SYDNEY (Reuters) – Michael Jackson fans around the world lit candles on Friday to mark the death one year ago of the controversial pop star whose posthumous popularity has returned him to a pedestal and made him a billion dollar man.

Fans in Hanoi, Vietnam, held a night of performances of Jackson’s songs while 50 Japanese admirers — one for each year of his life — were picked from 10,000 people to spend a night at Tokyo Tower among the singer’s possessions in the Neverland Collection, the only official Michael Jackson exhibition.

SYDNEY (Reuters) – Kermit who? Miss Piggy what? Muppets creator Jim Henson might be shocked if he looked as his company 20 years after his death. Then again, it might be exactly what he expected and wanted with his children in control.

Henson, the creator of the lovable Muppets characters, died in 1990 and in 2004, rights to older characters like Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy were sold to the Walt Disney Co.

CANBERRA (Reuters) – Singer Clay Aiken says he’s returning to the music he loves with his fifth studio album since emerging seven years ago from the hit TV show “American Idol” which brought him fame but also some personal challenges.

Aiken, 31, was thrust into the spotlight as runner-up in the second series of “Idol” and learned along the way to stand his ground whilst also accepting the glare on his private life.

SYDNEY (Reuters) – When author Lionel Shriver took on the topic of illness and relationships in her latest novel, she had no idea that the reaction would give her a new insight into human nature — and not necessarily a positive one.

In her latest and 10th novel, “So Much Tor That,” Shriver focuses on the devastating effect of illness on relationships, how friends and family often flee rather than face the patient.

CANBERRA (Reuters) – Singer Walter Williams from R&B group The O’Jays seemed to have a charmed life, but for nearly three decades he kept a secret from his fans — he was suffering from multiple sclerosis (MS).

However to mark World MS Day on May 26, Williams decided it was time to go public with his health issues to let other MS sufferers know that it is possible to lead an active life despite the chronic and often disabling disease.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Crime drama “Law & Order” has fought its last court battle, with TV network NBC announcing on Friday that it is canceling the original show after 20 seasons, although its spinoffs will continue.

“Law & Order” currently ties with 1960s western “Gunsmoke” as the longest-running U.S. prime time drama, with both boasting a 20-season run.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – For American skiing champion Lyndsey Vonn hurtling 85-miles-an-hour down an icy slope is nowhere near as nerve-racking as making her acting debut in her favorite television show “Law and Order.”

Vonn, 25, who won a gold medal in downhill skiing and a bronze in Super-G at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, was delighted to be invited to make a guest appearance on the NBC crime drama that she has watched since she was a child.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – For American skiing champion Lyndsey Vonn hurtling 85-miles-an-hour down an icy slope is nowhere near as nerve-racking as making her acting debut in her favorite television show “Law and Order.”

Vonn, 25, who won a gold medal in downhill skiing and a bronze in Super-G at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, was delighted to be invited to make a guest appearance on the NBC crime drama that she has watched since she was a child.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – For actor Edward Norton, philanthropy and activism are practically in his genes so launching a website on Wednesday to encourage charity fundraising seemed natural to him.

Norton, 40, joined forces with a couple of Internet savvy friends to create Crowdrise (www.crowdrise.com) that gives people a free way to create their own fundraising pages to share through social networks, winning points and prizes along the way.