 Welcome to the NTN Nightly. I'm Nisha Charles. This edition stops stories. The Ministry of Education declares its intention to abolish corporal punishment in schools. The Department of Health and Wellness receives more support for the prevention and treatment of diabetes. St. Lucia's official culinary team for the taste of the Caribbean competition has been selected. All that plus the latest in youth development sports and the NTN Nouvelle Arquéon. The Ministry of Education, Innovation, Gender Relations and Sustainable Development has declared its intention to suspend and eventually abolish corporal punishment in schools completely. The move is in keeping with the many conventions that St. Lucia is signatory to with international agencies. Chief Education Officer in the Ministry of Education, Rafaena Charles, indicated that while the Education Act has no stated policy for the abolition of corporal punishment, it did contain structures in the Act that stipulated how corporal punishment should be administered. Charles added however that the Department must ensure that the mandates stipulated in the conventions which include protection of children are achieved. The Department has also embraced UNICEF's support, supported child-friendly schools framework or the effective schools framework and as a means to deal with violence against children. It looks at the implementation of quality standards that influence the well-being and the rights of children as learners. As such, we have embraced a framework of positive behaviour management practices in our school. To aid in the implementation process of the practices, the Department has established a working committee. The committee is also charged with the responsibility of deciding the required initiatives and implementation dates towards the eventual abolition of corporal punishment. These events include the sensitisation of the general public and training for educators on Ireland. In 2007, the Department established the Child-Friendly Schools Initiative, following which a pilot project was implemented at two schools. A rollout system was then started which included the addition of two schools per district per year. In 2014, we had conducted a national consultation on discipline and there was overwhelming support for a positive approach to discipline generally from stakeholders far and wide. It is not a new concept to introduce the idea of suspending corporal punishment altogether, considering the fact that so many schools already using the Child-Friendly Schools system and the effective schools framework. The Department of Education indicated that corporal punishment will be suspended for a year as it works towards the eventual abolition of corporal punishment. The Department of Health and Wellness continues to receive strong support from the Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Trust in its effort to deliver prevention and treatment services for people with diabetes. A team from the Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Trust recently visited Saint Lucia to review the work undertaken for the Diabetic Retinopathy Program. Communications Office of the Trust, Samantha Wood, says the visit will grant them the opportunity to meet healthcare professionals and patients to see how the program is executed. Wood believes the Diabetic Retinopathy Program will help to address the burden of diabetes in Saint Lucia. It is really important that the Trust are working in Saint Lucia with the Ministry of Health on our Diabetic Retinopathy Initiative. People don't need to go blind from having diabetes, so early intervention and screening will help this. So if people do have diabetes, make sure that you're getting your eyes checked so that you don't go blind from diabetes. Medical Office of Health, Dr Sharon Bilma George expressed enthusiasm to continue working with the Trust to improve the Diabetic Retinopathy Services on Island. One of the aspects of this program is definitely communication. So they're hoping to review the program at different levels and to get feedback of implementation to date. This program is extremely valuable to us as prior to the funding received through the Trust and also with the support of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. We were not able to do laser surgery for diabetics with eye problems within the island. Dr Bilma George also called on its inclusion to take advantage of the Diabetic Retinopathy Services available at the various primary healthcare centres. The Ministry of Health and Wellness, we continue to urge all of our diabetics, whether you are experiencing problems with your vision or not. We are urging everybody to please come in to get your eyes screened and checked. We provide clinics every Friday at the Cassuries Wellness Centre and presently at the Library Wellness Centre since our Viewport Wellness Centre is under repair. The Diabetic Retinopathy Program is managed by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and funded by the Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Trust. Reporting from the Communications Unit of the Ministry of Health and Wellness, I am Fennel Neptune. Still on the issue of health, Air, Noose and Throat Services are expected to be enhanced at the Victoria and St. Jude Hospitals as a team from Canada visits to exchange their knowledge and expertise. More from Miguel Morset. Air, Throat and Noose Surgeon Dr. Mark Samaha along with a team of volunteers are leading the services to St. Lucia through training to physicians and also performing surgeries for patients in need. Dr. Samaha says such an