Dutch electronics company, Phillips has created Bio-light, the greener lighting system that is part of their Microbial Home (MH) system.
The bioluminescent bacteria, which flourishes on waste generated in the average home, is housed in hand-blown glass cells, clustered together to form a lamp that could easily be displayed in a modern art museum.
Each cell is joined to the lamp's reservoir base by thin silicon tubes that pipe methane gas from composted bathroom solids and vegetable scraps via a kitchen dodad that digests bio-waste.
Till the time proper nutrients are supplied, the bio-light's living bacteria can be powered indefinitely. Although the light is not bright enough to fully replace conventional lighting, it does make people conscious of household forms of wasted energy that could be tapped.
"Designers have an obligation to understand the urgency of the situation, and translate humanity's needs into solutions," the Discovery News quoted Clive van Heerden, Senior Director of Design-led Innovation at Philips Design, as saying on the website.
"Energy-saving light bulbs will only take us so far. We need to push ourselves to rethink domestic appliances entirely, to rethink how homes consume energy, and how entire communities can pool resources," Heerden added.
Our own Ellen Rocco was in Albany yesterday with the group representing the North Country at the regional economic development competition being run by the governor's office.
It pits eight regions of the state against each other for economic development aid from the state. The four winning regions each get $40 million, the others split $40 million.
Ellen was there with two other people involved in one of the projects selected for presentation to the panel of judges: North Country Pastured, which hopes to get a mobile poultry processing facility going in the St. Lawrence Valley.
Kevin Elkin of Elkin Tree Service in Indian lake ( a passionate broadband proponent) and representatives of a company based in Syracuse and Ogdensburg that's working on advanced LED lighting technology. Leading were co-chairs Garry Douglas of the North Country Chamber of Commerce in Plattsburgh, Clarkson University President Tony Collins, and Kate Fish, a North Country Council member representing the Adirondack North Country Association.
Here's a link to the website with all the regions' full videos. (Don't worry…you should be able to fast forward to various bits.)
The co-chairs did the presentation, and each of the judges had questions, with interjections from time to time.
"We think we did the North Country proud," says Ellen. She says all the panelists said the North Country presentation stood out, partly because this region's council was the only team to bring actual people who could talk about their own projects. And the visuals were smart and looked good…not your typical "death by Power Point" presentation.
Showing posts with label led bulb. Show all posts
Showing posts with label led bulb. Show all posts
Thursday, 1 December 2011
Thursday, 16 June 2011
BUISNESS AS USUAL: Is Nigeria lagging behind in African technology?
In the last few years, the African technology space has received increasing spotlight in the international press. Led by innovations in Kenya such as M-Pesa, the renowned mobile money platform and Ushahidi, the Kenyan crowd-sourcing platform that maps crisis information, the continent has received a slew of positive media spotlighting these technologies. This is welcome given the continent's prior problems with attracting negative press globally. The African ICT space appears to be one of the key sectors leading the rebranding of the continent as a place of opportunity and not solely of war, hunger and misery.
This is exciting and given the steady efforts at expanding broadband access in various countries, these positive ICT stories are likely to continue.
In the evolving narrative in the African ICT sector, certain trends appear to be emerging. As mentioned earlier, Kenya and particularly, Nairobi is becoming a hub for technological innovation. Its early successes appear to have piqued the interest of developers, entrepreneurs and corporations and set off what seems to be a culture of coders, technology entrepreneurs and innovators. Global technology companies like Google, Cisco and Nokia Siemens have set up shop in Nairobi as their continent-wide headquarters and the stage seems set for the churning out of Africa's next technology talents and startups from the city.
Similarly, South Africa appears to have steadily set itself apart as a leading African technology hub. It boasts of success stories such as MXit, a mobile social network that is currently more popular than Facebook among South Africans and upcoming technology platforms such as Motribe, another social network that boasts about 1.5 million users and growing.
