MCLEAN, Va., Aug.?30, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --?SAIC, Inc. (NYSE: SAI), a scientific, engineering, and technology applications company, today announced financial results for the second quarter of fiscal year 2013, which ended July 31, 2012. ?In a separate press release today, the Company announced its plan to separate SAIC into two independent, publicly traded companies.
"Our 8% internal revenue growth during the quarter highlights our strong market position, disciplined execution of our strategy, and the dedicated efforts of our employees," said John P. Jumper, chairman and chief executive officer.?"In announcing today the next step of our strategic plan to separate into two publicly traded companies, we configure ourselves for the future.? Our two companies will be designed so that the businesses can be more differentiated and more competitive in their own space.? More importantly, that addressable space will expand for each as we eliminate the burden of organizational conflicts of interest which have restricted our overall business.? This affords both companies an excellent opportunity to combine optimized cost structures, unrestricted access to their respective markets, and the leveraging of decades of SAIC's scientific and engineering excellence.? This will unleash the growth and value we can deliver to our customers, employees and shareholders."
Summary Results
Revenues for the second quarter of fiscal year 2013 were $2.85 billion, up 10 percent from $2.60 billion in the second quarter of fiscal year 2012.? Internal revenue growth, which represented 8 percent of the consolidated revenue growth, was driven by increased program activity in the Defense Solutions and Intelligence and Cybersecurity Solutions segments.
Operating income for the quarter was $191 million (6.7 percent of revenue), down from $209 million (8.1 percent of revenue) in the second quarter of fiscal year 2012.? The reduction in operating income was attributable to a net unfavorable change in contract estimates compared to a net positive change in contract estimates in the prior year period; increased indirect spending, including bid and proposal costs; and $11 million of charges associated with the corporate relocation and the strategic review leading to the planned separation announced today.
Income from continuing operations for the quarter was $110 million, down from $112 million in the second quarter of fiscal year 2012.?
Diluted earnings per share from continuing operations for the quarter were $0.32, equal to the second quarter of fiscal year 2012.? The diluted share count for the quarter was 333 million, down 2 percent from 339 million in the second quarter of fiscal year 2012.
Segment Operating Results???
| Three Months Ended | ||||||||
| July 31 | Revenue Growth (%) | |||||||
| 2012 | 2011 | Total | Internal | |||||
| ($ in millions) | ||||||||
| Revenues:? | ||||||||
| Defense Solutions | $ ? ? ? ?1,240 | $ ? ? ? ? 1,085 | 14% | 14% | ||||
| Health, Energy and Civil Solutions | 692 | 656 | 5% | -1% | ||||
| Intelligence and Cybersecurity Solutions | 919 | 854 | 8% | 8% | ||||
| Corporate and Other | - | 1 | n/a | n/a | ||||
| Intersegment Elimination | (3) | - | n/a | n/a | ||||
| Total | $ ? ? ? ?2,848 | $ ? ? ? ? 2,596 | 10% | 8% | ||||
| ?Operating Margin? | ||||||||
| Operating Income (Loss): | FY 2013 | FY 2012 | ||||||
| Defense Solutions | $ ? ? ? ? ? ? 92 | $ ? ? ? ? ? ? ?88 | 7.4% | 8.1% | ||||
| Health Energy and Civil Solutions | 53 | 60 | 7.7% | 9.1% | ||||
| Intelligence and Cybersecurity Solutions | 69 | 76 | 7.5% | 8.9% | ||||
| Corporate and Other | (23) | (15) | n/a | n/a | ||||
| Total | $ ? ? ? ? ? 191 | $ ? ? ? ? ? ?209 | 6.7% | 8.1% | ||||
?
| Six Months Ended | ||||||||
| July 31 | Revenue Growth (%) | |||||||
| 2012 | 2011 | Total | Internal | |||||
| ($ in millions) | ||||||||
| Revenues:? | ||||||||
| Defense Solutions | $ ? ? ? ?2,414 | $ ? ? ? ? 2,222 | 9% | 9% | ||||
| Health, Energy and Civil Solutions | 1,370 | 1,313 | 4% | -2% | ||||
| Intelligence and Cybersecurity Solutions | 1,849 | 1,750 | 6% | 6% | ||||
| Corporate and Other | - | 1 | n/a | n/a | ||||
| Intersegment Elimination | (3) | (2) | n/a | n/a | ||||
| Total | $ ? ? ? ?5,630 | $ ? ? ? ? 5,284 | 7% | 5% | ||||
| ?Operating Margin? | ||||||||
| Operating Income (Loss): | FY 2013 | FY 2012 | ||||||
| Defense Solutions | $ ? ? ? ? ? 193 | $ ? ? ? ? ? ?178 | 8.0% | 8.0% | ||||
| Health Energy and Civil Solutions | 100 | 114 | 7.3% | 8.7% | ||||
| Intelligence and Cybersecurity Solutions | 135 | 162 | 7.3% | 9.3% | ||||
| Corporate and Other | (29) | (15) | n/a | n/a | ||||
| Total | $ ? ? ? ? ? 399 | $ ? ? ? ? ? ?439 | 7.1% | 8.3% | ||||
Defense Solutions
Defense Solutions revenues for the quarter increased 14 percent from the second quarter of fiscal year 2012, all of which was internal growth.? This growth was attributable to increased activity on a number of programs including a systems and software development program for the U.S. Army, a program to operate and maintain the enterprise network IT infrastructure for the U.S. Department of State, a systems integration and logistics program for tactical and mine resistant ambush protected vehicles, an IT infrastructure support services program for an agency of the DoD, and the ramp up of a program with the Defense Logistics Agency to provide supply chain management of military land and aircraft tires.? These increases were partially offset by reduced revenue from the U.S. Army Brigade Combat Team Modernization (BCTM) contract, which was terminated during the third quarter of fiscal year 2012.
