Dominica to bestow its highest civilian award upon PM Narendra Modi
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be conferred with the highest civilian award of the Commonwealth of Dominica, the Dominica Award of Honour, the country announced on Thursday.
The award will be in recognition of Modi's contributions to Caribbean island nation during the COVID-19 pandemic. "The Commonwealth of Dominica will bestow its highest national award, the Dominica Award of Honour, upon His Excellency Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of India, in recognition of his contributions to Dominica during the COVID-19 pandemic and his dedication to strengthening the partnership between India and Dominica," a statement released by Dominica prime minister's office said.
“In February 2021, Prime Minister Modi supplied Dominica with 70,000 doses of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine—a generous gift which enabled Dominica to extend support to its Caribbean neighbours,” said the statement.
The award recognises India's support for Dominica in areas such as healthcare, education, and information technology, along with Modi’s efforts in promoting climate resilience initiatives and sustainable development on a global scale.
Roosevelt Skerrit, Prime Minister of Dominica, said the award is an "expression of Dominica's gratitude for Prime Minister Modi's solidarity with Dominica and the wider region," the statement said, adding that the country looks forward to building on this partnership and advancing our shared vision of progress and resilience.
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Bumrah keeps battle alive; Australia score 311/6 after impressive Konstas debut
Melbourne, Dec 26: Jasprit Bumrah's knack of coming up with magic deliveries in crunch situations kept India alive after Australia's top-order, headlined by teen debutant Sam Konstas' stroke-filled half-century, guided the hosts to 311 for 6 on the opening day of the fourth Test here on Thursday.
If Konstas' audacious 60 off 65 balls enthralled the near sell-out crowd of over 80,000 at the MCG during a humid morning session, Bumrah's (3/75 in 21 overs) deception of length to dismiss Travis Head (0) also had its takers as chants of 'Boom, Boom, Booooomraaaaaaah' reverberated through the stands.
Coming into the Test with back-to-back hundreds, Head couldn't judge the length of a Bumrah delivery that was pitched slightly fuller than what the batter expected. He shouldered his arms trusting the bounce but the 66.2 overs old Kookaburra nipped back to clip the off-bail.
In the next over, he removed an out-of-form Mitchell Marsh (4), having got Usman Khawaja (57 off 121 balls) with the half-tracker in the post-lunch session.
The first two sessions, however, belonged to Australia with senior players Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne (72 off 145 balls) and Steve Smith (68 batting, 111 balls) scoring half-centuries.
The final session was all about Bumrah magic. The Indian spearhead didn't let the hosts completely walk away with the game which they threatened to do at one stage.
He now has 24 wickets in the series. With Mohammed Siraj (0/69 in 15 overs) off-colour, Bumrah didn't have much support save off-spinner Washington Sundar (1/37 in 12 overs), who bowled a containing line.
Akash Deep (1/59 in 19 overs) though got Alex Carey with the second new ball at the fag end of the day.
Even Ravindra Jadeja (1/54 in 14 overs) leaked runs despite getting Konstas out and Nitish Reddy, the batting all-rounder, was only used before the second new ball was taken.