However, South Africa's greatest value proposition to both entrepreneurs and corporations alike appears to be not so much its prior history of innovation but its rich intellectual capital. Cities such as Cape Town are home to world-class computer science faculties and have gradually developed an ecosystem of people, ideas and resources. Not surprisingly, Google recognised this rich evolving ecosystem when it set up Umbono, its first technology incubator globally in Cape Town to provide monetary and technical support for entrepreneurs earlier this year.
Collectively, the sorts of competencies that cities like Nairobi and Cape Town are developing are the kinds that matter. Features such as a strong community of innovators and a strong educational foundation that strengthens the quality of human capital ensure that startups that emerge have a greater likelihood of being world-class.
As Africa's leading Internet market (according to some industry reports), it is a bit surprising that Nigeria is not at the forefront of technological innovation on the continent. Though success stories in areas such as the transaction switching and payment processing space through companies such as Interswitch are present, follow up game changing innovations in other areas have been few and far between.
Earlier, the Nigerian Government set up the Abuja Technology Village, reported as modelled after Silicon Valley in the US. Although the technology village has been running since 2009, including its in-house incubation programme for entrepreneurs, called Enspire, it is not clear if the initiative has been able to spur the sort of community and vibrancy needed to position Abuja as a prominent technology hub.
In Lagos, some vision-driven private sector individuals are at the forefront of creating hubs that can foster the sort of community that have been developed in places like South Africa and Kenya. However, infrastructural challenges that significantly increase the cost of running these creative spaces remain an issue. There is also the problem of world-class human capital.
Is Nigeria lagging behind in African tech? Given the evolving trends, it appears we have some catching up to do.
This is exciting and given the steady efforts at expanding broadband access in various countries, these positive ICT stories are likely to continue.
In the evolving narrative in the African ICT sector, certain trends appear to be emerging. As mentioned earlier, Kenya and particularly, Nairobi is becoming a hub for technological innovation. Its early successes appear to have piqued the interest of developers, entrepreneurs and corporations and set off what seems to be a culture of coders, technology entrepreneurs and innovators. Global technology companies like Google, Cisco and Nokia Siemens have set up shop in Nairobi as their continent-wide headquarters and the stage seems set for the churning out of Africa's next technology talents and startups from the city.
Similarly, South Africa appears to have steadily set itself apart as a leading African technology hub. It boasts of success stories such as MXit, a mobile social network that is currently more popular than Facebook among South Africans and upcoming technology platforms such as Motribe, another social network that boasts about 1.5 million users and growing.
However, South Africa's greatest value proposition to both entrepreneurs and corporations alike appears to be not so much its prior history of innovation but its rich intellectual capital. Cities such as Cape Town are home to world-class computer science faculties and have gradually developed an ecosystem of people, ideas and resources. Not surprisingly, Google recognised this rich evolving ecosystem when it set up Umbono, its first technology incubator globally in Cape Town to provide monetary and technical support for entrepreneurs earlier this year.
Collectively, the sorts of competencies that cities like Nairobi and Cape Town are developing are the kinds that matter. Features such as a strong community of innovators and a strong educational foundation that strengthens the quality of human capital ensure that startups that emerge have a greater likelihood of being world-class.
As Africa's leading Internet market (according to some industry reports), it is a bit surprising that Nigeria is not at the forefront of technological innovation on the continent. Though success stories in areas such as the transaction switching and payment processing space through companies such as Interswitch are present, follow up game changing innovations in other areas have been few and far between.
Earlier, the Nigerian Government set up the Abuja Technology Village, reported as modelled after Silicon Valley in the US. Although the technology village has been running since 2009, including its in-house incubation programme for entrepreneurs, called Enspire, it is not clear if the initiative has been able to spur the sort of community and vibrancy needed to position Abuja as a prominent technology hub.
In Lagos, some vision-driven private sector individuals are at the forefront of creating hubs that can foster the sort of community that have been developed in places like South Africa and Kenya. However, infrastructural challenges that significantly increase the cost of running these creative spaces remain an issue. There is also the problem of world-class human capital.
Is Nigeria lagging behind in African tech? Given the evolving trends, it appears we have some catching up to do.
