 Welcome to the NTN Nightly. I'm Nisha Charles. This edition stops stories. The Department of Home Affairs and National Security discusses critical security matters with French counterparts. Public health surveillance systems at the borders are strengthened. The effectiveness of the community after-school program is being enhanced. All that per the latest in youth development, sports, and the NTN Nouvelle Arcueole. Issues relating to maritime security, extraditions, human and drug trafficking, natural disasters, risk management, and the promotion of judicial cooperation form the core of discussions at the seventh session of the Franco-St. Lucia Joint Security Committee Tuesday. The Department of Home Affairs and National Security hosted the event. The Franco-St. Lucia Joint Security Committee seeks to review security matters arising out of the exchange between the Republic of France and St. Lucia. These matters include mutual legal assistance, security at sea, enhancing the marine unit, surveillance, sharing of intelligence, and training of security officers. A delegation from both parties met on Tuesday for the seventh session of the Joint Security Meeting. Minister for Home Affairs, Justice, and National Security, Minister Humangou Francis, says these concerns have been a topic of discussion for the past 15 years. This security conference represents the continuation of close ties and vibrant relationships between the two countries. And may I add very early that Martinique has been a very good neighbour to us. Through thick and thin, the French government has been responsive, interactive, and supportive. Be it on security matters, cultural, medical, educational, and technical cooperation. However, against this backdrop, we are here to ensure that our law enforcement issues are addressed efficiently and innovatively, so that our borders and our people are safe. We have to seriously improve the peace of our follow-ups' actions. The Ambassador of France and St. Lucia, His Excellency, Philippe Ardenas, is optimistic that there would be progress following recommendations from previous meetings held by the Committee. As you know, we are neighbours between Martinique and St. Lucia. And as neighbours, we share the same problems about security, also problems about safety. Should we have a hurricane, for instance, we need to be able to work closer together to have good coordination. So it's at the same time safety and security. And we need to face the same threats, illegal immigration, terrorism that could happen, drug trafficking. So if we work together, I think we can do better. Also forming parts of the meeting were members of the French Parliament. The parliamentarians are hoping for further collaboration between the French and the Caribbean on not only matters of security, but health and the environment. It's better to be together rather than to be alone. It's not possible alone to make something good about an environment, but together it's a lot of better, a lot of projects together. Beranger said the most important thing, really, because in front of the climate change, you are the little states, you will be the first victims. And us, we are very far from this problem. And we know that it's here in the overseas that we can really fight against the climate change. The Franco-St. Lucia Joint Security Committee was born out of a memorandum of understanding between the government of St. Lucia and the French in 2004. The Department of Health and Wellness is continuing on its mandate to strengthen its public health surveillance systems through capacity-building training for workers at the ports and airports. More on this report from Fidel Neptune. The Port Health Surveillance Training was aimed at building the capacity of participants to detect, assess and respond to any health threats at the various spots of injury in St. Lucia. Senior Environmental Health Officer for Port Health Karen Joseph says this training is extremely important and will enhance the knowledge and skills of workers at the ports and airports. Some of the areas that were broadly looked at was international health regulations, which of course governs so many aspects of port health surveillance. We also looked at disease surveillance. We also looked at public health emergencies at your ports of injuries and how you deal with scenarios like that. We have an upcoming cruise season, so we wanted to make sure that everyone is prepared and on board and knows their roles so they can fulfill their functions at the very ports of injury. Karen Joseph says she's very pleased with the training as it is expected to increase the competencies of the participants on ways to limit the spread of public health risk. Well, we're hoping from this workshop everyone will know their roles at our ports of injury, what they need to do in terms of health security at the ports of injury and we're hoping that overall it would strengthen our borders and make things much safer at our ports of injury. The participants of the workshop included representatives from immigration department, customs department, slasper, fire department, marine police and shipping agencies. Reporting from the communications unit of the Ministry of Health and Wellness, I am Fernan Neptune. The Department of Economic Development, Transport and Civil Aviation and a team from Climate Analytics spearheaded the validation exercise for St Lucia's country program for the Green Climate Fund. The Green Climate Fund is a unique global platform established to respond to climate change by investing in low emission and climate resilient development, Glenn Simon reports. Stakeholders from across