PortlandGazette.com

The U.S. Department of Energy authorized an emergency exchange of as much as 400,000 barrels of crude oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve on October 23. The shipment is intended for the Phillips 66 refinery in Lake Charles, Louisiana, after a disruption affected crude deliveries to the facility.

U.S. housing starts were estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.221 million in September, the Census Bureau and Department of Housing and Urban Development reported October 20. That was 5.2% below the revised August estimate of 1.288 million.

The European Commission announced an additional €22.5 million in humanitarian assistance for Yemen on October 23. The allocation supplements €87.5 million already assigned for 2026 and is meant to help relief partners respond to worsening needs as conflict again disrupts communities and essential services.

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’s Financial Consumer Agency released a review on October 23 examining how personal-banking fees are structured, disclosed and experienced. The agency found that individual charges can appear modest while their cumulative cost remains difficult for a customer to see, making products harder to compare on the basis of actual use.

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.

The UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency authorized icotrokinra hydrochloride, marketed as Icotyde, on October 23. The approval covers moderate to severe plaque psoriasis in adults and adolescents aged 12 or older who weigh at least 40 kilograms and are candidates for systemic treatment.

The European Commission’s Joint Research Centre published a proposed strategy for countering hybrid threats on October 23. Developed with the European Centre of Excellence for Countering Hybrid Threats, the study addresses operations that combine tools such as cyberattacks, disinformation, unmanned vehicles and pressure on public institutions.

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.

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.