Cyprus

Internal friction within the Democratic Rally (DISY) has spilled into the open as party president Annita Dimitriou publicly addressed her grievances with predecessor Averof Neophytou. Dimitriou found herself denying she had been blackmailed into withdrawing from her earlier presidential bid, though she conceded to being hurt by the current state of party affairs. It is the kind of domestic distraction the government can ill afford as President Nikos Christodoulides prepares for a high-stakes meeting with UN envoy Maria Angela Holguin ahead of trilateral talks on the island's future.

Justice and public health officials have had a busier morning than usual. A 49-year-old man was sentenced to 13 years for his father's murder, while the suspect in a separate hammer-killing was reportedly attacked by another inmate in his cell. Meanwhile, the Nicosia Polyclinic has been cleared of blame for a Legionella infection in a newborn; a final report concluded the exposure occurred elsewhere.

The state is preparing to pay for its previous assumptions about the lifestyles of its workers. A court has ordered a €5 million refund to 225 single and childless employees who were forced to pay certain periodic contributions. Elsewhere, the Central Bank is requiring all credit institutions to hold a 1% systemic risk buffer from December, a move designed to make the banking sector slightly more resilient to the shocks the region keeps producing.