multiple government agencies, the private sector and civil society organizations met at the Bay Gardens Hotel Conference Room on October 31, 2019 to validate St Lucia's country program for the Green Climate Fund. The Green Climate Fund, CGF, is a new global fund created to support the efforts of developing countries to respond to the challenge of climate change. Pobinant Secretary in the Department of Economic Development, Transport and Civil Aviation, Claudia Simmanuel noted that collectively small island developing states, SIDS, contribute negligibly to climate change, contributing only about 1% of total carbon emissions. Against this backdrop, adaptation measures are critical to SIDS, especially for the agriculture and fisheries sectors, coastal marine ecosystem, water resources, as well as the infrastructure and health sectors. It is therefore a moral imperative that financial resources both climate adaptation and mitigation are made available to SIDS on terms and conditions that take account of their peculiarities. Emmanuel stated that via the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, UNCCF, climate financing of US$100 billion is made available annually. This financing is channeled through the Green Climate Fund to benefit 129 of the world's most vulnerable countries. In addition to the fact that adaptation needs far exceed the financial commitment made thus far, there is strong competition to access and use the available climate funding, both among and within countries. As such, it is vital important that St. Lucia adopts an aggressive and proactive posture towards accessing available climate-related funds such as the Green Climate Fund. Chief Economist in the Department of Economic Development, Tommy Descartes, said that his department is the National Designated Authority, NDA, to the Green Climate Fund and serves as the lead liaison between the fund and stakeholders. And so essentially the department is the one who will be providing no objection for any projects that are submitted, will be given strategic oversight to the overall engagement with the GCF. Among the requirements to access funding from the GCF is the development of a country program which clearly articulates how the country will engage the GCF based on the strategic priorities developed from robust stakeholder engagement. Now we are almost completed and we think it was necessary to bring everybody here to validate what was presented in April. And so the hope is that we will get robust feedback from the stakeholders and we will then refine the document to reflect that. Climate analytics were contracted under the Green Climate Fund, Readiness and Preparatory Support Program to build the institutional capacity of the NDA and key stakeholders as well as to develop the country program for Saint Lucia. Climate analytics is a global non-profit organization that provides climate science research and policy advice. Frances Fuller, Deputy Director and Implementation Specialist with Climate Analytics outlined some of the priority projects which emerged from the wide-ranging stakeholder consultations. Some of the main aspects are around resilience fishery sectors, smart hospitals, green schools, e-mobility, electric mobility, trying to push that forward. So there's a pretty good cross-section of activities of focus areas, I guess. And so we do hope that it is somewhat representative of all the priorities that are outlined in the policy documents but then also to address some of the key concerns from the stakeholders and the community level. Saint Lucia's National Adaptation Plan identified three main conditions that affect the island's vulnerability to climate change, namely its small geographical area. It's also one of the world's highest risk locations to tropical cyclones and its dependency on a few sources of income. For the National Competitiveness and Productivity Council, Glenn Simon reporting. Ambassador-designate of the Argentine Republic to Saint Lucia has presented his letters of credence to the Governor-General of Saint Lucia, his Excellency Sir Emmanuel Neville Snack. Saint Lucia and Argentina have enjoyed diplomatic relations since 1979. Ambassador-designate of the Argentine Republic to Saint Lucia, Gustavo Daniel Martinez Pandiani, hopes to continue to cultivate cooperation between the two countries. Our bilateral relation is strong and has a rich history already. However, I truly believe your Excellency that we can do more to reciprocally benefit from our expertise and experiences. For that purpose, I have been having a very productive conversation with the authorities of the ministries of Foreign Affairs, Agriculture, Health and Sports in order to put together new bilateral cooperation projects. As you know, Argentina is mainly an agricultural country. We have a vast knowledge of beekeeping and honey production. This is why we are proposing to bring the innovative Apicaribe projects to Saint Lucia. Governor-General, his Excellency Sir Emmanuel Neville Snack stated that Saint Lucia and Argentina have many common interests from which they can mutually benefit based on their different experiences and expertise. With advanced resources at her disposal, Argentina has made a fine name for itself in agriculture, health and sports and as a third largest exporter of natural honey. And given the milk derived from a countless cattle, she fits the biblical notion of a land flowing with milk and honey. Doesn't she? How more blessed could the nation be? Your dream and mission to bring our peoples together should not be difficult. For we both embrace democracy. The presentation of credentials by the Ambassador Designate