When I Was Young

AFP - 56 minutes ago

A painting is seen as people wait in line for a public memorial for pop star Michael Jackson at the Apollo Theater in the Harlem section of New York. Jackson's body will make a poignant final journey to Neverland Ranch, it was reported Tuesday, fueling speculation that the sprawling fantasy retreat could become a permanent memorial to the tragic pop icon.

LOS ANGELES (AFP) - - Michael Jackson's body will make a poignant final journey to Neverland Ranch, it was reported Tuesday, fueling speculation that the sprawling fantasy retreat could become a permanent memorial to the tragic pop icon.

A 30-car motorcade reportedly plans to escort the body on Thursday to the King of Pop's 1,050-hectare (2,600-acre) estate, a monument to Jackson's obsession with childhood that once included a fairground and a private zoo.

CNN and the celebrity news website TMZ.com, quoting police sources, said the Jackson family planned a public viewing on Friday -- which could draw a crush of fans to the isolated ranch north of Los Angeles.

Jackson's death at the age of 50 last week has sparked a worldwide outpouring of tributes which continued on Tuesday with crowds gathering at New York's famous Apollo Theater for a celebration of the star's life.

Friday's public viewing could be an indication that the Jackson family has permanent plans for Neverland.

Santa Barbara County officials said Tuesday they had received no formal notification of a memorial but said departments were "preparing to accommodate a large event" if a request for a Neverland funeral was made.

Some fans say the star should be buried at the ranch and want it to be transformed into a shrine similar to Elvis Presley's Graceland.

Neverland was named after the fantasy island of Peter Pan, Jackson's inspiration who refused to grow up.

But the estate fell into disrepair after becoming the alleged crime scene in Jackson's 2005 trial on child molestation charges. Jackson vacated the property following his acquittal and never lived there again.

The estate was reportedly on the verge of foreclosure before Jackson's death as his extravagant lifestyle and mounting personal and legal problems took their toll on his finances.

The long-term fate of Neverland has been one of the myriad legal issues arising from Jackson's sudden death.

A judge on Monday gave Jackson's 79-year-old mother, Katherine, temporary control over his estate including Neverland and the rights to songs of the Beatles. She was also named temporary guardian of his three children.

The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday that Jackson drafted a will in 2002 that divided his estate between his mother, his three children and one or more charities.

Conspicuously absent was his father, Joe Jackson, who groomed his nine children into musical sensations but had an uneasy relationship with his son.

Michael Jackson said the family patriarch, a steelworker, would beat him when he missed a note and humiliate him, leading to the pop star's fragility and obsession with childhood.

Joe Jackson said Monday that he and his wife were ready to be supportive parents to the pop star's three children.

"This is where they belong," Joe Jackson, also 79, told reporters after the decision. "We're going to take care of them and give them the education they're supposed to have."

Jackson's former wife of three years, Debbie Rowe, is the mother of the two eldest children -- Prince Michael, 12, and Paris, 11. The third, seven-year-old Prince Michael II, was born in 2002 to a surrogate whose identity has never been made public.

It remains unclear where the star would ultimately be buried. The family has hesitated at funeral plans after authorizing a second autopsy to determine how he died.

The Los Angeles Times reported that police detectives are seeking to identify and interview "multiple doctors" who treated Jackson in the years before his death.

Attention has so far focused on the role of Jackson's doctor Conrad Murray, who was with the star just before his death last Thursday.

Lawyers for Murray and law enforcement sources have said he is not suspected of wrongdoing and has co-operated with the investigation.

On Monday, coroner's office investigators removed several plastic bags of medication from Jackson's rented mansion in Holmby Hills, described as "additional medical evidence."

Meanwhile the organizers of a series of Jackson's planned comeback concerts in London revealed Tuesday that video footage of his rehearsals existed and could be released to the public.

The president of promoters AEG Live, Randy Phillips, told Sky News television that video of the pop legend's performances would disprove rumors that he was incredibly frail before his death.

"We may at some point release some footage of him in rehearsal that would totally refute that," he said.

From Yahoo! News; see the source article here.

Posted: 30 June 2009 1733 hrs

A man holds a relative of passengers of the Yemenia Airlines Airbus 310-300 that crashed near Comoros.

MORONI - A Yemeni Airbus A310 jet carrying 153 people crashed into rough seas as it came in to land in the Comoros islands early Tuesday but rescuers plucked a child survivor from the water, officials said.

It was the second time in less than a month that an Airbus has crashed into the ocean. This time French authorities said the Yemeni carrier had been under surveillance and that problems had been reported with the jet.

Bodies and wreckage from the Yemenia airline flight were spotted in the Indian Ocean near the island archipelago capital, Moroni, aviation officials said.