initiative is important as it will promote the sharing of knowledge and learning from each other. I believe it is greatly beneficial to patients of St. Lucia to have the opportunity to have these services. It's beneficial to the local doctors who can work with us and we can exchange knowledge, information and experience. It is also beneficial for us because we get to learn about how the medical system here is, the kinds of issues that patients may have to deal with and through exchanges with the local doctors we also obviously learn. Minister for Health and Wellness Senator the Honourable Mary Isaac says she is extremely grateful for the service Dr. Samaha is providing which is extremely beneficial to St. Lucia. We have a young girl whose face was actually blown out with a flare gun. We have people with tumours, with deformities on their face. We have another gentleman that was electrocuted in a building in Castries and he has been going through extensive surgery in Colombia and here you have these doctors coming together here to assist us for free. So this is an invaluable service that we are getting here and these are good Samaritans that decided that they are going to assist these people to make them look a lot better than they actually look right now. Medical Director for Victoria Hospital Dr. Alicia Eugene says this activity will serve as a platform for the surgeons to work side by side and acquire valuable knowledge. Right now in Victoria Hospital we have one air nose and throat surgeon that's Dr. Sixtus Gabriel and not only will he be working along with them but he has the opportunity to learn and exchange his own experiences in St. Lucia which may be very different from what we have in Canada and not only will he have the ability to do some plastic surgery but I think we have patients, especially some cancer patients who have tumours on their faces or possessive cleft palate. Clients with conditions pertaining to air, nose and throat from the Victoria and St. Jude Hospitals benefited from medical services offered by Dr. Samaritans and his team. From the Communications Unit in the Ministry of Health and Wellness Miguel Morris at Reporting. And this is the NTN Nightly coming up the latest happenings in youth and sports with Ryan O'Brien. If you're HIV positive or have an STI having unprotected sex with multiple partners puts them in grave danger. You'll expose every partner and their present and future partners to HIV or another STI. Use a condom every time you have sex. You can live a productive life even if diagnosed with HIV. Remember early detection is key to your survival. Be responsible, protect yourself and others. Help stop the spread of HIV and other STIs. Welcome back. We join Ryan O'Brien for the latest happenings in youth development and sports. Hello once again. I'm Ryan O'Brien of your update from the Ministry of Youth Development and Sports. Four more matches were completed as the preliminary stage in the 2019 March United Schools Crooked Tournament continued Wednesday. At the Ballata Plain Field, current secondary maintained their unbeaten run in the tournament thus far by completing a comfortable 129-run victory over Cicero Secondary. Current secondary batting first in difficult conditions made 210 for five in their allocated 30 overs with Kieram Alfons stranded on a well-played 98-not-out. His innings included 7-4s and 10-6s. Other contributions came from Daniel Edwin with 16 and 13 each to Shahid Roberts and Makiel Nelson. Cicero Secondary's batting faltered and were dismissed for 81 in 28 overs. He win John 15 and Noel Leo 10 were the only batsmen to reach double figures. Bowling for current secondary, Lee Solomon had impressive figures of six wickets for nine runs. At the Larissus Plain Field, Archipel secondary registered a commanding 247-run victory over Clinton Mason Memorial. Archipel secondary winning the toss and batting first made 377 for eight in their allotted 38 overs with Efron Charles recording the second century of the tournament. Charles a former Winner Islands under 15 batsman batted superbly, choking a brilliant 102. Other useful scores came from Denzel Roberts with a well-played 56, Donnell Pappet 26, female player Zadia James 16 and Jaden Laffey 10. Bowling for Clinton Mason Memorial, Jacqueline Estefan collected 4 for 19, Curlan Severin 2 for 59 and Jason Regebert 2 for 9. In reply, Clinton Mason Memorial the winner was dismissed for 130 in 19.4 overs with Curvy DeTurbo making 25, Jason Regebert 24 and Ravi Lawrence 24. Bowling for Archipel secondary, Jaden Laffey back 5 for 24. At the Wend Plain Field in Monipole, Miku secondary dominated Granivier secondary by 9 wickets. Granivier secondary invited to bat first by Miku secondary, dismissed for 75 in 21 overs with Mayor Stanislas making 22. Bowling for Miku secondary, Decage Henry had best figures of 4 for 40, Marklin Estefan 3 for 15 and Brent Edward 3 for 20. Chasing a victory target of 76, Cody Lesmore with 18 not out and Nianne DeTurbo 60 not out brought Miku secondary to victory finishing on 76 for 1 in 11 overs. Another PI Plain Field, Chausel secondary enjoyed a convincing 177 run victory over Villefort Comprehensive secondary. Chausel secondary winning the toss and electing to bat made a respectful 237 all out in 41 overs with Darvel Edward top scorer for well played 71. Jim Peter 30 and Kirby Roseman 24 Bowling for Villefort Comprehensive, Bernard Kallix had figures of 4 for 44 and Christian Jabatis 2 for 18. In response Villefort Comprehensive dismissed for 60 in 16.5 overs during the damage with the ball for Chausel secondary, Ed Cooper 4 wickets