GOOGLE CEO DISCLOSES ‘RARE’ VOCAL CORD PROBLEM

SAN FRANCISCO – Google CEO Larry Page has disclosed a problem with his vocal cords that makes it difficult for him to speak and breathe occasionally, but he says he remains fit enough to keep running the Internet’s most influential company.

The explanation that Page posted Tuesday on his Google Plus profile cleared up a mystery hanging over him since he lost his voice a year ago, causing him to miss Google Inc.’s annual shareholders meeting in June and a conference call to discuss the company’s quarterly earnings in July.

Larry Page, 40, the company’s co-founder and CEO for the past two years, says his left vocal cord has been paralyzed since coming down with a severe cold 14 years ago, while Google was still in its formative stages. That issue was compounded last year with another cold that Page says impaired his right vocal cord, though it still has limited movement.

Page’s unavailability last year spooked investors, especially those who remembered Apple Inc.’s initial refusal to disclose the extent of co-founder Steve Jobs’ health problems. Jobs took two formal medical leaves as Apple’s CEO before resigning from the job about six weeks before his death from cancer. When Page had his health issue, Google had simply said Page was dealing with a throat problem that wouldn’t get in the way of his job.

Wall Street’s worries about Page’s condition eased when he resurfaced in October to field questions during Google’s earnings call. Although his voice has been raspy and robotic-sounding at times, Page has spoken at length in each of Google’s three earnings calls since the one he missed.

Page provided further reassurance in Tuesday’s post.

“Thankfully, after some initial recovery I’m fully able to do all I need to at home and at work, though my voice is softer than before,” he wrote.

Doctors have not been able to diagnose why his vocal cords are hobbled, according to Page. The trouble could be tied to another health problem, Hashimoto’s thyroiditis. Page said he was diagnosed with that condition in 2003. He described it as a “fairly common benign inflammatory condition of the thyroid which causes me no problems.”

The weakened vocal cords affect more than just Page’s voice. “Vocal cord nerve issues can also affect your breathing, so my ability to exercise at peak aerobic capacity is somewhat reduced,” Page wrote. “That said, my friends still think I have way more stamina than them when we go kitesurfing!”

Page said doctors had told him his condition was “extremely rare.”

Google said the company had no further comment beyond Page’s post.

Investors seemed unfazed. After hitting a new all-time high of $888.69 Tuesday, Google’s stock was still up by $9.57, or 1.1 percent, to close at $887.10. The shares have risen by 50 percent since Page replaced Eric Schmidt as Google’s CEO in April 2011.

“It’s a good thing that he is in good health, to a large extent,” said Standard & Poor’s Capital IQ analyst Scott Kessler. “It’s unfortunate that he is in a position where he felt compelled to disclose these personal details, though I applaud him for his transparency. I completely understand why shareholders would want to know – and deserve to know – about the well-being of a key person in a business that they are investing in.”

Page made his revelations on the eve of another major Google event – a conference for engineers and entrepreneurs who create software applications. It’s not clear whether Page will make an onstage appearance this year after skipping last year’s conference while he tried to regain his voice. Page, who isn’t as outgoing as fellow Google co-founder Sergey Brin, had bypassed this conference in previous years, too.

The timing of Page’s disclosures appeared tied to his decision to finance research into vocal cord paralysis at the Voice Institute. Page, whose owns Google stock worth about $22 billion, didn’t disclose the size of his donation to the Voice Institute. He said it was large enough to support a “significant” research program that will be led by Dr. Steven Zeitels from the Harvard Medical School and the Massachusetts General Hospital Voice Center.

The amount of Page’s contribution is believed to be in the tens of millions of dollars.

London police launch probe against Altaf Hussain

ISLAMABAD: The London Metropolitan police Wednesday launched an investigation against Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) chief Altaf Hussain following complaints by hundreds of British and Pakistani citizens.

“Yes, we have started investigation against him on hundreds of complaints we have received,” metropolitan police spokesman Richard Jones told Daily sitara Sindh news.

He said the police was in process of collecting evidence.

The London police have dispatched text of Hussain’s speech to the home department for translation in English.

“We would see what course of action should be taken once we get all the evidence,” said Jones.

