A K-1 fiancé(e) visa is a nonimmigrant visa for a foreign born man or woman who wishes to come to the United States and marry a U.S. citizen fiancé(e). A U.S. citizen can petition for his or her foreign fiancé(e) to come to the United States if the couple has met each other in person within the last two years.
To obtain a K-1 visa, a U.S. citizen has to file a fiancé(e) petition on behalf of his or her foreign born fiancé(e). Upon approval of the fiancé(e) petition and completion of all the required forms, a U.S. consulate or embassy abroad will interview the foreign fiancé(e) and issue a K-1 visa. A K-1 fiancé(e) visa will be valid for ninety days. Within ninety days of entry into the U.S., the foreign fiancé(e) must either marry the U.S. citizen fiancé(e) or return to his or her home country. If the foreign fiancé(e)’s minor children wish to come to the United States with their parent, they can obtain K-2 visas.
A foreign fiancé(e) who marries a U.S. citizen fiancé(e) can apply for a Green Card (officially called a Permanent Resident Card) which will allow him or her to permanently stay in the United States. In order to apply for a Green card, a fiancé(e) who entered the United States on a K-1 visa must marry a U.S. citizen within 90 days of arrival. Then, the spouses must prepare and file all the necessary documents for a Green Card application.
To find out more about K-1 and K-2 visas go to http://usimmigration-services.com/ website. On this website you will find step-by-step guides and packages which make the complicated process of obtaining K-1 and K-2 visas very easy to understand.
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Sydney's Car Parking Rental Market is Set to Explode
If you have driven through Sydney in more recent times it is obvious that there is a high demand for parking spaces and the parking spaces that are available are very expansive.
This will continue as Sydney's population grows and our car manufacturing industry booms.
With few official council car parks available to commuters, and little subsidizing of this cost by employers, a clear demand exists for quality and affordable car park space. As a result, new services have arisen allowing those who may have a spare spot in Sydney to connect them with the commuters who are in such desperate need. This ends up being a win-win situation for all parties involved.
Now is the time to get in on a share of this exciting new market. As reported recently, parking in Sydney is big business with parking costs going through the roof. This has lead to the private parking market being primed to explode.
With the internet making it easier than ever before to advertise private parking spots or car parks, there is no need to go through any huge expense to advertise a spare space you may have. Putting up an ad for your Sydney car park is only a click away, with extremely profitable results for this most passive service you are providing. Easier money could not be made!
Not only is this easy money in your pocket, but think of all the people you could be helping who are in desperate need of parking.
The stressed businessman who is running late to a meeting and has to pay over $40 to park for a few hours will be all too happy to thank you for giving him that alternative of his own private Sydney parking spot that will be there for him every day, or the employees who have been left with no other option but to commute on crowded city busses each morning will now have the to rent your parking space saving them time and money.
There is no reason not to participate in this type of service if you have parking to spare that is just sitting, unused, somewhere in the city.
The growing demand for parking in Sydney is a major concern, but with car parking rental opportunities fast becoming a popular trend, Sydney's parking issues could be driving customers to your door, literally!
It’s basically instant money for you, and a big sigh of relief for commuters and other visitors to the city.
This will continue as Sydney's population grows and our car manufacturing industry booms.
With few official council car parks available to commuters, and little subsidizing of this cost by employers, a clear demand exists for quality and affordable car park space. As a result, new services have arisen allowing those who may have a spare spot in Sydney to connect them with the commuters who are in such desperate need. This ends up being a win-win situation for all parties involved.
Now is the time to get in on a share of this exciting new market. As reported recently, parking in Sydney is big business with parking costs going through the roof. This has lead to the private parking market being primed to explode.
With the internet making it easier than ever before to advertise private parking spots or car parks, there is no need to go through any huge expense to advertise a spare space you may have. Putting up an ad for your Sydney car park is only a click away, with extremely profitable results for this most passive service you are providing. Easier money could not be made!
Not only is this easy money in your pocket, but think of all the people you could be helping who are in desperate need of parking.
The stressed businessman who is running late to a meeting and has to pay over $40 to park for a few hours will be all too happy to thank you for giving him that alternative of his own private Sydney parking spot that will be there for him every day, or the employees who have been left with no other option but to commute on crowded city busses each morning will now have the to rent your parking space saving them time and money.
There is no reason not to participate in this type of service if you have parking to spare that is just sitting, unused, somewhere in the city.
The growing demand for parking in Sydney is a major concern, but with car parking rental opportunities fast becoming a popular trend, Sydney's parking issues could be driving customers to your door, literally!
It’s basically instant money for you, and a big sigh of relief for commuters and other visitors to the city.
Why Used Cars Are Sometimes Better
If you are interested in a high value alternative to buying a brand new car, a used car can be the best option for you. Used cars have a stabilised rate of depreciation that makes them much cheaper than new cars. The technological advancements have made it very easy for you to search for a used car suiting your budget and requirement.
Affordability
The main reason for why used cars are better is affordability. Buying a brand new car is more expensive than buying a used one. The tax procurement and registration fees required for used cars are less than those procured on the brand new cars. Moreover, the initial costs on a new car are hefty. Financial institutions generally require the customers to make down a payment of at least 10% on a new car loan. If you make fewer down payments, then you need to pay high monthly installments.
Certified pre owned programs
Certified pre owned (CPO) programs are increasing nowadays, which have made purchase of used cars a better option for buyers. Luxury car brands have started these programs and many manufacturers have instituted them. Buying CPO cars offer you a lot of benefits. Manufacturers consider only latest models of the low mileage used cars that have no history of major damage for their CPO programs. They make a thorough inspection before providing certification. Hence, you can get guarantee that the used car you want to buy is free from any problems or issues. Some manufacturers even offer special financing on CPO cars at lower rates than new car loan rates. CPO cars may be more expensive than regular used cars, but they are value for money and give you ultimate peace of mind.
