http://www.readersdigest.com.sg/rd/rdhtml/en/magazine/mag_archive.jsp?ccid=1 Reader's Digest Asia - Features Wed, 26 Nov 2008 10:51:00 -0000 http://www.readersdigest.com.sg/rd/rdhtml/en/magazine/mag_content.jsp?cid=6692 When Kartini A. R. completes her monthly breast self-examinations, she can't help but feel relieved. That's because the 30-year-old Singaporean, who's an associate director of student services at a university in Singapore, knows that when it comes to her health, she hasn't left anything to chance. As a 19-year-old, she watched her aunt undergo treatment for breast cancer, and began conducting regular breast self-examinations. Kartini feared that there was a chance of her one day developing the same problem. But rather than ignore the omens and hope for the best, Kartini took action. She discovered a benign lump in her breast at 19 and more recently, a cyst in September, and promptly had both lumps removed. http://www.readersdigest.com.sg/rd/rdhtml/en/magazine/mag_content.jsp?cid=6711 It was the hardest thing to hear. ''Are you sure you're ready to take him home?'' asked Dr Zee Ying Kiat, the ward doctor at the National University Hospital Singapore, with deep concern. I didn't understand him at first. I thought he wanted to know if my family had the right setup to care for my Dad at home. Then it hit me, what Dr Zee was really asking was if we were prepared to bring Dad home to die.My father, a 70-year-old retiree, had been suffering quietly for a couple of months. He was visibly losing weight but no-one had thought much of it since he never complained of any health problems, other than irritable bowel syndrome. It was only when my Mum revealed that there was blood in his stool that my sister and I insisted he see a doctor immediately. That day in June 2007, our worst fears were confirmed. Dad had colorectal cancer and the size of the tumour indicated the cancer was in an advanced stage.The weeks that followed were a whirlwind of doctor's appointments, MRI scans, blood tests and treatment options. We then discovered the cancer had also spread to his liver and pancreas. The prognosis was grim, but because doctors kept recommending treatment options, we were hopeful. Caring for Dad was manageable at first. At home, Mum was his main caregiver and my siblings and I took turns to take him from home for his daily radiotherapy appointments. But my Dad's condition was deteriorating fast.At first he was able to walk into the radiotherapy treatment room himself, but within a week he was using a wheelchair. He was constantly tired and so frail that he'd shiver at the slightest drop in temperature. We went everywhere with blankets and heat packs. By the second week of treatment, he was so emaciated that he was wheeled in on a gurney for radiotherapy. He lost his appetite and dropped to a mere 40 kilograms. He had to be hospitalised in order to complete the treatment.My elder brother, younger sister and I took turns to visit Dad each morning before going to work knowing he would want to see a familiar face when he woke up. One morning, my brother discovered Dad with his right wrist bandaged. According to the duty nurse, he'd ripped off his IV drip in the middle of the night, causing bleeding. He would wake up throughout the night agitated and disorientated, and at times didn't seem to realise he was in hospital. He hated being there and would plead with us to take him home. http://www.readersdigest.com.sg/rd/rdhtml/en/magazine/mag_content.jsp?cid=6718 The first thing you notice when entering the dressing room of Manny Pacquiao is just how crowded it is. The room, right across the hall from where the best pound-for-pound boxer in the world has just finished taping his Filipino television show “Pinoy Records” is spartan, basically furnished with people. The next thing you notice is that the current World Boxing Council Lightweight Champion seems to get lost in this sea of people. His agents, family, handlers and just hangers-on, are all better dressed, louder and more domineering. It takes a few seconds to even pick him out. http://www.readersdigest.com.sg/rd/rdhtml/en/magazine/mag_content.jsp?cid=6610 Each night when Luki Arifin reaches his home in Rawa Badak, North Jakarta, the first thing he does is turn on his water pump. With no access to clean public water, Luki relies on a backyard well for his family's water needs.His nightly routine isn't just because he insists the water runs faster than during the day, but because he has ''to let the murky water sit for a few hours to let the mud settle to the bottom of the water tank.''The well water is so contaminated that Luki's family only uses it to wash their clothes and his motorcycle, and to mop the floor. They can spend over $20 a week buying clean water to drink and use for bathing.Luki is