THE SUPREME Court decision by which a Paphos lawyer was made to pay €120,000 in compensation to a British couple for his professional negligence, was a victory for ordinary people. It was the first time that a lawyer had been found guilty of negligence by a Cyprus court, which sets an important legal precedent and paves the way for other people to take action against lawyers.

RESIDENTS in an apartment block in old Nicosia were forced to scale the walls of the building in the early hours of yesterday to escape a fire, which broke out on the first floor.

The fire broke out around 4.30am in the building on Germanou Patron Street in the block of flat in which the residents are mainly Filipino women.

“I woke up from the shouting, people were shouting.  The smoke hadn’t arrived yet at my apartment,” said Lauren, one of the residents of the second-floor apartment.

Initial investigations by the Electromechanical services, fire brigade and police did not reveal how the blaze had started but investigating officers said they did not believe it was due to an electrical fault.

THE HEALTH Ministry has appointed an investigating officer to look into how a pre-term baby girl was mistakenly left for dead as a miscarried foetus by staff at Limassol hospital.

The deputy director of medical services, Christodoulos Kaisis said yesterday that an inquiry into last week’s incident has left unanswered questions, prompting them to appoint an investigating officer.

“Questions remain. We suggested the appointment … exactly because we want to have a full investigation of the events — recorded minute by minute,” Kaisis said.

The first investigation into the incident had been carried out by hospital director Chrysostomos Andronicou.

TRADE UNIONS and federations yesterday called for collective efforts to help Cyprus ease its way out of the financial crisis, so workers aren’t left picking up the pieces.

May Day celebrations kicked off last night with a series of events and demonstrations by the island’s trade unions SEK and DEOK, while more is expected to follow today.

The two unions held celebrations in the presence of Labour Minister Sotiroula Charalambous and other state officials, while the minister is expected to make a speech today at PEO’s offices in Nicosia. The union will be celebrating the Labour Day in all main towns, while in Nicosia; workers will march towards Eleftheria Square at 11:15, where a cultural programme will follow.

THE MOTIVES behind the arson attack on Larnaca’s Palestinian cultural centre on Wednesday appears to be none other than “racist hate towards Palestinian refugees”, AKEL member George Loucaides said yesterday.

AKEL, he added, “intensely condemns the appalling firebombing attack against the building of Palestinian refugees who come from Iraq. We are calling on the police to act determinedly to get to the bottom of this unacceptable criminal act”.

If this was indeed a new act of racism, said Loucaides, it needs to raise the alarm for the entire state, so Cypriot society is not turned into a state of racism and xenophobia.

TO MARK the European Year for Combating Poverty and Social Exclusion, a number of events will be held in Limassol and Nicosia during “Europe Week”, 3-9 May, jointly organised by the European Institute of Cyprus, the Office of the European Parliament in Cyprus, the European Commission Representation in Cyprus, and the Press and Information Office (PIO).

Cyprus joined the EU six years ago today. The Cyprus Mail took the opportunity to ask Androulla Kaminara, the Head of the European Commission Representation in Cyprus, about the impact of EU policy in Cyprus.

Q:  What’s the message you are aiming to put across with Europe Week?

BI-COMMUNAL forum Cypriots’ Voice has expressed its “deep concern” over new Turkish Cypriot leader Dervis Eroglu’s ‘two-state’ approach regarding Cyprus.

In a joint communiqué, issued after a meeting in Agros this week, the Forum noted “we expect intensification and acceleration of the negotiation process with a view to reaching an agreement towards the end of 2010”.

Referring to his political views, the group said “notwithstanding Eroglu’s past positions, we take note of the readiness expressed in his letter of April 23, 2010 to the UNSG for the continuation of the talks “from where they were left in line with May 23, 2008 joint statement”.

THE NICOSIA District Court yesterday postponed until Monday its decision to refer seven suspects to direct trial in the Assize Court for their alleged involvement in a conspiracy to kill seven men involved in the Nicosia betting shop business.

The accused, George Christodoulou Zavrandonas, Spiros Stylianou, Charalambos Demetriades, Andreas Stylianou, Andreas Christodoulou as well as two Bulgarian men, were read out a total of 31 charges and asked if they understood them. The charges include conspiracy to commit murder, illegal possession of firearms, explosives and drugs, as well was securing an income from illegal activities,

Zavrandonas is a former convict who was jailed for manslaughter and Stylianou is a Drug Law Enforcement Unit officer.