Sultan Qaboos back in Oman after ‘successful’ treatment: TV

MUSCAT: Sultan Qaboos of Oman has returned home after spending more than eight months in Germany for medical treatment that was completely successful, state television reported.
Qaboos returned after “having completed medical treatment in Germany whose results were crowned as a total success,” the television announced as it showed the 74-year-old who was thin but walking with ease from a royal plane and along a red carpet.
In his last public address, Sultan Qaboos appeared on television in November to tell his nation that he would miss the 44th anniversary of his inauguration and national day, saying his treatment was giving “good results.”
A diplomatic source in Muscat had said the sultan, who has ruled Oman since 1970, was suffering from colon cancer.
Qaboos has since transformed his sultanate — which sits atop proven gas reserves of 660 million cubic meters (23.3 billion cubic feet) — into a modern state.
In October 2011, Qaboos, who has no children or brothers, amended the process of choosing his successor.
The sultan appointed five top officials to a council that would be involved in confirming the new sultan in case of any royal family dispute.