- Dominican PM Roosevelt Skerrit said he, as leader of a country with a population of just 72,000, “did not see the chances of getting such a swift positive response from Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi”
UPDATED ON FEB 10, 2021 02:16 PM IST
The vaccines were flown to Dominica’s Douglas–Charles Airport in neighbouring Barbados’ Air National Guard’s plane on Tuesday.
PM Skerrit and his cabinet colleagues formally received the vaccines; they even helped unload some of the boxes of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine from the plane.
“I must confess that I did not imagine that the prayers of my country would be answered so swiftly…. One would have thought and understood that in a global pandemic such as this, a nation’s size and might would have been the primary considerations. But it is to the credit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi that our request was considered on merit and the equality of our people was recognised,” PM Skerrit said at a formal ceremony at the airport held soon after the plane with the vaccines arrived.
Also Watch | ‘India conducting biggest Covid vaccine programme in the world’: PM Modi
India’s donation of 35,000 vaccines to Dominica is part of PM Modi’s pledge to help other countries overcome the pandemic challenges. Apart from countries in India’s neighbourhood, India has cleared commercial supply of nearly 24 million vaccines to 25 countries including Uganda, Ecuador, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Morocco, and Namibia in February
“Tonight signifies the start of the fightback by the Caribbean islands against the virus that has threatened the livelihood of every CARICOM (Caribbean Community) national,” he said. The Caribbean Community, or CARICOM, is a grouping of twenty countries including 15 member states and 5 associate members.
The Dominican prime minister echoed the sentiment in a ‘thank you’ note that he wrote to PM Modi.
“In 2020, like many nations across the globe, we were dealt an extraordinary blow by the Covid-19 crisis. However, your vaccines will allow us to move forward with renewed hope and optimism, and to reignite the many projects that Covid-19 pandemic has negatively impacted,” PM Skerrit said in his 9 February letter to PM Modi. HT has accessed the letter.
“Thanks to the kindness of the Indian nation, 35,000 Dominicans will be vaccinated by April 2021… India has once again come to Dominica’s aid, and this too will not be forgotten,” he wrote.
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‘Behave humanely with Rohingyas’, Farooq Abdullah tells Centre
UPDATED ON MAR 08, 2021 09:28 PM IST
- The Jammu and Kashmir administration during a verification drive on Saturday sent 169 illegal immigrant Rohingyas to a ‘holding centre’ after they were found without valid travel documents.
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Inter-state boundary talks with Assam after election: Meghalaya CM Sangma
PTI
PUBLISHED ON MAR 08, 2021 09:13 PM IST
Sangma, who was speaking in the House, informed that several development projects undertaken by both governments at the disputed areas have been stopped.
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Punjab logs 1,239 new Covid-19 cases, tally nearing 190,000
UPDATED ON MAR 08, 2021 09:38 PM IST
Nearly 176,000 people have recovered till now with 692 patients cured in the last 24 hours and active cases in the state have climbed to 8,020, the bulletin showed.
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Supreme Court stays demolition of Dargah Mubarak Khan Shaheed in Gorakhpur
By hindustantimes.com | Written by Deepali Sharma, Hindustan Times, New Delhi
UPDATED ON MAR 08, 2021 09:03 PM IST
The division bench, comprising Justice Navin Sinha and Justice Krishna Murari, have also issued notice to the state in the issue.
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News updates from HT: Dhinakaran’s AMMK gives 3 seats to Owaisi’s AIMIM
PUBLISHED ON MAR 08, 2021 08:58 PM IST
Here are today’s top news, analysis and opinion. Know all about the latest news and other news updates from Hindustan Times.
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Unicef report on child marriages has a stark warning for India, 4 more countries
By hindustantimes.com | Edited by Mallika Soni, Hindustan Times, New Delhi
UPDATED ON MAR 08, 2021 09:21 PM IST
- The report said that closing of schools, economic stress, parental deaths and pregnancies due to the coronavirus pandemic could increase the risk of child marriage.
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Women’s Day: Thanks to liquor ban, women safe in Gujarat, says CM Rupani
PTI, Gandhinagar
PUBLISHED ON MAR 08, 2021 08:48 PM IST
While addressing the Assembly on Monday, Rupani said any relaxation in these restrictions would jeopardize the security of women.
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Tripura royal scion’s party to go it alone in tribal council polls
By Priyanka Deb Barman, Hindustan Times, Guwahati
PUBLISHED ON MAR 08, 2021 08:47 PM IST
The Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC) polls would be conducted on April 4. It has 30 seats out of which 28 are elected while two are nominated.
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President Ram Nath Kovind presents Baton of Honor to Kiran Bedi
ANI
PUBLISHED ON MAR 08, 2021 08:44 PM IST
Kiran Bedi received a Baton of Honor decorated with the emblem of the Indian Republic and a letter of appreciation from President Ram Nath Kovind at Rashtrapati Bhavan.
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No major report of discordant results reported by Covid-19 testing labs: Govt
PTI, New Delhi
PUBLISHED ON MAR 08, 2021 08:36 PM IST
Union health ministry has advised state governments and union territory (UT) administrations to negotiate with private labs and fix mutually agreeable prices for Covid-19 testing
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Issues in Co-WIN, vaccine hesitancy caused low vaccination coverage, says Govt
PTI, New Delhi
PUBLISHED ON MAR 08, 2021 08:30 PM IST
“More than 50 lakh healthcare workers and frontline workers have been vaccinated in 21 days in India, which is the fastest rate in the world,” Minister of State for Health Ashwini Choubey said.
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Odisha forms task force to control wildfires as more forests start burning
By Debabrata Mohanty
PUBLISHED ON MAR 08, 2021 08:22 PM IST
- On Monday, Odisha reported 668 large forest fires.
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Fire at Eastern Railway office in Kolkata, one injured
PUBLISHED ON MAR 08, 2021 07:57 PM IST
- The 13th floor houses the accounts office of the Eastern Railways.
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Mukesh Agnihotri says HP state government hiding several economic data in budget
PTI, Shimla
PUBLISHED ON MAR 08, 2021 07:50 PM IST
Mukesh Agnihotri said the state government has not made any mention of the existing debt and the probable borrowings in 2021-22 by the state government.
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Apni Party chief Altaf Bukhari demands restoration of J-K’s statehood, elections
PUBLISHED ON MAR 08, 2021 07:42 PM IST
- Apni Party chief Altaf Bukhari said that political parties should join hand to fight for the restoration of Jammu and Kashmir’s special status and not just sit and watch how the BJP’s plan unfolds.
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