not alone. An estimated 700 million of us in Asia do not have access to safe drinking water, according to Professor Tommy Koh, chairman of the Asia-Pacific Water Forum Governing Council. Our water woes stem from a combination of inadequate supplies to service an increasing urban population, pollution, poor infrastructure and endemic corruption. ''If the present trends continue,'' warns Kallidaikurichi Seetharam, the director of the Institute of Water Policy in Singapore, ''Asia will soon face a water quality management crisis that is unprecedented in human history.''Although 70 percent of the Earth's surface is covered by water, only 2.5 percent of this water is fresh. On top of that, we only have access to a fraction of this finite supply. The Earth's water cycle has done a great job of recycling this finite supply but now population demands – often in places with limited supplies – is putting this cycle under stress. Simply put, more people are using the same small supply of water.''Asia has 60 percent of the world's population, but only 36 percent of its renewable water supply,'' says Sandra Postel, director of the Global Water Policy Project in Massachusetts, a group seeking to save fresh water. Postel says that ''water stress'' can be seen across Asia, especially in places like China where stretches of the Yellow River in China are nearly dry. She also notes that water tables are falling because of over pumping groundwater.''It's a major problem in cities such as Beijing and Bangkok,'' Postel says. With two-thirds of the world's population expected to be living in cities by 2030, the problem doesn't appear likely to go away. Most of us depend on seasonal monsoons to replenish reservoirs, rivers and aquifers. Since a lot of the annual precipitation falls during just a few months of the year, over-use during the rest of the year creates problems. Parts of India, for instance, can get 70 percent of its rain in just a few intense storms during the monsoon. Urbanisation has compounded this problem because we have paved over vast water catchment areas, meaning the underground aquifers do not get refilled or filtered properly.Simply put, the challenge facing our water supply is the exponential rate at which water is used and often wasted. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, water use has grown at more than twice the rate of population increase in the last century – due to the massive urbanisation as well as increased use by domestic, agricultural and industrial sectors. Add to this the amount of water that's wasted and it's obvious why there's water stress.''About 60 million cubic metres of water is lost daily in developing countries, many of them in Asia, due to leakages,'' estimates Roland Liemberger, member of the International Water Association Water Loss Task Force. This waste is happening even as most Asian cities are struggling to provide clean drinking water to an ever-increasing urban population. ''This water, if put back in the network, is enough to serve 200 million people,'' he says.Clear imbalances between the demand and availability of clean water exist in many cities. For example, with all its 13 rivers heavily polluted, Jakarta gets its raw water supply from Jatiluhur dam, West Java. The dam supplies 80 percent of water to over 700,000 customers across the city.Last year, WWF-Indonesia and the Meteorology Laboratory of the Bandung Institute of Technology conducted a study predicting that Citarum River, which supplies water for the dam, will run dry due to warmer temperatures and extensive land use that converts agricultural land into housing complexes. These shortages as well as other mismanagement have meant that consumers, like Luki Arifin, have found the private water companies lacking. Some consumers have even stopped subscribing to public tap water and have gone back to exploiting groundwater, further worsening the seawater infiltration and land subsidence.''Any water crisis in the future will not be due to a physical scarcity of water but because of improper management,'' says Professor Asit Biswas, author of the recently published report sponsored by the Asian Development Bank (ADB): ''Asian Water Development Outlook.''A study done by the ADB in 2005, for example, found that Manila's poor spent ''up to 20 percent'' of their income on water peddled at more than seven times the cost charged by the government-owned Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System. The residents were forced to buy the water from the private companies because the government utility could not, or would not, supply them with clean water.In an effort to improve the system, the government has since granted 25-year concessions to private water companies to get control of the supply and costs. Manila Water Company controls