India has asked influential countries of the G8 and G5 to put pressure on Pakistan to shed the path of terrorism and choose friendship with it, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh disclosed on Saturday.

Leaders of the world's industrialised and developing countries, including India, on Friday said they made "significant progress" on trade matters and sent a "strong political message" on tackling climate change at their just-concluded Summit here.

Taking India by name, US President Barack Obama on Friday said it would be "wrongheaded" to think that global challenges can be met in the absence of "major powers" like this South Asian country.

President Barack Obama sat down with Pope Benedict XVI at the Vatican on Friday for a meeting in which frank but constructive talks were expected between two men who agree on helping the poor but disagree on abortion and stem cell research.

Leaders from some of the biggest economic powers put the dollar's continuing dominance of post-war global finance into question at the G8 summit as calls grow for alternatives.