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Memorial held for Michael Jackson

LOS ANGELES, July 7 (UPI) -- Figures from the worlds of sports, entertainment, politics and activism honored Michael Jackson at a public memorial service in Los Angeles Tuesday.

Jackson died of cardiac arrest after a suspected prescription drug overdose June 25. He was 50.

Just days before his death, the pop star had rehearsed at the Staples Center for a planned London concert series.

Those who knew him and were touched by his music flocked to the Los Angeles arena Tuesday for an event billed as a final goodbye to the iconic performer as well as a celebration of his life and contributions to music history.

Although more than 1 million fans reportedly registered for a lottery distribution of tickets to the service, only several thousand devotees were granted admission to the event along with invited guests.

Singer Smokey Robinson opened the service by reading statements of condolence from recording artist Diana Ross and former South African President Nelson Mandela. The event then stalled for several minutes as Jackson's relatives took their seats in the arena and performers prepared to go on stage.

When the service resumed, Jackson's flower-covered, metallic casket was carried in front of the stage as a gospel hymn was sung and fans shouted: "Michael!" and "We love you!" Pallbearers wore dark suits, gold-hued ties, one sparkly glove apiece and sunglasses.

The Jackson family's friend, minister Lucious Smith, then addressed the crowd, after which Mariah Carey and Trey Lorenz sang their emotional cover of The Jackson 5 hit "I'll Be There" while photos of Jackson as a child flashed on a screen behind them.

Singer-actress Queen Latifah later recalled how Jackson had inspired her and her brother when they were kids. She then read a poem literary giant Maya Angelou had penned for the occasion.

Other luminaries who offered words of kindness about or fond memories of Jackson included Robinson, Kobe Bryant, Magic Johnson, Martin Luther King III, Bernice King, the Rev. Al Sharpton, Brooke Shields, Kenny Ortega and renowned Motown producer Berry Gordy, who declared the late singer the "greatest entertainer that ever lived." Jackson's 11-year-old daughter, Paris, as well as several of his siblings, including Jermaine and Marlon, also spoke at the service.

Lionel Richie, Stevie Wonder, Jennifer Hudson, Usher and John Mayer each performed a song and Jermaine Jackson performed "Smile," which was reputed to be his late brother's favorite tune.

Artists who had been set to perform with Michael Jackson during his scheduled comeback residency in London also performed a stirring rendition of the ensemble number "We are the World," a popular song Jackson collaborated on with Wonder, Richie and dozens of other musicians more than two decades ago to raise money for famine relief in Africa. Jackson's family and the other artists who performed at the memorial also joined in, then helped sing the event's finale "Heal the World."

A private wake was reportedly held for the recording artist Monday night and a funeral took place early Tuesday at California's Forest Lawn Cemetery before his body was transported to the public memorial, which began shortly after 10 a.m. PDT.

NBC estimated about 250,000 people without tickets to the public memorial gathered outside the Staples Center to pay tribute to their fallen hero.

The network also said between 750 million and 1 billion people worldwide were expected to watch the service on television.

Jackson's daughter speaks at memorial

LOS ANGELES, July 7 (UPI) -- Michael Jackson's heartbroken 11-year-old daughter described the late pop star as the "best father" at his memorial service in Los Angeles Tuesday.

The singer's three children were seldom seen in public without masks or disguises during his lifetime.

Paris, Jackson's middle child and only daughter, took the microphone at the end of his memorial at the Staples Center and tearfully told the assembled crowd: "Ever since I was born, my daddy has been the best father you could ever imagine. And I just wanted to say I love him so much."

The child spoke from the stage above where the casket bearing her father's body stood.

Jackson is also survived by his 12-year-old son Prince Michael and 7-year-old son Prince Michael II.

Paris and Prince Michael were born during Jackson's brief marriage to Debbie Rowe. The children reportedly have not had a close relationship with Rowe in recent years and Jackson's mother Katherine has temporary custody of them, along with Jackson's youngest child, whose mother has not been publicly identified.

Michael Jackson died June 25 of cardiac arrest after a suspected prescription drug overdose. He was 50.

Chinese city still gripped by violence

URUMQI, China, July 7 (UPI) -- The capital of China's far west Xinjiang region sank into panic Tuesday, two days after riots between the Muslim Uighur minority and Han Chinese, observers say.

The initial rioting left more than 150 dead and more than 1,000 injured, The Washington Post reported.

Unrest broke out all over the central part of the capital Tuesday despite numerous police and paramilitary forces, checkpoints, mosque closures and the detention of more than 1,400, the Post said.

Protesters demanded the release of the detainees, and hundreds of Han armed with knives and other implements smashed Uighur food stalls and stores and headed for a local mosque, the report said. A hospital was under siege as protesters demanded the bodies of the dead and police fired warning shots.

The chaos persisted despite a citywide lockdown, The New York Times reported.

Paramilitary officers fired tear gas Tuesday at Han protesters armed with weapons such as clubs, lead pipes and meat cleavers, the Times said. The Han mob was trying to reach the city's Uighur enclave.

The Times said a tour set up by authorities to allow journalists to view the scene of the rioting was broken up by hundreds of Uighurs. While journalists watched, demonstrators smashed the windshield of a police car, and several officers drew their weapons and the rioters were surrounded by police and paramilitary in riot gear.

A Chinese Communist party official, blaming the Urumqi rioting on a Muslim Uighur separatist group, called for tough measures against the group's members.

The death toll from the Sunday rioting in the capital of northwest Xinjiang-Uighur region rose to 156 and more than 1,000 were injured, the official Xinhua news agency reported. The region, near Afghanistan, is home to China's minority Turkic-speaking Muslim Uighurs and has been the scene of tensions as some of these Muslims resent being ruled by local Han Chinese.

Obama, Gorbachev meet

MOSCOW, July 7 (UPI) -- U.S. President Barack Obama met former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev, the father of Glasnost, Tuesday, the second day of his trip to Moscow.

"Then the Gorbachev-Obama meeting was brief, but interesting -- they talked to each other and apparently were interested and said that it would be good to continue communication in the future, and Obama perhaps wanted to meet Gorbachev again in Moscow," Pavel Vashchenko, head of the international relations department at the Gorbachev Foundation, told Itar-TASS. "It is very interesting, of course, for Gorbachev to have a conversation with the American president."

Gorbachev told the Russian news agency he had "a "very positive" attitude toward the U.S. leader.

The Gorbachev Foundation, also known as the International Foundation for Socio-Economic and Political Studies, was founded by Gorbachev in January 1992. It was one of the first independent think tanks in post-Soviet Russia.

Gorbachev is president and his daughter, Irina Virganskaya, is vice president.

Downpour disrupts royal garden party

LONDON, July 7 (UPI) -- Rain fell so heavily in London Tuesday afternoon that Underground stations were closed and guests at a Buckingham Palace garden party had to run for cover.

In some places, the total precipitation measured between 2 to 3 inches, The Daily Telegraph reported. That is about the average for a month in a city where rain is frequent but usually not hard.

The Underground closings, caused by flooding, came at around 5 p.m., the height of the evening rush hour and affected critical stations like Victoria and Paddington, which both serve major train stations. Rail service from Victoria was also disrupted by flooding in the above-ground concourse.

A spokeswoman for Queen Elizabeth II said she was not caught in the rain, and the weather was sunny for most of the party. It was just at the end that the heavens opened and guests had to head for the tents.

"It's reasonable to assume that some areas in the South East, London and Midlands have been getting an inch of rain in a single hour," a weather forecaster said. "In extremis, it has been more like two or three inches. That's more than a month's rain in a single day."