China sets a date for its five-yearly Communist Party Congress on Oct. 16, where President Xi is expected to secure a historic third term to cement his place as the country’s most powerful leaders since Mao. China’s Politburo on Tuesday announced the start date for Congress, which typically lasts a week. Xi has steadily consolidated his power since becoming party general secretary a decade ago, eliminating opposition to his rule. He is expected to exert largely unchallenged control over key appointments and policy directives at the Congress.

Germany’s largest gas storage facility in Rehden has been closed until Friday for safety reasons after a high pressure flaring on Tuesday. The facility’s operator Astora, a unit of Sefe Group, said supply security is not affected and it was working with authorities to find out what caused the incident. Rehden has 4 billion cubic meters (bcm) capacity compared with up to 100 bcm of German annual gas usage.

The government of the Netherlands activated the first phase of a energy crisis plan, saying it would produce 2.8 billion cubic meters (bcm) of gas from the Groningen gas field in the production year ending October 2023, down from 4.5 bcm in the current year.