While PNM MP Maxie Cuffie will be missing today's launch of the Third Session of Parliament, a much improved Cuffie is looking forward to watching Monday's 2018 Budget presentation.

"He's even asked to have a TV in his room to watch the Budget," said Cuffie's wife Hermia Tyson-Cuffie yesterday.

Cuffie collapsed on September 6 with what was described as a medical episode. It was subsequently confirmed to be a stroke. He underwent successful surgery at St Clair Medical Centre and is out of intensive care and recuperating.

Yesterday his wife said Cuffie, "Is going nicely, continuing to mend. I'm pleased his doctors are happy and they seem happy with all they're doing. Maxie already wants to go home but the doctors will say exactly when."

She said Cuffie is chatting up a storm and listening to music.

"You tell him anything and he has the information on it — sharp as ever. My niece told him Monday is Budget day and you could see the wheels turning in his head. So he wants a TV to follow the presentation. But an iPad might be better."

Tyson-Cuffie added, "I can understand his interest since he'd been doing a lot of work towards his Budget reply whenever the debate occurred."

"But he's also keeping tune with other things. He became worried about a colleague after hearing about the hurricane that hit Dominica. The colleague — a classmate of his at Harvard — lives in Dominica and is involved with politics there.

She had special thanks for the attention Cuffie is receiving, at the medical centre.

"The staff is so warm and caring. They look after him as though he was a son or brother," she said.

Motorists were left in gridlock traffic for hours yesterday after flash-flooding occurred in Maraval, Santa Cruz, Diego Martin and along the Eastern Main Road.

In Santa Cruz, fire officers from the search and rescue team were called out to assist a man who was stranded in his vehicle at Hololo along the Saddle Road.

Fire officials said by the time they got to the man, he had already rescued himself. The man, the T&T Guardian was told, after sitting on the hood of his car for some time, waded through the flood waters to safety.

There was also flooding at the Water and Sewerage Authority sub-office in Santa Cruz as the river nearby overflowed.

There was bumper to bumper traffic along Saddle Road into Maraval where there was more flooding.

Videos posted on social media saw roadways gushing with water.

Businesses at Royal Palm hotel, in Maraval, were flooded and workers were seen sweeping water out of the various establishments.

In parts of Diego Martin motorists took the chance to drive through the flood.

Motorists were also stalled after attempting to navigate through the flooded streets.

In Morvant cars parked at a primary school were submerged in flood waters as well. There were reports of landslides and fallen trees in some areas of the country.

The Met office issued a bulletin stating that due to rainfall associated with the passage of the Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) major rivers were approaching threshold levels including the Caroni River.

The bulletin forecasted that rainfall is expected to continue into tomorrow.

“Citizens in general, and those residing in the Caroni River Basin in particular are asked to be on the alert for rising river levels and possible overspill. All necessary measures must be taken to preserve life and property,” meteorologist Albert Alexander said.

Investigators are using footage from close circuit television cameras to help them find those responsible for dumping twin stillborn babies at Forres Park landfill site in Claxton Bay on Wednesday.

The tiny bodies of the girl and boy were discovered around 7 am by a scavenger who went to investigate what a corbeaux was pecking on. When he walked closer he saw a baby's foot protruding from a soiled grey blanket. He then found the body of a second baby.

Also responded to the horrific incident, the Children's Association has appealed to parents who are unable to care for their children to seek help.

"The Authority, which is responsible for the care and protection of children, believes that every child should be given the opportunity to achieve his or her full potential. Parents and guardians are entrusted with the responsibility to provide a loving, nurturing and safe environment for their children. However, when expectant mothers and fathers are uncertain about their ability to care for their unborn child, they are invited to contact the Authority to explore their options, in a confidential and nonjudgmental environment," according to a release.

The Authority also appealed to other parents who are concerned that their children are not receiving the best possible care to also contact the organisation.

The Authority also reminded the public that alternative family options such as adoption and foster care can only be arranged by the Authority which can be contacted at 996 or 800-2014. An autopsy on the bodies at the Forensic Science Centre was inconclusive. The police have been checking with health centres, hospitals and private clinics to determine whether any of the pregnant women, especially those expecting twins, were due to give birth around this time.

Investigators have also appealed to members of the public who may have any information about the parents of the babies or those responsible for discarding the babies bodies to come forward.

Government Senator Dr Lester Henry has been ordered to pay former Central Bank Governor Jwala Rambarran $550,000 in compensation for defamation.