Defense Solutions operating income for the quarter was 7.4 percent of revenue, down from 8.1 percent of revenue in the second quarter of fiscal year 2012.? The decrease was attributable to increased bid and proposal costs and net unfavorable changes in contract estimates primarily arising from a $6 million profit write-down on the BCTM contract as a result of ongoing contract negotiations with the government.
Health, Energy and Civil Solutions
Health, Energy and Civil Solutions revenues for the quarter increased 5 percent from the second quarter of fiscal year 2012.? Internal revenues decreased 1 percent due to declines in various Federal Civilian programs and program completions with federal health information technology customers, particularly with U.S. DoD Military Health System customers.? These increases were partially offset by an increase in healthcare IT consulting services with commercial clients.
Health, Energy and Civil Solutions operating income for the quarter was 7.7 percent of revenue, down from 9.1 percent of revenue in the second quarter of fiscal year 2012.?The decline was primarily due to net unfavorable changes in contract estimates,?driven in part by $5 million of profit write-downs on?certain energy and construction projects, and a $3 million lease termination charge related to a consolidation of facilities.? These decreases were partially offset by reduced research and development expense resulting from the advancement through the product development lifecycle of new non-intrusive inspection system offerings.
Intelligence and Cybersecurity Solutions
Intelligence and Cybersecurity Solutions revenues for the quarter increased 8 percent, all of which was internal growth, from the second quarter of fiscal year 2012, primarily due to increased activity on two airborne surveillance programs and a new intelligence gathering and analysis solution program.
Intelligence and Cybersecurity Solutions operating income for the quarter was 7.5 percent of revenue, down from 8.9 percent of revenue in the second quarter of fiscal year 2012, due to increased bid and proposal costs and research and development costs as well as lower sales of proprietary software products that have higher relative margins.
Corporate and Other
Corporate and Other segment operating income for the quarter declined from the second quarter of fiscal year 2012, primarily due to $11 million of charges associated with the corporate relocation and the strategic review leading to the planned separation announced today.
Cash Generation and Capital Deployment
Cash flow provided by operations for the quarter was $200 million, compared to $56 million for the second quarter of fiscal year 2012.? Days sales outstanding were 63 days this quarter compared to 74 days in the prior year quarter.
During the quarter, the Company settled $550 million of long-term debt at its maturity and paid a cash dividend of $0.12 per share.? The Company intends to continue paying dividends on a quarterly basis, although the declaration of any future dividends will be determined by the Company's Board of Directors each quarter and will depend on earnings, financial condition, capital requirements and other factors.
As of July 31, 2012, the Company had $756 million in cash and cash equivalents and $1.3 billion in long-term debt.
Subsequent to the end of the quarter, the Company completed the previously announced acquisition of maxIT Healthcare Holdings, Inc. (maxIT), a leading healthcare information technology consulting firm.
New Business Awards
Net business bookings totaled $2.2 billion in the second quarter of fiscal year 2013, representing a book-to-bill ratio of 0.8.? Notable awards received during the quarter include:
- Department of State, Bureau of Consular Affairs (CA), Office of Consular Systems and Technology.? The Company was awarded a prime contract?to provide software engineering development, modernization, and enhancement; and technical and operations support services for CA's visa, American citizen services, and passport business processes.? The multiple-award, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) contract has a one-year base period of performance, four one-year options, and a contract ceiling value of approximately $750 million.
- U.S. Army/Research Development and Engineering Command Intelligence and Information Warfare Directorate.? The Company was awarded a prime contract to provide Vigilant Pursuit system design, production, testing, delivery, spares, training, and field service representative services in support of the U.S. Army Multi-functional Teams.? The single-award firm-fixed price contract has a one-year period of performance and a contract value of approximately $37 million.
- eHealth Saskatchewan Electronic Health Record System. The Company was awarded a prime contract to provide implementation and maintenance technology services in support of the province's Electronic Health Record system.? The single-award IDIQ contract has a three-year period of performance and a total contract value of $16 million.
The following notable award was received after the end of the quarter:
- U.S. Army Geospatial Center.? The Company was awarded a prime contract by the U.S. Army Geospatial Center to provide Geospatial Research, Intelligence, Development and Support related to Geospatial Enterprise Services.??The IDIQ contract has a one-year base period of performance, four one-year options, and a total contract value of $200 million, if all options are exercised.
The Company's backlog of signed business orders at the end of the second quarter of fiscal year 2013 was $16.7 billion, of which $5.5 billion was funded. ?As compared to the end of the second quarter of fiscal year 2012, total backlog decreased 6 percent while funded backlog increased 5 percent. Negotiated unfunded backlog does not include any estimate of future task orders expected to be awarded under IDIQ, GSA Schedule or other master agreement contract vehicles.