Monday, 13 June 2011
Harvick messes with Kyle Busch; Busch fails post-race inspection
He only led two laps and was never really a major threat to win at Pocono on Sunday, but Kyle Busch nonetheless found himself once again in the spotlight, and once again for all the wrong reasons.
Busch, barely a week removed from his already-infamous fight with Richard Childress, ran into trouble with one of Childress' drivers almost immediately. On Pocono's 3,000-foot-long straightaway, Kevin Harvick took a long, sloping line that forced Busch almost all the way into the infield.
In the ensuing laps, Harvick bumped Busch several times, making it clear he was attempting to rattle the 18's driver and crew. Harvick continued until NASCAR officials told the teams to knock it off, and they raced the rest of the afternoon without incident.
Afterward, Busch noted that it appeared Harvick "was trying to make it awfully difficult on me." Measuring his words carefully, Busch added that "maybe [that style of racing] kind of shows his character and who he is, how he feels he needs to race on the racetrack. But it's not my fight. He's trying to turn it into one."
Harvick, meanwhile, freely admitted he was trying to get into Busch's head. "He knows he has one coming," Harvick said, according to ESPN's David Newton. "I just wanted him to think about it."
After the race, the news got worse for Busch, as NASCAR inspectors found the left front of his car to be too low. NASCAR will take the No. 18 back to its R&D Center for further inspection and, if necessary, issue a penalty later this week. The severity of the penalty will depend on the violation, and since NASCAR has not yet laid out the points breakdown for penalties under the new points system, the exact possible penalties are still a mystery.
So how low was it? "Doesn't matter, it's too low," NASCAR VP of Competition Robin Pemberton said. "Outside the tolerances."
Busch finished third in the Pocono race. This penalty isn't severe enough to strip him of his finish or anything like that; it's more likely he'll be penalized somewhere in the five-to-15-point range, if necessary.
Busch, barely a week removed from his already-infamous fight with Richard Childress, ran into trouble with one of Childress' drivers almost immediately. On Pocono's 3,000-foot-long straightaway, Kevin Harvick took a long, sloping line that forced Busch almost all the way into the infield.
In the ensuing laps, Harvick bumped Busch several times, making it clear he was attempting to rattle the 18's driver and crew. Harvick continued until NASCAR officials told the teams to knock it off, and they raced the rest of the afternoon without incident.
Afterward, Busch noted that it appeared Harvick "was trying to make it awfully difficult on me." Measuring his words carefully, Busch added that "maybe [that style of racing] kind of shows his character and who he is, how he feels he needs to race on the racetrack. But it's not my fight. He's trying to turn it into one."
Harvick, meanwhile, freely admitted he was trying to get into Busch's head. "He knows he has one coming," Harvick said, according to ESPN's David Newton. "I just wanted him to think about it."
After the race, the news got worse for Busch, as NASCAR inspectors found the left front of his car to be too low. NASCAR will take the No. 18 back to its R&D Center for further inspection and, if necessary, issue a penalty later this week. The severity of the penalty will depend on the violation, and since NASCAR has not yet laid out the points breakdown for penalties under the new points system, the exact possible penalties are still a mystery.
So how low was it? "Doesn't matter, it's too low," NASCAR VP of Competition Robin Pemberton said. "Outside the tolerances."
Busch finished third in the Pocono race. This penalty isn't severe enough to strip him of his finish or anything like that; it's more likely he'll be penalized somewhere in the five-to-15-point range, if necessary.
Wednesday, 25 May 2011
Green" products and free market conflicts
"Green" products and free market conflicts
In recent years the move toward green products and technologies has gone into overdrive. Everything from the expansion of windmills and solar technologies to the hard rush toward passenger vehicles that run on alternative fuels is in the media. Few people disagree that America needs to continue to develop more efficient and cost-effective products. However, what has been a bone of contention with many consumers is the way in which many within the "green" movement have gone about attempting to integrate these new technologies into the market.
The primary problem with the green movement is that it is often inhospitable to the mechanisms of the free market. Many of these green products cost more than they are worth. Then there is the strong-arming. As soon as one hears of the wonders of a new green technology, it is not long before government intervention follows with either manipulating buyers with rebates, which come straight from the tax payers' pockets, or penalties for those that fail to comply with new green mandates. What is completely missing from this picture? It is the freedom of choice that comes with the free market.
