BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN -- The Sultan of Brunei Darussalam Haji Hassanal Bolkiah celebrated the annual Muslim festival of Hari Raya Aidilfitri with foreign envoys on Thursday.

The Sultan, along with other members of the royal family, welcomed foreign delegates from more than 20 countries at Istana Nurul Iman, the royal palace of Brunei. (Brunei-Sultan-Hari Raya)

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BANGKOK -- Prayut Chan-o-cha, the new prime minister of Thailand, on Thursday thanked his supporters in parliament for voting him for prime minister on Wednesday.

Prayut thanked the legislators who voted him for prime minister at Wednesday's joint House of Representatives/Senate meeting, and assured he will do his best to serve the interests of the country, religions, monarchy and people, deputy government spokesman Verachon Sukhonthapatiphak said. (Thailand-PM-Parliament)

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TOKYO -- The Tokyo High Court on Thursday upheld a lower court ruling that ordered the Japanese government to pay compensation to residents suffering from aircraft noise near a U.S. air base in western Tokyo. But the court rejected their demand for flight suspension.

The court ordered the government to pay some 760 million yen (7 million U.S. dollars) to a group of more than 1,000 plaintiffs who live near the Yokota Air Base, which is shared with Japan's Air Self-Defense Force. (Japan-U.S. Base-Compensation)

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TOKYO -- Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will visit Iran for a two-day trip from June 12, owing to rising tensions in the Persian Gulf between Washington and Tehran over an international nuclear agreement, the government said Thursday.

At a meeting of members of a lower house steering committee, it was provisionally decided that amid tensions in the region, Abe would visit Iran with the prime minister believing he could help deescalate the situation as Japan has friendly ties with both Washington and Tehran. (Japan-Iran-U.S.) Enditem

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