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At least 10 people were killed when police clashed with "terrorists" in Tehran on Saturday, state TV says. It said "rioters" set two petrol stations and a mosque on fire and attacked a military post, during protests over disputed elections. Five family members of one of Iran's most powerful figures, Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, were arrested during the protest, state media also say. He is seen as a key rival to poll winner President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The reports cannot be verified as foreign media in Iran are being severely restricted. Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has demanded an end to protest, but the BBC's Jeremy Bowen in Tehran says further protests are expected on Sunday. source: bbc.com

Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara hailed his side's mental strength after they sealed their place in Sunday's ICC World Twenty20 final.

They face Pakistan in the final, four months after being caught in the middle of the terrorist atrocity in Lahore.

They booked their spot at Lord's courtesy of a 57-run semi-final victory over the West Indies on Friday.

"It's fitting reward for our courage and the way we have played in this tournament," said Sangakkara.

Once again, Sri Lanka dominated their opponents with an impressive technical display with bat and ball, posting a total of 158-5 before bowling the West Indies out for 101.
source: bbc.com/sports

This is hardly the final that the majority of Twenty20 fans would have predicted at the start of this competition - or even well into the first week when Pakistan were so comfortably beaten by England.

Pakistan have steadily gathered momentum since then, while Sri Lanka have quickly developed into the team of the tournament.

They certainly have the player who has made the most of the headlines - the leading batsman in the world when it comes to working on improvisations and tricks specifically for this form of the game, Tillakaratne Dilshan.

Once a very unexciting middle-order blocker, he has become supremely successful at Twenty20 and has developed an entirely new stroke that requires not only a great deal of skill to play, but more than a little bravery, too.

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It will be a very close final - both teams have fantastic, varied bowling attacks

cricidmuslibale
He stood head and shoulders above his team-mates against West Indies, missing the first century of the tournament by just four runs, and feeding off the confidence he has picked up here and in the Indian Premier League beforehand.

Sri Lanka's worry must be that he is due to fail some time, in which case will the others rally round?

Because of their great depth in bowling resources - and the variety at Kumar Sangakkara's disposal - it is tempting to believe that Sri Lanka are capable of defending any total.

Although Lasith Malinga suffered a rare off day against West Indies, he and his fellow M's - Muttiah Muralitharan and Ajantha Mendis - complete a formidable trio.

They are rare, too - all three are entirely unorthodox and their passage to Test cricket without interference by the coaches is a triumph for the Sri Lankan cricket board.


Sri Lanka's unorthodox bowling attack will pose problems for Pakistan
Pakistan are now an entirely different outfit to the one that looked horribly out of sorts in the first week. Listening to their charismatic captain, Younus Khan, it is clear that the appalling events in Pakistan has focused his team on succeeding here.

They are playing for the hard-pressed and suffering cricket fans in Pakistan, and this has united the players. You can still never be entirely sure what you are going to get with Pakistan, but to have everyone pulling in the same direction is a good start.

It is also worth pointing out that, unlike the fancied South Africa, Pakistan had the flexibility and nous to change their batting order in their semi final - it won them the game.

Led by Umar Gul, Pakistan's bowling attack is also outstanding and in Shahid Afridi, they have the most destructive batsman on either side.

Sri Lanka will start as favourites, but you write off a united and focused Pakistan at your peril.
source: bbc.com/sports

How are the elements of the charming, traditional romantic comedy "The Proposal" like the checklist of a charming, traditional bride? Let me count the ways ...

Ryan Reynolds wonders if marrying his boss, Sandra Bullock, is a good thing in "The Proposal."
Something old: The story of a haughty woman and an exasperated man who hate each other -- until they realize they love each other -- is proudly square, in the tradition of rom-coms from the 1940s and '50s. Or is it straight out of Shakespeare's 1590s?
Sandra Bullock is the shrew, Margaret, a pitiless, high-powered New York book editor first seen multitasking in the midst of her aerobic workout (thus you know she needs to get ... loved). Ryan Reynolds is Andrew, her put-upon foil of an executive assistant, a younger man who accepts abuse as a media-industry hazing ritual.
And there the two would remain, locked in mutual disdain, except for Margaret's fatal flaw -- she's Canadian. (So is "X-Men's" Wolverine; I thought our neighbors to the north were supposed to be nice.)

Friday's launch of the iPhone 3GS could usher in an innovative and lucrative new era for those who create applications for the popular device, developers and industry observers say.


This woman in an iPhone costume was among the crowd outside an Apple Store in New York City on Friday.

1 of 2 The phone's upgraded hardware, combined with a new operating system, will allow developers to design apps that wouldn't have worked on previous models of the iPhone.

For example, developers said, the iPhone 3GS is the first iPhone with a video camera, which could inspire apps that edit or mix video clips. Other developers are eyeing the new phone's built-in compass or its "push notification" feature, which pings users with messages even if its instant-message application is not open.

"Apple has given us all these new tools," said William Kasel, founder and CEO of Jumpfox, a San Francisco, California-based company that makes mobile apps. "And I can't wait to see what developers come out with in the next six months. The new features really take [the phone] to a whole new level."
source: cnn.com/technoloty

TEHRAN, Iran (CNN) -- The public rift among Iranian leaders widened Sunday when the country's foreign minister disputed allegations of ballot irregularities even as the parliamentary speaker implied that the election authority had sided with one candidate.
"Although the Guardian Council is made up of religious individuals, I wish certain members would not side with a certain presidential candidate," Iran's influential parliamentary speaker, Ali Larijani, told the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting without naming whom he meant.

The comments were reported Sunday on government-funded Press TV and on another news Web site, Khabaronline.
Followers of opposition leader Mir Hossein Moussavi have alleged that the council, which approves all candidates running for office and verifies election results, declared hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad the winner of the elections despite indications of ballot fraud.
"A majority of people are of an opinion separate" from that of a minority, Larijani said.
Larijani's statement was in direct contrast to that of Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki, who said he considers the possibility of ballot irregularities in the presidential election as almost nonexistent.
"The possibility of organized and comprehensive disruption and irregularities in this election is almost close to zero given the composition of the people who are holding the election," Mottaki said
source: cnn.com/world