Two killed in UK parliament attack
The foreign exchange reserves in the balance sheet of Central Bank of Oman (CBO) continue to remain healthy.
“The bank maintains enough foreign reserves and these help maintain monetary stability in the country,” said Hamoud bin Sangour al Zadjali, CBO Executive President.
According to him, the monetary reserves at the apex bank are satisfactory and enough to cover the Omani rial, hence there is no question of depreciation of the currency.
Referring to the recent decision to raise CBO’s capital from RO 760 million to RO 1 billion, al Zadjali said that the move would support the fiscal position and monetary stability. “The move will help enhance confidence the country’s financial system and help in maintain sufficient told the Observer.
He affirmed that the CBO maintains enough foreign reserves and adopts a monetary and banking policy that ensures stability of the fixed exchange rate of the Omani rial.
“This in turn leads to maintaining its purchase power against the different currencies,” he said.
According to CBO’s January bulletin, the foreign exchange position is healthy.
“Although the current account in the balance of payments is facing pressure, the CBO ensured that the foreign exchange reserves in its balance sheet remained healthy,” the report said.
Despite the oil prices continuing to remain relatively low, albeit some improvement seen in the recent period, the overall prospects of the Omani economy in general and the banking system in particular, remained resilient.
Preliminary national accounts data for Oman indicate that the nominal GDP declined by 9 per cent during the first nine months of 2016 compared to the same period last year. The decline was reflected primarily in the petroleum sector with a fall of 29.4 per cent and a marginal drop of 0.2 per cent in the nonpetroleum sector. LONDON: An assailant stabbed a policeman and was shot by police just outside Britain’s parliament building in London on Wednesday in what police described as a “terrorist incident”.
Amid confusing scenes, it appeared the incident may have unfolded in several locations, including on the nearby Westminster bridge where eyewitnesses said a car had crashed into pedestrians.
Two people died in the incident, according to Sky News, but the total number of casualties was unclear.
“Officers — including firearms officers — remain on the scene and we are treating this as a terrorist incident until we know otherwise,” London’s Metropolitan Police said in a statement.
The incident took place on the first anniversary of attacks by militants that killed 32 people in Brussels.
Reuters reporters inside the parliament building heard loud bangs and shortly afterwards saw two people lying on the ground in a courtyard just capital and reserves”, he outside, within the perimeter of the parliamentary estate.
A Reuters photographer said he saw at least a dozen people injured on Westminster Bridge, next to parliament.
His photographs showed people lying on the ground, some of them bleeding heavily and one apparently under a bus.
“I just saw a car go out of control, and just go into pedestrians on the bridge,” a woman who gave her name as Bernadette told Sky News. She was on a tour bus on the bridge at the time.
“As we were going across the bridge, we saw people lying on the floor, they were obviously injured. I saw about 10 people maybe. And then the emergency services started to arrive. Everyone was just running everywhere.”