. It survived and was treated for fractures to two legs. – IANS

Secret Life of Pets roars past $100 million

Animated film The Secret Life of Pets has surpassed expectations at the box office to take an estimated US$103.2 million (Dh379m) at the North American box office in its opening weekend, helping to push box-office totals up by about three per cent from the same time last year, according to Entertainment Weekly. The film, produced by Illumination Entertainment marks the second $100m-plus debut for an animated film in a month, after Disney/Pixar's Finding Dory shattered records with a $135m debut last month. The Secret Life of Pets has already earned back its $75m ­budget. The film is scheduled for release in the UAE on August 18. – The National Staff