But a child among the 142 passengers and 11 crew on Flight IY 626 was rescued alive, a surgeon at the main Moroni hospital, Issa Ben Imani, told AFP.

Imani said the child was being taken to land where an ambulance waited to take the child to hospital.

Arfachad Salim, a rescue coordinator for the Comoros Red Crescent, confirmed that the child was alive and added that local fishermen had also found wreckage, passengers handbags and other effects.

In Sanaa, Yemenia's deputy managing director for operations Mohammed al-Sumairi said three bodies had also been recovered.

The long gruelling Flight IY 626 had started in Paris early Monday and made stops in Marseille, Sanaa and Djibouti before heading to Moroni.

Moroni international airport control tower lost contact with the jet just before it was due to land amid bad weather, airport director Hadji Mmadi Ali told AFP.

French civil aviation officials said 66 passengers were French. Three small babies were also among the passengers, officials said. France sent two navy ships and a plane from its nearby Indian Ocean territories to help the rescue.

"Bodies were seen floating on the surface of the water and a fuel slick was also spotted about 16 or 17 nautical miles from Moroni," senior Yemeni civil aviation official Mohammad Abdel Kader told reporters in Sanaa.

Kader said the wind was blowing in gusts of up to 115 kilometres an hour when the disaster happened.

"Weather conditions were bad," he said. "The sea was rough."

The Yemenia flight left Sanaa at 9:45pm (1845 GMT) on Monday and contact was lost at 1:51am on Tuesday (2251 GMT Monday), Kader said.

"Yemenia regrets to announce the missing of its flight No IY626 from Sanaa to Moroni with 142 passengers and 11 crew onboard Airbus 310-300," the airline announced on its website.

Airbus, which is still reeling from the crash of an Air France A330-320 into the Atlantic on June 1 with 228 people on board, set up a crisis cell straight away and sent investigators to the Comoros.

No cause has yet been announced for the Air France disaster. The black box flight recorders have yet to be found and their signal is due to stop emitting on July 2.

The European plane maker said the jet which crashed off Moroni was made in 1990 and had been operated by Yemenia since 1999.

France's Transport Minister Dominique Bussereau said inspectors had noted numerous faults on the Yemenia jet and the airline was being closely monitored by EU authorities.

"The A310 in question had been inspected in France in 2007 by the DGAC (French civil aviation authority) and a certain number of faults had been noted," Dominique Bussereau.

"The plane had not since then reappeared in our country," he told i-tele news.

Yemenia was not on an EU blacklist "but was being subjected to closer inspection by us and was due to soon be heard by the security committee of the European Union," he said.

Airbus said in a statement the jet had accumulated approximately 51,900 hours in the air from some 17,300 flights.

Yemen Airways was founded in 1961 before the formation in 1978 of Yemenia, which is 51 percent owned by the Yemeni government and 49 percent by Saudi Arabia, according to its website.

The Yemenia flight started at Paris Charles de Gaulle on Monday morning, using a more modern Airbus A330-200 for the first legs of the journey.

The plane flew to Marseille in southern France, where there is a large Comoran community, and then went on to Sanaa. There were about 100 passengers on board when it left Marseille, Yemeni civil aviation official Kader said.

In the Yemen capital, people from various Arab states joined the flight and the passengers changed to the Airbus A310 which first flew to Djibouti.

A crisis task force was set up at Paris Charles de Gaulle airport while psychologists were on hand at Marseille's airport to comfort the families of passengers on the plane.

- AFP/ir

From ChannelNewsAsia.com; see the source article here.

Posted: 30 June 2009 1204 hrs

Map showing a Yemeni plane which crashed in the Indian Ocean

SANAA, Yemen: A Yemeni passenger jet crashed off the Indian Ocean archipelago of the Comoros on Tuesday with 153 people on board, officials said, in the latest air disaster involving an Airbus.

"The plane crashed in the early hours of the morning several nautical miles off the Comoros islands, with 142 passengers and 11 crew aboard," an official with the Yemeni national carrier Yemenia said.

"Most of the passengers are French or from the Comoros," the official said, adding that rescue boats had been sent to the scene of the crash to hunt for possible survivors.

It is the latest air disaster involving Airbus since an Air France jet plunged into the Atlantic almost a month ago with 228 people on board.

"Yemenia regrets to announce the missing of its flight No IY626 from Sanaa to Moroni with 142 passengers and 11 crew onboard Airbus 310-300," was the announcement on the airline's website.

It gave two emergency contact numbers, +967-1250-800 and +967-1250-833.

There was no immediate information about the possible cause of the crash.

"Rescue boats from the Comoros and Madagascar are taking part in the search operation," a Yemeni official told AFP, adding that the crash occurred about three kilometres from the coast.

File photo shows a fleet of Yemenia airliners on the tarmac of Sanaa airport.