American buyers welcome innovation and creativity. The expansion of green technologies would be no exception if they were presented fairly within the market place. That is, new technologies such as hybrid cars can and will do well if they can be designed to be cost-effective and equal in quality to their current competition. If not, they will and should fail and no government rebate will change that. When the government attempts to subvert the free market, products that should have been colossal marketing failures are wrongly saved and kept from their deserved and natural extinction. Let us illuminate a conflict between the pushers of green products and the free market.
Light bulbs — they are a major part of American life. No one will argue that a traditional light bulb has too short of a lifespan. Everyone who reads this article, who is honest, will admit to doing the "light bulb shuffle." That is, taking a working light bulb to different rooms within the home when there is a shortage of working bulbs but still the need for light. There is no shame here, just the realization that the technology could be improved. Here is a bright example where the green industry could work to fill a very needed and practical niche in American life. The criterion for success here is simply creating a better product for a competitive price.
Unfortunately, those pushing this green technology fail to embrace the free market and turn to the government to create buyer appeal. Despite the reasonable argument against energy waste when comparing new bulbs to traditional incandescent ones, the government decides to strong-arm the American consumer with an upcoming ban on 100-watt incandescent light bulbs even though the nearest LED alternative light bulb is reported to come in at a cost of $50 apiece. This is ridiculous. The "green" compact fluorescent light bulb brought about by the current environmental push is even worse. Why? They are not only expensive, they are dangerous!
According to the Environmental Protection Agency's website, breaking a CFL light bulb is the equivalent of creating a hazardous material spill. Due to the poisonous mercury powder and vapor released when a green CFL is broken in common household settings, the EPA recommends that all humans and animals evacuate the room. Windows should be opened and the room should be aired out for five to ten minutes. Heating and air conditioning units should be shut down to limit contamination spread. Remains of the broken CFL should be placed in a glass jar with a metal lid and taken to a disposal location. Vacuuming the location of the CFL break incident is reported by the EPA to potentially spread mercury powder or vapor. In other words, if your new environmental friendly "green" light bulb doesn't kill your pocketbook, it might kill you personally. What were they thinking?
In recent years the move toward green products and technologies has gone into overdrive. Everything from the expansion of windmills and solar technologies to the hard rush toward passenger vehicles that run on alternative fuels is in the media. Few people disagree that America needs to continue to develop more efficient and cost-effective products. However, what has been a bone of contention with many consumers is the way in which many within the "green" movement have gone about attempting to integrate these new technologies into the market.
The primary problem with the green movement is that it is often inhospitable to the mechanisms of the free market. Many of these green products cost more than they are worth. Then there is the strong-arming. As soon as one hears of the wonders of a new green technology, it is not long before government intervention follows with either manipulating buyers with rebates, which come straight from the tax payers' pockets, or penalties for those that fail to comply with new green mandates. What is completely missing from this picture? It is the freedom of choice that comes with the free market.
American buyers welcome innovation and creativity. The expansion of green technologies would be no exception if they were presented fairly within the market place. That is, new technologies such as hybrid cars can and will do well if they can be designed to be cost-effective and equal in quality to their current competition. If not, they will and should fail and no government rebate will change that. When the government attempts to subvert the free market, products that should have been colossal marketing failures are wrongly saved and kept from their deserved and natural extinction. Let us illuminate a conflict between the pushers of green products and the free market.
Light bulbs — they are a major part of American life. No one will argue that a traditional light bulb has too short of a lifespan. Everyone who reads this article, who is honest, will admit to doing the "light bulb shuffle." That is, taking a working light bulb to different rooms within the home when there is a shortage of working bulbs but still the need for light. There is no shame here, just the realization that the technology could be improved. Here is a bright example where the green industry could work to fill a very needed and practical niche in American life. The criterion for success here is simply creating a better product for a competitive price.