the city's east zone, while Maynilad Water Services operates in the west.Major change is now rising behind the dam of decades of poor planning and neglect. Quezon City Mayor Feliciano Belmonte Jr. says he wants to ''speed up the availability of potable water'' to the city's 2.68 million residents. That means urgently replacing or laying new pipes in some parts of the city that covers more that 25 percent of Metro Manila. Belmonte Jr. believes rehabilitation of the decades-old pipes is on track. ''Although that is the responsibility of water franchisers,'' he says of the infrastructure project, ''we've done it on several occasions as part of public service.''Similar successes in privatising water have been reported in Penang and Johor in Malaysia and Phnom Penh in Cambodia.Traditionally, governments in Asia have held tariffs down to the extent that water utilities make an operating loss, and then cover the loss through debt. The debts mount and are eventually written off. This method of financing gives politicians direct control over the utility, in the appointment of staff and in distribution of large contracts.''Corruption is at the core of the governance crisis in the water sector,'' states a policy brief issued by Stockholm International Water Institute. According to the brief, the World Bank estimates that up to 40 percent of water sector finances are being lost to dishonest and corrupt practices. To counter the corruption, says Asian Development Bank consultant Arthur McIntosh, ''governments need to move away from being service providers to become regulators.''Providing drinking water to citizens nearly free of cost has also caused incalculable damage to water resources in the region. For sustainable water development, it is essential to price water correctly. ''Without rational water pricing, Asian utilities are trapped in a vicious circle of debt, inefficiency and waste,'' says Biswas. ''A lack of funds will ensure that water systems are not properly maintained and investment funds are not available for updating technology, improving management, expanding networks and treating wastewater.'' Cities lacking independent water supplies, like Singapore, have invested heavily in new technology to recycle wastewater. Specially made membranes can now take treated used water and clean it so thoroughly that it's safe for anyone to drink. There are also great strides being made in converting saltwater through desalination.Of course the easiest way to save water is to use it carefully. Water experts stress that reducing water waste is much easier and less expensive than recycling it after the fact. ''The challenge for all Asian countries is to increase water productivity – to get more output or value per litre of water,'' says the Global Water Policy Project's Sandra Postel. ''Water has no substitutes. We can transition away from coal and oil to solar, wind and other renewable resources, but there's no transitioning away from water.''In the following pages, we've gathered stories from around the region to show how some people and communities are facing their water challenges. http://www.readersdigest.com.sg/rd/rdhtml/en/magazine/mag_content.jsp?cid=6611 Drinking clean water straight from the tap is a true pipe dream in most of Asia. Such a move would, at the very least, leave a bad taste in one's mouth, if not lead to some sort of waterborne illness.It's a different story in Singapore. Driven by the fear of losing its water supply from neighbouring Malaysia, the tiny nation of 4.5 million people has become a regional leader in sustainably managing its water resources, attracting worldwide attention in the process. ''For Asian countries facing grave water problems, Singapore is a great example to learn from,'' says Jagannath Rao, who heads Siemens Water Technologies in Asia.Singapore's water story dates back to a dispute with its neighbour Malaysia from whom it imports water. Two long-standing supply agreements are set to expire in 2011 and 2061, leaving Singapore to worry about the future of its water. In 2001, Malaysia began to press Singapore for a higher price for the water agreements, leading to strained relations between the two countries. After hard negotiations, they couldn't agree on a suitable price. As it was importing 50 percent of its water, Singapore had to find a sustainable source of local water.''In trying to overcome our water challenges, we have turned our vulnerability into a strategic asset for the country,'' says Khoo Teng Chye, chief executive of PUB, the country's national water agency. The country's leaders put their weight behind something new, the so-called ''membrane technology,'' which can be used to purify not only already treated wastewater coming from toilets and sinks but also salty seawater. It uses specially engineered