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News ArchiveThe Alaska Conference U.S. Assigns Natural Gas Contract Global Transporation and Logistics Conference Logistics Awards Logistics Partnership US Boosting Efforts to Evacuate Citizens Radio Frequency Identification UN Mobilizes Huge Relief Operation in Java Economic Growth Liberty Bell Pavilion The Alaska Conference North to the Future will be held October 24th 2006 at the Greater Tacoma Convention and Trade Center. The event will focus on economic growth in infrastructure, energy, fisheries, mining, defense, logistics and more. For information on The Alaska Conference, visit http://www.thealaskaconference.com/ . U.S. Assigns Natural Gas Contract The United States Defense Logistics Agency awards Marathon Alaska Natural Gas Co. with a four year contract to supply the Army and Air Force with natural gas. The contract is expected to generate over $51 million in revenues. Global Transporation and Logistics Conference The fourth annual transportation and logistics event is titled “Driving the Global Economy through China” will be held in Shanghai on October 23rd through the 25th, 2006. The event will offer tours of ports, airfreight and other logistical operations. The first annual Middle East Logistics Awards (MELA) will be held in November, 2006 in Dubai, UAE. Some of the 20 awards include “Outstanding Achievement”, the “Best Shipping Line” and “Best Land Freight Forwarder”. The event hopes to boaster networking opportunities, honor achievements in logistics and promote healthy competition. Logistics Partnership Ozburn-Hessey Logistics partners with Cypress Medical to expand services in south California. To meet the growing distribution needs, both companies are combining efforts provide better services to the medical community. Initially 25,000 square feet of flex space will be used for operations in Ontario with plans to increase capacity. US Boosting Efforts to Evacuate Citizens From Lebanon The Bush administration says it is working to evacuate all U.S. citizens wanting to leave Lebanon amid continued Israeli strikes against Hezbollah operations in the country. The State Department says fewer than 100 of the estimated 25,000 U.S. citizens in Lebanon have been evacuated to Cyprus so far. But spokesman Sean McCormack says plans are under way to get Americans out of danger via U.S. military air transport as well as commercial and military sea vessels. "What we hope in the very near future is to start moving people out in groups of hundreds (at a time) . Part of that effort will be via the air bridge. The other part of that effort will be via ships that come in to help take people out. I expect that to happen in the near future," he said. Fifteen-thousand Americans have registered with the U.S. Embassy in Beirut. McCormack said it is not known how many will want to get out of Lebanon, but officials are assuming a number in the thousands. Asked why the United States is taking longer than some other nations to evacuate its citizens, McCormack noted there are far more Americans in Lebanon than nationals of most other countries. He said the U.S. embassy in Beirut is adding staff to assist in the evacuation effort, and had a message for Americans wishing to leave Lebanon. "We want to have a safe, orderly, timely method to get people out who want to leave. What we have (said) in the latest message going out from the (U.S.) embassy to our citizens in Lebanon is: Get your travel gear in order. Make sure your bags are ready to go. Make sure you have your travel documents, so that when we do start into this phase, people are ready to go," added McCormack. Every evacuee must carry a passport and other forms of identification, and will be limited to a suitcase weighing nearly 14 kilograms. All will be charged commercial rates for transportation. Other nations are also scrambling to evacuate their citizens from Lebanon. British officials say their evacuation operation will likely be the biggest since the Second World War, when hundreds of thousands of soldiers trapped by advancing Nazi troops were rescued from the shores of France in 1940. The above news article was provided by: Radio Frequency Identification According to a survey sponsored by NCR (conducted by RSAG), adoption of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) systems are moderate because of many challenges but RFID is expected to gain considerable growth in the future. Some of the benefits of implementing RFID technologies include container tracking, logistical control of product deliveries and inventory management.
UN Mobilizes Huge Relief Operation in Java United Nations aid agencies are mobilizing a huge relief operation for the hundreds of thousands of people affected by the devastating earthquake that struck the Indonesian island of Java Saturday. The quake killed more than 5,000 people and left an estimated 200,000 homeless. The United Nations office that is coordinating the relief effort says the situation is under control despite the complexity of the operation. Spokeswoman Elizabeth Byrs says coordination centers have been set up in the city of Yogyakarta, the epicenter of the quake, in the nearby town of Bantul and at the airport.She says the response to the disaster was efficient and rapid. U.N. staff members working on tsunami relief in Indonesia and soldiers from the Indonesian army were immediately dispatched to Java. But Ms. Byrs says many problems lie ahead. "It is the logistic problem, the rains, the communications, the storage, the congestion of the airport and the airstrip and all these usual problems that we meet when there is a disaster," she said. Damaged roads, heavy storms and rain are complicating the relief effort. Telecommunications are down. Supplies of water and electricity have been affected. Nevertheless, aid is pouring into the area. Some 400 volunteers and staff from the Indonesian Red Cross who were stationed at Mt. Merapi, a volcano located near Yogyakarta, quickly went to the earthquake zone. A spokeswoman for the International Red Cross Federation, Anna Nelson, says the volunteers have treated at least 4,000 injured people. She says various Red Cross societies have rushed tons of food and non-food supplies to the region. "We have a water and sanitation unit on the way which should arrive within the next two days and can produce 600,000 liters of drinking water per day," she said. Two-thousand tents have arrived in the earthquake zone and another 10,000 are on their way. In addition the International Federation has deployed three, what we call, emergency response units to provide assistance in the areas of logistics relief and information and telecommunications." The World Food Program already has dispatched 70 tons of high-energy biscuits and packets of noodles to the victims. Spokesman, Simon Pluess says a big chartered plane arrived in Java Tuesday carrying more food and tons of non-food items such as blankets, tents, generators and water pumps. "Our assessment teams on the ground have indicated that around 100,000 people were directly affected by the earthquake and may require food aid for about two to three months," he said. "The markets in Bantul and Klaten are still closed. That means that all these people who have lost their own food stocks in the earthquake will rely on the emergency food rations." The U.N. children's fund says about 40 percent of the victims are under 18 years of age. The agency has set up a child center in Bantul to provide trauma counseling and recreation for children. The World Health Organization is setting up a disease surveillance system to detect and control outbreaks of communicable diseases. It also will help organize vaccination campaigns against measles, a major killer of children. The above news article was provided by: The Department of Business Economic Development and Tourism (DBEDT) predicts positive economic growth for Hawaii. In the first quarter of 2006, Hawaii’s unemployment rate fell to the lowest in the United States and Wages are forecasted to increase by over 3.5% in 2007. Tourism in Hawaii is expected to total more that 7.5 million visitors, an increase of almost 3% since 2005 and tourism spending for 2006 should be well over 12 billion dollars. Liberty Bell Pavilion Parts of the 30 year old Liberty Bell pavilion started its journey from the Independence Mall to its new home in Alaska. Over 80% of the pavilion which housed the Liberty Bell until October 2003 will become part of a park in Anchorage. |
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