Forward Guidance
Based upon its operating and business development performance through the second quarter of the fiscal year and the August 2012 acquisition of maxIT, the Company is increasing its expectation for fiscal year 2013 revenues.? Profit on the increased revenue?expectations?is offset by projected?expenses related to execution of the planned separation announced today.? Accordingly, guidance for diluted earnings per share from continuing operations and cash flows from operations remain unchanged.? The revised fiscal year 2013 guidance is:
- Revenues of $10.9 billion to $11.4 billion;
- Diluted earnings per share from continuing operations of $1.26 to $1.36; and
- Cash flows from continuing operations at or above $150 million
Fiscal year 2013 guidance excludes the impact of potential future acquisitions and other non-ordinary course items.?
About SAIC
SAIC is a FORTUNE 500? scientific, engineering, and technology applications company that uses its deep domain knowledge to solve problems of vital importance to the nation and the world, in national security, energy and the environment, critical infrastructure, and health.? The Company's approximately 40,000 employees serve customers in the U.S. Department of Defense, the intelligence community, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, other U.S. Government civil agencies and selected commercial markets.? Headquartered in McLean, Va., SAIC had annual revenues of approximately $10.6 billion for its fiscal year ended January 31, 2012.? For more information, visit www.saic.com.? SAIC:? From Science to Solutions?
Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements in this release contain or are based on "forward-looking" information within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by words such as "expects, " "intends, " "plans," "anticipates, " "believes, " "estimates, " "guidance, " and similar words or phrases. Forward-looking statements in this release include, among others, estimates of future revenues, operating income, earnings, earnings per share, charges, backlog, outstanding shares and cash flows, as well as statements about future dividends, share repurchases and acquisitions. These statements reflect our belief and assumptions as to future events that may not prove to be accurate. Actual performance and results may differ materially from the guidance and other forward-looking statements made in this release depending on a variety of factors, including: our ability to declare future dividends based on our earnings, financial condition, capital requirements and other factors, including compliance with applicable law and agreements of the Company; our ability to comply with certain agreements entered into in connection with the CityTime settlement; developments in the U.S. Government defense budget, including budget reductions, implementation of spending cuts (sequestration) or changes in budgetary priorities, or delays in the U.S. Government budget process; delays in the U.S. Government contract procurement process or the award of contracts and delays or loss of contracts as a result of competitor protests; changes in U.S. Government procurement rules, regulations and practices; our compliance with various U.S. Government and other government procurement rules and regulations; governmental reviews, audits and investigations of our company; our ability to effectively compete and win contracts with the U.S. Government and other customers; our ability to attract, train and retain skilled employees, including our management team, and to obtain security clearances for our employees; our ability to accurately estimate costs associated with our firm-fixed-price and other contracts; cybersecurity, data security or other security threats, systems failures or other disruptions of our business; resolution of legal and other disputes with our customers and others or legal or regulatory compliance issues; our ability to effectively acquire businesses and make investments; our ability to maintain relationships with prime contractors, subcontractors and joint venture partners; our ability to manage performance and other risks related to customer contracts, including complex engineering or design build projects; the failure of our inspection or detection systems to detect threats; the adequacy of our insurance programs designed to protect us from significant product or other liability claims; our ability to manage risks associated with our international business; risks associated with the proposed spin-off of our technical services business, such as disruption to business operations, unanticipated expenses, significant transaction costs and/or unknown liabilities, the timing of the spin-off or a failure to complete the proposed spin-off or realize the expected benefits of the proposed spin-off; and our ability to execute our business plan and long-term management initiatives effectively and to overcome these and other known and unknown risks that we face.? These are only some of the factors that may affect the forward-looking statements contained in this release. For further information concerning risks and uncertainties associated with our business, please refer to the filings we make from time to time with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including the "Risk Factors," "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" and "Legal Proceedings" sections of our latest annual report on Form 10-K and quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, all of which may be viewed or obtained through the Investor Relations section of our web site at www.saic.com.
All information in this release is as of August 30, 2012. The Company expressly disclaims any duty to update the guidance or any other forward-looking statement provided in this release to reflect subsequent events, actual results or changes in the Company's expectations. ?The Company also disclaims any duty to comment upon or correct information that may be contained in reports published by investment analysts or others.
