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Canada’s justice minister and the Canadian Bar Association announced a national series of judicial symposia on October 22. The first event is scheduled for November 20 in Halifax, Nova Scotia, during the association’s branch conference, with additional sessions expected in other Canadian regions in 2027.

The Council of the European Union agreed on October 21 to a negotiating position for proposed changes to data-protection, privacy and cybersecurity rules. The mandate is not final legislation. Negotiations can begin after the European Parliament adopts its own position.

Canada reported October 20 that a five-day creative-industries trade mission to Shanghai, Shenzhen and Suzhou produced seven signed commercial agreements worth more than C$4.2 million. The figures are the Canadian government’s account of the mission, which concluded over the preceding weekend.

Canada’s international trade minister met European counterparts in Dublin on October 22, ten years after Canada and the European Union signed their Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement. The meetings are intended to prepare work for the Canada–EU summit scheduled in Montreal on October 29 and 30.

Britain’s energy regulator approved an agreement on October 22 intended to prevent a further reduction in gas import capacity through the interconnector linking Great Britain and Belgium. National Gas arranged the agreement with Interconnector Limited after analysis identified value in retaining access during rare, high-stress conditions.

Canada announced a Cabinet Directive on Regulatory Competitiveness and Red Tape Reduction on October 21. The framework is scheduled to take effect December 31, replacing the 2018 Cabinet Directive on Regulation and changing the instructions federal regulators use when developing and reviewing rules.

Construction production increased 1.8% in the euro area and 2.0% in the European Union in August compared with July, Eurostat reported October 20. The figures are first estimates adjusted for calendar and seasonal effects. They describe August activity, not construction performed on the publication date.

The UK government announced on October 21 that technology employers have committed to offer 10,000 workplace experiences over the next three years. Companies named in the initial group include Microsoft, Cisco, IBM, Cognizant, Arm, Kainos, QinetiQ and AtkinsRéalis, while other employers are being invited to join.

NASA detailed a compact lidar instrument on October 21 that is designed to collect continuous three-dimensional swaths of forests and terrain. The Concurrent Artificially-intelligent Spectrometry Lidar System, or CASALS, was developed by a team at Goddard Space Flight Center to address gaps left between the narrow tracks measured by existing space-based laser instruments.

The European Commission opened formal proceedings on October 21 to examine whether Booking.com complied with risk-management and transparency duties under the Digital Services Act. The decision starts an investigation; it is not a finding that the company violated the law.

The UK government reported on October 21 that the average setup time for commercial clinical trials fell to 100 days in the three months through March 2026, compared with 153 days in the equivalent period a year earlier. The measure covers how quickly trial sites become ready, not how long an entire study takes.

Japan’s Martian Moons eXploration spacecraft launched from the Tanegashima Space Center aboard an H3 rocket at 4:41 a.m. Japan time on October 20. The mission, known as MMX, has begun its interplanetary journey after the launcher placed it on a path toward Mars.

NASA published a progress update October 20 on the robotic and crew-carrying rovers intended to support its planned Moon Base. The vehicles have different roles, from mapping and resource investigations before astronauts arrive to transporting crews, samples and tools during later missions.

NOAA announced October 20 that it has signed a two-year research agreement with San Carlos, California-based Cowboy Space Corporation to test processing environmental satellite data in orbit. The objective is to examine whether useful information can reach Earth faster while reducing transmission requirements.

The European Commission opened a public consultation on October 21 about the role of bio-based feedstock in plastic packaging. Responses are due by January 13, 2027, and will contribute to a review required by the EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation.

The Council of the European Union and European Parliament reached a provisional agreement on October 20 to revise one part of the emissions-trading system’s market stability reserve. The deal must still be endorsed and formally adopted by both institutions before the new rule can take effect.

NOAA plans to begin lowering the orbit of its Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership satellite on December 1, the agency announced October 19. The end-of-mission sequence is expected to take approximately 12 days before a planned reentry over a remote area of the South Pacific.