The toddler, who is on life-support at the Intensive Care Unit of the Eric Williams Medical Science Centre in Mt Hope, has a slim chance of survival doctors say.

She continues to shift in and out of consciousness and her parents have been told they should prepare for the worst.

A woman reportedly punched the child in her stomach and back several times on August 12 when she was left in her care by the child’s 42-year-old father.

It is alleged the assault was witnessed by the suspect’s teenaged daughter who has already been interviewed by the police.

When the child complained of feeling unwell, her father took her to the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex on Sunday where an examination revealed the child’s colon had been ruptured as a result of blunt force trauma.

Emergency surgery was carried out but the injuries were so extensive, the child’s condition was deemed critical and a decision is yet to be made on whether to take her off the life support machine.

Yesterday her parents remained at the ICU praying non-stop for her recovery, but at the same time demanding swift justice.

Police told Newsday yesterday after yesterday’s interview with the main suspect, they will approach the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions for directions in the matter. The suspect has vehemently denied that she assaulted the child and claimed the child fell and was constipated.

The chosen samples originated from the San Juan Estate, Gran Couva and the Ministry of Agriculture, Land and Fisheries’ Rio Claro Demonstration Station.

In a release, the ministry quoted county officer Florencia Beckles who heads a 15-person team at the station which includes station manager Sashtri Doon and quality officer Roger Polia. She said it was an experimental six-week project to teach farmers how to do drying.

“About 75 per cent of the estates in the county are abandoned. We wanted to show the farmers that given the microclimate of this area the quality of the beans was excellent. We wanted to give them a reason to get back into production, show them they could produce quality dried beans themselves and get a good price on the market,” she said.

Agriculture Minister Clarence Rambharat said this country’s cocoa is not generic.

“It’s plant, soil, and geography-specific.

Farm practices create the bean. It is not accidental at all. Rio Claro is such a small team; I think that is what makes this a remarkable accomplishment,” he said.

The ministry said with almost 30 acres in Ecclesville under cocoa cultivation, the Rio Claro project team harvested pods that were predictably sweet and consistent in quality with other varieties of “trinitario” beans native to Trinidad and Tobago.

The ministry noted that just this week, Tobago Cocoa Estate’s ‘Laura’ milk bar, also made from the finest trinitario beans, won gold in the semifinal round of another competition, the International Chocolate Awards.

The Salon du Chocolat is a celebration of the excellence of quality and diversity among cocoa producers worldwide.

Held in Paris from October 28 to November 1, the Salon du Chocolat will host 500 participants from more than 60 countries including 200 world-renowned chefs and pastry chefs.

To qualify for the finals of the International Cocoa Awards, one of the Salon du Chocolat’s marquee events, the top 50 bean samples will be processed into chocolate following which they will undergo sensory evaluation through September by a panel of 40 experts.

Sixty Muslim pilgrims left yesterday afternoon on a Caribbean Airlines flight to Toronto where they would have spent a night before departing on a 13-hour flight to Saudi Arabia. Before leaving, their family members hugged and cried with them while some prayed for their safe return.

Caribbean Hajj Limited’s group leader Samir Hosein said a total of 300 pilgrims were expected to make the journey. He said the only challenge he had this year was that members of his group did not get their Canadian visas, so an alternate route was planned for them.

He said in his group there were many first timers and every year he tries his best to ensure everyone is comfortable.

“Because they are in a foreign land, we have to try and make it as homely as possible for them,” he said.

Hosein said this trip was a very important one as it was one of the five pillars of Islam.

“They are, believing there is no God but Allah and Muhammed is his messenger; giving zakat, praying, fasting in the month of Ramadan and making the Hajj – once you have good health, strength and the wealth,” he said.

The trip, Hosein said, is over three weeks and they will return on September 12 at about 4.40 am. Newsday spoke to a few people who were making the trip for the first time. They expressed that they were going through a range of emotions.

Sherida Mohammed of Warrenville fought back tears as she said she was leaving her three children, ages 25, 22 and nine.

“I’m a bit worried to leave them but they will be with my mom and dad. On the other hand I’m happy because I would be fulfilling all the wishes of my religion so it’s an experience of a lifetime.

I am looking forward to it,” she said. Annie Khan said she was excited but at the same time was sad because she was leaving her family.

“It’s a mix of emotions. I’m excited because I’m following one of the pillars of Islam and you’re also going with expectations that your Hajj will be an accepted Hajj and just being the closest you are to Allah. At the same time, it’s sad because with Hajj you never know if Allah will send you back…it’s a happy/sad moment,” she said.

She said making this trip was very important.

“Once you have completed the Hajj you have done your best towards Allah in fulfilling that pillar of Islam. You put everything that you have learnt and practice from the time you are born until this time in your life, it all comes together now,” she said.