membranes through which impure water is forced, impurities are taken out and the resulting water comes out so clean, it's ready to drink.In addition to using the technology, Singapore has allowed the country to be a testing ground for companies who have good ideas to try on a large scale, when it comes to purifying water. This ''open classroom'' model has also led to the lowering of costs associated with the technology. Branding the treated water as NEWater, Singapore offers it to industries such as micro-electronics and semiconductors, which require high-quality water, virtually free of any contaminant. A small amount of NEWater (two percent of Singapore's water demand) is also mixed with fresh water in reservoirs, which is further treated before being supplied for Singaporeans to drink.Today, NEWater meets 15 percent of Singapore's water needs, which will increase to 30 percent when the country's fifth treatment plant is ready in 2010. In 2005, Singapore inaugurated a desalination plant, producing 136,380 cubic metres of water a day, opening what the government labels its ''fourth tap'' – after imported water, catchment water and reclaimed NEWater.''Singapore's government is visionary and aggressive in pursuing its water management strategies, creating a very efficient business environment,'' says Jean-Michel Herrewyn, CEO of Veolia Water Solutions and Technologies. Veolia is just one of the many global water companies that have set up shop on the island.The recently completed Marina Barrage was built to create an artificial reservoir from the sea. As it's completed, the water will slowly turn from a brackish tidal basin into a freshwater reservoir (through gradual dilution from rainfall), adding ten percent to the city's water supply and also assisting with flood control. With an area of just 700 square kilometres, Singapore does not have much land to store water. But this ingenious solution will increase the catchment area.Singapore is also using this plan for water self-sufficiency, as well as the accompanying technology, to lure investors and players in the water treatment realm.  The image of the city as the ''water hub of the world'' got a boost when thousands of water conventioneers attended the inaugural Singapore International Water Week in June this year to discuss the latest trends and products.''We are attracting international water companies to do research here, set up centres of excellence and make Singapore a focal point of their business in the region,'' says the PUB's chief executive, Khoo. But can tiny Singapore be a role model for places like New Delhi or Bangkok or Jakarta or any number of other water-challenged cities in the region? Not many Asian countries or municipal governments have the ability to force through public works like Singapore. But whatever the yardstick used to evaluate Singapore's water management, it's a winner. Perhaps some credit should go to Malaysia. http://www.readersdigest.com.sg/rd/rdhtml/en/magazine/mag_content.jsp?cid=6612 It's a daunting challenge to slash the amount of water used in a country where people are known to be some of the planet's biggest water users. But then, Masdar City, a six-square-kilometre ''green metro-polis'' taking shape near Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, is anything but a conventional development.The $22-billion development is touted to be the world's first carbonneutral, waste-free, car-free city. Some 1500 businesses and 50,000 people will eventually move in. The brainchild of The WWF and the Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company (Masdar), it aims to limit domestic water consumption to 80 litres per person/per day when it's completed in 2016. (Demand in developed countries averages 131 litres per day.) Masdar's target is ambitious in a country with less than 100 millimetres of rainfall per year. It's also committed to a zero-carbon goal, by using a solar-powered desalination plant.Using less water, they say, will be done through modern technology, including computerised systems to reduce water pipe leakage to less than one percent. Currently, it's not uncommon for water networks to waste up to 30 percent of their treated water.Various gadgets will also remind residents when enough is enough. Taps and showers, for example, will have sensors that stop the water flow if a large quantity has already been used.Water recycling will also feature prominently. The run-off from sinks, showers, washing machines and dishwashers will be collected and treated. This ''grey water'' will not be suitable for drinking and cooking but will be safe for other uses like washing, flushing toilets and irrigating the city's public parks and gardens. http://www.readersdigest.com.sg/rd/rdhtml/en/magazine/mag_content.jsp?cid=6613 You may have heard