An airport source in Paris, where the flight originated, said the aircraft had apparently "crashed into the sea several kilometres from the coast" as it was coming in to land in Moroni, capital of the Comoros.

It was was due to have touched down in Moroni at around 2300 GMT on Monday.

Yemeni Transport Minister Khaled al-Wazir is due to give a press conference about the disaster later in the day, officials said.

The flight started at Paris's Charles de Gaulle airport on Monday when an Airbus A330-200 aircraft took off for Marseille in southern France and then on to Sanaa, the capital of Yemen.

In Sanaa, passengers changed to an Airbus A310 and departed for Moroni via Djibouti.

A crisis task force was set up at Charles de Gaulle airport, where 67 people had boarded the plane.

An Airbus A330 operated by Air France crashed into the Atlantic Ocean on June 1 as it was flying from Brazil to France but the cause has not yet been determined.

Yemenia was set up in 1978 and is 51 per cent owned by the Yemeni government and 49 per cent by the government in neighbouring Saudi Arabia, according to its website.

- AFP/yb

From ChannelNewsAsia.com; see the source article here.

Michael Jackson via last.fm

AFP - Monday, June 29

A man views a portrait of "King of Pop" Michael Jackson and his chimpanzee "Bubbles" on display in Los Angeles in April. Besides his three children and millions of fans, Michael Jackson has also left behind less likely progeny -- a dancing chimp, four giraffes and other exotic pets.

LOS ANGELES (AFP) - - Besides leaving a musical legacy, Michael Jackson orphaned an array of exotic pets with some of them unaccounted for and even his beloved chimpanzee Bubbles depending on donations.

In what was once seen mostly as a harmless eccentricity, Jackson at the height of stardom amassed a private zoo of giraffes, tigers and other foreign animals at Neverland, his sprawling fantasy estate in California.

Nearly all of the animals have been moved to new homes in the past few years as Jackson's personal and financial woes worsened, with animal rights activists saying some have become roadside attractions in uncertain conditions.

Bubbles, once the world's best known ape who slept in the superstar's bedroom and mastered his Moonwalk dance, has lived since 2005 at the Center for Great Apes in Florida, the head of the sanctuary said.

Jackson did not provide financial support for Bubbles and, despite his stated desire, never visited him there, said Patti Ragan, director of the Center for Great Apes.

"To this date, all donations for his care have come from the Center for Great Apes supporters. We depend on donations in order to care for all our animals in need," she said.

An image of Bubbles on the center's website appeals to the public to make donations to care for him and other residents of the sanctuary, designed to provide a natural environment for apes who had been used as performers or pets.

The website, which does not directly mention Bubbles' famous former guardian, described the chimp as having a "broad, handsome face and a lot of charisma."

Ragan estimated it cost 16,000 dollars a year to care for each ape, who usually live to be at least 50 years old.

Jackson rescued Bubbles from a Texas medical laboratory where he was bought by Bob Dunn, a Hollywood animal trainer. Jackson returned Bubbles to Dunn after the singer had children, who risk being injured by a large chimp.

Dunn, contacted by AFP, declined comment, saying he was negotiating a deal to speak publicly about Bubbles. The Florida center said Dunn handed to it Bubbles and all his other apes in 2005 when he exited the business.

Dunn was quoted as telling Britain's News of the World tabloid that Jackson thought of Bubbles as "his first child" and regularly visited while Bubbles was in Dunn's California preserve.

While Bubbles remains high-profile, animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) said it was hard to track down most of Jackson's former pets.

Lisa Wathne, PETA's specialist in captive exotic animals, voiced particular concern about two of Jackson's orangutans sent to a private owner in Connecticut and reptiles at a roadside zoo in Oklahoma.

She said Jackson's case showed why wild animals should not be kept as pets.

"All too often even people who start with good intentions, as Michael Jackson certainly did, don't have the ability to properly care for these animals," she said.

"And unfortunately in Michael Jackson's case he did apparently run into financial problems that ultimately led to his animals being disbursed to places all over the world. We don't know, frankly, where most of them ended up."

PETA in January 2006 complained to US authorities that animals were being mistreated in Neverland. The authorities inspected the estate's menagerie but found no evidence of abuse or neglect.

Jackson's two tigers, Thriller and Sabu, were taken in at a sanctuary in California run by former actress Tippi Hedren.

The Voices of the Wild Foundation, which runs an animal preserve in Arizona, adopted Jackson's four giraffes along with reptiles and exotic birds. But PETA says the conditions were too cramped for giraffes.

Director Freddie Hancock appealed to Jackson fans to send donations in his memory so that the preserve can adopt more animals.

Hancock had nothing but praise for Jackson, saying he maintained "beautiful facilities" for the animals in Neverland.

"I think he just loved animals. And when you're an individual who loves animals, the animals know that," Hancock said.

