Michael Jackson halts attempts to stop auction

Pop superstar Michael Jackson has dropped his bid to block a memorabilia auction featuring hundreds of his various personal belongings.

Jacko was expected to appear in a Las Vegas court via video link yesterday to claim that he's the rightful owner of the items.

But Michael Jackson's lawyer opened the Clark County Court hearing by telling a judge that a confidential agreement had been reached between the singer, his family members and representatives of an auction house hoping to sell off the memorabilia concerned.

The items were snapped up by a New Jersey businessman after a failed business venture wound up in bankruptcy court.

Michael Jackson's attorney, Gregory Ross told Judge Elizabeth Gonzalez, "The matte has been resolved."

During Michael's efforts to prevent the auction from going ahead, Jackson insisted all the keepsakes, claimed from a storage facility, were his property and should be returned.

Bosses of Universal Express Inc., the Florida company which owns the items, claim that the memorabilia is worth around $50 million.

Guernsey's auction house of New York plans to go ahead with the auction on 30 and 31 May (07) at the Hard Rock hotel in Las Vegas.