Michael Jackson to make his home in Bahrain

Michael Jackson, one of the best-selling recording artists of all time, has decided to make the Persian Gulf nation of Bahrain his permanent home, his attorney said Thursday.

Thomas A. Mesereau Jr., who won Jackson’s acquittal on child molestation charges in the summer, declined to comment on whether Jackson planned to sell his famous Neverland Ranch, but the lawyer said the singer is very happy in his new home.

“He’s looking much better. He’s with his children, and he’s moving on in life,” Mesereau said. “He’s living permanently in Bahrain. He has friends there who have been very loyal and helpful to him in a difficult period of his life.”

Jackson, 46, grew in the public eye from a beloved child singer to a groundbreaking artist to an increasingly reclusive and eccentric man.

Within weeks of his June 13 acquittal, the singer traveled to Bahrain. Mesereau said he saw Jackson a few weeks ago in London, where the singer reportedly is working on a charity single to benefit the victims of Hurricane Katrina. “He looks really well,” Mesereau said.

Jackson was acquitted on 14 counts in connection with allegations he molested a 13-year-old cancer survivor at the ranch in California’s Santa Ynez Valley.