In a 29-page judgment delivered in the Port-of-Spain High Court yesterday, Justice Devindra Rampersad ruled that Henry defamed Rambarran while he was a guest on a talk show programme on i95.5 FM on July 9, 2014.

The statements made by Henry described repair works done on Rambarran's private residence in Valsayn during his tenure, which Henry claimed were done using Central Bank funds.

Rampersad ruled that because Henry had no evidence to substantiate his claims, he was not entitled to claim the defences of fair comment and that the issue was a matter of public importance.

"The defendant's conduct has been less than would have been expected from someone of his stature and position," Rampersad said.

Rampersad also criticised Henry for willfully failing to disclose the official recording of the programme, which was provided by the station and was vital to the case. He also noted that Henry, a lecturer at the University of the West Indies, failed to properly investigate the allegations before stating them on the programme.

Testifying in the trial of the case in May, Henry admitted that he had issues with Rambarran's appointment as he felt that he was the "least qualified" for the job.

He admitted that he received information about the repair works but did not have the resources to investigate its authenticity and that he merely called for an investigation into the issue.

Rambarran denied any wrongdoing as admitted that repair works were done to his house while he lived in the bank's official residence for six months, but noted that those repairs were done at his personal expense. He stated that he decided to move back to his private home as living in Port-of-Spain was inconvenient to his children, who attend school in east Trinidad.

He stated that the only work done at the bank's expense was the construction of a security booth and installation of security cameras at the cost of $250,000, which was approved by the bank's board.

In a news release issued yesterday afternoon, Rambarran said he was pleased by the outcome.

"Dr Henry went out of his way to falsely and maliciously accuse me of using public funds from the Central Bank, of which I was the Governor at the material time, to pay for repairs to my private home," Rambarran said.

Rambarran was represented by Anand Ramlogan, SC, Richard Jagai and Douglas Bayley, while Henry was represented by Gilbert Peterson, SC, and Ken Wright.

Government is expected to move swiftly ahead in clamping down on land fraud by introducing a new law that will make it compulsory for an owner to register their parcels of land.

This was disclosed yesterday by the Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi during his address at the T&T Transparency Institute's (TTTI) 2017 Anti-Corruption Conference (ACC 2017).

The conference — under the theme "Breaking Free from a Culture of Corruption —took place at the Hilton Trinidad.

The law, according to Al-Rawi, proposes to criminalise the failure to register a deed of title.

"The proceeds of crime and corruption…cash…businesses…land. Investment in fronted businesses, where you don't know who the real owner is because the beneficial ownership is not certain because you only know the legal owner," Al-Rawi said.

He said there is an abuse of land trusts because of the fact that there is no mandatory provision in T&T's laws that land trusts must be done by way of deed, therefore registered.

Al Rawi said that in addition to land trusts being registered, deeds must be registered within 12 months and if this cannot be done then the landowner would have to go to the Registry and explain why.

"Tell them why…if it is stamp duty taking long or somebody died…let the Registrar consider the application for the extension of the time and if the Registrar says no then go to the High Court for due process," Al-Rawi said.

The T&T Red Cross Society is refuting reports that there is no proper co-ordination or communication to ensure specific and urgent needs are met for the various islands affected by Hurricanes Irma and Maria.

In fact, disaster management coordinator at the T&T Red Cross Society Stephan Kishore says stakeholder meetings are held every week between the organisation and the different countries so they are keep abreast of the islands’ needs.

He said when items are brought into the Red Cross by NGOs, every items is catalogued and documented.

“Items being shipped to the various islands must also be properly documented not only by us, but also by the Customs and Excise Division and when the goods arrive in the affected countries officials of those counties must also keep an inventory of what is being brought in.

“This information is also channelled to the Red Cross so we can have a clear picture of what is being distributed and what is still and immediately needed,” Kishore said.

He said the Red Cross perspective was not just helping but also lending support, adding that the International Federation of Red Cross has also been assisting Dominica by providing tarpaulin, foodstuff and non-food items.

Regarding reports of a donation overkill, Kishore said this was not the case as water and food, for instance, will always be in demand due to the devastation caused on some islands, in particular Dominica.

“The Red Cross will never say there is an overkill of a donation of items because people will always need things like water, food and hygiene products and the idea is to try to meet the demand,” Kishore said.