From Yahoo! News; see the source article here.

Image via Wikipedia

Updated 1 hour, 12 minutes ago

Story Highlights

• NEW: Judge approves guardianship request from Michael Jackson's mother
  
• NEW: Family filed a petition asking that Katherine Jackson handle estate
  
• Jackson has three children: Michael Jr., Paris and Prince Michael II
  
• Autopsy performed Friday; toxicology results will exonerate physician, says attorney
  

From left: Prince Michael Jackson II, Paris-Michael Katherine Jackson and Michael Joseph Jackson Jr.

LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- A Los Angeles judge granted temporary guardianship of Michael Jackson's three children to Jackson's mother, a court official said.

Judge Mitchell Beckloff issued the order Monday morning, soon after Katherine Jackson filed a petition in Los Angeles Probate Court seeking legal guardianship of the children.

The family also filed a petition asking that Katherine Jackson be named administrator of Michael Jackson's estate and that the children be named his sole beneficiaries.

The filing did not estimate Jackson's estate.

"Given the nature and extent of the descendant's assets, it would be difficult if not impossible to quantify their value at this time, so the calculation of bond would be speculative at best," the petition said.

The guardianship petition said the grandmother should be named guardian because "the minors have no relationship with their biological mother" and they are "currently residing with paternal grandmother."

"They have a long established relationship with paternal grandmother and are comfortable in their care," the petition said.

The two oldest children -- Michael Joseph Jackson Jr., 12, and Paris-Michael Katherine Jackson, 11 -- were born to Debbie Rowe, who was briefly married to the singer.

Rowe gave up parental rights to Jackson in 2001, but she changed her mind more than two years later and sought temporary custody of the children. A California appeals court later ruled her rights were improperly terminated, opening the door to a possible custody battle.

There has been no public indication that Rowe is planning to challenge the grandparents for custody of the two children.

The mother of the third child, 7-year-old Prince Michael Jackson II, was never publicly identified. The guardianship petition listed the mother as "none."

Jackson died Thursday afternoon. An autopsy was performed on the entertainer Friday.

Toxicology reports from his body will disprove rumors that the singer's personal physician injected him with powerful painkillers, the attorney for Dr. Conrad Murray said Monday.

"Dr. Murray never prescribed Demerol, never administered Demerol, never saw him -- Michael Jackson -- take Demerol," attorney Edward Chernoff told CNN's "American Morning."

"And that goes as well for OxyContin. I think those are just rumors. When toxicology comes back ... that's going to be all cleared up," Chernoff said.

Murray met voluntarily for several hours with detectives over the weekend, the Los Angeles Police Department said late Saturday.

"We've let them know we're available to them any time they need us, any questions they have," Chernoff said. "We have told them that the medical examiner is free to call us. We'll be available to them. If they have any questions once toxicology comes out. I expect they will have some questions, and we'll be ready to answer them."

Murray found Jackson not breathing in bed when he entered the 50-year-old singer's estate on Thursday, Chernoff said. Jackson did have a slight pulse when Murray found him and tried to resuscitate the singer as he awaited paramedics, a representative with Chernoff's Houston, Texas, law firm said Sunday.

Jackson was rushed to a Los Angeles medical center, where he was pronounced dead.

An autopsy performed by a county medical examiner was inconclusive, although officials said there were no indications of external trauma or foul play. The Los Angeles County coroner's office has said toxicology results are needed before a cause of death can be determined. That could take four to six weeks.

Detectives impounded Murray's car, which was parked at the singer's rented home. Authorities said the vehicle may contain evidence related to Jackson's death, possibly prescription medications. Police have released no information on what they may have found.

Chernoff said there was nothing in Jackson's medical history that Murray was aware of "that would lead him to believe he would go into sudden cardiac arrest or respiratory failure."

"There was no red flag available to Dr. Murray, which led him to believe he would have died the way he did," Chernoff said. "It's still a mystery how he died to Dr. Murray.

"It was Dr. Murray ... as you know, that requested that the family ask for an autopsy, because he needed to know as well as his physician what caused Michael Jackson to stop breathing."

From CNN.com; see the source article here.

Image via Wikipedia

June 29, 2009 -- Updated 1244 GMT (2044 HKT)

By Doug Gross

CNN

Story Highlights

• Expert says Jackson's extreme celebrity exaggerated personal troubles
  
• Jackson: Fame 'exacts a very heavy price'
  
• Jackson was rare combination of childhood and adult superstar
  
• Columnist calls celebrity-obsessed culture lethal and brutal
  

Jackson arrives at his child molestation trial in 2005. A jury later acquitted him of the charges.

(CNN) -- The celebrity flameout is a Hollywood cliché -- a mantel worn tragically by the likes of Lenny Bruce and John Belushi and handed down through the years to tabloid-populating stars such as Lindsay Lohan and Britney Spears.