of people who count food miles or calories. When Australian couple Kim Brebach and his wife Kimberley buy their groceries, they also count the drops of water.''I think the single biggest user of water in Australia is agriculture so try to think about the water that goes into making our food,'' says the vegetarian father of two. ''We use second-hand washing water on our plants and run our dishwasher on the economy cycle but I think eating a bit less meat would be a big way for everyone to reduce water consumption.''The Sydney couple knows that their children, Sylvie, four, and two-year old Xavier, have been born into a country and a culture grappling with a drought that just won't go away. ''I think we have definitely become more aware of drought conditions in Australia over the last ten years,'' Brebach says.Despite being surrounded by water, Australia is the driest continent on the globe. More than 66 percent of the state of New South Wales (NSW), which has Sydney as its capital, has been declared drought-stricken.''The short answer is we don't know whether it's climate change or what it is causing it. We just know it is not falling out of the sky as much as we want,'' says Kerry Schott, the chief of Sydney Water, the city's water authority.It's not just Sydney that is suffering. The Murray Darling River – once a seemingly bottomless source of water for the nation's cotton, livestock and rice industries – is now running so critically low, the Australian Government has spent tens of millions of dollars to save the now-fragile river system.In the last five years, nearly all cities and many rural towns in Australia have implemented strict water restrictions. In some country towns, car washing is banned and you can't refill a swimming pool without a permit. At one stage, residents in the capital, Canberra, were forbidden from watering the lawn or washing windows. In Sydney, sprinklers are now all but illegal.Water authorities coupled the tough new measures (which include ways for the public to turn in water-wasters) with softer approaches such as big subsidies for installing water efficient shower-heads and cash-back rebates on water-efficient washing machines and rainwater tanks. The carrot-and-stick approach has paid off for Sydney Water. ''In Sydney, in the late 90s, we were using about 630 billion litres a year. Last year we used 482 billion,'' says Schott.The plan is to secure Sydney's water supply by 2015 by combining demand management with a desalination plant and water recycling schemes. ''We are well on the way to getting there,'' says Schott. http://www.readersdigest.com.sg/rd/rdhtml/en/magazine/mag_content.jsp?cid=6614 When invading Vietnamese troops forced the Khmer Rouge out of Phnom Penh in 1979, not much was left behind. One third of the nation's population, about 1.7 million people, were dead and Khmer society and the capital's infrastructure were in ruins. http://www.readersdigest.com.sg/rd/rdhtml/en/magazine/mag_content.jsp?cid=6615 Andrew Benedek is a pioneer in low-pressure membrane technology, used to filter water (p.82). As a chemical engineer and scientist, the Canadian has studied, thought about and worked with water for the past 40 years. At the recent Singapore International Water Week, where he won the Lee Kuan Yew Water Prize, he shared his thoughts on the future of water:''When people talk about water wars, the implication is that water is like oil – we dig it out of the ground and then it's gone. But water doesn't necessarily disappear. Water goes around in a circle. So what we dig up, stays. Of course it becomes salty and if it goes into the sea, then we have to recover it.''The problem is that water is, in fact, like oil in one sense: water that's being used today – in many countries as much as 50 percent of their consumption - is ''fossil'' water. In other words this water, like oil, will never be replaced because the rain and infiltration are not sufficient. And it's being pumped out from deeper and deeper levels to use for agriculture.''When you're near the ocean, it's easy to get water to people through desalination, but when you talk about agriculture, you've got costs that are pretty much unaffordable to pay for pumping water to areas that have now run out of water because of over-pumping over the years.''The second biggest fear I have is that we're headed for famine. We are going to have regions of the world that simply do not have water to irrigate their fields. And unfortunately irrigation will have to become more and more common because we are dramatically increasing, through global warming, the area of the world that's too dry to grow anything without irrigation. The area has increased ten to 30 percent in the last 20 odd years. So now you've got a greater irrigation requirement, you're losing fields and