Negotiating the rate
Negotiation is an added advantage of buying a used car. You can always negotiate with a seller of used cars. You cannot expect this facility, while buying a brand new car. If you have bargaining tactics, you can get a good deal. Nowadays, many car dealers are keeping their attention on offering great deals on used cars. Buying a used car can be beneficial, if you follow the steps provided below.
The first and most important step is to spend some time in researching. You can always read online reviews, customer reports or ask friends and colleagues. Then determine the makes and models that interest you. Some websites allow you to see the photos of used cars, which help you get an idea about them. It is important to decide how much you are willing to spend for a used car. This can help to narrow down your search for a used car.
Once you have decided the car dealer and the make or model according to your requirements, you can check the car personally. Check whether the car has any scratches, corrosion spots, dents, excessive tire wear or any other problems.
The car dealers generally allow you to take a test drive. During your test drive, check whether there is any irregular noise or vibration. If possible, you can test drive the car on motorways to asses it’s performance. Used cars save you a lot of money. Spending a few hours researching for the best used cars around can help you find the car you want.
Affordability
The main reason for why used cars are better is affordability. Buying a brand new car is more expensive than buying a used one. The tax procurement and registration fees required for used cars are less than those procured on the brand new cars. Moreover, the initial costs on a new car are hefty. Financial institutions generally require the customers to make down a payment of at least 10% on a new car loan. If you make fewer down payments, then you need to pay high monthly installments.
Certified pre owned programs
Certified pre owned (CPO) programs are increasing nowadays, which have made purchase of used cars a better option for buyers. Luxury car brands have started these programs and many manufacturers have instituted them. Buying CPO cars offer you a lot of benefits. Manufacturers consider only latest models of the low mileage used cars that have no history of major damage for their CPO programs. They make a thorough inspection before providing certification. Hence, you can get guarantee that the used car you want to buy is free from any problems or issues. Some manufacturers even offer special financing on CPO cars at lower rates than new car loan rates. CPO cars may be more expensive than regular used cars, but they are value for money and give you ultimate peace of mind.
Negotiating the rate
Negotiation is an added advantage of buying a used car. You can always negotiate with a seller of used cars. You cannot expect this facility, while buying a brand new car. If you have bargaining tactics, you can get a good deal. Nowadays, many car dealers are keeping their attention on offering great deals on used cars. Buying a used car can be beneficial, if you follow the steps provided below.
The first and most important step is to spend some time in researching. You can always read online reviews, customer reports or ask friends and colleagues. Then determine the makes and models that interest you. Some websites allow you to see the photos of used cars, which help you get an idea about them. It is important to decide how much you are willing to spend for a used car. This can help to narrow down your search for a used car.
Once you have decided the car dealer and the make or model according to your requirements, you can check the car personally. Check whether the car has any scratches, corrosion spots, dents, excessive tire wear or any other problems.
The car dealers generally allow you to take a test drive. During your test drive, check whether there is any irregular noise or vibration. If possible, you can test drive the car on motorways to asses it’s performance. Used cars save you a lot of money. Spending a few hours researching for the best used cars around can help you find the car you want.
Are We Too Reliant on GPS?
It is an issue that many law enforcement agencies and governments don't want to discuss, according to Professor Andrew Dempster, a specialist in satellite navigation signal processing and receiver design.
The problem? Australia and the world's reliance on global navigation satellite systems (GNSS), commonly known to many as GPS, and its vulnerability to be deliberately jammed or unintentionally interfered with.
"There is ... [a] group of people (users) who don't want to talk about it," said the professor, who works at the UNSW School of Surveying and Spatial Information Systems.
"They don't want to draw attention to the fact that GPS can be jammed. They don't want people to know that it's vulnerable. And included in that group are all the major telcos, some of the authorities that track vehicles and I imagine that the police are the same – that they don't talk about it that much."
Critical infrastructure that can be impacted by interference can include plane and airport navigation systems, emergency service vehicles, ships and security vans, some of which carry large amounts of money. Researchers in Britain have gone as far as saying that GPS failures could lead to "loss of life".
One known example of an airport and planes landing there being impacted by unintentional interference has already occurred in the US, the professor said.
According to The Economist, a driver who passed the Newark airport in New Jersey each day had a GPS jammer installed in his truck for personal reasons. The Economist said it took two months in late 2009 for investigators to track down the problem, which led to "brief daily breaks in reception".
Professor Dempster said the matter of interference with GPS was "a significant hazard for military, industrial and civilian transport and communication systems" because criminals had "worked out that they can jam GPS".
He also said that because GPS signals were weak, they could "easily be outpunched by poorly controlled signals from television towers, devices such as laptops and MP3 players, or even mobile satellite services."
But it's not only interference from here on earth. Solar flares in space can also cause havoc for satellites.
Professor Dempster said he had found one such example of unintentional interference in North Sydney, where an SBS TV tower was causing GPS signals nearby to be degraded.
"There will be times if you were driving along past there [where] your [car's] GPS would drop out there for 30 seconds or maybe less," he said. "But you wouldn’t really notice it," he added.
He said a car's GPS navigation device dropped out for "all sorts of reasons".
"I think one of the problems we have with interference or detecting interference is that many people would have observed it and not known that it was happening," he said.
Many people may have even noticed interference with their car's GPS when driving, he said. However, the fact there was interference was most likely unknown to drivers because the signal usually returned to normal after a short period of time.
But it was not only interference Professor Dempster was worried about. "What has happened is GPS has now been around for a while and a number of navigation systems have been retired because GPS has overtaken them," he said.
"So there were a number of backups that sort of existed and as we became more reliant and also more confident in GPS, some of these backups have been removed."
Planes for example, before GPS, used many other ways of finding an airfield other than GPS. But those systems were being phased out because "they’re expensive to maintain" and "they only work in the local area".
