Day: April 1, 2024

National News Agency correspondent reported that the Randa area, located between the towns of Rmeish and Aita al-Shaab, was subjected to intermittent artillery shelling at approximately 1:15 p.m. today, coming from enemy positions from within the occupied Palestinian territories.

Source: National News Agency – Lebanon

Muscat: The total issuance of Government Treasury Bills amounted to RO 15 million. The value of the allotted Treasury bills amounted to RO 5 million, for a maturity period of 28 days. The average accepted price reached RO 99.625 for every RO 100, and the minimum accepted price arrived at RO 99.625 per OMR 100. The average discount rate and the average yield reached 4.88839% and 4.90679%, respectively.

Whereas, the value of the allotted Treasury bills amounted to RO 10 million, for a maturity period of 91 days. The average accepted price reached RO 98.720 for every RO 100, and the minimum accepted price arrived at RO 98.720 per RO 100. The average discount rate and the average yield reached 5.13407% and 5.20063%, respectively.

Treasury Bills are short-term highly secured financial instruments issued by the Ministry of Finance, and they provide licensed commercial banks the opportunity to invest their surplus funds. The Central Bank of Oman (CBO) acts as the Issue Manager and provides theadded advantage of re
ady liquidity through discounting and repurchase facilities (Repo).

It may be noted that the interest rate on the Repo operations with CBO is 6.00% while the discount rate on the Treasury Bills Discounting Facility with CBO is 6.50%.

Furthermore, Treasury Bills promote the local money market by creating a benchmark yield curve for short-term interest rates. Additionally, the Government may also resort to this instrument whenever felt necessary for financing its recurrent expenditures

Source: Oman News Agency

Muscat: HH Sayyid Bilarab bin Haitham Al Said, Honorary President of the Programme of Omani Promising Startups (POPS) today chaired the first meeting of the programme’s Supervisory Committee this year. The meeting was attended by representatives of government departments and Omani startups.

The committee discussed the initiatives implemented during 2023 and plans to empower the startup sector. The initiatives cover many objectives, including the propagation of the culture of entrepreneurship, studying innovative solutions provided by startup companies, exploring technical opportunities for accelerating the growth of startups and advising owners of emerging firms about ways to maintain the firms’ sustainability.

The committee looked into the outcome of an analytical study about the startup climate in the Sultanate of Oman. The study dealt with the progress through the government’s support for startups. It also discussed the challenges facing the growth and sustainability of startups.

The committee focused o
n support for startups that capitalizes on technology and innovation. It elaborated on ways to raise the number of startups and enhance the business environment.

The meeting also discussed the launch of a venture capital fund under the purview of Oman Future Fund aimed to elicit ideas of innovators and startup owners and to attract investors. The fund seeks to provide financial support to technology-based companies and to expand their services within Oman, both through innovative financing and conventional financing methods.

Source: Oman News Agency

Muscat: Oman oil price (June delivery 2024) today reached 87.68 US Dollars, comprising a rise by 1.71 US Dollars.

The average price of Oman oil (April delivery 2024) has stabilized at 80.85 US Dollars per barrel, thus 2.10 US Dollar per barrel higher than March delivery 2024.

Source: Oman News Agency

Muscat: The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) expressed deep appreciation for the Sultanate of Oman’s donation of $1 million to help children in the Gaza Strip.

The organization stressed that “This important donation highlights the Sultanate of Oman’s firm stance on the Palestinian issue and its firm support for Palestine in its quest for peace”.

The UNICEF pointed out that Oman’s position stems from keen interest in supporting humanitarian action and its strong backing for the wellbeing of children at national and international levels.

The internatinoal organization described Oman’s contributions as a ‘vital role in providing basic assistance to children in the Gaza Strip who face major obstacles, including the lack of food security and limited access to education and health services’. It added that, through this support, it will be able to pursue its vital programmes and initiatives aimed at ameliorating the lives of children and maintaining their welfare.

Sumaira Chowdhury, the UNICEF Representat
ive to the Sultanate of Oman, expressed her thanks to the Sultanate of Oman for this noble gesture towards children in Palestine. She stressed that this generous donation would have a moral impact in the lives of many children in the Gaza Strip “where children are in urgent need for basic life-saving support and looking for a better future”.