Earlier in the day, British High Commissioner to Pakistan Adam Thomson told newsmen that the London police department had been “flooded” with complaints regarding Hussain’s statements.

“We are well aware of Altaf Hussain’s remarks immediately after the election.  We received quite a number of representations on them.  More to the point, the London Metropolitan Police have been flooded with complaints from both Pakistani and British citizens about those remarks,” said Thomson.

In a speech televised across various media channels Sunday night , Altaf Hussain demanded to seprate karachi  from the rest of Pakistan if the public mandate of his party was not acceptable to the ‘establishment.’ However, Hussain’s party later clarified saying it was taken out of context.

“What we say is that wherever somebody has a concern that hatred or violence is being incited, that one community or another is being turned against others, this should be reported to the police. And I know that they take such allegations very, very seriously indeed,” Thomson said.

He added that the London police was independent to investigate the complaints and was under no pressure from the UK government.

He, however, observed that Altaf had later denied making such statements.

“It may be that they were never said or they have been retracted. But as far as the United Kingdom is concerned, we have very strong laws which are enforced on that prohibit the incitement to violence or incitement of hatred.  And we take these laws seriously.”

Responding to another query about extradition, the British High Commissioner said that that Pakistan and United Kingdom have no formal extradition treaty. He said that extradition “is complicated in the UK Pakistan case as there is no extradition treaty.  It doesn’t make it impossible, but it does make it quite difficult.”

Sindh govt postpones May 19 re-polling in Karachi’s NA-250

KARACHI: The Sindh government in early hours of Thursday postponed the scheduled May 19 re-polls in some polling stations of Karachi’s NA-250 constituency due to security concerns.

In a letter written to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), the Sindh government has apologized on failing to conduct the re-polls in the much debated constituency of the metropolis citing serious security concerns.

The Election Commission had announced re-election in some 43 polling stations of a national and two provincial assembly seats from Karachi.

Polling was postponed in the said NA constituency on May 11 due to reports of alleged rigging and absence of electoral staff and material.

The Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) had rejected the Ecp’s decision on Tuesday and has been staging a protest sit-in outside the commission’s building in Karachi ever since.

The party wants to see re-poll in the whole constituency rather than as they say in only 43 ‘posh’ polling stations.

On the other hand, MQM’s opponents – Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaf (PTI) and Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) – are protesting for re-polling across the city.

Meanwhile, Muttahida Qaumi Movement, in the latest development, has announced to call off their sit-in till the ECP comes to a decision regarding the petition filed by the party on the issue.

Speaking to the party protesters, Dr Farooq Sattar said they will decide the further course of action after the ECP’s verdict later on Thursday.

PTI nominates Khattak as parliamentary leader in KP amid power tussle

PESHAWAR: As no political party in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa could come up with a clear majority, both Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) are claiming to have achieved the required numbers to form the government.

But a late night development on Monday has put PTI in a strong position following a telephonic conversation between Imran Khan and the Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) central deputy leader Sirajul Haq.

According to reports, the JI has agreed to government formation with the PTI.

Meanwhile, the PTI chief has nominated Pervaiz Khattak as party’s parliamentary party leader and next potential candidate for the slot of chief minister. The PTI, in an official release, has also confirmed the development.

Sources in the Qaumi Watan Party (QWP) also confirmed to Dawn.com that Imran Khan has also telephoned QWP chief Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao. They said Sherpao has principally agreed to go with the PTI but the decision is likely to be announced after the QWP party meeting on Tuesday.

The Jamaat-i-Islami leader Israrullah on contact confirmed to Dawn.com that the JI had agreed to go with the PTI following Imran Khan’s call to join them.

Earlier, president of QWP’s KP chapter Sikander Khan Sherpao speaking to Daily Sitara Sindh  after a meeting with the PTI provincial chief Asad Qaiser said, “There is nothing on which we disagree and we are more or less on the same page but QWP would take the decision at the parliamentary party meeting on Tuesday.”

The PTI’s chief of its KP chapter, Asad Qaiser castigated Maulana Fazlur Rehman for manipulating the democratic environment and not respecting the people mandate given to the PTI.