Although his workshop on the matter, held on Wednesday in Canberra, heard from Australia's communications regulator, the ACMA, that it had not prosecuted a single person for jamming a signal in Australia, Professor Dempster said that he was still concerned.
"There is certainly evidence ... with eastern European criminals making pretty widespread use of GPS for that sort of purpose – for making high-value assets and vehicles ... (the location of those assets) unavailable [using jamming devices]," he said.
Many of Professor Dempster's concerns were echoed in a report released this week by the Royal Academy of Engineering in London, which suggested that developed nations had become too reliant on GPS systems.
The report said everything from commercial aircraft and the tracking of cargo to the opening of train doors at stations were vulnerable, with consequences ranging from "the inconvenient - such as passenger information system failures - to possible loss of life - such as interruptions to emergency services communications".
"GPS and other GNSS are so useful and so cheap to build into equipment that we have become almost blindly reliant on the data they give us," said Dr Martyn Thomas, chairman of the academy's GNSS working group.
In a statement put out alongside the report, it said that the range of applications using the technology were "now so broad that, without adequate independent backup, signal failure or interference could potentially affect safety systems and other critical parts of the economy".
It recommended, among other things, that critical services include GNSS vulnerabilities "in their risk register and that these are reviewed regularly and mitigated effectively".
All of this was why the UNSW team were working with the University of Adelaide and private company GPSat Systems on a project which aimed to develop geo-location jamming-detection technology.
Although jamming-detection technology exists today, what doesn't exist is the ability to be able to pinpoint exactly where a jammer is, which was why the research was being conducted.
The problem? Australia and the world's reliance on global navigation satellite systems (GNSS), commonly known to many as GPS, and its vulnerability to be deliberately jammed or unintentionally interfered with.
"There is ... [a] group of people (users) who don't want to talk about it," said the professor, who works at the UNSW School of Surveying and Spatial Information Systems.
"They don't want to draw attention to the fact that GPS can be jammed. They don't want people to know that it's vulnerable. And included in that group are all the major telcos, some of the authorities that track vehicles and I imagine that the police are the same – that they don't talk about it that much."
Critical infrastructure that can be impacted by interference can include plane and airport navigation systems, emergency service vehicles, ships and security vans, some of which carry large amounts of money. Researchers in Britain have gone as far as saying that GPS failures could lead to "loss of life".
One known example of an airport and planes landing there being impacted by unintentional interference has already occurred in the US, the professor said.
According to The Economist, a driver who passed the Newark airport in New Jersey each day had a GPS jammer installed in his truck for personal reasons. The Economist said it took two months in late 2009 for investigators to track down the problem, which led to "brief daily breaks in reception".
Professor Dempster said the matter of interference with GPS was "a significant hazard for military, industrial and civilian transport and communication systems" because criminals had "worked out that they can jam GPS".
He also said that because GPS signals were weak, they could "easily be outpunched by poorly controlled signals from television towers, devices such as laptops and MP3 players, or even mobile satellite services."
But it's not only interference from here on earth. Solar flares in space can also cause havoc for satellites.
Professor Dempster said he had found one such example of unintentional interference in North Sydney, where an SBS TV tower was causing GPS signals nearby to be degraded.
"There will be times if you were driving along past there [where] your [car's] GPS would drop out there for 30 seconds or maybe less," he said. "But you wouldn’t really notice it," he added.
He said a car's GPS navigation device dropped out for "all sorts of reasons".
"I think one of the problems we have with interference or detecting interference is that many people would have observed it and not known that it was happening," he said.
Many people may have even noticed interference with their car's GPS when driving, he said. However, the fact there was interference was most likely unknown to drivers because the signal usually returned to normal after a short period of time.
But it was not only interference Professor Dempster was worried about. "What has happened is GPS has now been around for a while and a number of navigation systems have been retired because GPS has overtaken them," he said.
"So there were a number of backups that sort of existed and as we became more reliant and also more confident in GPS, some of these backups have been removed."
Planes for example, before GPS, used many other ways of finding an airfield other than GPS. But those systems were being phased out because "they’re expensive to maintain" and "they only work in the local area".
Although his workshop on the matter, held on Wednesday in Canberra, heard from Australia's communications regulator, the ACMA, that it had not prosecuted a single person for jamming a signal in Australia, Professor Dempster said that he was still concerned.
"There is certainly evidence ... with eastern European criminals making pretty widespread use of GPS for that sort of purpose – for making high-value assets and vehicles ... (the location of those assets) unavailable [using jamming devices]," he said.
Many of Professor Dempster's concerns were echoed in a report released this week by the Royal Academy of Engineering in London, which suggested that developed nations had become too reliant on GPS systems.
The report said everything from commercial aircraft and the tracking of cargo to the opening of train doors at stations were vulnerable, with consequences ranging from "the inconvenient - such as passenger information system failures - to possible loss of life - such as interruptions to emergency services communications".
"GPS and other GNSS are so useful and so cheap to build into equipment that we have become almost blindly reliant on the data they give us," said Dr Martyn Thomas, chairman of the academy's GNSS working group.
In a statement put out alongside the report, it said that the range of applications using the technology were "now so broad that, without adequate independent backup, signal failure or interference could potentially affect safety systems and other critical parts of the economy".
It recommended, among other things, that critical services include GNSS vulnerabilities "in their risk register and that these are reviewed regularly and mitigated effectively".
All of this was why the UNSW team were working with the University of Adelaide and private company GPSat Systems on a project which aimed to develop geo-location jamming-detection technology.
Although jamming-detection technology exists today, what doesn't exist is the ability to be able to pinpoint exactly where a jammer is, which was why the research was being conducted.
How To Select Huntington Beach Auto Body Shop
If you own an automobile, it is important that you keep a track of the auto repair shops that are available in and around your locality. This will help you when you are in need. There are innumerable auto body shops located in Huntington Beach. These body shops provide excellent body repair and paint service to their clients. You can get in touch with them in case of an unfortunate car collision or may be a breakdown that can happen while travelling on the beach. Here are few tips that will help you to hire the best auto body shop in Huntington Beach for your automobile.