Source: Oman News Agency

Muscat: HH Sayyid Shihab bin Tarik Al Said, Deputy Prime Minister for Defence Affairs, received in his office at Al Murtafaa Garrison today Alfredo Cesar Martinho Leoni, Ambassador of the Federative Republic of Brazil to the Sultanate of Oman.

During the meeting, the two sides reviewed bilateral relations and explored means of enhancing them. They also discussed several matters of mutual interest.

Source: Oman News Agency

Muscat: His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tarik has sent a cable of congratulations to President Bassirou Diomaye of the Republic of Senegal on the occasion of winning the presidential elections of his country.

In the cable, His Majesty the Sultan expressed his heartfelt sentiments to President Bassirou Diomaye, wishing him success in leading the people of Senegal towards further progress. His Majesty also wished the bilateral relations further development and prosperity.

Source: Oman News Agency

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan suffered a major blow on Sunday, with initial results showing the country’s main opposition party notched up regional election victories around the country.

The opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) held onto or captured the country’s five biggest cities in Sunday’s vote, which had been seen as a make-or-break moment for a movement still reeling from Erdogan’s victory in the Turkish presidential contest in May 2023.

The CHP saw its biggest triumph in Istanbul, where Ekrem Imamoglu was reelected mayor. Europe’s biggest city, Istanbul accounts for 18 percent of Turkey’s population and a third of its economy.

In his victory speech delivered late Sunday, Imamoglu said the local election results would have big implications for the country’s political future.

‘Turkey will blossom into a new era in democracy as of tomorrow. March 31, 2024 is the day when democratic erosion ends and democracy begins to recover,’ he told a big crowd in Istanbul.

Imamoglu is seen as a f
uture challenger to Erdogan, and winning the city which catapulted the current president to national prominence when he won the mayorship 30 years ago is a symbolic achievement.

Erdogan conceded defeat and promised to listen to the message delivered by Turkish voters. ‘March 31 is not an end for us, but a turning point,’ he said.

Turkey’s long-serving leader – in office as president or prime minister since 2003 – had vowed to recapture the city where he had made his political career, and sent no fewer than 17 government ministers to campaign in Istanbul ahead of voting.

The CHP also won in Turkey’s capital, Ankara, as well as Izmir, Bursa and Adana, pushing its support to 37.4 percent nationwide with more than 90 percent of the votes counted.

Erdogan’s Islamist-based AK party trailed on 35.7 percent, losing conservative strongholds including Adiyaman, Afyonkarahisar and Zonguldak.

Selin Nasi, a visiting fellow at the European Institute of the London School of Economics, said the election suggested econom
ic factors had trumped Erdogan’s variety of identity politics.

Turkey has been wrestling with sky-high inflation for several years and according to official figures prices are still rising by 67 percent a year.

‘Conservative voters punished the AKP at the ballot box for the cost of living crisis,’ Nasi said, adding that the CHP had expanded beyond its coastal strongholds, increasing its vote in Turkey’s Anatolian heartlands.

Nasi added that the election would not only ‘inject new life into the CHP,’ but also consolidate the position of Imamoglu, who previously won the city’s mayorship twice in 2019 after the authorities annulled his initial election.

‘He is the only politician who succeeded in beating Erdogan three times,’ Nasi said.

Imamoglu swept the megacity with more than 51 percent of the votes, with the AKP’s candidate Murat Kurum trailing almost 10 points behind him.

A victory in Istanbul – widely considered a microcosm of Turkey – could have given Erdogan the political momentum and economic reso
urces to move ahead with his goal to amend the constitution to prolong his time in office.

Utku Çakirözer, a CHP member of parliament, hailed the result as a warning from voters to Erdogan’s AKP.

‘Voters gave a yellow card to the government,’ he told POLITICO, arguing that with massive support behind the opposition he now sees early elections as more likely.

Source: National News Agency – Lebanon

Amman: The pound sterling fell on Monday against the US dollar and the euro.

According to British financial reports, the sterling fell against 0.23 per cent against the dollar at 1.2607 and by 0.12 per cent against the euro at 1.1695.

Source: Jordan News Agency