Unfortunately, those pushing this green technology fail to embrace the free market and turn to the government to create buyer appeal. Despite the reasonable argument against energy waste when comparing new bulbs to traditional incandescent ones, the government decides to strong-arm the American consumer with an upcoming ban on 100-watt incandescent light bulbs even though the nearest LED alternative light bulb is reported to come in at a cost of $50 apiece. This is ridiculous. The "green" compact fluorescent light bulb brought about by the current environmental push is even worse. Why? They are not only expensive, they are dangerous!
According to the Environmental Protection Agency's website, breaking a CFL light bulb is the equivalent of creating a hazardous material spill. Due to the poisonous mercury powder and vapor released when a green CFL is broken in common household settings, the EPA recommends that all humans and animals evacuate the room. Windows should be opened and the room should be aired out for five to ten minutes. Heating and air conditioning units should be shut down to limit contamination spread. Remains of the broken CFL should be placed in a glass jar with a metal lid and taken to a disposal location. Vacuuming the location of the CFL break incident is reported by the EPA to potentially spread mercury powder or vapor. In other words, if your new environmental friendly "green" light bulb doesn't kill your pocketbook, it might kill you personally. What were they thinking?
Tuesday, 12 April 2011
Breaking the Speed Limit
Last week it was the throwers. Next week it just might be the multi-eventers. But today, at the 25th Annual Pomona-Pitzer Invitational, it was the Cougar sprinters who took center stage and enjoyed their day in the spotlight.
Junior All-American Zachary Keene led the way for the Cougars speedsters, putting together arguably the best-ever regular-season meet in his collegiate career. Keene was the undisputed sprint champion of the Pomona-Pitzer Invitational, winning both the 100- and 200-meter dashes with season-best times. In fact, his winning effort in the 200 – a 21.19 – was a personal-best and the seventh-best mark in Azusa Pacific history. Keene grabbed the early and as he came out of the turn he pulled away from the field, beating his nearest competitor by .43 of a second.
Earlier in the meet he won the 100 with a windy 10.58, holding off Jordan Taylor of Cal State Bakersfield who was second with a 10.70. For Keene, it was his first 100 of the season, and the effort bodes well for a man who is trying to become the third Cougar ever to win the NAIA 100- and 200-meter national championships later this year.
Keene opened the meet by anchoring the Cougars’ 4x100-meter relay to a season-best 41.86.
On the women’s side of the sprints, Cougar senior Mandy Ross, an All-American as well, finished second in both the 100- and 200-meters, and in keeping in line with her individual performances she anchored the Cougars’ 4x100 relay to a second-place showing with a 47.46, teaming with Anita Fung, Breanna Leslie and Tiffeny Parker to clock the fourth-fastest relay in Azusa Pacific history.
Ross recorded a very fine early-season 12.11 in her first 100 of the outdoor season. She then ran a 24.76 in the 200.
While Keene and Ross were clearly the stars of the meet, they weren’t the only Cougars to shine on the track. Sophomore Poppy Lawman completed a fantastic week of racing by narrowly finishing second in the women’s 800-meters with a season-best time of 2:10.63. Canadian high school phenom Jenna Westaway edged Lawman by .02 of a second. The day before Lawman ran a 4:30.22 in the 1500 meters at the Jackie Joyner-Kersee/Rafer Johnson Invitational at UCLA. In her first 1500 of the season, Lawman posted a time less than 2 seconds off her personal-best.
In the men’s 800 meters at Pomona, senior Montrail Brooks blazed a personal-best 1:53.67, finishing sixth in the 82-man field with a time just off the NAIA qualifying standard.
All-American Staphon Arnold led Azusa Pacific’s showing in the field events, finishing second in the men’s high jump with a clearance of 6’ 9 3/4”, easily qualifying for the NAIA outdoors in his first competition of the year.
Back at UCLA on Friday, Lawman’s performance was one of just several excellent times posted by Azusa Pacific distance runners. NAIA champion Lauren Jimison recorded the second-fasted 5000-meter run in Azusa Pacific history with a 16:38.91, trailing event winner Danielle Tauro of Michigan by 6 seconds.