1. You can find a lot of new auto repair shop in Huntington Beach, but before you try out the new ones, it is always better to check out the services of experienced companies. This will ensure that you vehicle is in safe hands.
2. Be patient and check the profile of the company, so that your automobile is not damaged further. The experts who are working on behalf of the shop will also give your vehicle an improved look.
3. You can also take the help of your friends and relatives who have already hired the service of such shops.
4. You can also find online presence of Huntington Beach auto body repair shops. The reviews and testimonials of different customers available online will help you judge the best service providers for your automobile. You can also learn about the company through Huntington Beach body shop portals.
5. You should also make a note about the features of the company. There are auto body shops who are specialists in handling car collisions or others who are specialized in car body paint. By making a note about the features of the company, you are sure that they are going to offer much better service than the others. In case of car collision these shops also provide people who can be contacted over phone, and they reach the site to help you from the inconvenience occurred.
6. Along with the features offered by the Huntington Beach auto body shop, you should never forget to check the rate that has been offered by the companies. The comparison between the features and the rate of different companies will help you to make the right choice for you automobile.
7. Check on the discounts that are offered by the auto body shops, to attract their customers.
Some auto body shop provides full-service, on-site repair facility to their customers. Along with the policy to provide the best possible repair to your vehicle, a good auto body shop also provide a warranted all repair. A customer caring auto body shop gives continuous training to all their technicians. The modern equipment facilitates speed, accuracy and legibility in processing your repair order as well as it shortens the time of your car in the shop. A comfortable atmosphere and updating your bill throughout the repair process will also make you satisfied.
1. You can find a lot of new auto repair shop in Huntington Beach, but before you try out the new ones, it is always better to check out the services of experienced companies. This will ensure that you vehicle is in safe hands.
2. Be patient and check the profile of the company, so that your automobile is not damaged further. The experts who are working on behalf of the shop will also give your vehicle an improved look.
3. You can also take the help of your friends and relatives who have already hired the service of such shops.
4. You can also find online presence of Huntington Beach auto body repair shops. The reviews and testimonials of different customers available online will help you judge the best service providers for your automobile. You can also learn about the company through Huntington Beach body shop portals.
5. You should also make a note about the features of the company. There are auto body shops who are specialists in handling car collisions or others who are specialized in car body paint. By making a note about the features of the company, you are sure that they are going to offer much better service than the others. In case of car collision these shops also provide people who can be contacted over phone, and they reach the site to help you from the inconvenience occurred.
6. Along with the features offered by the Huntington Beach auto body shop, you should never forget to check the rate that has been offered by the companies. The comparison between the features and the rate of different companies will help you to make the right choice for you automobile.
7. Check on the discounts that are offered by the auto body shops, to attract their customers.
Some auto body shop provides full-service, on-site repair facility to their customers. Along with the policy to provide the best possible repair to your vehicle, a good auto body shop also provide a warranted all repair. A customer caring auto body shop gives continuous training to all their technicians. The modern equipment facilitates speed, accuracy and legibility in processing your repair order as well as it shortens the time of your car in the shop. A comfortable atmosphere and updating your bill throughout the repair process will also make you satisfied.
Discount Tire Atlanta Review
Are you looking for discount tire Atlanta? you are not the only one doing that, several other people, vehicle owners are looking for it too. It is an avenue to get any tire type you want cheap, anytime you want to. That is why I have written this article to guide you in getting a very good deal whenever you need tire for your car.
Why Is Discount Tire Atlanta So Popular?
Imagine you are on a journey and you have a flat tire, you manage to remove the affected one and put the spare which is already almost bare, praying that you will see a nearby repair shop where you can fix the puncture and put the tire back. You do not want to think about buying a new one now, because you cannot afford it yet, even though you know it is necessary and important too.
You will rather prefer to continue to manage what you have pending the time you are ready to cough out the money that will get you a good quality one, because you want good performance from your tires.
Imagine you know a store where you can easily get cheap tires, maybe in form of discounts, free shipping or rebates, and that you can get these deals anytime you want so that you do not have to wait for a particular time or season of the year before you can get it.
So when you are thinking of the trouble your old tires are giving you, you suddenly remember you don't need to spend much before getting them, which alone will warm your heart and give you assurance of solution.
The review of people that have benefited from discount tire Atlanta shows that really they were able to get tires at very low prices, and at the same time, the quality of a good brand which they could not have gotten elsewhere.
Remember that information about coupons, rebates and other price reduction promos may not be widely available all the time, especially when the promo is still on, and when you are used to only searching for it in the papers, magazines or any other publications, independent websites displaying coupons links to the stores offering them is you best bet to get fresh coupons and discount information.
Why Is Discount Tire Atlanta So Popular?
Imagine you are on a journey and you have a flat tire, you manage to remove the affected one and put the spare which is already almost bare, praying that you will see a nearby repair shop where you can fix the puncture and put the tire back. You do not want to think about buying a new one now, because you cannot afford it yet, even though you know it is necessary and important too.
You will rather prefer to continue to manage what you have pending the time you are ready to cough out the money that will get you a good quality one, because you want good performance from your tires.
Imagine you know a store where you can easily get cheap tires, maybe in form of discounts, free shipping or rebates, and that you can get these deals anytime you want so that you do not have to wait for a particular time or season of the year before you can get it.
So when you are thinking of the trouble your old tires are giving you, you suddenly remember you don't need to spend much before getting them, which alone will warm your heart and give you assurance of solution.
The review of people that have benefited from discount tire Atlanta shows that really they were able to get tires at very low prices, and at the same time, the quality of a good brand which they could not have gotten elsewhere.