| ? ? SAIC, INC. | ||||||||
| CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF INCOME? | ||||||||
| (Unaudited, in millions, except per share amounts) | ||||||||
| Three Months Ended | Six Months Ended | |||||||
| July 31 | July 31 | |||||||
| 2012 | 2011 | 2012 | 2011 | |||||
| Revenues? | $ ? ? ? ? ? ?2,848 | $ ? ? ? ? ? ?2,596 | $ ? ? ? ? ? ?5,630 | $ ? ? ? ? ? ?5,284 | ||||
| Costs and expenses: | ||||||||
| Cost of revenues? | 2,504 | 2,258 | 4,952 | 4,615 | ||||
| Selling, general and administrative expenses | 153 | 129 | 279 | 230 | ||||
| Operating income | 191 | 209 | 399 | 439 | ||||
| Non-operating income (expense): | ||||||||
| Interest income? | 2 | - | 4 | 1 | ||||
| Interest expense? | (24) | (28) | (53) | (56) | ||||
| Other income, net | 4 | 1 | 6 | 5 | ||||
| Income from continuing operations before income taxes? | 173 | 182 | 356 | 389 | ||||
| Provision for income taxes | (63) | (70) | (129) | (147) | ||||
| Income from continuing operations? | 110 | 112 | 227 | 242 | ||||
| Discontinued operations:? | ||||||||
| Income from discontinued operations before income taxes | - | 115 | - | 117 | ||||
| Provision for income taxes | - | (49) | - | (50) | ||||
| Income from discontinued operations? | - | 66 | - | 67 | ||||
| Net income | $ ? ? ? ? ? ? ? 110 | $ ? ? ? ? ? ? ? 178 | $ ? ? ? ? ? ? ? 227 | $ ? ? ? ? ? ? ? 309 | ||||
| Earnings per share (EPS): | ||||||||
| ?Income from continuing operations, as reported? | $ ? ? ? ? ? ? ? 110 | $ ? ? ? ? ? ? ? 112 | $ ? ? ? ? ? ? ? 227 | $ ? ? ? ? ? ? ? 242 | ||||
| ?Less: allocation of distributed and undistributed earnings to participating securities? | (2) | (4) | (6) | (9) | ||||
| ?Income from continuing operations, for computing EPS? | $ ? ? ? ? ? ? ? 108 | $ ? ? ? ? ? ? ? 108 | $ ? ? ? ? ? ? ? 221 | $ ? ? ? ? ? ? ? 233 | ||||
| ?Net income, as reported? | $ ? ? ? ? ? ? ? 110 | $ ? ? ? ? ? ? ? 178 | $ ? ? ? ? ? ? ? 227 | $ ? ? ? ? ? ? ? 309 | ||||
| ?Less: allocation of distributed and undistributed earnings to participating securities? | (2) | (7) | (6) | (11) | ||||
| ?Net income, for computing EPS? | $ ? ? ? ? ? ? ? 108 | $ ? ? ? ? ? ? ? 171 | $ ? ? ? ? ? ? ? 221 | $ ? ? ? ? ? ? ? 298 | ||||
| Basic:? | ||||||||
| Income from continuing operations? | $ ? ? ? ? ? ? ?0.32 | $ ? ? ? ? ? ? ?0.32 | $ ? ? ? ? ? ? ?0.67 | $ ? ? ? ? ? ? ?0.68 | ||||
| Income from discontinued operations? | - | 0.19 | - | 0.19 | ||||
| $ ? ? ? ? ? ? ?0.32 | $ ? ? ? ? ? ? ?0.51 | $ ? ? ? ? ? ? ?0.67 | $ ? ? ? ? ? ? ?0.87 | |||||
| Diluted:? | ||||||||
| Income from continuing operations? | $ ? ? ? ? ? ? ?0.32 | $ ? ? ? ? ? ? ?0.32 | $ ? ? ? ? ? ? ?0.67 | $ ? ? ? ? ? ? ?0.68 | ||||
| Income from discontinued operations? | - | 0.18 | - | 0.19 | ||||
| $ ? ? ? ? ? ? ?0.32 | $ ? ? ? ? ? ? ?0.50 | $ ? ? ? ? ? ? ?0.67 | $ ? ? ? ? ? ? ?0.87 | |||||
| Weighted average number of shares outstanding: | ||||||||
| Basic | 333 | 338 | 332 | 342 | ||||
| Diluted? | 333 | 339 | 332 | 343 | ||||
?
| SAIC, INC. | |||||||
| CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS | |||||||
| (Unaudited, in millions) | |||||||
| July 31, | January 31, | ||||||
| ASSETS? | |||||||
| Current assets: | |||||||
| Cash and cash equivalents | $ ? ? ? ? ? ? ? 756 | $ ? ? ? ? ? ?1,592 | |||||
| Receivables, net | 1,992 | 2,174 | |||||
| Inventory, prepaid expenses and other current assets? | 430 | 439 | |||||
| ???? Total current assets | 3,178 | 4,205 | |||||
| Property, plant and equipment, net | 324 | 348 | |||||
| Intangible assets, net? | 156 | 176 | |||||
| Goodwill? | 1,826 | 1,826 | |||||
| Deferred income taxes | 22 | 37 | |||||
| Other assets? | 74 | 75 | |||||
| $ ? ? ? ? ? ?5,580 | $ ? ? ? ? ? ?6,667 | ||||||
| LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY | |||||||
| Current liabilities: | |||||||
| Accounts payable and accrued liabilities? | $ ? ? ? ? ? ?1,296 | $ ? ? ? ? ? ?1,964 | |||||
| Accrued payroll and employee benefits? | 473 | 508 | |||||
| Income taxes payable | 9 | - | |||||
| Notes payable and long-term debt, current portion | 3 | 553 | |||||
| ???? Total current liabilities | 1,781 | 3,025 | |||||
| Notes payable and long-term debt, net of current portion? | 1,297 | 1,299 | |||||
| Other long-term liabilities? | 143 | 162 | |||||
| Stockholders' equity:? | |||||||
| Common stock, $.0001 par value, 2 billion shares authorized, | - | - | |||||
| Additional paid-in capital? | 2,064 | 2,028 | |||||
| Retained earnings? | 296 | 164 | |||||
| Accumulated other comprehensive loss? | (1) | (11) | |||||
| Total stockholders' equity | 2,359 | 2,181 | |||||
| $ ? ? ? ? ? ?5,580 | $ ? ? ? ? ? ?6,667 | ||||||
?