On August 15, Trade and Industry Minister Paula Gopee-Scoon and members of the ministry’s technical staff met with director of the Trinidad and Tobago Fine Cocoa Company Ashley Parasram and representatives of the British High Commission to discuss opportunities for collaboration.

This was the latest in a series of meetings held by the ministry to examine new and innovative opportunities to boost exports and increase access to markets in agro processing.

The ministry said during the meeting, Parasram “shared an overview of the company’s operations and opportunities for partnership.

“Lauding the company’s innovative and enabling strategies in the area of agro processing for export,” Gopee-Scoon reiterated Government’s inclination to support business ventures into high end lucrative markets.

Gopee-Scoon emphasised these initiatives “not only strengthen our economy but also solidify Trinidad and Tobago’s brand internationally.” The minister commended the company for its “significant accomplishments” over its two years of operations and assured Parasram of the ministry’s commitment to product quality improvement efforts.

The company operates a facility at the La Reunion Estate, Centeno.

It carries out breeding programmes, conservation, agronomy and processing trials, provides farmers with planting material and technical advice, training and infrastructure.

La Reunion produces the highest quality of Trinitario beans, which have achieved global recognition by consistently winning awards at the Salon du Chocolat in Paris every year.

This was after Knight Riders’ twirlers had displayed all of their skills to restrict the target to a very gettable 131. Their victory means Knight Riders have become the first team to qualify from the group stages for the Playoffs which will take place in Trindad from September 5-9.

McCullum’s innings set the bedrock for Knight Riders’ pursuit and allowed his side’s other batsmen the freedom to play as they wished. Darren Bravo and Colin Munro took the opportunity to attack, striking 11 off eight and 27 off 19 respectively, while Denesh Ramdin enjoyed some time in the middle, finishing on 20 off 19.

The role of platform- building is not one McCullum often plays, with him more often choosing to attack from ball one, but it’s a job he performed with aplomb, as he put the result beyond doubt before explod ing, taking 20 runs off a Roshon Primus over and bringing the game to an early finish.

McCullum didn’t have everything his own way, and was troubled in particular by 18-year-old Afghan Rashid Khan, who finished with exceptional figures of three overs for 11 runs. McCullum survived two consecutive LBW appeals from the leg-spinner, but made sure he capitalised on his reprieves, striking four fours and four sixes, before Ramdin brought an end to proceedings with another six with Knight Riders victors by seven wickets and with 4.1 overs remaining.

Earlier, after Dwayne Bravo won the toss and chose to bowl, Knight Riders’ spinners played a key part in restricting Amazon Warriors to a chaseable total. Their trio of slow bowlers — Sunil Narine, Nikita Miller, and Khary Pierre – conceded just 60 off their combined 12 overs, with Narine’s 1-11 off four overs the standout. Meanwhile the seamers — Robert Frylinck, Ronsford Beaton, and Dwayne Bravo — went for 68 runs off their eight overs. Captain Bravo in particular came in for some punishment, going for 35 off his three overs.

The main resistance came from Jason Mohammed, who bided his time before adding some late acceleration.

In the face of consistent bowling and the loss of batting partners, he reached 50 at exactly a run a ball, before striking two fours and a six in his next eight balls, the last of which, also the last of the innings, bowled him for 66.

Trinbago Knight Riders next play on Wednesday, away at St Kitts and Nevis Patriots.

A burst four-inch WASA main undermined a segment along the Southern Main Road causing it to collapse.

Commuters and residents were left stranded as the main road is the only access to and from Cedros and other districts in the South Western peninsula. Some drivers used the grassy shoulder to get to and from their destinations but buses and other heavy vehicles, including trucks, were unable to proceed into the area.

Repair work to fix the four-inch main as well as repairs to the roadway have been ongoing since Thursday.

Works and Transport Minister Rohan Sinanan accompanied by La Brea MP Nicole Olivierre and councillor for Cedros, Shankar Teelucksingh visited the site yesterday.

Teelucksingh said water was expected to be restored as WASA had installed a temporary connection to allow residents to receive a supply. He said at least 500 households were affected. He said he was told the main which runs under the roadway would be re-routed. The Ministry of Works and Transport is also working to have the roadway restored by next week.

Not only did the CXC website crash but its app also failed. For this performance, angry students gave CXC a fail grade.

Hitting out at CXC, some students called for an upgrade of the online release system with others suggesting results be issued to education ministries of member countries to distribute to students.

Sunday Newsday received a litany of complaints about the process yesterday.

“Unfair to CSEC students,” said a student who lives in San Juan.

“CXC needs to stop playing with children and get them their results,” criticised a CSEC student from Diego Martin.

“It was very unprofessional, it kept the students waiting,” said a CAPE student also from Diego Martin. A CSEC student from Morvant felt stressed out from checking the website all night long to find out how she did.

“The entire website was not working. I tried every 20 minutes up until five, six, this morning (yesterday) and it only started working after nine,” she said.

Some students found an alternative link to access the CXC portal bypassing the official connection.