without conceding a run. Minister responsible for youth development and sports, the Honorable Edmund Estefan has expressed pleasure that the St. Lucia Government was able to collaborate with the United Nations Children's Fund UNICEF on a landmark study on adolescents in St. Lucia. Minister Estefan's remarks came during a launch of the Subregion's first in-depth study on adolescents on Thursday. Naturally this allows and shows that St. Lucia is emerging as a touch bearer in the area of progressive social research and this research serves as a catalyst for social re-engineering. Through such a major research tool we'll be better able to engage communities in developmental change, in tackling poverty and to move towards achieving a more economically equitable, just and sustainable society. The youth development and sports minister further suggested that it was important to realize that if all appropriate research, programs aimed at change are likely to be based on implicit or assumed problems or in food community-based needs. And as we end today some more shots from the completion of the first training stint following the completion of a four-day stint at the VG Malipopo Sports Complex on Thursday. That's all from us at the Ministry of Youth Development and Sports today. I'm Ryan O'Brien. Thanks Ryan. The St. Lucia Hotel and Tourism Association has selected the official St. Lucia National Culinary Team for 2019. The team will represent St. Lucia in the annual Taste of the Caribbean Competition, one of the most prestigious culinary competitions in the region, more from Anissa Antoine. Fifty chefs from hotels and restaurants around the island participated in the National Culinary Competition which sought to select the team that will represent St. Lucia at the annual Taste of the Caribbean Competition. The emerging winners are Zaheem Kade with the title of Chef of the Year, Clayton Julian with the title of Junior Chef, Chef Ricardo Hoswe with the title of Seafood Chef, Imani Hippolit in the pastry competition and Steffi Marius in the chocolate competition. Chef Richardson Skinner is the team manager of the St. Lucia National Culinary Team for 2019. The SLHT culinary committee along with its partners and sponsors worked very hard in the preparation and execution of this competition with two main objectives in mind. One is to establish the new 2019 SLHT culinary team for St. Lucia and two which I think is most important for us is to be able to evaluate the level of our culinary professionals on the island. We wanted this competition to have a purpose, to have a meaning and this is why we decided to make our judging criteria so meticulous and so detailed. The Caribbean's best chefs and culinary teams have been participating in talk since 1993. Last year, the St. Lucia National Culinary Team won gold for Best Vodka Cocktail and silver for Culinary Team of the Year, Best Pastry Chef of the Year, Junior Chef and Bartender of the Year. President of the SLHTA Carolin Tripetskoi says these chefs play a vital role in showcasing the tourism product. I have nothing but the greatest respect for the culinary teams that I have encountered in these competitions over the years and the tremendous potential and skills that these teams have showcased. With the rise of social media, a picture on Instagram or Facebook of a beautiful dish has the potential to attract as much attention and interest in our destinations as, for example, a picture of our petal mountains and this is why I consider all chefs, whether they're going to be part of the national culinary team or not, very important ambassadors for St. Lucia and for the Caribbean at large. The selected chefs for the St. Lucia culinary team as well as a substitute team will soon commence the training process for the taste of the Caribbean competition. From the Government Information Service, I am Anisia Antoine reporting. And stay with the NTA nightly up next, Primers Hutchinson is here with the NTA Nouvelle Aquéol. With just one click, the internet connects people, businesses and nations. Being connected can open a world of information and opportunities. You can get services and products of your choice much faster, from electronic financial transactions to connecting with family and friends, from being up to date with the latest news and information to learning new skills and acquiring academic qualifications, the convenience of your home or wherever you roam. Get connected today. This message is brought to you as a public service announcement by ECTEL, the NTRC and this station. Welcome back. We join Primers Hutchinson for the NTA Nouvelle Aquéol. Ladies and gentlemen, Department of U.S. Charter for the Government Information Service, that is GIS, National Television and NTA Nouvelle Aquéol. Primers Hutchinson. This is where I found the UNICEF Red Organization to help guide the development among young people who came out of a large area to find a young adult. It means to find an adult in a large area. This is done for all these types in Kareb-la. This is done for the Government to implement WEG to help place these young adults there. This is done for the Government to help link education, equality, protection, and health. This is done for the children who came out of a large area to find a young adult. This is done for the Government to implement WEG to help the development among young people. This is done for the Government to implement WEG to help the development of WEG to help anyone who came out of a large area. This is done for all these young people who came out of a large area to bring education, and then do the lads