MANAMA, Bahrain -- A Bahraini royal who had a legal dispute with Michael Jackson over a music project says he was saddened by the singer's death. Sheik Abdulla bin Hamad Isa Al Khalifa, a son of Bahrain's king, had befriended Jackson after the singer's trial on child molestation charges in 2005. He invited him to live in Bahrain and showered him with money. Jackson left the Gulf emirate in 2006. The sheik, an aspiring songwriter, said the singer failed to fulfill a joint music venture and sued Jackson for $7 million. Jackson denied the charge, saying the money was a gift. The two settled the dispute in a November deal. The sheik said Saturday, in statement in the Gulf Daily News, that "the world has lost a giant in the music industry."
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