“When we send relief this month, what is going to happen in the next three or four months? People will still be in need because in the instance of Dominica there was total devastation and therefore jobs will not be something immediately available.

“There is always a need for hygiene products especially to prevent disasters like cholera.”

Kallco CEO Roger Ganesh has defended the company owned by his son-in-law Arvin Kalloo, saying they engaged in a competitive tendering process for ther Manzanilla Highway contract like all the other competing firms.

He said Kallco participated in a process that was “extremely rigorous, even more rigorous than in the past, you need to have a lot of bonds in place assets etcetera, we tendered competitively and we qualified at all levels, technically and financially.” He added they “participated in a very fair and very transparent process” and won the bid “fairly and squarely.”

He dismissed allegations that the company got the contract because of its relationship with Sinanan, saying “the Minister had no say, he could not make a recommendation for the contract. This was NIDCO. No Minister gets involved in the process.”

Ganesh said while “mauvais langue, gossip and bad talk is the norm” in this country, he wanted people to “stop the unfair criticism because it is dangerous.”

He said: “I have my family, children and grandchildren, and when people say things it bothers me a lot.”

Ganesh, who was the longest serving director of highways in the Ministry of Works and Infrastructure and retired in 2014, admitted that Kallco was terminated from the Maracas Bay project, but he said this was “not because the company could not do the job,” but because of the failure of the engineering firm retained by the Ministry of Tourism, which he said “failed in administering and managing the project” properly.

As concerns mount about Kallco being awarded a $400 million contract for the first phase of the Churchill Roosevelt Highway extension to Manzanilla, Works and Transport Minister Rohan Sinanan yesterday admitted one of his relative is married to one of the company’s owners.

However, he assured there was “no nepotism” in the award process and said he recused himself from Cabinet’s decision and before the contract was awarded he told Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley and the Cabinet of his “conflict of interest.”

“Before that I informed the Prime Minister and Cabinet that I am recusing myself because I have a conflict. This was due to the fact that a relative of mine is related to Kallco. I would have recused myself from the process,” he told the T&T Guardian in a telephone interview.

“It is usually done with many Cabinet ministers. Once there is something in front the Cabinet that has a conflict you have to recuse yourself. In this case, … knowing that Cabinet was looking to award or not to award. I recused myself and left the room.”

He said the contract was an open tender by the National Infrastructure Development Company (Nidco) where six companies - China Railway, Coosal’s, Junior Sammy, General Earth Movers, Namalco and Kallco -, submitted tenders. After Nidco submitted its recommendations to the ministry, Sinanan said it went to Cabinet for approval.

Sinanan steered clear of identifying the relative but said they were “married to Kallco,” noting T&T is a small country.

“It was an open tender where everybody was entitled to bid. The bid goes through a vigorous exercise. So if anybody is related to me, they can’t be a contractor?” Sinanan asked, again pointing out he had no say in the evaluation process nor “did I take any part in the decision to award.”

Kallco’s managing director is Arvin Kalloo.

At Tuesday’s sod turning ceremony for the highway, at which Kallo was present, Rowley said he hoped the decision to award Kallco the contract would motivate other local contractors to bid for State projects. He added that the tendering process to award the contract was “robust and rigid.”

Sinanan meanwhile said Kallco has been operating in the country for over 15 years.

In 2016, Kallco had its contract for the upgrade of the Maracas facility terminated after public complaints about the length of time the project was taking to be completed. Sinanan opted not to comment about this yesterday.

Also contacted yesterday, Nidco chairman Herbert George said when Nidco first tendered for 14 kilometres of the 33-kilometre long Manzanilla highway, six firms in total submitted bids.

“The tender sum of the preferred contractor was $1.8 billion, which we felt was excessive. This exceeded our budget then.”

George said Nidco terminated the tender process in January and re-tendered for five kilometres of highway using an open process, where six firms again responded, one of which was Kallco.

“The total tender packages ranged from $401.3 million as the lowest figure to $584.8 million as the highest,” he said.

He said the difference between the two lowest bids was $111 million, “whereas when we tendered for the 14 kilometres the cost per kilometre was $128.6 million.”

When Nidco worked out the cost per kilometre in the second tender it was $80.2 million, he said.

Asked about criticism of Nidco and Government for awarding Kallco the contract, especially given that it was under Sinanan’s purview, George said they could not blacklist Kallco since there was no evidence or reason to suggest that they should not tender for Government jobs.

