News Source: SiliconIndia.com News Highlight: Indian software service providers are doing head-to-head against legacy IT majors such as IBM and Accenture and there is a major transitional change happening at the market place, a business newspaper reported. An industry expert said that the much superior quality of our service and our global delivery model have created enormous pressure on legacy players, adding that the recent order from ABN Amro Bank vindicated this. There are still four-five other large deals in the pipeline, whose details cannot be mentioned due to their long gestation period before they fructify, SD Shibulal, director and head of sales and delivery, Infosys. He said large deals give boost to the company to go beyond the application, development and maintenance (ADM) segment of the software services business, which at present accounts to 50% of revenues. URL of the news item: http://www.siliconindia.com/shownewsdata.asp?newsno=29674&newscat=Technology Read more

News Source: BBc News News Highlight: Pakistan's military spokesman has said an entire generation of young people has been wiped out in the areas worst hit by a massive earthquake. Maj Gen Shaukat Sultan, quoted by the AFP news agency, said children had been the biggest casualties. Many were killed when schools collapsed. At least 20,000 people are thought to have been killed in Pakistan, with some reports suggesting the toll may double. Many areas hit by the quake are only just being reached by aid workers. A road has been re-opened into Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistan-administered Kashmir where 11,000 are thought to have died, allowing trucks to deliver food and medical supplies. URL of the news item: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4325784.stm Read more

News Source: ExpressIndia News Highlight: In gruesome pre-dawn strikes, militants allegedly belonging to pro-Pak Hizbul Mujahideen outfit, killed ten members of two Hindu families by slitting their throats in Rajouri district of Jammu and Kashmir today, police sources said here. A group of militants belonging to Hizbul's so called Pir Panchal regiment led by its self-styled deputy divisional commander, Sangat Pathan alias Abu Hamza swooped on Rajnagar area of Budhal Tehsil in Rajouri and barged into the house of Munishi Ram late last night. Some of the militants helped themselves to the food later in the wee hours, killed Munshi Ram, his two sons, a brother and nephew by slitting their throats. All of them died on the spot, the sources said adding that the killers then fled the scene. URL of the news item: http://www.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=56271 Read more

News Source: Newindpress.com News Highlight: Pakistan on ruled out joint relief operations with India in quake-hit Kashmir region and instead made a counter offer to help New Delhi in its efforts to deal with the crisis. "There is no possibility of any joint relief operations on both sides of the LoC. There is no population on the LoC," newly-appointed Pakistan foreign office spokesperson Tasleen Aslam told reporters here. The Pakistan Army is operating in villages and towns in Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) including far-flung areas but not on the LoC, she said. "We remain willing to help Indians if we are needed for any kind of assistance like the Indians offered us any kind of assistance", she said. URL of the news item: http://www.newindpress.com/ Read more