William, Kate appear on Buckingham Palace balcony

LONDON: Joyous crowds cheered and gaped in awe as beaming newly-weds Prince William and Kate Middleton rode through London in a fairytale horse-drawn carriage and kissed on the balcony of Buckingham Palace.

Hundreds of thousands of royal fans from all walks of life and from across the planet descended on London on Friday to witness the most talked about British wedding in years.

Some wore Union Jack dresses and old-fashioned wigs to celebrate the day, others partied feverishly with painted faces and fluttering flags. Many were just happy to witness all the rare pomp and circumstance of a full-blown royal event.

"We wanted to feel the atmosphere -- how the British get excited," said Zhang Ying, a Chinese university student, who declared Middleton was "born to be a queen".

William, in full military regalia, and his new bride, in show-stopping ivory-coloured silk and satin dress, had clearly wowed the hoards of people lining the streets from Westminster Abbey to Buckingham Palace.

"The monarchy is like our Hollywood, the movies, for us," said 48-year-old Californian Diane Weltz who had treated her daughter Samantha to a trip to London for her 21st birthday.

Many well-wishers had spent the night sleeping in the streets around the abbey to make sure they got a prime spot to see William and Middleton emerge as a married couple.

"I managed to catch a few hours' sleep in a doorway, but I don't mind, today is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and I had to be here," said Canadian Jay Edmonds.

Draped in a Union Jack flag, with tufts of white hair poking out from under a Union Jack hat, 77-year-old Terry Hut had spent five days establishing his position at the front of the barriers for his fifth royal wedding appearance.

In London's Hyde Park, giant screens beamed footage of the day to a crowd of all ages, creeds and backgrounds.

"It should have been me," shouted nurse Jo Newman, 27,dressed as a bride and clutching a bouquet of plastic roses.

Across Britain, communities were enjoying street parties and a welcome day off to celebrate the most talked about British wedding in decades. Hardcore fans along the streets of Westminster had been getting in the mood since dawn.

William, second-in-line to the throne, and Kate have already said thanks for the outpouring of affection this week, but the pair looked genuinely overcome by the atmosphere as they waved and smiled to fans.

"The pictures on the mugs don't do the couple justice," said 34-year-old Madeleine Senior who flew in from Australia for the big day.

While most of the revellers were happy to flood the couple with good wishes, a few republicans gathered to protest. "My message to the royal couple is good luck and enjoy your married life, but please don't take for granted that one day you will be king or queen," said Graham Smith of the anti-monarchist lobby group Republic. 

Misbah guides Pakistan to series-clinching victory

BRIDGETOWN: Misbah-ul-Haq dug deep and dragged Pakistan to a series-clinching, three-wicket victory over West Indies in the third One-day International of the best of five match series here on Thursday.

Misbah led the way with four fours and one six in an unbeaten 62 from 109 balls, Hammad Azam supported with 36, and Umar Akmal made 30, as the Pakistanis, chasing 172 for victory, reached their target with 29 balls remaining at Kensington Oval.

The Pakistanis were left reeling on 12 for three, following an opening burst from Ravi Rampaul, who also had Akmal caught behind to leave the visitors on 49 for four in the 12th over, finishing with four wickets for 32 runs from nine overs.

Azam joined Misbah and put on 78 for the fifth wicket to put Pakistan back on track before Devendra Bishoo took three for 42 from nine overs to trigger a slide that left the visitors wobbling on 148 for seven in the 36th over.

But Wahab Riaz joined Misbah to edge the Pakistanis over the finish line five overs later, when he swung a short ball from Dwayne Bravo over deep backward square leg for six.

Earlier, Saeed Ajmal had captured three for 29 from 8.4 overs and Wahab took three for 38 from eight overs to enhance Pakistan's chance of victory, as they dismissed their opponents for 171 in 43.4 overs after choosing to field.

The Pakistanis appeared to be under pressure, when West Indies duo Lendl Simmons and Darren Bravo comfortably added 86 for the second wicket in a volley of strokes before Ajmal and Wahab brought Pakistan back into the match, which was reduced to 45 overs-a-side.

Saeed held a return catch in the 21st over to dismiss Simmons for the West Indies top score of 51, and Mohammad Hafeez trapped Darren Bravo lbw for 47 in the 28th over to leave the home team on 118 for three.

But Saeed and Wahab ensured there was no fight-back from the remaining batsmen, as they all failed to offer any substanial scores before a disappointed holiday crowd.

Pakistan played an unchanged line-up, but West Indies made two changes, replacing Anthony Martin and wicketkeeper/batsman Carlton Baugh Jr with fast bowlers Andre Russell and Rampaul.