Senior Abednego Magut finished second in the men’s 1500-meters with an NAIA-qualifying 3:51.87.
Overall for the weekend, Azusa Pacific punched a dozen more entries for NAIA Outdoor Track & Field Championship Meet later this spring in Marion, Ind.
Junior All-American Zachary Keene led the way for the Cougars speedsters, putting together arguably the best-ever regular-season meet in his collegiate career. Keene was the undisputed sprint champion of the Pomona-Pitzer Invitational, winning both the 100- and 200-meter dashes with season-best times. In fact, his winning effort in the 200 – a 21.19 – was a personal-best and the seventh-best mark in Azusa Pacific history. Keene grabbed the early and as he came out of the turn he pulled away from the field, beating his nearest competitor by .43 of a second.
Earlier in the meet he won the 100 with a windy 10.58, holding off Jordan Taylor of Cal State Bakersfield who was second with a 10.70. For Keene, it was his first 100 of the season, and the effort bodes well for a man who is trying to become the third Cougar ever to win the NAIA 100- and 200-meter national championships later this year.
Keene opened the meet by anchoring the Cougars’ 4x100-meter relay to a season-best 41.86.
On the women’s side of the sprints, Cougar senior Mandy Ross, an All-American as well, finished second in both the 100- and 200-meters, and in keeping in line with her individual performances she anchored the Cougars’ 4x100 relay to a second-place showing with a 47.46, teaming with Anita Fung, Breanna Leslie and Tiffeny Parker to clock the fourth-fastest relay in Azusa Pacific history.
Ross recorded a very fine early-season 12.11 in her first 100 of the outdoor season. She then ran a 24.76 in the 200.
While Keene and Ross were clearly the stars of the meet, they weren’t the only Cougars to shine on the track. Sophomore Poppy Lawman completed a fantastic week of racing by narrowly finishing second in the women’s 800-meters with a season-best time of 2:10.63. Canadian high school phenom Jenna Westaway edged Lawman by .02 of a second. The day before Lawman ran a 4:30.22 in the 1500 meters at the Jackie Joyner-Kersee/Rafer Johnson Invitational at UCLA. In her first 1500 of the season, Lawman posted a time less than 2 seconds off her personal-best.
In the men’s 800 meters at Pomona, senior Montrail Brooks blazed a personal-best 1:53.67, finishing sixth in the 82-man field with a time just off the NAIA qualifying standard.
All-American Staphon Arnold led Azusa Pacific’s showing in the field events, finishing second in the men’s high jump with a clearance of 6’ 9 3/4”, easily qualifying for the NAIA outdoors in his first competition of the year.
Back at UCLA on Friday, Lawman’s performance was one of just several excellent times posted by Azusa Pacific distance runners. NAIA champion Lauren Jimison recorded the second-fasted 5000-meter run in Azusa Pacific history with a 16:38.91, trailing event winner Danielle Tauro of Michigan by 6 seconds.
Senior Abednego Magut finished second in the men’s 1500-meters with an NAIA-qualifying 3:51.87.
Overall for the weekend, Azusa Pacific punched a dozen more entries for NAIA Outdoor Track & Field Championship Meet later this spring in Marion, Ind.
Wednesday, 30 March 2011
Qatar in spotlight in absence of Arab heavies
DUBAI — The conflict in Libya has swept small but wealthy Qatar into the diplomatic and military spotlight in the absence of traditional Arab heavyweights Saudi Arabia and Egypt, analysts said on Wednesday.
Qatar last week became the first Arab state to take part in Western-led military operations against the regime of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.
It has since scored another regional first by recognising the transitional council of the rebels battling Gaddafi as legitimate representatives of the Libyan people.
On Tuesday, leaders at an international conference held in London on the Libya crisis appointed gas-rich Qatar to host the first meeting of a follow-up Contact Group.
“This all confirms Qatar’s ambition to play a role as leader of the Arab world in the absence of the region’s traditional heavyweights such as Saudi Arabia and Egypt,” said London-based analyst Abdelwahad BadraKhan.