of Argentina to Saint Lucia took place on Tuesday, November 5th, 2019. And this is the NTA Nightly, Brian O'Brien's Up next. When the authority of the heads of government of the OECS and its other ministerial councils meet and adopt policies for the organization, they rely on the OECS Commission to transform these into action. The OECS Commission is the secretariat of the organization, a grouping of officials headed by a director general, mandated to implement the decisions of the governments but also empowered to make recommendations on the strategic directions of the organization. The OECS Commission organizes NTAs, prepares budgets, conducts research, undertakes projects, negotiates for and represents the OECS member states. It is organized along several components. There are the commissioners from each member state who along with the director general form the commission that oversees the work programs. There are also technical divisions with specialized units between them as well as diplomatic missions in Brussels and Geneva. All these complement each other to make the OECS Commission the engine of regional integration in the eastern Caribbean. The OECS has a proud past and together we are working towards a brighter future for all our citizens. For more information visit www.oecs.org Welcome back. We join Ryan O'Brien for the latest happenings in youth development and sports. Thanks, Nisha. Welcome once again to your update from the Ministry of Youth Development and Sports on the NTN Nightly News. I'm Ryan O'Brien. The government of St. Lucia through the Ministry of Youth Development and Sports made a donation of a brand new vehicle to champion female high jumper Laverne Spencer on Tuesday morning in recognition of our outstanding representation of the island locally, regionally and internationally. The government of St. Lucia through the Ministry of Youth Development and Sports made a donation of a brand new vehicle to champion female high jumper Laverne Spencer on Tuesday morning in recognition of our outstanding representation of the island locally, regionally and internationally. Tuesday's presentation took place at the Mindou Philippe Park and was attended by officials and staff of the Ministry of Youth Development and Sports while wishes, sponsors and the media. We present Laverne with a clear spotage in recognition of our longstanding service to sports in St. Lucia. St. Lucia appreciates your dedication and consistency of service which you Laverne have provided in your chosen field of representation, which is athletics. We appreciate the high moral standards which you have maintained in representing us. Larry Bain is a director of Northwest Limited and he said his company was proud to be a part sponsor of the vehicle as Spencer exemplifies many of the attributes that his company embraces. Laverne Spencer has demonstrated to the world what dedication, discipline and determination can achieve but more importantly Laverne has shown every young St. Lucia particularly every little girl with a big dream that if they truly focus and put in the hard work they too can realize anything. Laverne started out just as Kia had as the unknown, the underdog contending with more experienced competitors with greater resources and just like Kia persistence, perseverance and passion Laverne has risen to be measured against the very best in the world. Minister responsible for youth development and sports the Honourable Edmund Estefan congratulated Spencer on her outstanding career in female high jump and emphasized that she continues to inspire young upcoming athletes in St. Lucia with her focus, determination and consistency. You have been and continue to be our shining light your dedication, humility, perseverance and effort epitomizes the characteristics that all St. Lucia must aspire to for St. Lucia to shine. As such our presentation of this vehicle to you is a small token of appreciation for your example to this nation and let me add that you earned it all every bit of it. In accepting her new vehicle Spencer was thankful for the continued recognition of her success in the field of athletics and female high jumping. Thank you. Probably now will be one of my favorite brands and I know it has a lot of features when I came to Northwest I got a thorough description and explanation of everything of the car so I really like it and I look forward to driving around castries and everywhere with it and hopefully, you know, advertise here. I think it's a great car and I really like it. Spencer's dominance in women's high jump has led to her being named as a sporting ambassador for St. Lucia. From the Ministry of Youth Development and Sports I'm Ryan O'Brien reporting. Before we leave you Tuesday was Semi-Final Action Day in the Inter-Schools Under-19 Basketball competition contested in a semi-Senmery's college met Sufra Comprehensive whilst Arthur Lewis Community College were up against Castery's Comprehensive Secondary School. Final and third place playoff set for Thursday, November 7th. And that's your update from Youth Development and Sports for today. I'm Ryan O'Brien. Thanks Ryan. The effectiveness of the community after-school program is being enhanced by the Ministry of Equity, Social Justice, Local Government and Empowerment. Chevron Mario tells us more. The Ministry of Equity, Social Justice, Local Government and Empowerment held a one-day workshop at the Chateau Heritage in Denver on Thursday, October 31st, 2019. The agenda of the workshop was to sensitize life-skill facilitators of the Community after-school program CASP on various ways to deal with the growing challenges of childcare at