“It’s no service to democracy rather enmity towards the peaceful and democratic forces,” said Qaiser.

“We shall form the government as we are almost there and such tactics won’t stop us,” he remarked.

On the other hand, JUI-F leader Abdul Jalil Jan claimed that it’s their democratic right to form government and troika of JUI-F, PML-N and QWP would be ruling the KP province.

“We have achieved the required number of seats. I can say we can count our number up-to 70 as 5 to 6 independents are also willing to join JUI-F so we are in more numbers than our rivals,” said Jalil.

Results show PTI has vote bank in MQM strongholds

KARACHI: The results announced by the Election Commission of Pakistan on Monday show that the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf has emerged as an important party in Karachi, polling over 50,000 votes in at least one National Assembly constituency.

In NA-245, North Nazimabad, a stronghold of the Muttahida Quami Movement, Riaz Haider obtained about 54,000 votes against Muttahida Qaumi Movement candidate Rehan Hashmi, who polled a little over 100,000.

Similarly, in NA-246, Federal B Area, another locality where the MQM has enjoyed a somewhat unrivalled monopoly, Amir Sharjeel of the PTI polled about 32,000 votes, whereas his heavyweight MQM opponent Nabeel Gabol, former PPP stalwart, obtained 139,386 votes.

In NA-243, another MQM dominated area comprising North Karachi and New Karachi, Zahid Hussain Hashmi of the PTI got about 30,000 votes while the MQM contestant got 192,678 votes.

Rashid Siddiqui of the PTI in NA-247 (Liaquatabad) got over 35,000 votes and NA-251 (Mehmoodabad) contestant of the PTI Raja Azhar polled nearly 39,000 votes.

PTI chief Imran Khan did not address any rally in his electioneering campaign in Karachi. The one major rally he had addressed here was in December 2011. Yet looking at the numbers one can easily deduce that the PTI has built a significant voter base in Karachi.

Mohammed Hanif, Karachi-based journalist and novelist, explains the development as: “Karachi would be a natural kind of PTI constituency. Its campaign was targeted at the urban masses who are agitated and Karachi is filled with such kind of people. Also when we talk about the Pakistan Peoples Party’s incumbency factor then the same reason can be applied to the MQM. It has been in Karachi for a long time, having been in power since Musharraf’s days. People want to try someone new hence these numbers are not surprising.”

Moreover, the PTI polled vote figures are equally impressive in provincial constituencies. In PS-103 (Karachi 15), PTI candidates Zareena Sarwar, Siddiqullah of PS-104 (Karachi-16) and Abid Jilani of PS-120 (Karachi-32) obtained over 17,000 votes. Then there were three other PTI contestants who polled more than 20,000 votes — Muhammad Jawed Jillani of PS-105, Ataullah Khan PS-119 and Erum Butt PS-116. Arsalan Ghumman put up a good fight at PS-118 where he scored 31,802 votes against the MQM candidate, who obtained 56,145 votes.

As to how the MQM should look at these numbers, Mr Hanif says: “I hope the MQM realises that this is a healthy development and that voting for another candidate is good. They need to rethink their strategy rather than having an undue reaction to new realities which is not going to help them in the long run.”

He, however, cautions the first-time PTI voters: “PTI supporters need to realise that just because you stand in line for six hours and vote and your candidate loses does not mean you have to be self-righteous. First-time PTI voters need to realise that someone has to lose and this is what happens in elections.”

When Wasay Jaleel, an MQM leader, was asked by Dawn whether the party had noticed the phenomenon of the PTI bagging significant numbers of votes in its strongholds, he says: “Yes, we did notice it and we attribute this to the 10-party alliance that voted against us. We did meet some youngsters in Gulshan-i-Iqbal and Nazimabad who voted for the PTI but that’s because they are popular with the youth. The MQM sees other political parties as good competition and we do realise that they are other representatives of the people in the city but the 10-party anti-MQM alliance with boycott by the Jamaat-i-Islami worked in favour of the PTI.”

ECP felicitates nation on transparent elections

Secretary of Election Commission, Ishtiaq Ahmed, on Sunday congratulated the nation on the successful completion of polls.