Remember that information about coupons, rebates and other price reduction promos may not be widely available all the time, especially when the promo is still on, and when you are used to only searching for it in the papers, magazines or any other publications, independent websites displaying coupons links to the stores offering them is you best bet to get fresh coupons and discount information.
Brazilian Cosmetic Surgeon Recalls Kadhafi Facelift
A prominent Brazilian cosmetic surgeon has revealed that he operated on Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi 16 years ago to give him a more youthful look.
“Kadhafi insisted on an imperceptible operation,” said Liacyr Ribeiro, 70, who worked in two Rio clinics and is also said to have performed cosmetic surgery on Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.
“I wanted to leave Kadhafi’s face looking very smooth in 1995,” Ribeiro told the Brazilian weekly Epoca.
“He said he had been in power for several years and that he didn’t want young people to see him as old,” he said.
“Although well bred and intelligent, Kadhafi to me seemed introverted, timid and cold,” said Ribeiro, a former president of the Brazilian society of plastic surgery and a student of famed plastic surgeon Ives Pitanguy.
Ribeiro said he decided to reveal Kadhafi’s secret after so many years “to contribute to understanding this historic figure around whom there is much speculation but little information.”
The surgeon said he was contacted in 1994 by then Libyan health minister Mohamed Zaid while attending a conference on plastic surgery in Tripoli. After Ribeiro’s lecture on his specialty breast surgery, Zaid said he wanted to introduce him to someone very dear to him. Ribeiro thought it was a woman who wanted breast surgery.
“You are going to examine our leader,” the minister told him when they arrived at Kadhafi’s bunker.
Ribeiro returned in 1995 to operate on Kadhafi with his colleague Fabio Nacach, a specialist in hair implants. Fat was removed from Kadhafi’s belly and injected in the wrinkles in his cheeks.
His eyelids were made to look better and a scar on the right side of his forehead was covered up. Ribeiro said he did not bill Kadhafi, but the Libyan handed him an envelope stuffed with dollars and French francs.
Indonesia Ready to Send Humanitarian Team to Japan
Gutted: Smoke billows from vessels off the harbour in Kesennuma
The Indonesian government is ready to send a humanitarian team to Japan to help the latter authorities in the aftermath of the magnitude 8.9 earthquake and subsequent tsunami on Friday.
"Indonesia has expressed condolences to the earthquake and tsunami victims in Japan. Our team is ready to depart," said Coordinating Minister for People’s Welfare Agung Laksono in Makassar, South Sulawesi, Saturday.
The minister said Indonesian volunteers and medical personnel were ready to depart at any time, and it’s just the time for the mechanism administration to be completed. At the moment, the Indonesian government has held a talk consisting of the Japanese Ambassador to Indonesia and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for the humanitarian teams sending.
"We must make sure what is needed in the disaster area, before we send anything," he said.
Agung Laksono also stated that Indonesia is obliged to help the Japanese because, they have done similar thing when Indonesia various natural disasters such as the Aceh tsunami, Eruption of Mount Merapi volcano, major earthquake in Yogyakarta, and the flash floods in Wasior Papua. The minister also praised the handling and management of disaster in Japan.
"Yesterday, Japan was rocked by 8.9 magnitude earthquake followed by tsunami. I have not heard the latest news, how many casualties. But the country’s ability to handle the impact is extraordinary," he explained. Recently, Indonesia has sent a humanitarian team to assist victims of flash floods in Australia and Pakistan earlier.
Indonesia's LNG Exports to Japan Won't be Affected by Quake
Indonesia's exports of liquefied natural gas to Japan won't be affected by the earthquake that devastated northeastern Japan Friday, Energy & Mineral Resources Darwin Zahedy Saleh told reporters Monday.
Saleh added that gas-fueled power plants in the quake- and tsunami-hit area weren't affected.
Saleh added that gas-fueled power plants in the quake- and tsunami-hit area weren't affected.
Four Indonesian Sailors Missing in Japan
Overwhelmed: The tsunami engulfs a residential area in Natori, MiyagiFour Indonesian sailors are reported to have been missing after a 8.9-magnitude earthquake followed by a tsunami hit Japan last Friday, a minister said.
"We recently received news that the fate of the four Indonesian fishermen reportedly working on Kunimaru 3 ship are still unknown," Foreign Affairs Minister Marty Natalegawa said here on Sunday.
The minister said the four identified with their initials S (27), TS (30), RH (30) and AS (29) had their ship anchored in Shiogama city, Miyagi prefecture, when the earthquake and tsunami struck.
"The ship was found around 2.5 kilometers from the shore but the fishermen are missing," said the minister adding that Indonesian Embassy in Tokyo was still trying to find the missing Indonesians while the Foreign Affairs Ministry’s staff in Jakarta would soon contact the families of the poor fishermen.
Earlier, Japanese Police Chief Naoto Takeuchi stated Sunday the death toll from Japan`s devastating earthquake and tsunami was likely to exceed 10,000 in Miyagi prefecture alone.
Takeuchi, quoted by state broadcaster NHK, said he had "no doubt" of that number of fatalities in his prefecture -- the region hardest hit by Friday`s devastating natural disaster. The police said the death toll as of early Sunday had reached 688, with 642 missing and 1,570 injured.
But this figure excluded 400-500 bodies found in two locations in northeast Japan, where the wall of water swept ashore. There are also reports that thousands of people were still unaccounted for. In the small port town of Minamisanriku, which was practically swept away, some 10,000 people were missing, NHK reported earlier.
Meanwhile, the US Geological Survey stated Japan`s recent massive earthquake, one of the strongest and largest ever recorded, appears to have moved the island by about eight feet (2.4 meters). The quake and its tectonic shift resulted from "thrust faulting" along the boundary of the Pacific and North America plates, according to the USGS.
The Pacific plate pushes under a far western wedge of the North America plate at a rate of about 3.3 inches (83 millimeters) per year, but a colossal earthquake can provide force to drastically move the plates, with catastrophic consequences.