water that's disappearing unless we find a way to replace it, or we cut the amount of water needed. That's where technology could come in.'' http://www.readersdigest.com.sg/rd/rdhtml/en/magazine/mag_content.jsp?cid=6616 People around the world get their drinking water in many ways. The most basic is collection directly from wells, streams, rivers and rainwater. These are, of course, the easiest methods, but they are the riskiest in terms of possible contamination. Most people in developed countries have a vague idea that the tap water supplied to them is filtered and cleaned by their local government or water authority. Beyond that, the mechanics of how water is made safe to drink are often a mystery.Sadly, in many major cities, it's not uncommon for 30 percent or more of treated water to be lost through leaky municipal pipes or illegal taps, before it reaches most households. When it comes to access to treated (and hopefully clean) water, there are several methods that developed nations use. Technology is always developing new, better and less expensive ways of filtering water. http://www.readersdigest.com.sg/rd/rdhtml/en/magazine/mag_content.jsp?cid=6644 Q |  What are trans fats? STRONG>Trans fats, or trans fatty acids, are a type of un-saturated fat that acts like saturated fats. That is, they are bad for our heart health because they raise the level of ''bad'' cholesterol in our blood. http://www.readersdigest.com.sg/rd/rdhtml/en/magazine/mag_content.jsp?cid=6660 Not many books make it onto awards lists, library shelves, classroom desks, a theatre stage and the silver screen. But Ho Minfong's Sing to the Dawn has done all that. http://www.readersdigest.com.sg/rd/rdhtml/en/magazine/mag_content.jsp?cid=6664 Enak jaman Suharto,'' or  ''­It was good back in the Suharto days,'' is a refrain you still hear in the Indonesian countryside, where life remains hard for millions.Yet the phrase offers more than just a glimpse into what the average labourer or farmer thinks about the country's current leadership. The former dictator, whose visage used to greet tourists on giant government billboards, has recently crept into the minds of some of Indonesia's hottest young painters and onto their canvases. Though he passed away in January, almost ten years after stepping down as the country's second president, the Javanese general is alive and well in studios across the country, provoking a new discussion of the autocrat's place in history.While the depictions range from unabashed adoration to frightening snapshots, each taps into a memory of the man who was admired by some for modernising Indonesia and feared by millions of others living at the mercy of an authoritarian system that brooked no dissent. On the receiving end of that iron grip were artists like the late Semsar Siahaan, who fled to Canada after his involvement in seve-ral anti-government demonstrations in the 1990s. His powerful works captured brutal episodes in the 32-year history of Suharto's New Order government, including the murder of labour activist Marsinah in 1993.The exploration of such themes, however, no longer appears to be the focus of a generation old enough to remember but those young enough to forgive, despite the repression of artistic freedom for so many decades. Artists are the natural choice to probe such a controversial figure yet the canvases memorialising Suharto  can be interpreted as subtle criticism at best and flattery at worst.Yogyakarta-based rising star Stefan Buana, 37, likens Suharto to a ''big and strong elephant,'' whose influence cannot be denied. ''I admire him in an objective way,'' the painter says. ''We all know the negative sides but there were accomplishments.'' In a 2008 series of five paintings and one sculpture, the general's face is rendered in various expressions, some smiling, others more enigmatic. In ''Sang Legenda II'' (Honorable Legend II) the expression is almost cherubic. ''I wanted to show more than just one side to the man,'' he adds.The other side gets a more mechanical look in the work of S. Teddy D, another Yogya-based artist. In one recently-finished work, Teddy, 38, pastes rows and rows of an official Suharto photo on a canvas, creating what he calls a kind of ''visual terror.'' The photos, once mounted in thousands of offices, now remind the viewer of the ubiquitous presence everyone felt while taking care of everyday business. ''It illustrates the overbearing nature of his legacy on the country,'' says Teddy.Less obvious are the chilling portraits painted by Putu Sutawijaya. The Balinese-born painter, 38, also based in Yogya, is best known for his genderless torsos dancing across the canvas in Matisse-like rhythms. The figures still exist in his portraits but the impression is far more ominous as they shrink in size and fade away behind