| SAIC, INC. | ||||||||
| CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS | ||||||||
| (Unaudited, in millions) | ||||||||
| Three Months Ended | Six Months Ended | |||||||
| July 31 | July 31 | |||||||
| 2012 | 2011 | 2012 | 2011 | |||||
| Cash flows from operating activities of continuing operations:? | ||||||||
| Net income | $ ? ? ? ? ? ?110 | $ ? ? ? ? ? ?178 | $ ? ? ? ? ? ?227 | $ ? ? ? ? ? ?309 | ||||
| Income from discontinued operations? | - | (66) | - | (67) | ||||
| Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash provided by (used in) operating activities of? | ||||||||
| ?continuing operations: | ||||||||
| Depreciation and amortization? | 28 | 27 | 55 | 55 | ||||
| Stock-based compensation | 22 | 19 | 46 | 43 | ||||
| Impairment losses | 1 | - | 1 | - | ||||
| Net gain on sales and disposals of assets | (5) | (20) | (6) | (28) | ||||
| Other | - | - | 1 | 1 | ||||
| Increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents, excluding effects of acquisitions and divestitures, | ||||||||
| ?resulting from changes in: | tax deadline death race buffet rule carlos santana baa dodgers triple play samoyed Rush of asylum-seekers before Australian crackdownFILE - In this July 4, 2012 file photo released by the Indonesian National Search And Rescue Agency, a wooden boat which is believed to have up to 180 asylum seekers on board floats on the waters off Christmas Island, Australia. Australia calls it a ?closing-down sale? for people smugglers: Asylum-seekers in rickety boats have been reaching its shores in record numbers to avoid a tougher new deportation policy the country is preparing to implement. For many migrants, the price of haste may be death. (AP Photo/Indonesian National Search and Rescue Agency, File) FILE - In this July 4, 2012 file photo released by the Indonesian National Search And Rescue Agency, a wooden boat which is believed to have up to 180 asylum seekers on board floats on the waters off Christmas Island, Australia. Australia calls it a ?closing-down sale? for people smugglers: Asylum-seekers in rickety boats have been reaching its shores in record numbers to avoid a tougher new deportation policy the country is preparing to implement. For many migrants, the price of haste may be death. (AP Photo/Indonesian National Search and Rescue Agency, File) FILE - In this July 29, 2012 file photo, asylum seekers who were rescued from a troubled boat adrift in heavy seas off Java while trying to reach Australia, are escorted by police officers upon arrival at a local marine police station in Surabaya, East Java, Indonesia. Australia calls it a ?closing-down sale? for people smugglers: Asylum-seekers in rickety boats have been reaching its shores in record numbers to avoid a tougher new deportation policy the country is preparing to implement. For many migrants, the price of haste may be death. (AP Photo/Trisnadi, File) CANBERRA, Australia (AP) ? Australia calls it a "closing-down sale" for people smugglers: Asylum-seekers in rickety boats are reaching its shores in record numbers ahead of a tougher deportation policy starting in September. For many migrants, the price of haste may be death. About 150 people were aboard an overcrowded, wooden fishing boat that sank off the Indonesia coast as it headed for a remote Australian island. Only 55 people had been rescued by Thursday night, and the captain of one rescue vessel believes he saw bodies in the water. The emergency was the latest created by a growing human smuggling trade in which thousands of would-be refugees from countries including Afghanistan, Iran and Sri Lanka attempt dangerous sea voyages from Indonesia to Australia. Australia's center-left Labor Party government announced plans this month to deter future arrivals by deporting new asylum seekers who arrive by boat to the Pacific atoll of Nauru or to Australia's nearest neighbor, Papua New Guinea. The government says they will be held in tent camps for as long as they would spend in refugee camps if they had not paid people smugglers to take them to Australia. The new approach will begin when the Nauru camp opens in September, but meanwhile the rush is on. More than 1,900 people have arrived in Australia in August ? the highest monthly total on record ? in hopes of accelerating a refugee claims process that can take years. The numbers have been steadily climbing: More than 9,800 asylum seekers have arrived this year, more than double the total for all of 2011. "People smugglers are running a closing-down sale," Home Affairs Minister Jason Clare said. He predicts asylum seekers will stop paying people smugglers $10,000 or more to transport them more than 400 kilometers (250 miles) from Indonesia or Malaysia by boat if they are not guaranteed that they will be accepted by Australia. A previous conservative government established camps in Nauru and Papua New Guinea a decade ago as part of a policy that slowed boat arrivals to a trickle but was condemned by human rights groups as cruel. A Labor government closed the camps after winning elections in 2007, a year when only 339 asylum seekers arrived by boat. As the numbers have grown, the influx, and the deaths of would-be migrants at sea, have angered many Australians. No asylum-seeker deaths have been confirmed since the policy change was announced, but more than 300 have lost their lives making the perilous journey