Jacko chills out in Bahrain

US pop star Michael Jackson is in the tiny Gulf kingdom of Bahrain as a guest of honour of the king’s son, an official close to the royal circle said on Thursday.

Jackson’s visit to Bahrain is his first trip overseas since he was found not guilty of child molestation on June 13.

Jackson, who arrived on a private plane from Europe on Wednesday night, was “here to relax,” said the official.

The official said Jackson was a guest of Sheikh Abdulla bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the king’s son, who is a friend of Jackson’s brother Jermaine.

He described the visit as “very very private”.

It was not immediately clear if any of Jackson’s family accompanied him on the trip.