“Nidco will monitor the project zealously and ensure quality work is done,” George promised.

If Kalloo fails to deliver, George said there are clauses in the contract which allow them to terminate it.

But president of the T&T Contractors Association Ramlogan Roopnarinesingh told Guardian Media Ltd that “the lowest price is not always the best price.”

Calls to Kalloo’s cellphone went straight to voice mail yesterday, while a message left at his St Helena’s office was not returned.

Twelve mental health specialists from Trinidad and Tobago are to travel to Dominica to assist the psychiatric team on the island in helping the population, which officials say remains in a state of shock following the devastation of Hurricane Maria.

Consultant psychiatrist at Dominica’s Ministry of Health, Dr. Griffin Benjamin, told a news conference in Roseau yesterday that the government “had accepted an offer from 12 mental health specialists, we call them the trauma specialist team from Trinidad and Tobago, who have offered to join us to help in response to this disaster.”

Among those who will need psychological help, he said, were medical personnel who had been working round the clock since the hurricane struck.

Benjamin said the governments of Dominica and T&T were working to gets the 12 experts to Dominica. He said after Tropical Storm Erica, eight of the same 12-member team had also gone to Dominica and “they were of tremendous value to the Dominican population.”

Benjamin said while many people have been coming to terms with the destruction and the loss of life, “we predict it will get worse before it gets better” and it was in that light they had accepted the offer from the Trinidad trauma team.

Ten days after the hurricane, Benjamin said “many of us are confused and shocked by the damage we witnessed. We just do not know where to start or to begin the process of recovering our lives.”

He warned that in the coming days a “sense of despair and hopelessness will creep in,” but he urged Dominicans not to allow “negative feelings” to overcome them.

“Let us guard our minds against them, our country will bounce back and we will overcome. We have done it before and will do it again,” he said.

Chief Medical Officer Dr. David Johnson said the real heroes in the hurricane were the medical staff at hospitals who “never stopped working taking care of patients..”

“There was staff when roofs were flying from the hospital, there was staff moving patients from one area to the other, some of the staff never stopped working from Sunday night to today,” Johnson said.

Through the “heroic efforts of those staff doctors, nurses, pharmacists, cleaners, wardsmaids and others,” he said “not a single patient at the Princess Margaret Hospital at the time of the Hurricane Maria lost their lives.”

Medical director at the hospital, Dr Ruby Blanc, said days after the hurricane 17 patients were evacuated to the Dominican Republic and two to Martinique. Their evacuations were necessary because of the severity of their injuries and medical condition, she said.

Meantime, Prime Minister Roosevelt Skeritt said the government will be launching “a cash for work programme, where people across the country will be engaged in clearing and rebuilding.” Those people “will be paid on a weekly basis for their work. The intention is to engage everybody.”

Contacted yesterday, neither Health Minister Terrence Deyalsingh nor Secretary of the Psychiatrists Association of T&T Varma Deyalsingh could shed any light on the mental health team.

Police shot and killed three men in separate instances between Wednesday night and yesterday.

In the most recent killing, an off-duty officer shot and killed Leshon Villafana during an attempted robbery of a roulette machine in Arima last evening.

Earlier, officers of the La Horquetta Police Station were on patrol along Cocorite Road, Arima when they responded to a report of a break-in at a bar.

The officers arrived at the scene around 12.30 am and found Nyal Fernandez, 25, and a 32-year-old man, both from Mohagany Trace, Malabar, breaking into New House Side Recreation Club.

Police said the men opened fire on the officers returned fire, killing Fernandez while the other man was arrested unharmed.

In the second incident, officers identified the victim as Tabati Hyland who was wanted for questioning in connection with two murders in the Santa Cruz area.

According to police reports around 7.30 pm officers approached Hyland at Ryan Street, San Juan, when he reportedly opened fire on them. The officers returned fire and Hyland was killed.

Police said Hyland, who lived at La Canoa, Lower Santa Cruz, was linked to the killing of Jason Thomas, of Kingston Avenue, off La Canoa Road, Santa Cruz on September 24. He was also wanted for the murder of Amado Hernandez, 21, of Pipiol Road, Santa Cruz.

Hernandez was killed outside his girlfriend’s home at Sam Boucaud, Santa Cruz on September 18.

The killing of the two men has taken the number of police killings for the year to 37.