"With an earthquake this large, you can get huge ground shifts," Earle said. "On the actual fault you can get 20 meters (65 feet) movement on the two sides of the fault."
Survivors of 2004 Tsunami Shaken by Japan Disaster
Tears streamed down Maisara Mucharam’s face as she watched aerial shots of the tsunami pummeling Japan’s coast and remembered the day, six years ago, when her youngest daughter was ripped out of her arms by the heavy salty sea.
Survivors of the 2004 tsunami that started off Indonesia sat glued to their TV sets, stroking each other’s hands, as images of last Friday’s disaster in northern Japan flashed repeatedly across the screen.
“I heard someone screaming and ran to see what was going on,” said Mucharam, who also lost her husband and two other daughters. “I tried, but couldn’t stop watching,” the 38-year-old said, her voice trembling. “It was exactly the same, except they have this horrible footage, events unfolding right before your eyes.”
The magnitude 9.0 earthquake that struck on the morning of Dec. 26, 2004, spawned a tsunami that smashed into coastal communities, beach resorts and towns in 12 nations, killing more than 230,000 people.
Two-thirds of them died here in Indonesia’s remote Aceh province, and it took days for images to emerge. Even then, most showed the aftermath: crumpled buildings, flattened landscapes and row upon row of swollen corpses.
“Unbelievable,” whispered 39-year old Cut Chalidah, who lost a son and nine other family members, as she watched the 23-foot (7-meter) high wall of water wash over Japan’s coast, rolling up everything in its path. “So this is what it looked like.”
She sat silent as the television showed cars, ships and even buildings lifted up and carried inland, tossed about in the debris-strewn water like floating toys in a running bath. The images left 13-year-old Zaki Ramadhan, orphaned in the 2004 disaster, struggling to breathe.
“My chest was tight, I couldn’t feel my legs,” said the boy, now being raised by his grandparents. “All I could think of was my mom and dad, my sisters. ... They disappeared under water, just like that.”
In Sri Lanka and Thailand, both also hit by the 2004 tsunami, some survivors said the pictures brought back tears and nightmares that had all but stopped.
“It’s exactly like what happened in my village,” Tharmalingam Komila, who lives in Sri Lanka’s coastal village of Passikudah, said as she watched the rescue operations in Japan on TV.
“I was dragged away by the wave into the sea,” said the 29-year-old, who lost more than two dozen relatives. “I was holding onto a big plastic jar and a log for five hours before people in an army helicopter saw me and saved me.”
For others, the unfolding events reminded them of Japan’s outpouring of support after the 2004 tsunami, the food, medical supplies and other assistance delivered to Indonesia by ship, plane and helicopter even after others had scaled back operations.
“I wish there was something I could do,” said Muhammad Nazri, 42, who lives in Banda Aceh, the provincial capital. “I’d like to go there, really, even if it was just to share my feelings of grief.”
The only piece of good news, some said, was that it appeared the 2004 disaster had raised awareness in coastal area of the dangers posed by tsunamis. Tsunami warnings were issued in many countries and widely heeded after Friday’s earthquake off Japan.
Even in remote corners of Indonesia, far from the epicenter, villages turned into ghost towns as thousands of people, responding to warnings on television or mobile phone text messages, fled to the hills. The waves never came, but at least they knew what to do, said Zainal Abidin Latif, an Aceh resident, who lost all three of his children in 2004.
Others said they hoped the latest disaster would serve as a loud warning to governments to improve alert systems, most of which rely on electronic buoys to detect sudden changes in water levels. Among them was Maitree Chongkraichak, who lost his father, nephew and about 40 other relatives when the 2004 tsunami hit Thailand.
“I feel so sad for what has happened in Japan,” he said. “I know what it’s like for their families right now.”
Compared to Aceh, How Quickly Will Japan Bounce Back?
The wasteland: A few shattered buildings that survived the might of the tsunami stand sentinel over Minami Sanriku, where the devastation stretches as far as the eye can see
The history of rich countries recovering, albeit painfully, from large natural disasters is encouraging. The resilience of Japan following the 1995 Kobe earthquake is the most obvious--and encouraging--example. The question hanging over Japan and the rest of the world: Is this time different?
Will physical damage, particularly the still-uncertain fate of nuclear-power plants, be more difficult to repair? Has globalization made the world more vulnerable to one big economy? Will the weekend's jarring videos and headlines from Japan, combined with unease about the Middle East and Europe, undermine financial markets already distrustful of global governments' ability to repay debts?
The immediate impacts on Japan are hard to quantify, but relatively easy to sketch out. Production will suffer. Japan's auto makers all but suspended domestic manufacturing. Sony Corp. shut six electronic-component factories. Kirin, Asahi and Sapporo breweries, which account for about 40% Japan's beer production, are out of action. Electricity supplies are disrupted.
Nomura economists had forecast Japan--whose economy contracted in the last quarter of 2010--would “exit the current lull“ in the second quarter of this year. Now they say that won't happen until the third or fourth quarter.
“Considering the major disruption to infrastructure such as roads and electric generation facilities, we think the short-term impact on economic activity could be greater than after the Kobe earthquake,“ they said in a note.
“But,“ added Glenn Macquire, Asia-Pacific economist for Societe Generale, “as we start to see a rebound in investment over the medium term, that will provide a floor under Japanese growth.“
Rebuilding following a disaster adds to measured gross domestic product, but that doesn't mean an economy is better off. If it did, governments could grow economies by blowing up cities and rebuilding them. GDP accounting doesn't reflect destruction in property, environmental damage or the loss of life--only the added output to replace what has been lost.
Scholars who examine the economic aftermath of natural disasters find that rich countries rebound more strongly than poor ones, and sometimes more quickly than anticipated.