across the Sunda Strait between Indonesia and the Australian territory of Christmas Island since December. More than 90 of them died in two boat accidents that occurred within a week of each other in June. Authorities also fear the worst for 67 asylum seekers who have not contacted family or friends since they left Indonesia on an Australia-bound boat in late June. In the latest incident, a boat reportedly carrying 150 asylum seekers sank off the main Indonesian island of Java on Wednesday. The crew of a merchant ship taking part in the search, Liberian-flagged APL Bahrain, spotted survivors in the water early Thursday 75 kilometers (45 miles) southwest of Java and rescued six, Clare said. "There are grave fears for a lot more," Clare told reporters. The Bahrain's captain, Manuel Nistorescu, told the Fairfax Media website that he was about to abandon the late-night search when he heard whistles and yelling from the dark water. Nistorescu said the six rescued, all Afghan men, appeared to be in good condition and had been in the water for almost 24 hours. There were also women and children aboard the asylum-seeker boat when it sank, he said. He added that he believed he saw bodies in the water. "I think I saw some of them dead," he said. Other merchant ships, Indonesian government ships and Australian military boats and planes also were involved in the search. Indonesian search and rescue official Sunarbowo Sandi said that an Australian navy patrol boat and other merchant ships later retrieved an additional 49 survivors. He said six of them were hurt and in critical condition. "High waves are hampering our search and rescue efforts," Sandi said. The distress call was received by Australian authorities early Wednesday by satellite phone from someone aboard the missing boat requesting help. The person said there were 150 people aboard and the vessel had engine trouble. The boat was then 15 kilometers (9 miles) off Java, officials said. Indonesian authorities initially searched with two boats and a helicopter but found no trace of the boat by late Wednesday. The merchant ship found the first six survivors after Australia expanded the search area. ___ Associated Press writer Niniek Karmini contributed to this report from Jakarta. Associated Pressgoogle goggles one tree hill projectglass stock act new york auto show khalid sheikh mohammed masters par 3 HP Launches The Beta Release Of Open WebOS Gone are the days of HP's TouchPad and Palm ambitions, but HP is moving ahead with its plans to make webOS, it beleaguered mobile operating system, live on as open-source supported platform. Today it's launching the beta release. The news is getting announced in a blog post: "It has taken a lot of hard work, long hours and weekend sacrifices by our engineering team to deliver on our promise and we have accomplished this goal," the developers write on the site devoid of any HP branding. The plans to take webOS open source were?first announced eight months ago.Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/-I4ArJEWjgc/ Mens Gymnastics Allison Schmitt Olympic Schedule Kyla Ross Ryan Lochte Montenegro Olympic Games Thursday, August 30, 2012Apple patent would disable phone based on location2 hrs.  Among a bevy of patents awarded to Apple this week was one that would enable or disable certain features of a phone depending on its location. It could be useful, but it also raises serious questions about who really owns your device. The patent, "Apparatus and methods for enforcement of policies upon a wireless device," was pointed out by Apple Insider?Thursday. It's similar to an application made public in 2011 that would use a sensor in the phone to detect whether it was allowed to take pictures or make calls. The new patent relies on GPS, cell tower?or Wi-Fi?data to determine location, and then "changing one or more functional or operational aspects" of the device. The suggestions for use are innocuous and practical: a movie theater that automatically sets phones to silent; a classroom that prevents outgoing calls; turning off Wi-Fi in a hospital. But it's not hard to imagine abuses of the system as well: it could be a useful tool for any oppressive regime, for instance,?or be used to force the shutdown of phones at a protest?? something that happened last year in San Francisco. There's nothing in the patent that indicates it is going to be implemented, though iPhones and other smartphones do already have the ability to adjust things like ring volume and Wi-Fi settings depending on location. The difference this patent describes would be that it's not the user making the changes, but whoever sets "policies" in the area. You can read?the patent in its entirety at the Patent Office's website. Apple was also awarded numerous other patents this week, from mobile payment systems to email interfaces, thought only a few are actually in use. Devin Coldewey is a contributing writer for NBC News Digital. His personal website is coldewey.cc. Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/technology/gadgetbox/apple-patent-would-disable-phone-based-location-972677 episodes idris elba kelsey grammer martin henderson mlk day golden globes 2012 winners golden globes 2012 red carpet Saturn changes color with the seasons NASA / JPL-Caltech / SSI Saturn and its rings provide a backdrop for the planet's largest moon, Titan, in a true-color picture captured by NASA's Cassini orbiter on May 6. By Alan Boyle Saturn's shades of blue and butterscotch are changing along with the planet's seasons, as illustrated by a fresh batch of true-color photos from the bus-sized Cassini orbiter. When Cassini arrived at Saturn, seven years ago, the planet's northern hemisphere had a tint of azure blue. Since then, Saturn has gone through an equinox and a significant shift in seasons. Summer is approaching in the north, and winter is coming to the south. The seasonal change means ultraviolet radiation is intensifying in the north, resulting in an increasing amount of yellowish haze.?Meanwhile, there's a reduction in radiation hitting the southern hemisphere, and the haze is clearing as a result. The presence of the ring shadow enhances the effect in Saturn's south. "The reduction of haze and the consequent clearing of the atmosphere make for a bluish hue: the increased opportunity for direct scattering of sunlight by the molecules in the air makes the sky blue, as on Earth," Cassini's imaging team reports in today's advisory. "The presence of methane, which generally absorbs in the red part of the spectrum, in a now-clearer atmosphere also enhances the blue." Although Saturn has seasons like Earth's, the fact that a Saturnian year lasts 29.5 times longer than an Earth year means that the southern hemisphere's winter solstice won't occur until May 2017. And if Cassini's mission managers have their way, the orbiter will be around to see it. "The Cassini mission was recently given rave reviews by a panel of planetary scientists and NASA program managers for its contributions to our understanding of the solar system, a circumstance that bodes well for a well-funded continuing mission over the next five years," the imaging team's leader, Carolyn Porco of the Colorado-based Space Science Institute, reported in an email today. "Despite the fact that we can't know exactly what the next five years will bring us, we can be certain that whatever it is will be wondrous." ? Saturn's largest moon, Titan, takes center stage in one of Cassini's newly released views. The moon measures 3,200 miles (5,150 kilometers) across and is covered with its own brand of hydrocarbon-rich haze. Titan is the only moon in the solar system to have an opaque atmosphere. Cassini snapped the picture you see above from a distance of about 483,000 miles (778,000 kilometers). Here are more pictures that show Titan's true colors:  NASA / JPL-Caltech / SSI Saturn's rings obscure part of Titan's disk in an image from NASA's Cassini orbiter. Parts of the rings appear dark near the center of this view because of the shadow cast by the planet. This image was obtained on May 16 at a distance of about 1.9 million miles (3 million kilometers) from Titan.  NASA / JPL-Caltech / SSI Titan's recently formed south polar vortex stands out in this natural-color view of Titan from the Cassini spacecraft. The vortex may be related to the approach of southern winter and the development of a polar "hood" of denser, high-altitude haze. This picture was acquired on July 25 at a distance of about 64,000 miles (103,000 kilometers).  NASA / JPL-Caltech / SSI NASA's Cassini spacecraft looks toward the night side of Titan and sees sunlight scattering through the periphery of the moon's atmosphere, creating a ring of color. The picture was taken on June 6 from a distance of about 134,000 miles (216,000 kilometers). More colors from Cassini: Alan Boyle is NBCNews.com's science editor. Connect with the Cosmic Log community by "liking" the log's?Facebook page, following?@b0yle on Twitter?and adding the?Cosmic Log page?to your Google+ presence. To keep up with Cosmic Log as well as NBCNews.com's other stories about science and space, sign up for the Tech & Science newsletter, delivered to your email in-box every weekday. You can also check out?"The Case for Pluto,"?my book about the controversial dwarf planet and the search for new worlds. Source: http://photoblog.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/08/29/13554129-seasons-change-and-so-does-saturn?lite dark shadows trailer nate mcmillan clooney arrested southern miss rod blagojevich rod blagojevich uconn Lenovo IdeaTab A2109 gets official outing at IFA 2012: 9-inch 1280 x 800 display, Tegra 3, Android 4.0 (hands-on video) Lenovo hasn't taken much care to enshroud its trio of newly announced Android slates in any kind of secrecy. The tabs have been teased on the company's site for some time, but that's not holding the Chinese outfit back from making an official announcement at IFA 2012. Taking a slight step down in size from the S2110, the 9-inch IdeaTab A2109 ups the internal ante of its more premium stablemate with a 1.2GHz quad-core Tegra 3 buffered by 1GB DDR3 RAM, while also packing in a 1280 x 800 LED display, a 1.3-megapixel front-facing / 3-megapixel rear cameras, SRS sound, ports for a 3.5mm headphone jack, micro-USB and micro-HDMI. And for users more accustomed to quality builds, the slate shouldn't disappointed as its rear encasement is of the all aluminum variety and lending to its 1.3 pounds (570g) of bulk. Storage for this Android 4.0 slate is not as robust as its larger counterpart, but the 16GB allotted is expandable via microSD. The tab's already available online and at BestBuy, so if you want to call this your own, prepare to part with $299.