But Michael Jackson, dead at 50 after a life marked by unrivaled heights of pop brilliance and bizarre behavior that threatened to overshadow it, stood at the pinnacle of celebrity and embodied all the turmoil it can entail.

It's a perch experts say played a major role in his troubles in life and, perhaps, his untimely death.

"He sums up every aspect of it, having the ultimate fame, the ultimate power, the ultimate influence," said Patrick Wanis, a therapist and counselor who counts celebrities among his clients. "He also sums it up in every extreme aspect of the word."

Jackson, who died Thursday in Los Angeles, California, spoke repeatedly about the toll that a life spent in the public eye took on him emotionally, particularly as a child star singing with his brothers in the group Jackson 5.

Compare Jackson's career to other major singers'.

"The public at large has yet to really understand the pressures of childhood celebrity, which, while exciting, always exacts a very heavy price," Jackson wrote in 2000 in a column for the religious Web site beliefnet. "More than anything, I wished to be a normal little boy. I wanted to build tree houses and go to roller-skating parties. But very early on, this became impossible."

Wanis said Jackson's experience is rare in its longevity. While a child star may shine brightly then disappear, or an actor or rock star may feel the first glare of the spotlight as a teenager or young adult, Jackson lived both experiences.

His first public performance, at Mr. Lucky's nightclub in Gary, Indiana, came at age 6; at 50 he was rehearsing for a comeback tour.

"The average life of a band or performer is five years. There's only a handful that break that rule," Wanis said. "Michael Jackson is the enigma. He started as a child and he was able to keep it going all the way because of his almost supernatural talent.

"The problem with that is he never really had a personal life. He never had a chance to live."

For Jackson, the pressures of celebrity "exaggerated and exacerbated" what likely already were some deep emotional and mental wounds, according to Wanis.

Multiple reports from the Jackson family, including Michael, described severe beatings and emotional abuse by Michael's father, Joseph Jackson, who relentlessly drove his children to become pop superstars.

Michael's actions in later years -- from his serial plastic surgeries, which removed all family resemblance, to his famous crotch-grabbing dance move -- can be seen as lashing out over that abuse, Wanis said.

"He resented his father," he said. "He was in rebellion, almost like a subconscious rebellion, against his father."

The behavior didn't stop with dance moves and surgery. There was the chimpanzee and the tigers and dangling his child briefly from a hotel balcony.

Most notoriously, and damaging, were the charges of sexually abusing the young boys he befriended, charges for which he was found not guilty in court, even as reports of a multimillion-dollar settlement with another boy's family persisted.

The high-profile trial, and its lurid testimony, drove Jackson further down the path of antisocial behavior, turning him into a hermit almost on par with famed billionaire Howard Hughes.

In the end, Wanis said, it may have been the desire to perform again that led to his death. He was training hard for a tour that was hoped to spark a musical comeback, as well as one more chance to bask in the glory of his fame.

"There were a lot of people with a lot of vested interest in making sure he would stay alive at whatever cost," Wanis said. "The people around him were intent on making sure he could get whatever he needed just so he could get through those concerts."

As the world responded to Jackson's death, some observers paused from the accolades to reflect on celebrity's apparent toll.

"It was an unusual relationship yes, where two unusual people who did not live or know a 'normal life' found a connection," Lisa Marie Presley, Jackson's ex-wife and the daughter of Elvis Presley, wrote Friday on her blog. "I wanted to save him. I wanted to save him from the inevitable, which is what has just happened."

Columnist Andrew Sullivan, on his blog for The Nation magazine, wrote that he grieved for Jackson "but I also grieve for the culture that created and destroyed him."

"That culture is ours, and it is a lethal and brutal one: With fame and celebrity as its core values, with money as its sole motive, it chewed this child up and spat him out," Sullivan wrote. "I hope he has the peace now he never had in his life. And I pray that such genius will not be so abused again."

From CNN.com; see the source article here.

Posted: 29 June 2009 1713 hrs

Fans of Michael Jackson leave notes and candles outside the Jackson family's home.

LOS ANGELES: The family of Michael Jackson went on the offensive, vowing to fight for control of the superstar's children and estate, and once again voicing concerns over the circumstances of his death.

After days of uncoordinated statements to media by family advisors and lawyers, the Jacksons announced they had appointed attorney Londell McMillan to be the sole individual authorised to speak on their behalf.

McMillan swiftly told CNN the Jacksons are seeking to secure custody of the late King of Pop's three children and revealed that the family had not yet been granted access to the pop icon's will.

McMillan also said the family was "closely watching" the progress of the official investigation into Jackson's death. The family has already hired a private pathologist to carry out a second autopsy.