According to the ECP secretary, success in the polls was not of any political party, but of democracy, adding that the first phase of the electoral process had been completed peacefully.

Ahmed said 122 results of provincial assemblies had been received, but few results were still pending from the presiding officers of some constituencies.

Moreover, Ishtiaq said the delay in announcing results was on account of following the legal procedure, adding that no changes would be allowed in the final results.

In another statement, he said no notification would be issued without details of election expenses.

Ishtiaq, however, admitted that the nation was in doubt over the transparency of elections.

KARACHI’S SAFETY GUIDE

What is Karachi most notorious for? Even a Hollander would know the answers to that question: rampant crime, traffic jams, protests, and generally a very volatile law-and-order situation.

So what does a bright, young Dutchman do when he travels to Pakistan’s commercial capital by the sea in his quest for entrepreneurial excellence?

He creates ‘Halaat-o-meter’.

“Karachiites, wondering if you can reach home safely? Check halaat-o-meter.com,” tweets Gertjan Van Laar (@gertjanvanlaar), an internet entrepreneur from the Netherlands living and working in Karachi. Having led a mobile development and design company in the troubled Pakistani metropolis for two years, Gertjan noticed how the instability and unpredictability of Karachi’s security situation affected the daily lives of those around him, and came up with an idea to counter the problem with the use of technology.

As the name suggests, Halaat-o-meter is a web-based tool for collecting and sharing reports of the halaat, or situation, in different parts of the city. The app is completely free and relies on reports provided by the user community. “Halaat-o-meter is a crowd-sourced platform that enables residents to post updates on the situation in their neighbourhoods during times of trouble,” says Mohammad Amjad Rafique, who led the project team that developed the application at Grappetite. “The app integrates Google Maps in a way that users can post the latest information regarding the situation in their area. Users login by authenticating their identities through Facebook and then share updates on the real-time map of their area,” he explains.

The simple yet highly innovative application, first launched as a web-based app less than two months ago, runs primarily from within the browser. Upon opening the website, it asks you to share your location through Google Maps, and zooms in to your closest coordinates on the map on the main screen. The design is minimalistic: the map is at the centre of the window, and on its right a scrolling list of users who have posted the most recent updates.

“Users can post their reports of bombings, firing incidents, protest marches, traffic jams or road blocks. Or, if all is well, an update of everything is OK,” Amjad elaborates. “OK reports show up as green dots on the map, while undesirable events become red dots, letting users know of what areas to avoid going through in case of a traffic jam or firing incident.”

The developer is quick to point out that reports from Halaat-o-meter are crowd-sourced and that the website is dependent on the contribution of the community. “As the information is crowd-sourced, people might report fake incidents. The more people reporting an incident, the more reliable the report is,” reads the website’s FAQ section. “However, we have tried our best to ensure that reports are as reliable as possible by employing Facebook authentication. Also, we block all users who abuse or spam the platform,” says Amjad.

Still in its fledgling days, Halaat-o-meter has already witnessed user abuse, though some of it was more mischief than misuse. A user recently posted on the app’s Facebook page a screenshot of an update of “fish killed by firing” in the middle of the Arabian Sea. Another post on Antarctica reported “Everything OK, just chilly here.”

“We have had some incidents of spamming and abuse, but that has been very rare,” adds the developer. The app has not only been quick to catch the attention of the international media, with it being featured in an Al-Jazeera report last month, it has also gained a following on social media. Some fans on Twitter called Gertjan’s idea a stroke of “pure genius.”

“This is genius. Karachi now has a crowd-sourced Halaat-o-Meter,” tweeted @uzii_hashmi

“Halaat-o-meter.com is just what Karachi needed,” ‏said @Naseerzk.

“We got a very good response earlier on, with our site traffic peaking at 25,000 users,” claims Amjad. “As traffic grew, we got requests by the users, and we were quick to identify the need for a mobile version of the Halaat-o-meter app so people can post updates on the go.”