Barataria man killed in drive-by

A 27-year-old Barataria man was killed shortly before noon yesterday in a drive-by shooting.

According to police reports, around 11.30 pm Aaron “Son Son” Hillaire was standing along Second Street, Sixth Avenue, Barataria when a car stopped near him and an occupant opened fire before the driver sped off.

Police said Hillaire collapsed in a nearby drain and was taken to the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex where he was pronounced was dead on arrival.

The murder toll, following Hillaire’s killing, pushed the murder toll to 364 for the year.

The National Solidarity Assembly is calling on Prime Minister Keith Rowley to take into consideration any adverse social consequences facing the nation before the reading of the 2017-2018 budget.

The political leader of the organisation and president general of the All Trinidad General Workers’ Trade Union Nirvan Maharaj in a post on social media listed several issues such as a lack of medication at the nation's hospitals, crime and other issues that were plaguing the country.

"The Prime Minister must take into consideration any adverse social consequences that may be unleashed on the people of Trinidad and Tobago.

Maharaj said measures must be put in place to ensure social stability amid harsh economic times and as such emphasis must also be placed on social programmes providing aid to the less fortunate in our society.

"The Prime Minister must not forget that basic medication is lacking in our hospitals, the savagery and brutality of the crime situation are unparalleled in our nation’s history, thousands have been retrenched with much more to come and the nation seems to exist in an atmosphere of uncertainty and quiet apprehension.

The Budget must focus on other aspects of our economy such as manufacturing, tourism, agriculture, and culture along with measures for the development of the small and medium-sized enterprises in order to assist in servicing an economy held to ransom by an almost insurmountable dependency on oil and natural gas," the post said.

Maharaj said in addition to addressing these issues the National Solidarity Assembly is also calling on the Prime Minister and the Minister of Finance to ensure that there is a proper and practical implementation of policies and programmes to acquire utmost efficiency and productivity so that allocated funds are not wasted on trivial matters.

"The National Solidarity Assembly is also calling for proper allocations to be made in the 2017-2018 Budget to ensure that all outstanding legal obligations to workers and former workers are met."

Veteran masman Edmond Hart died yesterday at the age of 94.

Hart died at the San Fernando General Hospital after falling ill on Thursday night.

His passing was announced on the Harts Carnival website yesterday. The mas band said, “At this time, we sincerely appreciate all the kind words and prayers from our family, friends and fellow masqueraders.”

Hart started his Carnival band in 1960 with his then wife Lil. Hart, originally from San Fernando was a part of bands with Harold Saldenah and Bobby Ammon. Their first band of the year title came in 1966 with the band Playing Cards, followed by four more titles with Inferno (1970), Mas Sweet Mas (1983), Islands in the Sun (1986) and Out of this World (1988). In 1973, Edmund Hart received the Humming Bird Gold Medal for his contribution to Carnival development.

David Lopez, head of the National Carnival Bandleaders Association (NCBA) said “the old veterans are going one by one,” referring to the passing of bandleader Neville Aming at 95, last week.

Lopez said Hart was one of the first bandleaders to be involved in a bandleaders association. “He, along with George Bailey and Neville Aming were among the first to approach Dr Eric Williams about the formation of what was the Carnival Bandleaders Association.”

“His contribution to Carnival was really great along with his wife Lil. They were really artists who loved what they were doing,” he said.

Lopez said the NCBA has honoured the Harts by naming the Small Band of the Year trophy after Lil Hart who died in 1991.

“They were making mas in the days when you had creativity in Carnival when they didn’t have all that money. His legacy is with his children, the Harts new generation.

“On behalf of the NCBA, we extend condolences to the Hart family. T&T will be ever grateful to him and his wife for the contribution they made to Carnival.”

Edmond Hart leaves behind his wife, Judy, six children Karen, Maritza, Thais, Aixa, Luis and Gerald, as well as eight grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.

The management of “Etienne and Friends,” who produced the successful band entitled “We The People” on Carnival Monday 2017, is distancing itself from the country’s newest political party the also titled “We the People,” which has been formed by former judge and Justice Minister Herbert Volney.

We the People political party has a black, yellow and blue symbol and has been registered with the Elections and Boundaries Commission.

Volney said the organisation is aimed at cleaning up “corruption,” and will “ avoid nepotism and cronyism.”

He has already started talks with “respected and electable citizens with no political blemish to their persona and character," and is optimistic they will be ready for the 2020 election.