Filed under: Tablets Lenovo IdeaTab A2109 gets official outing at IFA 2012: 9-inch 1280 x 800 display, Tegra 3, Android 4.0 (hands-on video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 30 Aug 2012 07:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | | Email this | Comments
Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/gLx-ipM25S0/ enemy of the state golden globe nominees joe philbin miss america pageant 2012 shipwreck jose aldo vs chad mendes lana del rey AP Exclusive: Syria defectors live in secret campMAFRAQ, Jordan (AP) ? In an isolated stretch of Jordanian desert, a heavily guarded, secret compound houses 1,200 senior police and army officers who defected from nearby Syria. The men live in trailers with fans but no air conditioning, surrounded by barbed wire, and they pass their days browsing the Internet and watching TV for news of Syria's civil war, longing to join the fight ? but they are largely unable to leave. The Jordanian military runs the camp near a site formerly used by the U.S. to train some its forces for the war in Iraq, and the defectors are debriefed by intelligence agents. Access to them is tightly restricted for their own protection. They are even separated from their families, who live outside the camp near the northern border city of Mafraq but can get special police permits to visit. The defectors in the camp are allowed to communicate with the rebel Free Syrian Army in Jordan and abroad, both in person and through telephone and Internet communications, but do not have what is considered valuable intelligence, according to Jordanian security officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not allowed to make press statements. The facility is a sign of Jordan's growing role as a quiet supporter of Syria's opposition. But at the same time, Jordan wants to avoid aggravating tensions with its more powerful northern neighbor, fearing that President Bashar Assad may remain in power. There are more than 160,000 Syrian refugees in Jordan, and their number is increasing by the thousands every day. About 8,000 live in a newly set up camp on the border, while the rest are scattered across Jordan. Maintaining control over the refugees poses a security threat to the small, tightly controlled kingdom. Jordanian security officials and refugees have said there were pro-Assad "sleeper cells" in Jordan that could act against the refugees. Jordan has rejected several requests by the Assad government for the extradition of the defectors and has allowed entry to hundreds of Syrian rebels who move freely around the country. It also has helped the refugees by giving them medical treatment. It is not clear if former Syrian Prime Minister Riad Hijab, the most prominent defector to flee to Jordan, is housed in the desert facility or one elsewhere. Hijab fled under a plan coordinated between the Amman government and the Free Syrian Army. The Associated Press asked to visit the desert facility but was denied access. However, the AP spoke to two of the camp residents who described the conditions there. Khaldoun, a 47-year-old former Syrian army brigadier, said there were dozens of trailers housing up to seven men each, with fans stirring the desert air. Armed Jordanian soldiers guard the compound around the clock, he said. The men spend their days exercising and playing backgammon and chess, and the Jordanians provide them with access to the Internet, TVs, cellphones and computers, said Khaldoun, who insisted on being identified by his first name only, citing concern for the safety of relatives in Syria. "It's good to be here, away from the tension and war, but this is not what I had hoped for," he told the AP. "I wanted to be part of the rebel movement fighting to liberate Syria," Khaldoun added. He said he spends most of his day watching TV, exchanging gossip, or browsing the Internet for news on the violence back home. "It's difficult to watch the war in Syria on TV and the Internet and not be part of it," he added. Khaldoun defected to Jordan in January at the height of the Assad regime's crackdown on his hometown, the central city of Homs, which became the hub of the uprising that began in March 2011. Hailing from a prominent Sunni Muslim family, he served in the 7th Armored Division for 23 years until his escape. The security defectors range in rank from corporal to general ? but they said their access to state and military information was limited because as Sunnis they were kept in the dark by the inner circle of the ruling Alawite minority ? a Shiite Muslim offshoot ? that surrounds Assad. The Jordanian security officials said access to the defectors was restricted because of concerns that pro-Assad elements could try to attack them. A series of attacks on Syrians in Jordan has led refugees and Jordanian officials to believe agents of the Assad regime are operating in the kingdom on a campaign to hunt down opponents and intimidate those who have fled. Jordan has also arrested supposed defectors on suspicion that they were spying on Syrian refugees and dissidents. The camp housing the defectors is near Jordan's largest air force base, which had been used as a training facility for U.S. forces in the past two decades during and after the wars in neighboring Iraq. Jordanian government officials have refused to comment about the desert camp, saying that they have little information about the defectors. The camp's refugees fled in batches since the uprising began, with most of them smuggled through a northern border fence by the Free Syrian Army and later interrogated by Jordanian intelligence to verify their identities and the authenticity of their stories, one of the Jordanian security officials said. The defectors are between 40 and 60 years old, and some have chronic ailments such as high blood pressure, diabetes and back problems that prevented them from being in the frontline in Syria or joining the rebels, the officials said. A handful of other senior military and police defectors are kept at a secret location elsewhere, one of the security officials said, including Syrian air force Col. Hassan Hammadeh, who flew his MiG-21 to Jordan on June 21. Most of the defectors were seen as "small fish" who for the most part did not provide actionable intelligence, according to the Jordanian security officials and a Jordan-based Western diplomat who spoke on condition of anonymity because identifying him would compromise his ability to gather information on Syria. Still, one of the defectors at the desert compound said that as a colonel in the military, he held such a high rank that the Assad regime would go to great lengths to strike back at him. "They would destroy a whole suburb if they think one of us is there," said the colonel, who identified himself only as Rahal, citing fears of retribution against relatives still in Syria. "This is why I had to get out of Syria," he added. Rahal said he and 37 other officers were jailed shortly after the start of the uprising, but a number of them were given amnesty and released in May. The regime told him to report to work but merely shuffled him from one office to another, he said. "I had no real job, just drinking tea and watching TV," the 45-year-old said. He said he decided to defect when the security forces "decided to militarize the conflict in order to end the crisis." Rahal predicted the Free Syrian Army would ultimately get the weapons it needs to finish off Assad. "The Free Syrian Army is like a group of birds on a tree. If the regime tries to shoot one of the birds, the group flies off to another tree. The regime will never get them all," he said. ___ Gavlak reported from Irbid, Jordan. Source: http://news.yahoo.com/ap-exclusive-syria-defectors-live-secret-camp-193745917.html president day lin j.r. smith espn jeremy lin sleigh bells meek sturgis
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