“We have recently launched an Android app, and, with work underway on the iPhone app, an iOS version is expected to be released mid-April.” The Android app, however, has received quite a few complaints of glitches and errors. An attempt by this scribe of running the app on an Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean device ended in failure. According to the developer, the app currently works smoothly only on Gingerbread 2.3, but there are reported issues with running it on Ice Cream Sandwich and Jelly Bean. “We have identified the problems and you can hopefully look forward to a stable update to the Android app in the first week of this month,” he says.

Another plan that the project manager was reluctant to mention was Twitter integration. “Initially, we also got requests for authentication through Twitter, but we preferred Facebook, mainly due to the large number of users,” he said. “We are looking into the idea of leveraging the Twitter platform to enhance website functionality and reporting. Though, at the moment, we cannot say for sure if this plan will materialise or not.”

Amjad maintains that Halaat-o-meter is a not-for-profit project, and the website will neither host ads nor will it charge for subscription. “This app is for the community, and we hope it will grow better by the day.”

MQM candidate for PK- 46 withdraws in favour of PTI

ABBOTTABAD: Qaisar Tanooli, a Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) candidate for PK-46, withdrew on Thursday from general elections in favour of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) candidate Sajjad Akbar Khan.

He made the announcement in this regard while addressing a press conference here at PTI’s election office He further said that PTI candidate was a hope for this constituency, who had the ability to fight against the illiteracy, poverty and other social issues.

Earlier during the day another MQM candidate from NA-260 Quetta, Chagai had announced the withdrawal of his candidature in favour of Karim Dad Sumalani, Pakistan PTI candidate from the same constituency and had announced after consultation with his party leaders to undconditionally support PTI during the upcoming elections.

Both PTI and MQM workers were present on the occasion.

MICROSOFT EXTENDS SEARCH GUARANTEE IN YAHOO DEAL

SAN FRANCISCO – Microsoft has extended a guarantee that provides Yahoo with financial protection as part of the two companies’ Internet search partnership.

An arrangement requiring Microsoft Corp. to pay Yahoo Inc. a minimum amount per search on Yahoo’s website expired March 31. That had raised concerns Yahoo might make less money from the Microsoft partnership.

Those worries eased Tuesday with a Yahoo regulatory filing that disclosed Microsoft is maintaining the revenue-per-search guarantee through March 2014.

Yahoo rose 90 cents, or 3.6 percent, to close Tuesday at $26.07. It’s the first time the stock has closed above $26 in nearly five years, continuing an upturn that began after Yahoo hired former Google executive Marissa Mayer as its CEO nearly 10 months ago. The shares have surged by 67 percent since Mayer’s arrival.

Yahoo, based in Sunnyvale, Calif., didn’t reveal the minimum amount that it’s likely to see under the Microsoft guarantee. But Yahoo Chief Financial Officer Ken Goldman told analysts last month that Yahoo’s revenue would decline by about $50 million to $60 million during the rest of this year without the guaranteed Microsoft payments.

Microsoft extended the guarantee on April 30, retroactive to April 1, according to Yahoo’s filing.

This is the second time that Microsoft has extended the guarantee since its 10-year search partnership with Yahoo began in 2010. The guarantee originally was supposed to expire in late 2011, but Microsoft agreed to protect Yahoo for a longer period because its technology hasn’t been generating as much advertising revenue as the two sides anticipated.

The alliance calls for Microsoft to provide its search technology to Yahoo in exchange for 12 percent of the revenue from search ads on Yahoo’s site.

The disappointing performance of the search partnership is one of the reasons that Yahoo fell into a financial funk that battered its stock. Yahoo posted modest revenue growth last year, the first gain since 2008.

Yahoo’s filing contained other good news besides the extension of the Microsoft guarantee. The documents also provided more details about the robust growth at Alibaba Group, a Chinese Internet company in which Yahoo owns a 24 percent stake.

Alibaba’s earnings during the final three months of last year more than doubled to $642 million while its revenue climbed 80 percent to $1.8 billion. That was illuminating information because Alibaba is still a privately held company. Alibaba is expected to go public within the next two years, giving Yahoo a chance to reap a huge windfall by selling its shares in the company.

Imran to make video address today

LAHORE, May 8: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chairman Imran Khan may take three to four weeks for a complete recovery as he has suffered nine fractures in his backbone and chest.