“Many, if not most, of the media and others surveyed the broad destruction and predicted it would take as many as 10 years for Kobe to rebuild and for its economy to recover,“ Purdue University economist George Horwich wrote in 2000.
“In fact, in less than 15 months, manufacturing in greater Kobe was 98% of its pre-earthquake trend.“ After 18 months, all the department stories had reopened. The city's major expressway was rebuilt in 21 months. Reconstruction of the port took 26 months.“
Haiti, in contrast, is struggling to recover for the devastation of the January 2010 earthquake. And recovery was far from quick in Aceh, the Indonesian region hit hard by a tsunami in 2004.
Unlike Kobe, this quake hits Japan at a moment of psychological vulnerability, having just surrendered its rank as the world's No. 2 economy to fast-growing China. Among the factors that could make this time different from Kobe:
Will Japan have trouble financing reconstruction?
Japan's gross general government debt already amounts to more than 200% of annual economic output as of 2010, the International Monetary Fund estimates. That's more than double what Japan owed in 1995 when the Kobe earthquake hit.
In principle, Japan should easily be able to handle the bill. It is, after all, a rich country. And even if costs were ten times that of Kobe, they would add only about 7 percentage points to Japan's debt-to-GDP ratio. Japan, unlike the U.S., relies mainly on domestic savers to lend it money, and lately they've been doing that at exceedingly low interest rates.
Much, though, depends on how global markets react. If investors, spooked by high government debt levels in Europe and the U.S., push up Japan's borrowing costs, they could create financial stresses.
“I don't think we can take for granted that the bond markets will take things in stride in the current fiscal environment,“ says economist Maurice Obstfeld of the University of California, Berkeley. “The issue of sovereign default for rich economies was not on the radar in 1995, now the rich economies have put it on the radar.“
Will Japan bring savings home, causing strains in financial markets and troubles for U.S. and other big borrowers?
In 2010, Japanese savers invested $166 billion in other countries, the IMF estimates. Japan is one of the largest buyers of U.S. Treasury bonds. As Japan's government and companies bring home the resources needed to rebuild, those capital flows could wane, pushing down the dollar and increasing U.S. borrowing costs at a time when that country's government-debt level is also a matter of global concern. In early 1995, capital flowed back into Japan for only a couple of months, and then returned to the pre-Kobe direction and size.
One perverse result of money flowing back to Japan from overseas--or simply less Japanese savings leaving the country--could be an increase in the value of the Japanese yen, which would have unwelcome effects on Japanese exporters whose production hasn't been disrupted. Analysts expect the Japanese government to intervene if the yen climbs too rapidly.
“Japanese authorities will not let the yen appreciate with speculative flows. I think they will be very decisive,“ Yuki Hashimoto, an analyst at Morgan Stanley Asia, said by email Sunday. As of Friday, the yen rose 12.8% against the dollar last year, and has risen gradually in the early months of this year.
The Bank of Japan, which vowed “to do its utmost to continue ensuring stability in financial markets,“ was expected by analysts to pump lots of credit into the financial system to keep it functioning and prevent any unwelcome increase in short-term interest rates, now at zero.
Some analysts predict the central bank might buy more government bonds if yields start to rise. Another option is to expand previously initiated purchases of private securities or lending directed at particular sectors.
Are global supply chains so taut that a disruption in the world's No. 3 economy will be felt around the world?
Japan's factories play an outsize role in global production--churning out products and parts for other company's goods, ranging from a fifth of the world's semiconductors to large shares of the world's most advanced machine tools and solar panels. Japan produces parts needed for flat TVs and iPads, as well as the control mechanisms used on everything from industrial machinery and mining machines.
A wide range of industries, from car and steel plants to beer brewers and paper factories, shut down in the wake of the quake and tsunami. How long production is halted depends not just on the direct damage to those plants, but other factors, such as the availability of power needed to run operations.
Japanese officials have warned rolling blackouts could endure for long periods as the nation rebuilds and repairs it electricity network. The result could be shortages of key components around the world, though excess industrial capacity in several big developed economies gives the world some manuevering room.
What will the earthquake do to global energy markets?
Citing the earthquake and the latest in the Middle East, economists at J.P. Morgan Chase on Friday boldly predicted “an unusual amount of volatility in global oil prices in coming weeks.“
The major factor, of course, is what happens next in the Middle East. Japan is the world's No. 3 oil importer, after the U.S. and China; its troubles do nothing to global oil supply. Disruptions in production may limit Japan's near-term demand for energy; oil prices fell in the immediate aftermath of the quake.
Over time, though, the shuttered nuclear plants could lead Japan to increase imports of oil, natural gas and coal. Analysts estimated that replacing all of Japan's nuclear capacity with oil would mean importing 375,000 more barrels a day, on top of the current demand of about 4.25 million barrels.
The worst-case scenario, though, centers on the nuclear plants--and the risk of a catastrophe that would have long-term effects on the people and the land surrounding the crippled plants.
More than 200 Bodies at New Site
Counting the cost: People walk past a car that has been washed into a wall in Miyako
More than 200 bodies have been found at a new site in northeast Japan, where an earthquake and tsunami caused massive destruction, police said Sunday.
“We have received a preliminary report that more than 200 bodies were found in the city of Higashimatsushima,” a National Police Agency spokesman said, adding that local police are starting to collect the bodies. Hundreds of other residents in the city’s Nobiru district are unaccounted for, the Sankei Shimbun and other newspapers said. On Saturday police in the city of Sendai said at least 200 and up to 300 bodies had been found on the shoreline there.
Earlier Sunday the National Police Agency said in a statement the confirmed death toll from Friday’s twin disasters is 688, with 642 missing and 1,570 injured. That figure did not include the bodies found at Sendai and Higashimatsushima. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano has said it was believed more than 1,000 people had died nationwide.