who came in with the help of the example of Eric Twerfaw from the photos of those two children. This is done to support the development of WEG for the development of many young adults So, in your opinion, what do you think about the idea of developing a GENESPA? Well, it's a bit necessary because we don't have to study, we don't have to gather. So, we don't just take a guess, but actually we don't have to study, we don't have to study statistics, we don't have to decide about the season. And actually we don't have to directly decide what we're going to do. The Ministry of Social Development for Social Transformation, Equality for Social Justice, and the other thing like that, we have Leonard Montaud, declared that it was necessary to collect more information. And the Ministry of Social Development and the government, in general, to implement it in the best way possible to help make this a success. Because what we have to do for the poor is to work. Who can work? Who can make a change? Who can make a change? And also, who can't do what is necessary to do? And what is the situation between us and GENESPA? What we have to do is to connect with the government, to go to the government, and also to have a program to organize GENESPA with the government. For this reason, it is very important because from now on, we don't want to do anything good, but we don't want to do any work, we don't know if we can make a success. So we have to look at the report, we have to collect the information, we don't want to do anything good, we don't want to do anything good, we don't want to do anything bad, but what is the situation between GENESPA and GENESPA? Apart from the official GENESPA, it was Representative Rod UNESCO, Secretary of Public Health, Minister of Social Development, Equality Justice, Madame Valde-Joseph, and the official minister, and the students of the second-year school of Saint-Joseph's Convent. Ministry of Education, I have declared attention to how it is to make the institutions, that is to say, teach schools to fight the students with their opinions in school. This minister's attention to abolish the salary clearly, because this is the starting point for the international agreement to make the salary. Chief Officer of Education, Rufeno Charles has declared that the law of education that will govern the salary will allow me, frankly, to make the salary the same place to make the way it can be done. Madam Charles has also remarked that the Department has abolished the UNICEF objective to protect the children of the school, the head of education, and also the committee in place that has decided in which way to implement the UNICEF and to be able to abolish the punishment of the school. This is also a session to educate the public, generally, as if not the UNICEF has found good support for the concentration of the Department of Education that has implemented the salary to be able to abolish the punishment of the school clearly. Who is this authority for national conservation in collaboration and national trust of this to organize a portrait that gives you a meaning to protect the children of the school mainly to establish the UNICEF and also to protect the beach objective is to preserve the UNICEF in the form of more activities and to place a bomb to put the children who have found the UNICEF I want to say that it is very important for the UNICEF to declare that this is the level of the salary and to put the children on the beach to place a bomb to place the children on the beach. This is mainly to educate and encourage the people not to destroy the children and to place the children on the beach. Officers of communication for national trust explain that this is a plastic problem Excellent, Madam Charles I never stop to make this change which is necessary to reduce this pollution problem especially in the sea because it can only affect the life of the sea but also the land The UNICEF is the 9th school that participated in a program to refresh the commission to continue to protect the environment and also protect the people The UNICEF I want to say to make this a business thank you to support this business thank you in the best way to control this especially plastic I want to say that it is necessary to educate the students in the best way to manage and control this plastic problem on the beach which is $6,000 to help with reservation and protection To finish the first phase I want to say that the UNICEF and also the UNICEF have participated in several experiments to protect the beach on the beach This is the school that participated in this program It is called Sekadeh Gozileh It is called Sekadeh Gozileh It is called Sekadeh Opiei This is what we are going to do with the news Thank you so much for watching Thank you for your invitation I want to say thank you Thank you Pil Primers And here's a look at what's happening to us weather wise A high pressure system over the Atlantic will continue to maintain moderate to brisk easterly winds around the eastern Caribbean region during the next few days Low level clouds drifting with this wind flow will bring a few showers over the islands during the next 24 hours Small craft operators and sea beavers are advised to exercise caution due to brisk winds and above normal seas The seas moderate to locally rough with waves and northerly swells 5 to 8 feet or 1.5 to 2.4 meters The sun will rise Friday at 6.20 am And that brings us to the end of the NTN Nightly Join us next time at 7pm with a repeat at 7am You can also catch up with us anytime on the Senusia Government Facebook page or YouTube channel I'm Nisha Trout