Imran Khan is, however, in high spirits and has been instructing his party leaders to keep on campaigning for the general elections.

According to a report of his CT scan, T6 (fracture) is very complicated.

After examining the CT scan report of Mr Khan, a senior orthopaedic surgeon at the Jinnah Hospital told Dawn that Mr Khan should not move from his bed before three to four weeks because of compression fracture of T6 vertebral body with a 40 per cent loss of height. The other fractures were of minor nature, he said.

The CT scan report is available with Daily Sitara Sindh News.

A team of specialists at Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital and Research Centre (SKMCH&RC) advised Mr Khan on Wednesday to take a complete bed rest for two to three days.

The doctors have, however, declared that no neurological or spine-related major disorder was reported in the clinical investigations carried out so far.

The medical check-up of Mr Khan was largely based on the CT scan report which apparently showed no life-threatening fractures on any part of his body, including head and spinal cord.

“Imran has full control over all his body organs and he will be allowed to resume his political activities after more clinical investigations in a couple of days,” a doctor said.

According to the CT scan report, “No intra-axial haemorrhage, hydrocephalus or midline shift was found. No skull fracture was seen either.

“However, small scalp haematoma (collection of blood) was seen in the left frontal/parietal eminence and un-displaced spinous process fracture of T1 was noted. Minimally displaced fracture of the tip of C3 spinous process is also noted.”

The report found “small left sided pneumothorax with some surgical emphysema in supraclavicular recess. Tiny non-classified granuloma measuring 3mm is seen again in the right upper lobe”.

“Left third rib fracture is seen. Compression fracture of T6 vertebral body with 40 per cent height loss is also noted. There is some buckling of posterior vertebral haematoma seen anteriorly in ‘posterior mediastinum’ (an irregular triangular space running parallel with the vertebral column).”

The report, however, showed chronic bilateral pars fractures of L5 body. “No vascular or visceral injury was seen in the abdomen and pelvis, a ring-like structure of bones at the lower end of the trunk. The further review shows an un-displaced fracture of T5 vertebral body and spinous process as well. The neural canal, however, remains intact.”

Dr Faisal Sultan of the SKMCH&RC told newsmen on Wednesday that Mr Khan had suffered a hairline compression fracture on a vertebra on his back. “He has t6, c3 and t5 fractures, but his spinal bone is completely safe.”

He said Mr Khan had been advised complete bed rest for two to three days.

Dr Sultan said a team of medical experts from the Pakistan Army had also examined the PTI chairman.

He said the three injured guards were also brought to the Shaukat Khanum Hospital and one of them had been discharged.

VIDEO SPEECH

Imran Khan is likely to make a speech through video link at his party’s final election rally in Islamabad on Thursday.

Asad Umer, a leader of the PTI, told Dawn that if Mr Khan felt comfortable he would address live. Otherwise his recorded message would be played at the public meeting.

The party’s Vice Chairman, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, told a news conference on Wednesday that the party would take a decision about Mr Khan’s address at the Islamabad rally after consultation with the doctors treating him.

He said the party’s leaders met Mr Khan on Wednesday morning and felt relieved when “we were received by him with a broad smile on his face”.

In reply to a question, he said there was no need to send Mr Khan abroad for treatment.

Mr Qureshi said the nation had risen and they would go in the elections hand in hand with Imran Khan.“Now no campaign will be able to change people’s mind as Imran’s emotional message from the hospital bed has touched everybody,” he said.

He said the PTI would not win the elections on the basis of ‘electables’ but on party’s ideology. “Imran Khan has finally created a high tide of tsunami and it will not recede,” he added.

Mr Qureshi said the PPP went out of the game in a few overs and the PML-N was in low spirits because of the determination and conviction of Mr Khan. He said the PTI leader had provided the nation a third option and now it was their responsibility to avail the opportunity to create a ‘new Pakistan’.

Answering a question about the possibility of a coalition government after the elections, he said the ground realities showed that the PTI would be getting a clear mandate.

Jahangir Tareen, a PTI leader, said a huge number of silent voters would vote for the PTI. “This time Pakistan will witness a very high turnout,” he added.

The party’s President, Javed Hashmi, also spoke on the occasion.