The United Nations is embarking on something new: a partnership with the private sector to address some of the developing world’s most vexing issues in areas such as education, health care, economic development and government. Craig Barret, the chairman of Intel, has been appointed to chair the UN initiative called the Global Alliance for ICT and Development. GAID meets with Silicon Valley leaders for the first time at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, Calif., for a series of panels and discussions about the ways IT solutions can help the U.N.’s efforts. PodTech’s Jason Lopez spoke with Sarbuland Khan, executive coordinator for GAID.

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The IPO season is underway in India. Media company Global Broadcast News, which operates CNN and other news channels, went IPO earlier this week. It listed on both the Bombay Stock Exchange and National Stock Exchange.

Bangalore-based MindTree Consulting is going IPO on the Indian stock exchange. ...

Last Monday, Veer Bothra (seen here on the left) asked me to join in the monthly mixer he organises, called Mobile Monday. It’s loosely tied in with an eponymous event held around the world, an opportunity for mobile platform stakeholders to meet and talk about change … and more of the same.

Veer wanted me to talk about podcasting, not the nuts and bolts, but where it’s at and its relevance to the radio paradigm. That’s a juicy opportunity, I thought to myself, and so found myself making the difficult journey to North Mumbai (needs planning and a sort of instinctive feel for which combination of segments and modes of transport make it the least painful overall).

Kolachi is one of the traditional names for the port city of Karachi, in Pakistan’s coastal southern province of Sindh. The city too is a peculiarly South Asian blend of old and new, crowded marketplaces competing for space with massive concrete office blocks housing an overwhelmingly large part of Pakistan’s business — well over one third of the economy comes out of this bustling city of 12 million. It also has a vibrant arts and culture scene.

Las Vegas, NV, April 6, 2006 (PodTech News) – The convergence of entertainment and cell phones has been predicted for so long that the notion it has arrived seems trite. But the technology infrastructure to wed mobile telephony with IP networks has arrived and the last piece to the puzzle ...

Las Vegas, NV, April 6, 2006 (PodTech News) – The Chairman and CEO of BET Networks, Debra Lee, says her firm takes on partnerships when the opportunities arise. But mobile telephony is more than a typical opportunity. BET recently formed a partnership with Motricity to manage the delivery of BET ...

Las Vegas, NV, April 6, 2006 (PodTech News) – “The man is a true inspiration to all of us,” noted Van Toffler in a tongue-in-cheek tone after demonstrating a Flavor Flav outgoing message. The president of MTV Networks says mobile telephony would be key to everything the company does, ...

Las Vegas, NV, April 4, 2006 (PodTech News) – CTIA Wireless 2006, the largest trade show devoted to mobile telephony and wireless technology, begins on Tuesday. CTIA officials expect about 40,000 attendees who will witness product demos from more than 1,000 exhibiting companies.

Though past shows have focused on wireless hardware ...