Palaver

A Filipino designer, Herbert Chavez, has taken his love for Superman too far. For more than a decade, the 35-year-old Chavez has undergone a series of procedures that have made his nose higher and slimmed down his thighs. He has had surgery on his cheeks, lips and chin, and injections to whiten his skin.

"Superman is my idol. I want to look like him." Once a typical-looking Filipino, Chavez now has the firm-jawed face of mild-mannered reporter Clark Kent, his idol’s nerdier incarnation. He is planning an operation that will give him a more muscular abdomen and is looking at specialized surgery in Japan that will insert metal in his legs to make him taller.

Life in Singapore would be hard for Kenyan politicians whose lack of respect for fair play and the rule of law is legendary. Police in Singapore arrested a man linked to a popular socio-political website for conducting an exit poll ahead of the general election in May. Joseph Ong Chor Teck was arrested for offences under the Parliamentary Elections Act and has since been released on bail pending further investigations. It is an offence to carry out private polls around an election in Singapore.

Now this is just cruel and mean and proves the law is an ass. A South Korean woman has been offered a little over $4 (Sh400 under current exchange rates) in government compensation for the death of her brother during the 1950-53 Korean War, embarrassing officials who say they were bound by an out-dated law. The woman was two years old when her brother was killed in combat in 1950, but never knew of his existence until told of his death by a neighbor. The presidential Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission has called the decision "incomprehensible" and urged the government to review it.

And finally,

There is something weird about the silence from State House. When any country goes to war, one expects the Commander-in-Chief to rally the country behind the troops. Not so Emilio Kibaki, who has opted to stay mum, leaving his Internal Security and Defence ministers to do the talking!