Jackson child custody fight ends

The couple's son Prince Michael is nine while daughter Paris is eight

Pop star Michael Jackson and his former wife Debbie Rowe have settled their long-running custody dispute.

The couple had two children, Prince Michael and Paris, during their three years of marriage, but Ms Rowe agreed to give up her parental rights in 2001.

She went to court in 2004 to reverse the decision when the singer faced 10 child abuse charges.

She claimed not to have seen the youngsters since last year, when the singer left the US after his acquittal.

Ms Rowe had testified at the trial that Jackson had been a "great father".

Earlier this month, Jackson was ordered to pay $60,000 (£32,000) in legal fees to his ex-wife.

She had sought $195,000 but Superior Court Judge Robert A Schnider declined, noting she had been due a divorce settlement of $8 million (£4.3 million).

'Appealing to both'

"We're still dealing with the details but it addresses all of the disputes between the parties," Ms Rowe's lawyer Marta Almli told the AP news agency.

"I can't say anything about the terms of the settlement, but I don't think it would have happened if both parties didn't agree it was appealing to both of them."

Jackson's lawyer, Michael Abrams, also confirmed an agreement had been reached.

The singer "wasn't in Los Angeles when we resolved it but that didn't prevent us from talking about it with him and having him sign it", the Reuters news agency quoted him as saying.

Son Prince Michael is now nine years old while daughter Paris is eight.