INDIA

President Barack Obama presents his strategy for defeating al Qaeda to the leaders of Afghanistan and Pakistan on Wednesday amid growing U.S. concern it is losing the war and neither is a reliable ally.

Conventional wisdom says the United States has to bring concrete commitment to international climate talks in Copenhagen in December or no other country will act.

Taliban militants kidnapped 10 Pakistani paramilitaries in an attack on their headquarters on Friday as Islamic militants fought back against an army offensive in the troubled northwest.

The World Bank reached an agreement Thursday to provide a $400 million additional loan for India’s Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) to improve access to finance Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs).

The Pakistan army battled through mountain passes on Thursday in a third day of fighting to evict Taliban fighters from a strategic valley, after U.S. President Barack Obama welcomed its newfound resolve.

3i InfoTech said Monday it will acquire JPMorgan Treasury Services national retail lockbox Business (NRLB) to strengthen its capabilities and their respective core business processes.

Whirlpool Corp reported a surprise quarterly profit on Monday as cost-cutting efforts helped the world's biggest appliance maker weather a slump in global sales, and it backed its 2009 profit forecast.

Countries such as the United States can come up with ideas for a U.N. climate pact beyond an April 24 deadline, the U.N. Climate Change Secretariat said on Friday.

Finance chiefs from the G7 powers said on Friday the global economy may be past the worst phase of a recession although recovery was not yet assured, and they pledged to make sure that big financial firms are sound.

Global finance chiefs pointed to glimmers of hope that a deep recession might be easing but warned ahead of Friday meetings that they must clean up bank balance sheets to pave the way for recovery.

Indian envoys flew into Sri Lanka on Friday to urge a truce in the closing chapter of a 25-year war in which U.N. data showed nearly 6,500 civilians have been killed in the last three months.

The global economic downturn has shown signs of easing in recent weeks, although significant risks remain, U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said before a meeting of G20 officials in Washington on Friday.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) further downgraded its projection of 2009 global economic growth this week from a negative 1.3percent to a negative nearly 2%.

Millions of Indians, including Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, voted peacefully on Thursday in the second stage of a month-long general election that could throw up a weak coalition.

The International Monetary Fund on Wednesday slashed growth forecasts for every major country and urged governments to take forceful action to ensure the world economy's recovery from a severe recession.

The United States carries a substantial share of blame for the current economic crisis but the world must work together to ease the strains, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said on Wednesday.

Maoist rebels, some armed with bows and arrows, briefly hijacked a train with around 500 passengers in eastern India on Wednesday in a show of strength on the eve of the second stage of India's general election.

Thousands more civilians surged out of Sri Lanka's war zone on Wednesday, while soldiers and Tamil Tiger rebels fought the apparent endgame of Asia's longest-running war despite calls to protect those still trapped.

Indian mobile operators added a record 15.64 million customers in March, helped by the expansion of networks to smaller towns and rural areas, data from the telecoms regulator showed.

India's gold imports are set to grow by a quarter in April from a year ago, the first rise since August, and demand should strengthen ahead of festivals later in the year, the head of metals trading firm MMTC Ltd said on Tuesday.

Penguin Group has become the first international publisher to sign an English electronic book distribution deal in China after seeing significant growth in the United States, the head of the group said on Tuesday.