KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 18 — While it appears that the government has decided on a piecemeal removal of subsidies, some Cabinet members, senior government officials and economists believe that a complete withdrawal would benefit the country more.

The Malaysian Insider understands from government officials that a total removal of subsidies for fuel, gas, flour and sugar could save the government up to RM50 billion a year.

Some Cabinet members and government officials are understood to be mulling the idea of biting the bullet, instead of doing it little by little.

By Kate Devlin, Medical Correspondent
Published: 7:30AM GMT 13 Jan 2010

An estimated nine in 10 people have traces of Bisphenol A, or BPA, in their bodies.

Scientists found that those with high levels of the chemicals in their bodies were a third more likely to develop heart disease than those with low levels.
The findings follow similar results from a study last year and prove that they were not a “blip” researchers said.

BPA is one of the world’s most common chemicals, used to make everything from plastic bottles to compact discs and credit card receipts.

Published:11-January-2010

By Janine Milne

Profound uptake in use of technology for shopping, finds IBM

Retailers need to up their game with more personalised offers to match the needs of the growing hoards of tech-savvy consumers using the Internet and mobile devices to seek out deals and shop.

An IBM report of 32,000 consumers in six countries found a profound uptake in the use of technology for shopping. Some 79% of respondents said they wanted to use websites to access and print coupons, 75% wanted to use mobile phones to locate their nearest store, while 66% wanted to check goods were in stock before visiting the shop.

By EMMA MORTON
Health Editor

Published: 12 Jan 2010

JUST one per cent of primary kids' lunchboxes meet nutritional standards set for school dinners, a study has revealed.
Despite an overhaul of the schools catering system spearheaded by chef Jamie Oliver and a £20million "Change4Life" Government campaign, children still eat junk.

Half of all youngsters bring in their own meals - 5.5billion lunches a year.

But many contain crisps, sweets, sugary drinks and sandwiches with barely any protein, the survey of almost 2,000 lunchboxes by Leeds University dieticians showed.

By Chris Marshall | 08:36:47 | 11 January 2010

More than a million people used a credit card to make a mortgage payment in the last 12 months, according to research from housing charity Shelter.

While the majority of those people who resorted to using plastic to make mortgage payments were in working class jobs, middle class mortgage holders have also used their credit cards for payments, the research shows.