Etienne and Friends which will launch its 2018 Carnival band titled “Street Party” today at the Government Campus courtyard, on Richmond Street, Port-of-Spain says the band is “not linked to, neither involved or associated with, nor connected to any political movement, party, pressure group or entity with the name “We The People.”

The group said, “its objective will continue to be the provision of a space within our Carnival where masquerade remains true to its finest traditions and is supported by live music led by some of Trinidad and Tobago’s best musicians.”

The launch of “Street Party” will see performances from Etienne and Friends, with special guest David Rudder.

Citizens now have a mobile app which will allow them the ability the contact with the Police Complaints Authority directly in the event they have a report to file against police officers.

The app was launched yesterday at the Hyatt Regency Hotel by the PCA and is available for download on both iOS and android platforms as PCA Trinidad & Tobago.

The app allows for interaction with the PCA with the swipe of a finger and allows for the strictest of confidentiality.

The aim is to get the information to the PCA in the shortest time frame and affording the person who is sharing the information the protection of anonymity if they choose.

Director of the PCA David West, in his address, said the app is the first of its kind in the region and possibly the world.

The app was designed by Intelligent Applications at a cost which West did not disclose, He said the cost was not exorbitant.

In responding to questions from the media, West said the app allows for interface with the PCA with informants giving feedback. He added that the staff of his organisation have been trained to access the information with confidentiality and pass it on to investigators. The user can also attach photographs and videos with their reports if desired.

Deputy Director of the PCA Michelle Solomon-Baksh commenting on how soon the PCA would be able to give feedback on complaints said summary offences such as assault and robbery had a six-month statutory limitation and therefore will be responded to swifter than instances of rape and murder which are indictable offences.

She also highlighted that the purpose of the app was to provide a safe place for the citizens to report police misconduct to the PCA with confidentiality.

Once a report is made the user is issued an identification number that will allow them to track the progress of their report.

Operations at the Public Transport Service Corporation (PTSC) garage in San Fernando were shut down yesterday after a worker was injured after he was struck by a bus on the compound.

The worker, a labourer/cleaner, is believed to have suffered a broken leg and is warded at the San Fernando General Hospital.

A representative of the Transport Industrial Workers Union (TIWU), said between 8 am and 8.30 am an electrician was working on the bus because it could not start. The worker, who was injured, was working in front the bus.

He said, "Those buses supposed to have a safety device so it should not start even if it is in a gear. The electrician started the bus and it started to move forward on its own. The electrician tried to alert the guy in front the bus but it had already reach up to him. The electrician jumped into the bus and tried to stop it, but the brakes were not working so he put it in reverse."

He said the bus ended up hitting two other buses. The worker was jammed against a wall by the bus. "He was in plenty pain. No one could move him," he said.

An ambulance subsequently took the injured worker to the hospital.

Complaining about several long-standing health and safety issues at the compound, the union member said, "We (union) went to the garage and we decided to shut down the garage. The workers will not be working until the health and safety issues are addressed." He said this action will have no impact on the travelling public.

Anita Bandoo, PTSC's administrative assistant in the marketing and communications department, said she was not allowed to communicate with the media about the incident and referred all questions to the general manager.

The retired clinical director of the Brian Lara Cancer Treatment Centre has admitted that his former employer administered a radiation overdose to patient Ricardo "Smokey" McKenzie during his treatment for brain cancer in 2009.

Dr Peter Bovell, who held the post between 2011 and last year, made the admission before Justice Mira Dean-Armorer in the Port-of-Spain High Court as he testified in the $20 million medical negligence claim filed by McKenzie's wife over his death.

Bovell admitted that between June 2009 and May 2010 the company's Linear Accelerator radiation machine was miscalibrated.

He confessed that the miscalibration was due to the fact that during the period the centre did not have a senior physicist to calibrate the machine and had to rely on a junior member of staff who was not qualified.

While under cross-examination Bovell said of the 223 patients were affected including McKenzie but only 60 per cent of them displayed symptoms of over radiation.

While under cross-examination from McKenzie's attorney Terrence Bharath, Bovell could not say why the issue was left unchecked for almost a year as he was not in charge of the device at the time.

McKenzie is claiming that her husband was exposed to 20 per cent more radiation than prescribed, while the centre is saying that the overdose was no more than 13.9 per cent.