Asked about the fate of Jackson's three children – born to two different mothers – McMillan said their grandmother Katherine would seek custody, raising the possibility of a bitter legal battle.

"She will seek custody of the children. She loves them dearly," McMillan told CNN. Katherine Jackson has been looking after the children since the sudden death of their superstar father on Thursday at the age of 50.

"They're in a loving environment. She's a great grandma. I couldn't think of anyone better for these children than a grandma like Miss Katherine Jackson and the loving support of family of the Jacksons."

McMillan also revealed the family had not yet seen Jackson's will, and was uncertain if one existed. If Jackson had not left a will, his assets would go to his next of kin under California law, McMillan said.

"If there's no will then under the state of California it goes to the next of kin, that's an adult administering and overseeing for the best interests of the children ...," McMillan said.

The family patriarch Joe Jackson, meanwhile, said he remained concerned about details of his son's death, as the doctor believed to be the last person to see him alive protested his innocence.

The family has spoken of the "unanswered questions" concerning the role of doctor Conrad Murray in the final hours of Michael Jackson's life. Lawyers for Murray insist he has been cleared of wrongdoing.

"I have a lot of concerns. I can't get into that, but I don't like what happened," Jackson, 79, said on the sidelines of the Black Entertainment Television (BET) Awards in Los Angeles.

Police conducted a second interview with Murray on Saturday, but cleared him of any criminal wrongdoing, the physician's lawyers said.

The 51-year-old has faced intense speculation amid reports he injected Jackson with the potent prescription painkiller Demerol just before he died.

However, a lawyer for Murray said Sunday that reports of an injection were "absolutely false", the first time the allegation has been denied.

"There was no Demerol. No OxyContin," Edward Chernoff, an attorney for Murray was quoted as saying by the Los Angeles Times, adding that Murray had discovered Jackson unconscious in the bedroom of his home.

"(Murray) was the one who suggested the autopsy to the family while they were still in the hospital. He didn't understand why Michael Jackson had died," Chernoff was quoted as saying.

Meanwhile, Jackson's family have yet to finalise funeral plans and were due to meet activist Reverend Al Sharpton on Monday to discuss plans for a tribute.

Sharpton was cited in reports as saying Jackson's family was considering a series of simultaneous memorials around the world to reflect the huge appeal of the star who sold more than 750 million albums during a four-decade career.

"Reverend Sharpton will discuss with the family ideas that people from around the world have sent him about how they would like to memorialise Michael Jackson," a spokeswoman for Sharpton said.

However, an unofficial memorial took place at Los Angeles's famous Shrine Auditorium, where the cream of the African-American music, acting and sporting worlds gathered for the BET Awards.

A galaxy of stars paid fulsome tribute to Jackson as they walked the red carpet, hailing his role as a star who had helped break racial barriers.

"You know, my man is the greatest," hip-hop mogul Sean "Diddy Combs" told CNN. "He's one of the reasons why Barack Obama's president... He started the change in the world about how African-Americans are perceived."

"We miss him and we love him and we just feel devastated," said soul singer Alicia Keys, urging people to remember Jackson in a "respectful, positive way".

Thousands of Jackson devotees continued to gather outside the singer's star on the walk of fame as well as the Jackson family's home in Encino, where makeshift shrines of flowers and cards have grown rapidly since Thursday.

Jackson's death has sent fans scrambling to stock up on his music across the world. In Britain, a compilation album of the star's greatest hits rocketed to the top of the charts on Sunday.

- AFP/so

From ChannelNewsAsia.com; see the source article here.

Posted: 29 June 2009 1257 hrs

New Edition performs a tribute to Michael Jackson at the start of the 9th Annual BET Awards in Los Angeles.

LOS ANGELES: An annual awards show for black entertainers became a star-studded memorial to Michael Jackson here on Sunday as the African-American A-list turned out in force to salute the King of Pop.

Singers, actors, sports stars and television personalities crowded into Los Angeles's famous Shrine Auditorium for the Black Entertainment Awards, which had been hastily retooled as a night to celebrate Jackson.

Oscar-winning actor Jamie Foxx set the tone for proceedings by appearing in a variety of Jackson's signature costumes and even moonwalking across the stage at one point. "Is there any question who was the best?" Foxx asked the crowd.

Basketball star Lebron James, who won the award for best male athlete, paid tribute to the Jackson family as he collected his award.

"I want to say to all of the Jackson family. This night is unbelievable because of you guys. What you did for us and the whole world is unbelievable," James said.

Meanwhile, rapper Lil Wayne told the audience: "We all know none of us in this room would be here without Michael Jackson."

Earlier, stars arriving on the red carpet told reporters personal stories about Jackson, saying his music had been instrumental in breaking down racial barriers.

"We miss him and we love him and we just feel devastated," said singer Alicia Keys, urging people to remember Jackson in a "respectful, positive way".

