New Oman ruler congratulated by family, officials

Oman's new ruler was congratulated by family members and top security officials on Saturday after being named successor to Sultan Qaboos, Middle East's longest-ruling monarch whose death was anunced earlier in day.

Sultan Haitham bin Tariq Al Said has vowed to uphold his predecessor's foreign policy approach, which steered country through Persian Gulf tensions by balancing close relations with both US and Iran.

66-year-old, who was culture minister, is latest in a long line of Al Saids, who have ruled Oman since eighteenth century, and once ruled over Zanzibar too, off coast of Tanzania.