Bovell denied that McKenzie suffered reoccurring radiation necrosis as a result of the overdose as claimed by Dr Roberto Heros, his neurosurgeon from the Jackson Memorial Hospital in Florida, who treated him before his death in December 2010.

He also said that the centre had settled claims with all the patients affected except McKenzie and another.

The trial will continue on October 12 when several expert witnesses in the United States are expected to testify via video conferencing.

The Centre is being represented by Neal Bisnath and Ravi Nanga.

A heart-wrenching plea by Rachael Sukhdeo, wife of Sheron Sukhdeo, was enough to ensure a magistrate let the millionaire car dealer free on charges of breaching a three-year protection order.

However, before freeing Sukhdeo, Magistrate Wendy Dougdeen-Bally told his wife a leopard does not change his spots.

She told the crying woman, who had secured the protection order one month after she was allegedly assaulted by her husband last year, that she would instruct police to charge her with wasting police time if she ever reneges on her police complaints again.

This was the second time Rachael had forced the termination of a case initiated by her.

In February last year, Sukhdeo appeared in court for allegedly assaulting his wife.

The case was dismissed eight months later after Sukhdeo said she no longer wanted to pursue the matter.

Sukhdeo was again charged in May this year for allegedly breaking a three-year order barring him from coming into contact with his wife physically or verbally abusing her. That protection order was granted by Magistrate Joanne Connor in March last year. His assault case against his wife was dismissed in October.

Sukhdeo is also currently before the courts charged with receiving two stolen vehicles and is on $200,000 bail.

When the case was called in the Chaguanas Magistrates’ Court yesterday, Rachael, accompanied by attorney Ian Brooks, cried openly in court saying she had forgiven her husband, who had to move out the family’s Orchard Gardens, Chaguanas mansion due to the order.

Police officers close to the case said the matter could still have been prosecuted despite her appeal, adding that in domestic cases some officers will not force a victim to testify if they don’t want to. But an officer said if a victim does not want justice for themselves there is very little the police can do.

Honest, professional story telling lies at the heart of good journalism.

But coupled with this there must be ongoing training and upgrading of resources for journalists, especially in the digital age.

This was the view of CNN Senior Vice President of International News-gathering, TV and Digital, Deborah Rayner, as she delivered the keynote address at the T&T Guardian’s Journalism Conference, titled Journalism in the Digital Age, at the Hyatt Regency, Port-of-Spain, yesterday.

Noting that the T&T Guardian had turned 100 this September, Rayner said the paper was now in an exciting time as there were tremendous opportunities, like a variety of social media platforms, to reach more audiences.

“We are in the middle of a huge experiment. I don’t think anybody can predict what the next opportunity would be. The industry has changed and we have to change also. Honest, professional, solid journalism is at the root of it all,” Rayner said.

Regarding the impact of social media, she said more than 60 per cent of people in the United States now take their news from a mobile device.

Saying it was important that media houses “go to the audience instead of the audience going to them,” Rayner added, “We have to experiment with a lot of different platforms. We have to invest in new technology and quite often new staff. The core of this is our journalists. They have to be trained and multi-skilled to survive and if you have regulations to prevent this then that has to change.”

On new forms of story telling, Rayner said audiences crave additional details but this must also entail transparency.

“Once you have engaged the audience don’t forget to tell the story. In the instances of the hurricanes which many islands have just experienced, the real stories now are the follow-ups ... the rebuild,” Rayner said.

Speaking earlier, GML board chairman Peter Clarke said the Guardian’s centenary should not just be celebrated but should also include meaningful contributions to society.

“As we look at the future of Guardian Media, we see a media world that is exciting and challenging,” Clarke said.

He said it was exciting because the digital revolution had opened up a number of opportunities to shape a new media landscape. However, he added it was challenging because this new digital landscape was transforming the economic model of the industry and bringing with it numerous issues with which to grapple.

“For instance, while it effectively allows anyone to become a virtual one person media house, it also brings the dangers of fake news or unfiltered hatred, given the lack of curation or editing,” Clarke said.

But he said if well understood and used, journalism in the digital age could be an incredibly powerful force for good.

“It can lead to a more creative and bolder type of journalism, help force increased transparency and it can have the ability to hold those in power to account more effectively,” Clarke added.

Digital media consultant Nic Newman says traditional media companies risk losing relevance unless they put digital at the heart of what they do.

