Five years after its adoption, the European Commission is preparing to review the controversial REACH regulation, which for the first time required chemical manufacturers to justify that their products are safe for consumers before placing them on the market.

Danish MEP Emilie Turunen explains why the European Commission should strengthen protections for the elderly, disabled and other potentially vulnerable consumers.

Westerners have underestimated the extent of the support for the military regime in Egypt and the degree to which anti-Mubarak demonstrators were committed to Western-style democracy rather than a democracy that represented Islamic values, writes George Friedman.