Wednesday, January 16 in the news.....
- Fidel Castro has appeared in a series of official photographs, the first released in three months. Castro wore a tracksuit and tennis shoes which has become a trademark since he fell ill, observers note that the fashion choice is not meant to convey a perception of fitness, but that Cuba's pop culture has now moved into the 1970s.
- The Taliban said Tuesday that its suicide bombers would attack restaurants where Westerners eat in Kabul. As a result security has been propped up at the restaurants and the previously non-descript eateries are showing more visible signs of it, with Hamburglar and Grimace revealing themselves after being given the authority to fire on suspect vehicles and customers.
- Japanese whalers say they will continue to hold hostage two environmental activists aboard their vessel until the protesters meet their demands. The two men - Australian Benjamin Potts and Briton Giles Lane - have been held on the whaling ship since yesterday. It is believed they have already been subjected to karaoke and forced to read statements which are actually lines from Jim Carrey films that the crew finds funny.