Speaking at T&T Guardian’s Journalism Conference at the Hyatt Regency, Port-of-Spain, yesterday, Newman said the smart phone was currently the key device of the digital age and should be the focus of today’s strategy.

However, he said while it is important to embrace new formats and strategies, staying true to core values and mission statements was just as significant.

GML board member Davan Maharaj, a former head of the LA Times, said it had become clear that the definition of news had changed over the years, adding that audiences themselves have also helped to shape news by stating what they were interested in. But he said young people had the most impact on determining what was news.

Saying all newsrooms had to adapt to new forms of story telling, Maharaj said there have been instances where there was resistance to this.

“But the ones who have adapted have positioned themselves to survive,” Maharaj said.

Asked by Guardian Media Head of News Shelly Dass what could be the contributory factors to such resistance, Newman said some feared losing their jobs, adding that it was important to take away such fear from journalists.

Guardian Media Managing Director Lucio Mesqita, who echoed similar sentiments, said one of the biggest financial risks to print journalism was complacency in the digital age and urged journalists to embrace change.

Regarding specialist journalists, Adrian Van Klaveren, British broadcasting executive at the BBC, said this quality came from people who really knew how to be a specialist journalist.

On the issue of collaboration among journalists, American-born journalist and former executive director of the International Press Institute (IPI), Alison Bethel, said the Caribbean region could become stronger if there were such collaborative efforts, but noted such a decision must come from either top or middle management.

The issue of anonymity of sources was also brought to the fore, as questions were raised regarding the protection of anonymous sources.

American broadcast journalist and former CNN correspondent and anchor Jim Clancy said journalists have a responsibility to analyse whether a source first needs to be anonymous.

“Or is it just convenient for them to remain anonymous,” Clancy said.

During the conference, discussions also centred on a range of topics which included, “Original Journalism: Investigations, Data Mining, Crowd Sourcing...What Next?” and “Pitfalls and Profits: How can journalism be profitable in the digital era?”

State-owned Petrotrin has retained the services of an independent foreign forensic investigator to probe the so-called fake oil scandal. The decision was taken more than six weeks after an internal audit report painted a damning picture of collusion involving an employee and a contractor who supplied crude oil to the company, resulting in an overpayment of close to TT$80 million.

Petrotrin said yesterday that four companies were invited to submit proposals to conduct the forensic audit and after looking at all the proposals the board’s Audit Committee chose Kroll Consulting Canada.

Petrotrin’s internal audit committee first raised the red flag about the close to $80 million over-payment in its report dated August 17 and which was subsequently made public by Opposition leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar.

The matter is now the subject of litigation after A&V Oil and Gas owner Nazim Baksh initiated legal action against Persad-Bissessar for making the contents of the interim report public. The company also took issue with public statements by Petrotrin chairman Wilfred Espinet.

Guardian Media and One Caribbean personnel who visited A&V’s San Francique compound while covering the story were also attacked. That matter is now in the hands of the police.

Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley, who admits Baksh is his “friend” and that he called him when the report was made public, subsequently condemned the attack on media, but was highly critical of Persad-Bissessar for trying to link him to the issue.

The Petrotrin audit committee found that crude oil supplies from the Catshill Field spiked by over 150 per cent in a ten-month period and that they paid for oil which was never received. It identified an employee who was involved in the process. The employee is now on leave and has since resigned his post as a director of a state board.

The audit report, which has been questioned by the contractor, has been the subject of internal investigations by the company and a report was submitted to Energy Minister Franklin Khan with findings and recommendations.

On Tuesday, the Petrotrin board is reported to have met and discussed the issue.

The T&T Guardian was told by well placed sources that there was concern the internal report had been turned into a “political football” and had become “mired” in what was described by one director as “a political mess.”

It was eventually felt that an external investigator would bring some semblance of “cleanness” to the process and the board accepted the recommendation of its audit committee to engage Kroll to conduct a forensic investigation into the internal audit report of overage/shortage of crude oil volumes from its Exploration and Production Division to the Pointe-a-Pierre refinery.

Kroll will begin its work on Monday and will report to the board’s Audit Committee on all aspects of its investigation.

The Canadian team has been mandated to conduct a forensic audit into the audit report; find and verify the facts in relation to the report and depending on its findings, is being asked to “identify any relevant parties or entities from the standpoints of accountability and culpability.”

Based on its findings, Kroll is being asked to “identify any systemic inadequacies or short comings which may have contributed to the findings.”