Qatari Foreign Minister Hamad bin Jassem Al-Thani said in the British capital that the conflict in Libya was an Arab affair in which regional states should become more involved.
Qatar’s high-profile role “shows the determination of its leaders to put their small country on the regional political map,” just like they are on the sporting calendar as host of the 2022 football World Cup, said BadraKhan.
“With a stable regime and reassured by a large US air base in Qatar”, the emir, Hamad bin Hamad Al-Thani, has been taking the initiative “in consultation with” Washington and Riyadh, according to BadraKhan.
And Egypt is only just emerging from the February revolution which toppled its longtime president Hosni Mubarak.
Eclipsed since independence by “big brother” Saudi Arabia, Qatar has turned into a player in its own right, with help from Doha-based news channel Al-Jazeera and its blanket coverage of the so-called “Arab spring” of revolts.
Doha has played the role of mediator in complex regional crises in Lebanon, Yemen and Sudan, with varying degrees of success.
Ibrahim Sharqieh, deputy head of Brookings Doha Center, said a new order was being put in place.
“Qatar has a role to play in all this with its financial muscle, a moderate political vision and opening, and expertise it has gained from being involved in resolving regional crises,” he said.
Sharqieh pointed out the country has good ties with the United States and arch-foe Iran, and has had political contacts as well as trading with Israel.
Mohamed Mesfer, a university lecturer in Doha, said the low profile kept by Syria and Algeria was also serving to boost Qatar, which apart from the United Arab Emirates has been the only Arab state untouched by unrest popping up across the region since January.
On the domestic front, Qatar has lined up legislative elections without being forced to bow to street protests.
Libyan rebels say the Gulf state has signed a contract to market oil from the rebel-held east of the country, and it to host and help launch a rebel television station.
Qatar last week became the first Arab state to take part in Western-led military operations against the regime of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.
It has since scored another regional first by recognising the transitional council of the rebels battling Gaddafi as legitimate representatives of the Libyan people.
On Tuesday, leaders at an international conference held in London on the Libya crisis appointed gas-rich Qatar to host the first meeting of a follow-up Contact Group.
“This all confirms Qatar’s ambition to play a role as leader of the Arab world in the absence of the region’s traditional heavyweights such as Saudi Arabia and Egypt,” said London-based analyst Abdelwahad BadraKhan.
Qatari Foreign Minister Hamad bin Jassem Al-Thani said in the British capital that the conflict in Libya was an Arab affair in which regional states should become more involved.
Qatar’s high-profile role “shows the determination of its leaders to put their small country on the regional political map,” just like they are on the sporting calendar as host of the 2022 football World Cup, said BadraKhan.
“With a stable regime and reassured by a large US air base in Qatar”, the emir, Hamad bin Hamad Al-Thani, has been taking the initiative “in consultation with” Washington and Riyadh, according to BadraKhan.
And Egypt is only just emerging from the February revolution which toppled its longtime president Hosni Mubarak.
Eclipsed since independence by “big brother” Saudi Arabia, Qatar has turned into a player in its own right, with help from Doha-based news channel Al-Jazeera and its blanket coverage of the so-called “Arab spring” of revolts.
Doha has played the role of mediator in complex regional crises in Lebanon, Yemen and Sudan, with varying degrees of success.
Ibrahim Sharqieh, deputy head of Brookings Doha Center, said a new order was being put in place.
“Qatar has a role to play in all this with its financial muscle, a moderate political vision and opening, and expertise it has gained from being involved in resolving regional crises,” he said.
Sharqieh pointed out the country has good ties with the United States and arch-foe Iran, and has had political contacts as well as trading with Israel.
Mohamed Mesfer, a university lecturer in Doha, said the low profile kept by Syria and Algeria was also serving to boost Qatar, which apart from the United Arab Emirates has been the only Arab state untouched by unrest popping up across the region since January.
On the domestic front, Qatar has lined up legislative elections without being forced to bow to street protests.
Libyan rebels say the Gulf state has signed a contract to market oil from the rebel-held east of the country, and it to host and help launch a rebel television station.
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