Islamabad, Oct 31: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz chief Nawaz Sharif’s transfer of assets from Saudia Arabia to other foreign countries, instead of Pakistan, has been challenged in the Islamabad High Court.

In a petition filed by Barrister Javed Iqbal Jaffrey, Dr Shamshad Akhtar’s appointment as the Governor of the State Bank of Pakistan has also been challenged.

Former president Pervez Musharraf and the State Bank governor have been made respondents in the case apart from 10 government officials.

Washington, Oct 31 : Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama maintains a clear lead of 11 points over his rival John McCain, with less than one week before Election Day, in a new poll conducted by CBS News/New York Times.

The Democratic nominee now leads his Republican rival by 11 percentage points, 52 percent to 41 percent, among likely voters nationwide.

A small percentage of these voters could still switch sides: The figures include both firm supporters of each candidate and those who lean towards one or the other but have not fully committed.

Lahore, Oct 31: A petition filed in Pakistan’s Supreme Court has asked the court to cancel the land allotted to former president Pervez Musharraf at Chak Shahzad.

The petition filed on Thursday by Jamil Akhtar stated that the land could only be used to grow vegetables and poultry but Musharraf’s farmhouse had a swimming pool and a jogging track, among other facilities.

Washington, Oct 31: Pakistani Ambassador to the US has questioned as to why foreign governments can bail out banks in their own countries but ignore the economic meltdown in Pakistan where a financial collapse could encourage extremists and undermine the global war against terrorism.

Haqqani told the World Affairs Council this week that “ Pakistan needs the support of the international community in rebuilding its economy and providing hope to its people, because hope is what will help country’s elected government to defeat the extremists and terrorists that pose a threat to the future of all of us.”

Tokyo - Mizuho Financial Group Inc cut its earnings projections for fiscal 2008 that runs through March 31 due to the impact of the global financial crisis, the group said Friday.

Japan's mega banking group lowered its net profit by more than half to 250 billion yen (2.55 billion dollars) from an initial projection of 560 billion yen.

Mizuho Financial expected revenues of 3.8 trillion yen for the full year, down from an earlier forecast of 4.3 trillion yen.

Conducted from October 22 to October 26, the Associated Press/GfK's Obama vs McCain CO poll shows Obama leading McCain by 9 % points — 50 % to 41 % among the likely voters of Colorado.

Conducted from October on 26, the Rasmussen Reports/Fox News' Obama vs McCain CO poll shows Obama leading McCain by 4 % points — 50 % to 46 % among the likely voters of Colorado. According to the poll, Obama holds 84.5 % chance of carrying Colorado on Election Day.

Conducted from October on 26, the Politico/InsiderAdvantage's McCain vs Obama CO poll shows Obama leading McCain by 8 % points — 53 % to 45 % among the likely voters of Colorado.