Happy Birthday, Michelle Obama

Before the inaugural festivities get underway, the Obama family celebrates another important milestone: the first lady’s birthday.

Michelle Obama turns 49 today and, if previous years are any indication, President Obama will likely take his wife out to dinner in Washington tonight.

While there is no such event on the president’s public schedule, the Obamas have dined out on the first lady’s birthday for the past four years.

The list of restaurants visited on her birthday reads like a Zagat guide for fine dining in Washington. The tradition started in 2009 with a visit to the nearbyEquinox restaurant. Just across Lafayette Park from the White House, the restaurant is known for its regional and seasonal cuisine.

The next year it was Restaurant Nora, which boasts of being the first certified organic restaurant in the country.

In 2011, the president took his wife to celebrity-chef Wolfgang Puck’s restaurant The Source for dinner on her 47th birthday. They stayed close again last year, crossing the park for a steak dinner at BLT Steak.

Eddie Gehman Kohan, who keeps close tabs on the Obamas dining and White House food initiatives on her blog Obama Foodorama, notes that the chef who serves Michelle Obama’s birthday dinner could end up working for the administration.

All four chefs that have prepared her birthday meal in the past have gone on to participate in Obama’s Let’sMove! initiative or been named as members of the State Department’s American Chef Corps.

Whether it leads to a White House gig, a visit from the first family gives a local restaurant a boost.

“Businesses have a big spike when the president and first lady go out,” blogger Kohan told ABC News. “By the end of it, there’s always a crowd outside the restaurant. …  In the past, the crowds have sung Mrs. Obama ‘Happy Birthday.’”

The birthday dinners are always off the record and kept secret until the president and first lady arrive at the restaurant. Unlike the usual drop-by, restaurants are usually given a heads up when the Obamas are coming for a special occasion or birthday dinner, according to Kohan.

Secrecy remains a top priority, however, and the White House asks restaurants not to discuss publicly what the Obamas dine on.

As for where they might be headed tonight, Kohan said “it’s dangerous to predict.” The president and first lady have yet to make a repeat visit to a D.C. restaurant for a formal excursion.

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Where in the world ... ?

(CNN) -- [Updated 4:30 p.m. Monday, January 14] Supporters of religious leader Tahir ul Qadri head toward the Pakistani capital of Islamabad on Monday to protest the country's political system.

Thousands of people are planning to call for reforms to clean up national politics, which have long been criticized as corrupt. Elections will be held later this year.

"We want change in the establishment and we want to save our country," said a man who sold his bicycle so he could afford to attend the rally, according to CNN affiliate GEO TV.

Qadri, the Muslim cleric leading the demonstrators, returned to Pakistan last month after living in Canada for eight years. He has called for a caretaker administration to replace the current government and carry out election reforms.

In 2010, Qadri gained worldwide attention when he declared a fatwa, or religious ruling, on terrorism and said it "cannot be permissible in Islam." Some have suggested that he is working on behalf of the military, noting his time as a lawmaker under Gen. Pervez Musharraf's regime in the early 2000s. But Qadri denies the allegations, saying he is simply seeking to ensure a corruption-free electoral process.

Video: Who is Tahir ul Qadri?

Congrats to those who correctly answered Pakistan in this week's photo challenge. Among the first: Matthew Giles Kingsford, Khadim Niang and Malik. Thanks for participating!

[Original post] Do you know where this photo was taken?

If you think you know the answer -- or if you just want to take a wild guess -- post it in the comments area below. Later in the day, we'll reveal where the photo was taken and give credit to those who figured it out first. (The more detail, the better!)

Each Monday morning, we'll post a new photo and challenge you to tell us its origin. The photo might be related to a prominent news story or theme -- or it might just be something that caught our eye.

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Some foreign hostages freed in Algeria operation, report says

Algiers, Algeria (CNN) -- Some of the foreigners taken hostage by Islamist militants at an Algerian gas plant have been freed in an operation by the Algerian army, the country's state-run news agency reported Thursday, but there are reports of casualties.

The operation freed two Britons, a Kenyan and a French citizen, the Algerian Press Service said. The report also said there are a number of casualties in the action, but the exact number is not yet known. CNN could not independently confirm the report. CNN affiliate BFM-TV reported the French citizen is a nurse who worked on the site.

An Irish hostage is also free, the Irish government said, but it is not clear if he was freed by the Algerian military effort.

"The kidnap ordeal of Belfast man, Stephen McFaul, has ended," said the taoiseach, or Irish prime minister, Enda Kenny. "I am greatly relieved to hear that Stephen is safe and well. I believe he has already spoken to his family in Belfast and I wish him a safe return home to his loved ones."

An unspecified number of Americans are among the hostages held by terrorists at a BP facility in Algeria, White House spokesman Jay Carney said Thursday as he condemned the attack "in the strongest terms."

"We are closely monitoring the situation," he said. "We are in contact with Algerian authorities and our international partners as well as BP security office in London. Unfortunately, the best information that we have at this time, as I said, indicates that U.S. citizens are among the hostages. But we do not have, at this point, more details to provide to you. We are certainly concerned about reports of loss of life and we are seeking clarity from the government of Algeria."

Algerian troops fired on two SUVs trying to leave the kidnapping site, Algerian radio said, citing local sources. An Algerian reporter saw heavy clashes near the site, APS and radio reports said.

The kidnappers have AK-47 firearms and put explosive-laden vests on some of the hostages, a State Department official said. It is not clear whether the hostage-takers wore the suicide vests when they staged the action, but they did put them on some of the hostages, another U.S. official said.

"Situation remains very serious and difficult," said a Twitter message from the British prime minister's office.

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For Israeli voters, missile fire, money main issues in Tuesday election

Jerusalem (CNN) -- The pundits in Israel, the United States and the West Bank have pretty much forecast the winner of Tuesday's Israeli national elections.

Benjamin Netanyahu's right-wing political coalition with former Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman-- Likud Beitenu -- will prevail. He'll trot to the finish line in an easy horse race, analysts say, citing poll after poll.

But this is just the first stage in forging a new government. After the election for Knesset seats, the arduous government coalition-building begins.

That's not a horse race, It's a bit of "foreplay," as one newspaper put it, and hard-nosed political jockeying.

For now, the 34 parties running from the right, center, and left are maneuvering but digging in their ideological heels.

"The data projects not a more right-wing Knesset," said Michael Singh, managing director of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, "but a more polarized one."

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