the various centers. Workshop facilitator Virginia Josephs stated that the training will focus on child behavior. What we realized with after-school, one of the most important area with that is behavior modification. And so we felt it was important that the life-skill or social-skill facilitators receive some training to improve on the sort of the interventions. A lot of the centers, what we have is there's a lot of children who lack social skills. And you see this display behavior through aggression, through bullying. A lot of the times they do know how to interact with each other. So they lack interpersonal skills, communication skills, things. So we see a lot of these things actually at the centers. So today what the training is about is we're going to highlight how to find out those skills that they've lacked and what are the best interventions. The participants engaged in discussion, group activities and examined various issues at the centers. Some of the issues we face are children are struggling to communicate effectively. They adopt the cultures that they see happening at home and even those that they see or their peers portray. So that we've understanding what social skills are and getting to know more about social skills and also getting the views from our peers on how they deal with those issues at the center. So hopefully the strategies that they share will assist us in implementing those strategies at our center to mitigate those issues. The community after-school program CASP coordinator Antonia Marius stated that due to this workshop CASP facilitators are better placed to examine behavioral issues and plan intervention solutions. Life skills is one of the integral courses for the after-school program. So we want to ensure that the facilitators have all they need and so that workshop is more or less to just help them develop the skills that they already have. Well, most of them the challenges especially for the life skills because it's life skills we have actually most of them is how to deal with the behavioral issues of the children that they have and that is what this workshop is mostly focused on. The community after-school program runs from September 2018 to March 2020. Reporting from the Ministry of Equity, Social Justice, Local Government and Empowerment, I am Shove Marius. And stay with the NTN Nightly. Up next, Parmas Hutchinson is here If you have to do your own spray mix for Black Cicotoker treatment, always follow the recommended safety procedures. Always wear protective gear when handling or being exposed to the fungicide or other pesticides. Use only the fungicide recommended by the Black Cicotoker management unit when the treatment is due. The required quantity of the particular fungicide recommended must be mixed with spray oil and applied at a rate of 1.5 to 2 gallons per acre. Fungicides which are not recommended or applied at the wrong time or even when the spray treatment is not done effectively can cause the fungus to become resistant to the chemical and therefore may no longer control the disease. Oil fungicide mix which has been stored for too long should not be used to treat Black Cicotoker disease. Without, such treatments may not be effective and can lead to poor control of the disease. Remember, before each chemical treatment for Black Cicotoker disease on your farm, first, the oil fungicide mix must be re-agitated immediately before application. For more information on how to treat and control Black Cicotoker on your farm or in your backyard garden, contact the Black Cicotoker management unit at 1-5491-4515894 or email bpmu at candw.lc This message is brought to you by the Ministry of Agriculture in collaboration with the International Cooperation and Development Fund of the Republic of China on Taiwan. Welcome back. We join Prime Minister Hutchinson for the NTIA Nouvelle Arquéon. Thank you very much. Thank you, Madam Department of Agriculture for the information on how to treat and control Black Cicotoker disease, and for the NTIA Nouvelle Arquéon. Thank you, Prime Minister Hutchinson. Please, help women who have benefits on their farm to develop their capability to employ them and also to certify on their farm that they have developed by the UK government for sustainable development in this country as well as in the world as well as in the world. Thank you very much. Thank you very much. Thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, Prime Minister. happening to us weather-wise. Fair to partly cloudy skies become increasingly cloudy with some scattered showers and isolated thunderstorms, mainly over the southern Windward Islands. Over the rest of the region, it will be generally fair occasionally becoming cloudy with a few showers. A tropical wave located just east of the southern Windward Islands will cause cloudiness, showers and isolated thunderstorms, mainly over the southern part of our region during the next 24 hours. A second tropical wave located over the eastern tropical Atlantic is moving westward near 23 miles per hour or 37 km per hour. Tropical cyclone formation is not expected over the tropical Atlantic during the next 5 days. The tide for Castries Harbor was low at 4.35pm and will be high again at 10.52pm. The tide for Vieux-Forbe was high at 12.43pm and is low at present. The seas locally rough with waves and north-easterly swells 6-8 feet or 1.8-2.4 meters. Small craft operators and sea bathers are advised to exercise caution due to brisk winds and rough seas. The sun will rise Wednesday at 6am. 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 Saint Lucia Government Facebook page or YouTube channel. I'm Misha Troff.