Amid a mass rescue effort there were grim updates indicating severe loss of life along the hard-hit east coast of Honshu island, where the monster waves destroyed or damaged more than 12,250 homes and other buildings. At least 2,400 houses were flooded by the tsunami, while more than 100 houses had been burned, police said, adding that there were 60 landslides.
10,000 People are Missing after It was Swept away by The Megaquake
Just 48 hours ago, it was a picturesque fishing town where tourists flocked to enjoy the coastal air and natural hot springs. But this horrifying picture shows all that remains of Minami Sanriku after it was destroyed by the tsunami that has wreaked devastation across Japan.
Last night, the official death toll from Friday’s 8.9 magnitude earthquake and ensuing tidal wave stood at 1,700 people – although it is feared the final total could rise sharply once a full picture of the catastrophe emerges. In Minami Sanriku alone, 10,000 people could have died – more than half of the city’s population.
It only took a few minutes for the 30ft wave to wash the town away with terrifying force. The locals desperately tried to escape to higher ground. But most did not stand a chance.
It is hard to imagine any life remains among the debris. Where last week fishing boats bobbed in the harbour, it is now impossible to tell where the sea begins and the land ends.
One of the few buildings left standing is the town’s Shizugawa Hospital – the large white building to the centre left of this picture. But the rest of what was once the town centre is flooded with filthy sea water.
Other structures lie battered and smashed in piles of broken wood and twisted metal, but most are now little more than debris. Just visible through the murky waters towards the bottom left of the photograph are the painted stripes of a zebra crossing.
There are vague remnants of roads and the occasional outline of a flooded car, and it is just possible to see the half-submerged outline of the town’s athletics track towards the top left of the picture.
Minami Sanriku lies about 55 miles west of the earthquake’s epicentre and directly in the path of the subsequent tsunami.
And in Fukushima, thousands of people were forced to flee the vicinity of an earthquake-crippled Japanese nuclear plant after a radiation leak and authorities faced a fresh threat with the failure of the cooling system in a second reactor.
The government insisted radiation levels were low following Saturday's explosion, saying the blast had not affected the reactor core container, and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said it had been told by Japan that levels 'have been observed to lessen in recent hours'.
But Japan's nuclear safety agency said the number of people exposed to radiation from the Fukushima Daiichi plant could reach 160. Workers in protective clothing were scanning people arriving at evacuation centres for radioactive exposure.
These pictures reveal the brutal aftermath of the tsunami, but an amateur video posted online, filmed by one of the town’s residents, shows the terrifying moment the wave hit. It shows people desperately driving uphill to escape the wave and the road lined with locals watching open-mouthed as their homes are swept away.
The horrifying footage focuses briefly on those people caught in the traffic, including emergency vehicles, which failed to escape in time. One bus narrowly misses being washed away after speeding uphill as those filming shout ‘Run! Run!’.
Two hundred people were said to have been evacuated from the roof of the hospital and police believe the tidal wave may have washed away an entire train.
One photograph showed the letters ‘SOS’ written on the ground in the car park of the Minami Sanriku Elementary School. The letter H, surrounded by a circle, had also been added, a plea for helicopter assistance.
Tsunami warnings were issued to the entire Pacific seaboard, but the worst fears were not realised. Widespread damage was caused to some coast areas, including California, but there were no reports of fatalities.
President Barack Obama has pledged U.S. assistance and said one aircraft carrier was already in Japan and a second was on its way. Japan's worst previous earthquake was an 8.3-magnitude temblor in Kanto which killed 143,000 people in 1923. A 7.2-magnitude quake in Kobe killed 6,400 people in 1995.
The country lies on the 'Ring of Fire' - an arc of earthquake and volcanic zones stretching across the Pacific where around 90 per cent of the world's quakes occur.
An estimated 230,000 people in 12 countries were killed after a quake triggered a massive tsunami on Boxing Day, 2004, in the Indian Ocean. A magnitude 8.8 quake which struck off the coast of Chile in February last year also generated a tsunami which killed 524 people. Authorities mistakenly told people in coastal regions there was no danger of a tsunami.
Significant Increase in Indonesian Companies' Assets
Indonesian school children look at a rarely used street telephone booth of PT Telkom in Jakarta on July 19, 2010. Indonesias biggest telecom provider, PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia (Telkom), in their latest report indicates a 6.7-percent rise in net profit in 2009 and forecast strong revenue growth this year. Telkom said its revenue from cellular services rose 7.3 percent to 27.2 trillion rupiah, but revenue from its fixed line business fell 11 percent to 8.64 trillion rupiah. State Enterprises Minister Mustofa Abubakar said the assets of 142 state-owned companies under his ministry’s purview had increased significantly making them ready to contribute to economic development.
"A total of 6.6 million jobs will be created over the next few years as investment triples," he said here on Saturday.
He said he had set a target of increasing capital expenditures from Rp383 to Rp836 trillion over the next four years until 2014. For 2011, he said, he has set a target of increasing the benefit by minimally Rp120 trillion from the target of Rp1,200 trillion in revenues.
He said the decisions would affect the readiness of his office to help accelerate economic development in a number of regions covered by the economic development acceleration programs in eight corridors.
"Each region will made to show its prime potentials and by the end of this month a team from the ministry will come to discuss the prospects of synergy in economic development," he said.
The minister was in Lampung to install a forum of 42 state-owned companies in the province. He stated for Lampung there were 46 representatives and state-owned company branches that had been made ready to help development in the region to make it one of the economic powers in the country.
Regarding environment development efforts the minister said it had approved the disbursement of Rp1.5 trillion to support the activity across Indonesia in 2011. For partnership program he said he has set asideRp17.4 trillion in 2011 for small and medium businesses in a number of regions in the country. Mustofa said he expected the profit of 142 state-owned companies would reach minimally Rp120 trillion in 2011.
"Our target is in 2012 no more state-owned companies make a loss and with regard to 15 state-owned companies that are now having financial difficulties efforts are still being made to settle it," he said.
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