the general's head depicted only with a military cap and sunglasses. Though faceless, the image evokes the unmistakable likeness of a young general on the rise to power. ''Indonesians will be afraid just looking at his hat,'' Putu says, pointing out that his wife is of Chinese descent, a minority group who suffered the most under Suharto.''I don't idealise him but always thought it was incredible that he was able to build an entire system around him,'' he says. ''These paintings are a warning not to have someone in power for that long again.''For others, like Pius Sigit Kuncoro, taking on the myth meant taking on the personal meaning of a figure who loomed so large over his family. ''My father admired and identified with him as someone with only an elementary school education who rose to great heights,'' recalls Sigit, 34, who was named after Suharto's eldest son. ''My father also had to find his own way so I painted Suharto as a gift for him.'' While Sigit says his portrait represents ''a symbol of a time that was not rational'' it also embodies the spirit of a man who is ''becoming a kind of mystic symbol.'' Indeed, that mystique may explain a whole, new industry that has popped up along the mountain road leading to the Suharto family mausoleum where hundreds of touts sell Suharto souvenirs and tours.Every era holds a lesson and the history of Suharto's New Order, though finished, is still being written. The Javanese saying ''Mikul dhuwur mendhem jero,'' (Hold up the best and bury the rest) may prevail or a darker interpretation may win out. Either way, ''people are rethinking Suharto,'' as former New Order minister Emil Salim says. Whether the five-star general becomes an icon like Mao or Che worn on t-shirts remains to be seen. But if he does, it'll most likely be an Indonesian artist who puts him there.   http://www.readersdigest.com.sg/rd/rdhtml/en/magazine/mag_content.jsp?cid=6677 You may have noticed a new breed of toys popping up in stores in trendy neighbourhoods all around Asia http://www.readersdigest.com.sg/rd/rdhtml/en/magazine/mag_content.jsp?cid=6484 ''But I can't save any money.'' STRONG> It's an excuse I hear a lot. Sometimes it's a whine. Other times I detect a note of defiance. In the past few years, it has become increasingly frequent, as more and more of us make less than we spend, eating up the equity in our homes, while increasing our borrowing. Savings rates are declining. And the situation seems to be getting worse. http://www.readersdigest.com.sg/rd/rdhtml/en/magazine/mag_content.jsp?cid=6486 Natural Lighting STRONG>Maximising your use of natural light will save on lighting bills and help eliminate germs and dust mites. - http://www.readersdigest.com.sg/rd/rdhtml/en/magazine/mag_content.jsp?cid=6487 CLEAR OUT THE CLUTTER STRONG>Constantly negotiating around the clutter in your home wastes time.•  De-cluttering allows you to make space for the things that you do need to keep and makes it easier to tidy up.•  Identify your clutter problem areas and deal with them one by one.• Don't get overwhelmed. Go into one room and identify a problem area, then work on it, or even just a section. If the whole wardrobe needs sorting, start with the sock drawer. If the kitchen looks like carnival night at the dumpster, clear one drawer or cupboard at a time. Time yourself and devote an hour or so per session to the task, until it's done.•  If you're not sure whether to keep or throw away something, ask yourself: Do I really want or need it? Is it in good order? Have I used it recently? Will I miss it?•  Be ruthless. Haven't worn that skirt for 12 months? Give it away. Do you hate the Eiffel Tower doorstop your aunt gave you for Christmas? Take it to a charity shop.TACKLE THE HOT SPOTS http://www.readersdigest.com.sg/rd/rdhtml/en/magazine/mag_content.jsp?cid=6510 Omega-3 is the latest buzzword in health, with mounting evidence that this group of fatty acids can boost your heart, brain, muscles and more. So if you're wondering whether to serve up more salmon or gulp down daily supplements, let Reader's Digest explain what the fuss is all about. http://www.readersdigest.com.sg/rd/rdhtml/en/magazine/mag_content.jsp?cid=6540 Dear Reader,Are you too shy? Too pushy? Do you cry too much? Do you cry too little? Do you pull your hair? Other people's hair?Are you afraid of spiders? Or stuffed animals? http://www.readersdigest.com.sg/rd/rdhtml/en/magazine/mag_content.jsp?cid=6541 He is cold and jet-lagged as we sit down in a cabana by the pool of a Los Angeles hotel. It's 21 degrees Celsius out, but Pierce Brosnan is desperate for a bowl of soup. This chill makes sense only when you consider that the place he calls home is a balmy Hawaiian oasis he shares with his wife, Keely Shaye Smith, and their two youngest sons, Dylan, 11, and Paris, seven.