Play began an hour and 45 minutes later than scheduled, after rain delayed the start of the match on the day that the island celebrates their national heroes, including legendary former West Indies all-rounder Sir Garfield Sobers.

The victory meant that Pakistan have now won their last eight ODIs against West Indies spread over the last four years, including their 10-wicket victory in a recent World Cup quarter-final in Bangladesh.

The fourth ODI will be played next Monday at Kensington Oval with the final match of the series three days later at the Guyana National Stadium.

Hunt begins for Mona Lisa model

FLORENCE: A team of researchers in Italy has begun a search for the tomb of a woman who may have been the model for Leonardo Da Vinci's painting Mona Lisa.

The team is using a special radar device at the convent in the city of Florence where it thinks the body of the woman, Lisa Gherardini, is buried.

It hopes to find skull fragments and to try to create a facial reconstruction.

The identity of the enigmatic Mona Lisa remains one of the great mysteries of the art world.

Heart attacks more serious in morning: study

PARIS: Heart attacks that occur in the morning are likely to be more serious than attacks at other times of the day, a specialist journal reported on Wednesday.

Spanish researchers looked at data from 811 patients who had been admitted to a Madrid clinic with a myocardial infarction between 2003 and 2009.

They used levels of an enzyme in the blood to measure the extent of dead tissue, known as an infarct, which is caused by blocked blood supply to heart muscle.

Those who had had a heart attack between 6:00 am and noon, during the transition from darkness to light, had a 21-percent larger infarct compared with patients whose attack occurred between 6:00 pm and midnight.

The study, published in the British journal Heart, builds on previous evidence that circadian rhythm -- the famous "body clock" -- influences the heart in many ways such as blood pressure, heart rate, cardiac output and the function of cells that line cardiac blood vessels.

Of the 811 patients, 269 had their heart attacks in the period from 6:00 am to noon. More than three-quarters of the patients admitted to the clinic were men. Their average age was 62.

The findings should be useful in assessing the effectiveness of drugs against heart disease, the researchers said.

Earnestness of `Prom' grows on you

It's not just prom, it's Disney's "Prom." And so no one smokes, no one sneaks in peach schnapps in a flask and no one - that's right, no one - gets lucky in the back of a limo.

This is all about that magical night when everyone gets together, regardless of the social hierarchy that had been firmly in place for the past four years, and dreams come true. Wholesome, earnest dreams for wholesome, earnest kids - except for the resident bad boy, that is. But naturally, he'll turn out to have a heart of gold.

Yes, director Joe Nussbaum's film, from a script by first-timer Katie Wech, is chock full of high-school movie clichés - sometimes knowingly and amusingly so. There's a tall, misfit character named Lloyd (Nicholas Braun) who resembles "Say Anything ..."-era John Cusack - a tall, misfit character named Lloyd. His awkward attempts at landing a prom date represent the film's most consistent source of laughs.

Of course, straight-arrow good girl Nova (Aimee Teegarden) will get stuck working with motorcycle-riding rebel Jesse (Thomas McDonell), and they will see through their respective prejudices to not only get along but fall for each other. Various other couples will suffer through missed opportunities and miscommunication and come out better for them in the end.

"Prom" is so steadfastly family friendly, even the dude who's clearly stoned the whole time - his nickname is Rolo, like the candy - never even comes close to taking any sort of drugs. He's just laid-back and wisecracking. You're welcome to draw your own conclusions.

There is a plot, sort of. Members of the Brookside High School senior class are getting ready for prom. Along the way, the shed where the decorations are being stored burns down. Nova, the prom coordinator and Molly Ringwald figure here, must reconstruct the whole extravaganza with the help of Jesse, the Judd Nelson figure in the equation who's been thrust upon her because he's a delinquent. Making papier-mâchÃ(c) moons and stars will straighten him out, the principal figures.

Essentially, this feels like a Disney Channel TV show stretched out to fit the big screen. No one pops out as a major star quite like the actors did in the "High School Musical" series, but they're all harmless and good-looking and the school is sufficiently multicultural to make everyone feel comfortable and included.

Still, the sweetness and guilelessness of "Prom" is actually strangely charming, and for its target audience - girls who are several years away from having to pick out that perfect dress - this will be a safe, enjoyable and validating little diversion. The fact that it's not snarky and too-hip is unexpectedly refreshing.

Like the 3-D Justin Bieber movie, you have to look at it through the prism of the viewers for whom it was intended. Adults know prom sucks - they went to prom. Pre-teen girls are still idealistic (we hope). Let them enjoy their vicarious fun.

"Prom" means well - and it grows on you. And it's much less of a hassle than schlepping to the real thing.