“There was a link circulating, I got through with the link,” explained a CAPE student from Diego Martin.

“The link worked because I got earlier (on Friday),” disclosed a CAPE student from San Juan.

CXC is the sole authority to release students results on its website and not the education ministries in Caribbean territories. As some predicted, thousands of students across the region, including locally, tried to access the website all at once. There was an attempt by CXC to update the system with the release of an app earlier this year to assist students in obtaining their results, however, the app failed to deliver results just like the website.

“The app was just loading and sticking,” said the Morvant student.

Apart from considering allowing education ministries to release the results, students felt CXC needed to upgrade its digital system if results would continue to be issued online.

“They should invest to improve the digital infrastructure to better the service they provide,” suggested the San Juan student.

A few private schools students also reported being blocked, not because of the online glitch but by their schools administrators.

“My school blocked the site which is really unfair,” a private school student told Sunday Newsday.

A teacher, however, explained private schools may block students access if they have outstanding payments. Students need a code assigned to their schools to access the CXC website which the schools could bar. The teacher said students would be warned beforehand that access would be denied unless outstanding arrears are paid. And while they had an anxious night, most students were generally pleased with their results.

“Hard work really pays off, I’m so happy,” said the San Juan student.

“I got what I expected, so thankful.” For CAPE students who needed their results to submit to universities, they remained confident their applications would still be approved. Some students said the deadline to submit results for the University of the West Indies was August 17.

“I believe the universities make exceptions, they will understand when you bring in the results,” said the San Juan student. Many students plan to drop in their results tomorrow to both secondary and tertiary institutions.

All relevant agencies and officials must immediately respond as they will soon be confronted with a real, undeniable, inexplicable and most intolerable example as occurred on July 21. Urgent redress is demanded. Be hereby warned.

COURTNEY BURNETT Sangre Grande

He was speaking with the media yesterday during a tree planting exercise as part of the Citizens for Conservation Queen’s Park Savannah Bicentennial Celebration opposite the entrance to President’s House.

He said as the new mayor his objective is to “bring people back into the city and to get people to enjoy the environment within the city.” He said the business community could look at some buildings to possibly convert into apartments as the city has the infrastructure and people lived in the city many years ago.

“It is just that they have moved away from the city because the city has died naturally.” Asked about the socially displaced population being a deterrent to people wanting to live in the city and what the Port of Spain City Corporation was doing to remedy the issue, Martinez reported that last week there was a meeting between the corporation and the Social Development Ministry together with the Health Ministry and the National Security Ministry.

“We have been having a number of meetings to deal with the homeless. “They are citizens of Trinidad and Tobago. They are dispossessed.

The vulnerable aspect of our society.

We need as a country as we progress and mature as a country to take care of our dispossessed society.

That is foremost on our agenda.” He said they have designated a piece of land where they will look at building a homeless centre.

He said they want to include the business community and NGOs like the Rotary Clubs and the Chamber of Commerce.

“Because it’s not our problem alone – it’s everybody’s problem.

And we don’t want it to be a problem. We want it to be a solution.

And we want to be able to find a way to take care of our people.” He said they started the exercise and more will be revealed in the coming weeks.

“And if we can rally the communities to come together I think it will be a very successful objective.” Asked about stray dogs in the city he said last week the Hilton Trinidad asked for his assistance in removal of stray dogs around the hotel and they conducted the exercise.

He said from time to time this will be encountered. He said they have a dog catching unit and they have to ensure that they are properly manned so they can ensure there are no stray dogs which can end up in the road and cause accidents.

“It is an exercise we really need to take care of.”

The election, which was supposed to have taken place today, has been postponed yet again after a COP member filed an injunction in the San Fernando High Court on Thursday against the staging of the election on grounds there was no national executive committee in the party due to the number of resignations that took place last week.

Three high-ranking COP members, interim political leader Dr Anirudh Mahabir, deputy political leader Lorraine Pouchet and general secretary Clyde Weatherhead, resigned on Tuesday.

Justice Ricky Rahim ruled in the San Fernando High Court on Friday that the election should be postponed.

Bahadur said the situation demanded that the national executive meet and put a committee back in place.

“It means that the chairman has to meet with the national executive.

They have to put up names and we have to appoint people and go to a national council meeting. The national council will pass it and say, ‘This is the new election committee.’ Then we could do the elections,” he said.

The election is being contested by former COP deputy political leader Dr Sharon-Ann Gopaul-Mc Nicol and ex-party chairmen Carolyn Seepersad-Bachan and Nicole Dyer-Griffith.

The leadership election was to be held initially on July 9 but was postponed after a COP member challenged Dyer-Griffith’s legitimacy to contest the poll on grounds she was not a bonafide member of the party.

That matter also has been filed in the San Fernando High Court, awaiting hearing.

Asked if the party’s postponement of the election could taint its image, Bahadur said: “We are going according to the constitution and nobody could fault us for that.”