Asked how Jackson had influenced her, Keys replied: "In every way. How could he not influence us to break the barrier and to think bigger, and to try new things and to break the rules?

"Tonight, I think, is a true memorial for him. It's really about honouring him this evening."

BET announced shortly after Jackson's death that the annual awards ceremony would be tweaked to serve as an unofficial memorial for the singer and a celebration of his life.

"Michael Jackson's the biggest thing that's happened to music in our lifetime. When we heard he had passed away, we knew we had to revamp this whole show and make it special just for him," said BET Chairwoman and CEO Debra Lee.

"It's going to be a celebration tonight, it's going to be a little sad, but it's going to be a celebration," Lee said.

Attendees said they remained in shock over Jackson's sudden and unexpected death last week at the age of 50.

Singer Chaka Khan held back tears as she spoke to reporters.

"I haven't gotten to the point where I can break down yet because I just don't believe it," she said. "I have to believe that energy lives on and he's still with us in some amazing way."

Several stars hailed Jackson's role in breaking down racial barriers and giving African-Americans a hero to idolise.

"He's one of the reasons why Barack Obama's president," said hip-hop mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs. "He started the change in the world about how African-Americans are perceived."

Actress Taraji P. Henson, the Oscar-nominated star of "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button", echoed Combs's words.

"That's exactly what we're doing – celebrating his life and that's what this night is about," Henson said.

"He's the biggest star in America – in the world. I feel like he parted a gap so that Obama could be the president. His rise to fame was the beginning of 'Oh, black people are okay.'"

- AFP/so

From ChannelNewsAsia.com; see the source article here.

Posted: 29 June 2009 0554 hrs

A Russian fan of Michael Jackson mourns the death of the 'King of Pop' at the US embassy in Moscow.

LOS ANGELES - Michael Jackson's family were planning funeral arrangements for the tragic pop icon Sunday as police reportedly cleared the star's doctor after questioning him for a second time.

Jackson's family members were due to meet activist Reverend Al Sharpton to discuss plans for a tribute to the star, whose sudden death last week at the age of 50 has triggered a global outpouring of grief.

Sharpton was cited in several media reports as saying Jackson's family was considering a series of simultaneous memorials around the world to reflect the huge appeal of the late "King of Pop."

"Reverend Sharpton will discuss with the family ideas that people from around the world have sent him about how they would like to memorialize Michael Jackson," a spokeswoman for Sharpton said.

Sharpton said the family were upset by media coverage of Jackson's death that had focused on the star's personal problems such as allegations of child abuse, financial woes and battles with prescription drugs.

"They want to see their brother treated right. They told me 'You've gotta keep out there and defend Michael,'" Sharpton told the New York Daily News.

Jackson's family on Saturday ordered a second autopsy to be carried out after growing increasingly frustrated with "unanswered questions" surrounding the star's death, family advisers said.

Los Angeles police conducted a second interview with doctor Conrad Murray, the only person with Jackson when he collapsed.

Veteran US activist Reverend Jesse Jackson -- who is not related to the family -- said the family are suspicious of the role played by Murray.

The doctor is reported to have injected Jackson with a powerful painkiller Demerol just before he died and left Jackson's mansion after administering CPR to the stricken star.

A spokeswoman for the cardiologist said he "clarified some inconsistencies" during his interview with detectives late Saturday.

But the spokeswoman, Miranda Sevcik, added: "Investigators say the doctor is in no way a suspect and remains a witness to this tragedy."

The Los Angeles Times cited a source close to the investigation as saying that "no red flag, no smoking gun" emerged from the interview.

Sevcik told AFP in an email Sunday that Murray would remain in Los Angeles "just in case investigators need any questions answered at all."

"Doctor Murray wants to see this investigation completed as thoroughly and quickly as possible," she said.

The Times reported that the second autopsy ordered by Jackson's family had been completed. There was no word on the findings.

A preliminary autopsy on Jackson was inconclusive and a final cause of death would not be known until exhaustive toxicology tests are completed in "six to eight weeks," a Los Angeles coroner's official said on Friday.

Large gatherings of devotees have been held around the world since Thursday, with thousands descending on Hollywood again on Sunday to queue for the right to view Jackson's star on the district's "Walk of Fame."

In New York large crowds formed outside the legendary Apollo Theater in Harlem, where Jackson launched his career in 1969.

In Paris, more than a thousand fans gathered at the foot of the Eiffel Tower Sunday to perform Jackson's celebrated "moonwalk" and pay tribute.

Meanwhile a senior advisor to President Barack Obama revealed the US leader had sent a written condolence to Jackson's family.

"The president has written the family and has shared his feelings with the family, and he felt that was the appropriate way to go," David Axelrod said.

