LONDON: British foreign secretary David Miliband called on President Asif Ali Zardari here on Sunday, Geo News reported.

Pakistan High Commissioner in London, Wajid-ul-Hasan was also present on the occasion, sources said.

LAHORE: Tehreek-e-Insaf Chief Imran Khan Sunday aurged Nawaz Sharif to ?quit friendly opposition and fulfill his responsibility towards protection of people?s rights?.

Speaking to a press conference here at the party?s central office, the TI Chief said all the opposition parties should take a joint delegation to the US for the release of Dr. Aafia Siddiqui. They should also join with them the people of the US, he added.

The British female journalist who had embraced Islam during her captivity with the Taliban was also present on the occasion along with other senior leaders of TI.

Imran Khan said the conviction of Dr. Aafia Siddiqui following her extradition has caused great humiliation to Pakistan. ?Had this case be made public in the US, it would have triggered protests there,? he said.

ORLANDO: Employees wept and audience members grew silent Saturday at SeaWorld as the theme park’’s popular killer whale show resumed with a photo montage memorial for a trainer who was killed by one of the orcas in front of horrified spectators three days ago.

The show had been shut down since veteran trainer Dawn Brancheau, 40, died Wednesday after rubbing a 22-foot, 12,000-pound orca named Tilikum. The animal grabbed her ponytail and pulled her into the water in front of about 20 spectators. The medical examiner says she likely died of traumatic injuries and drowning.

More than 2,000 people packed the park’’s stadium Saturday for the first show since Brancheau’’s death.

The audience seemed thrilled, applauding and cheering as the whales zipped around their tank and splashed spectators during the show ? with the theme of “believe,” about a young boy who sees an orca and dreams of one day becoming a whale trainer. It was a fitting tribute to Brancheau, whose family said she always wanted work with the giant whales.

At one point during the show, a young girl was brought on stage and given a whale tail necklace.

“I just wanted to be here for this show. It’’s so special,” said Russell Thomphsen, 65, who said he is a season-ticket holder for SeaWorld. “This touches so many lives.”

Spectators packed the enormous outdoor amphitheater despite chilly, rainy weather, with the orca pool registering at 52 degrees. The whale trainers received a standing ovation as they approached the platform before the show, part of the multimillion-dollar enterprise centered around “Shamu” ? the stage name given to all the performing orcas.

Several SeaWorld employees wept as the photo montage set to music was shown.

“It was very moving,” said Molly Geislinger, 33, who came from Minneapolis with her husband and 21-month-old child.

However, she noticed a difference in how the trainers acted.

“They looked like they were being very careful,” she said. “They looked very cautious today.”

Indeed, the trainers weren”t allowed in the water, meaning the whales” handlers did not surf on top of the marine mammals or fly into the air. Instead, the trainers ? wearing orca-like black-and-white wetsuits ? directed the whales from outside the huge tank’’s acrylic walls. They coached the creatures to splash the front-and-center rows a few times, much to the delight of onlookers.

SeaWorld officials have said trainers won”t swim with the orcas until they finish reviewing what happened to Brancheau.

Jeff Steward, who came to the show with his wife, called the memorial “a very emotional start.”

He said they enjoyed the show, adding: “It’’s a tragedy, but these things happen when you”re dealing with wild animals.”

SeaWorld Parks and Entertainment President Jim Atchison said Friday that Tilikum will remain an “active, contributing member of the team,” in part because the killer whale show is big business at SeaWorld. The company owns more killer whales than anyone else in the world and builds the orca image into its multimillion-dollar brand. Tilikum did not perform Saturday.

The timing of the killer whales” return to performances reflects just what the sleek black-and-white mammals mean to SeaWorld, which the private equity firm The Blackstone Group bought last fall for around $2.7 billion from Anheuser-Busch InBev in a deal that included two Busch Gardens theme parks and several other attractions.

There are two other SeaWorld parks ? one in San Antonio, and one in San Diego.

No animal is more valuable to that operation than Tilikum, the largest orca in captivity. Captured nearly 30 years ago off Iceland, Tilikum has grown into the alpha male of captive killer whales, his value as a stud impossible to pin down. He now has been involved in the deaths of two trainers and requires a special set of handling rules, which Atchison wouldn”t specify.

John Galloway, of Palm Coast, Fla., said he didn”t want to see the killer whale shows end because of the tragedy.

“I think they know what they”re doing,” he said of the trainers. “Me, myself, I wouldn”t be down there doing that.”

Mar 01, Colombo: The price of a domestic gas cylinder is to be taken up for revision today on the request of gas companies.

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia today said it was worried over the activities of al-Qaeda and Taliban in Pakistan and asked the political leadership in that country to unite and ensure that the extremists do not achieve their objectives.

“Pakistan is a friendly country to us. Therefore, seeing any kind of dangerous trend in a friendly country, one is not only sorry but also worried,” Saudi foreign minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal told reporters here.

It is the duty of all political leaders in Pakistan to unite to see that extremism does not find it way to achieving gains in that country, he said.