In Los Angeles, Black Entertainment Television (BET) was quickly reworking its annual awards show on Sunday, turning it into a tribute to the superstar credited with helping bridge racial divides.

Revelers at Britain's Glastonbury music festival sported T-shirts with slogans like "Michael Jackson RIP" and "I was at Glasto when Jacko died," while graffiti paying tribute to "The King of Pop" adorned tents.

Jackson's death has sent fans scrambling to stock up on his music, and British chart officials said a compilation album of the star's greatest hits had rocketed to the top of the charts on Sunday.

A spokesman for music retailer HMV said there had been an 80-fold increase in demand for Jackson's music "almost overnight" after the singer's death -- the biggest one-day rise in sales seen for any artists, including Elvis Presley and John Lennon.

- AFP /ls

From ChannelNewsAsia.com; see the source article here.

AFP - Monday, June 29

The news of Michael Jackson's death has had particular resonance in London, where the singer was planning to make his high profile comeback. Fifty shows were planned for the capitals giant O2 venue. In March, Jackson made a brief appearance in London to announce the dates and tickets sold out within hours.

LOS ANGELES (AFP) - - The father of Michael Jackson said he remained concerned about the circumstances of his son's death as the tragic pop icon's personal doctor protested his innocence.

In a surprising first public appearance since the death of his superstar son, family patriarch Joe Jackson appeared on the red carpet of a Los Angeles awards show dedicated to the African-American entertainment industry.

The Jackson family is reportedly angry at the "unanswered questions" concerning the role of doctor Conrad Murray in the final hours of Michael Jackson's life. Lawyers for Murray insist he has been cleared of wrongdoing.

However speaking to a CNN reporter at the Black Entertainment Television (BET) awards, Jackson, 79, said he continued to harbor misgivings about the sudden death of his son at the age of 50.

"I have a lot of concerns. I can't get into that, but I don't like what happened," Jackson said, before directing questions to a family lawyer who declined to comment further.

"We can't talk about that now," attorney Londell McMillan said. "There is a second autopsy that is underway and we'll let that process take its course at this time. We'll have more detail at a later point."

Los Angeles police conducted a second interview with Murray on Saturday but cleared him of any criminal wrongdoing, the physician's lawyers said.

The 51-year-old cardiologist, who became part of Jackson's staff in March to help the singer prepare for a concert comeback in London, has faced intense speculation amid reports he injected Jackson with the potent prescription painkiller Demerol just before he died.

However a lawyer for Murray said Sunday that reports of an injection were "absolutely false," the first time the allegation has been denied.

"There was no Demerol. No OxyContin," Edward Chernoff, an attorney for Murray was quoted as saying by the Los Angeles Times, adding that Murray had discovered Jackson unconscious in the bedroom of his home.

"(Murray) was the one who suggested the autopsy to the family while they were still in the hospital. He didn't understand why Michael Jackson had died," Chernoff was quoted as saying.

Meanwhile Jackson's family have yet to finalize funeral plans and were due to meet activist Reverend Al Sharpton Sunday to discuss plans for a tribute.

Sharpton was cited in several media reports as saying Jackson's family was considering a series of simultaneous memorials around the world to reflect the huge appeal of the late "King of Pop."

"Reverend Sharpton will discuss with the family ideas that people from around the world have sent him about how they would like to memorialize Michael Jackson," a spokeswoman for Sharpton said.

However an unofficial memorial appeared to already be underway at Los Angeles's famous Shrine Auditorium, where the cream of the African-American music, acting and sporting worlds was gathering for the BET Awards.

A galaxy of stars paid fulsome tribute to Jackson as they walked the red carpet, hailing his role as a star who had helped break racial barriers.

"You know, my man is the greatest," hip-hop mogul Sean "Diddy Combs" told CNN. "He's one of the reasons why Barack Obama's president... He started the change in the world about how African-Americans are perceived."

"We miss him and we love him and we just feel devastated," said soul singer Alicia Keys, urging people to remember Jackson in a "respectful, positive way."

Asked how Jackson had influenced her, Keys replied: "In every way. How could he not influence us to break the barrier and to think bigger, and to try new things and to break the rules?

"Tonight is a true memorial for him. It's really about honoring him."

Thousands of Jackson devotees continued to gather outside the singer's star on the walk of fame as well as the Jackson family's home in Encino, where makeshift shrines of flowers and cards have grown rapidly since Thursday.

Jackson's death has sent fans scrambling to stock up on his music across the world. British chart officials said a compilation album of the star's greatest hits had rocketed to the top of the charts on Sunday.

A spokesman for music retailer HMV said there had been an 80-fold increase in demand for Jackson's music "almost overnight" after the singer's death -- the biggest one-day rise in sales seen for any artists, including Elvis Presley and John Lennon.

From Yahoo! News; see the source article here.