The minister was asked whether Saudi Arabia was worried about the situation in Pakistan because of extremism.

He said extremism can only be tackled through a united political leadership in Pakistan. “We hope this is what will be achieved.”

Asked about collaboration between al-Qaeda and Taliban forces in the region, he said “there is no relation between Saudi Arabia and Taliban.

“Our relationship was abrogated because Taliban gave sanctuary to al-Qaeda. Since then and till today we have no relations with Taliban. That will give you an indication of how seriously we look at the issue.”

Feb 28, Colombo: Sri Lanka Navy is providing assistance to thousands of devotees attending the annual festival of St.Anthony’s church, in the Kachchativu Island, the Navy said.

Feb 28, Anuradhapura: Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapaksa and First Lady Shiranthi Rajapaksa along with the ruling party candidates attended religious services at the historic Ruwanweli Seya today.

Feb 28, Colombo: Sri Lanka Army troops conducting search operations in the Northern region recovered a haul of Improvised Explosive Device, the Media Center for National Security said.

OKARA: Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani Sunday said the Khankahi system was vital to eliminate terrorism from the country.

He was addressing the annual Urs of Syed Muhammad Ismail Shah Bokhari, commonly known as Karmanwala Sarkar here.

Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qurshi, Federal Information Minister Qamar Zaman Kaira, Federal Minister for Labour and Manpower Syed Khurshid Shah, Federal Minister for Kashmir Affairs Mian Manzoor Ahmad Wattoo, Federal Minister for Religious Affairs Hamid Saeed Kazmi, State Minister for Information Sumsam Ali Shah Bokhari, Punjab Minister Ashraf Sohna, SNGP Chairman Mian Misbah-ur-Rehman and Sumsam?s elder brother and Sajjada Nasheen of Karmanwala Sarkar Pir Mir Syed Ali Shah were also present.

The Prime Minister said the role of saints and Mashaikh against terrorism had been realized in and outside the parliament. ?My securitymen advised against the visit but I reached here so that the common man should not hesitate from visiting shrines for fear of terror acts,? he added.

He called upon Mashaikh and Ulema to continue preaching values of Islam, advocating love, fraternity, peace and tolerance. Religiously knowledgeable people can effectively help end terrorism, he added.

These were saints and not the army generals, who spread Islam in Indonesia, Malaysia and other countries while the first ever Hadith in Hindustan was introduced by Shaikh Abdul Haq Mahaddith Dehlvi, who was a ?Mureed? (admirer) of Hazrat Musa Pak (RA), he added.

Gilani said Pakistan was facing numerous challenges, especially terrorism, which was affecting its economy. ?The PPP-led government is well aware of people?s problems including poverty, dearness and unemployment,? he said, adding that the funds being spent on the offensive against terrorism would be used for public welfare soon after the elimination of terror.

The Prime Minister paid rich tributes to the armed force, Frontier Constabulary, law enforcement agencies, parliament, civil society, and the entire nation especially people of the NWFP and FATA for making supreme sacrifices in the war on terror.

The Prime Minister also announced construction of a road between 2A/L Adda Kassanwala and GT Road and a bridge in Renala Khurd.

Earlier, Gilani inaugurated a gas supply project in Karmanwala village.
Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani also laid a ?Chadar? on the grave of Hazrat Karmanwala Sarkar.

Addressing the gathering, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said negative propaganda was being made in the West to tarnish Pakistan?s image. ?Effective measures are needed to remove their misconception, as Islam promotes peace, equality and love,? he added.

Unfortunately, he added, a group of people in Pakistan was using the sacred message of Islam for its nefarious designs. ?This group is also against Khankahs and saints, who changed the destiny of the sub-continent by spreading Islamic teachings,? he added. Paying homage to the saints, he stressed for reviving of the Khankahi system in the country.

Earlier in his address, State Minister for Information Sumsam Ali Shah Bokhari welcomed the guests. He lauded Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani for his political sagacity and reconciliatory policy, which had proved helpful in elimination of terrorism and extremism.

He also prayed for stability, solidarity and peace in Pakistan.

At the end, the Sajjada Nasheen of Sharqpur Sharif led a collective Dua.

LAHORE: Chief of Awami Muslim League Sheigh Rashid Ahmed has announced that his party would boycott by-elections in NA-123 Lahore and PP-82 Jhang.

Addressing a press conference he said, ?the actual face of Punjab government has come into light following the rigging and coercion exercised by it during the recent by-election in NA-55.?

He said those who call him disloyal had themselves ditched their workers before fleeing to other countries. ?I will continue to expose this no.2 leadership,? he added.

Sheikgh Rashid claimed that police and Patwar Khana were misused in Rawalpindi while ?two men stabbed me in the back?.

He requested the Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry to set up a commission to probe the use of force and rigging in NA-55.

?The N-League?s win in NA-55 was followed by a breakfast meeting with the Prime Minister,? Sheikh Rashid maintained, adding, it is actually a loss and not a win.

To a question he said, a physician, musician and politician never retire.