EU report blasts Israeli zoning, urges sanctions

Source :  smh.com.au

RECOMMENDING economic sanctions against Israeli settlements, a scathing report from European Union consulates accuses Israel of illegally annexing East Jerusalem and ''systematically undermining Palestinian presence'' in the city.

It found settlement construction in East Jerusalem and the West Bank was ''the biggest single threat to the two-state solution''.

Israel was trying to drive Palestinians out of East Jerusalem with restrictive zoning and planning, demolitions and evacuations, discriminatory access to religious sites, an inequitable education policy, difficult access to healthcare and inadequate provision of resources, the report said.

The EU Heads of Mission Jerusalem Report says every effort must be made to ensure products manufactured in settlements do not receive preferential treatment or tariffs and that they are correctly labelled as settlement goods.

Israel would not provide any response to the non-binding EU report, written by consuls in Jerusalem and Ramallah. A foreign ministry spokesman said: ''They have never presented it to us, so we cannot comment.''

The report highlighted what it labelled as the ''most significant and problematic'' settlement plans in East Jerusalem, including plans to construct the settlement known as E1 - announced by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in response to the United Nations vote to upgrade Palestine to a ''non-member observer state'' last November.

''The construction of these … settlements is part of a political strategy aimed at making it impossible for Jerusalem to become the capital of two states,'' the report reads.

Palestinian leaders welcomed the report, calling on the European Union and its members to ''stand up to Israel''.

Israel captured East Jerusalem during the 1967 Six-Day War and subsequently annexed it in a move that has never been recognised by the international community.

Israel to award Obama with President's Medal of Honor

Source : Axisoflogic.com

U.S. President Barack Obama will receive the Presidential Medal of Honor from his Israeli counterpart, President Shimon Peres during his visit to the Jewish State next month.

The medal – likened to the French Legion of Honor and the Order of Canada – features the North Star “to symbolize the right path,” and a menorah, and is given to individuals and organizations “that have made unique and outstanding contributions to Tikkun Olam ("repairing the world"), Israeli society and the State of Israel’s image around the world, and which constitute examples of initiative, innovation, creativity and vision,” said a statement from the president’s residence.

America's cooperation was essential in creating the Iron Dome anti-missile defense system, the statement went on to explain, "which saved the lives of many in Israel, and allowed space for political maneuvering by the Israeli government during times of crisis."

The awards committee added that Obama's presidency "is characterized by uncompromising faith and constant practices which promote equality regardless of religion, race, gender and sexual orientation, and the strengthening of the poorer classes in the United States, and the empowerment of democratic values, human rights, unity and peace in the world.

"Through his personal story and his actions as president of the United States, Barack Obama has become a symbol and model for democratic values and he reflects the spirit of equal opportunity in American society."

The President's Medal, which was awarded for the first time last year at the initiative of the Israeli president, is given to exceptional people and institutions who have made unique and extraordinary efforts to "repair the world" and who are a model of entrepreneurship, innovation, creativity and vision.

Last year, Obama awarded the Presidential Medal of Honor to Peres in a ceremony in Washington.

In remarks he made prior to handing Peres the medal, Obama described Israel as “one of our strongest allies and one of our closest friends," and said that Peres, “teaches us to never settle for the world as it is. We have a vision for the world? ?

Over 50 Militants Killed in N.Caucasus in 2013 - FSB Chief

Source :   RIA Novosti

PYATIGORSK, February 26 (RIA Novosti) - Russia’s top domestic security official said on Tuesday more than 50 militants, including 14 group leaders, had been killed in Russia’s North Caucasus since the start of the year.

“So far, more than 50 militants have been killed, including 14 militant group leaders,” FSB chief Alexander Bortnikov said at a meeting of the National Anti-Terrorism Committee in the southern Russian resort city of Pyatigorsk.

“More than 60 [armed] group members and their associates who committed no grave crimes, turned themselves in to the authorities,” he added.

A total of 66 suspected militants were also detained in that period.

Radical Islamist ideology is becoming increasingly popular in the North Caucasus against the background of the region’s social and economic problems, Bortnikov said.

“Such a trend persists not only in the North Caucasus, but also in a number of regions in the Volga, Urals and Siberian federal districts,” he said, without naming the regions.

“Based on a thorough study of the situation in Russian regions, we need to update regional anti-terrorism programs, anti-extremism measures and crime prevention,” Bortnikov said.

He also called on regional anti-terrorism commissions, law-enforcers and the local authorities to improve their propaganda and information work, especially in regions where extremist ideas enjoy widespread support.

The North Caucasus region is home to a predominantly Islamic population. It has been the scene of over two decades of separatist insurgency, with Islamist fighters involved in frequent attacks on the federal authorities.

Putin awarded the Order of Serbian Republic

Source :  Strategic Culture

Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic has awarded Russia’s President Vladimir Putin the Order of the Republic for the Russian leader's "outstanding contribution to peaceful cooperation and friendship" between the two countries.

Similar awards have been bestowed also on all other leaders of the former Soviet republics, with the notable exception of EU-members Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia.

Iran calls for expansion of ties with Italy

Source :  Tehran Times

TEHRAN – President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad met with new Italian Ambassador to Tehran Luca Giansanti on Sunday and called for expansion of ties between Iran and Italy.

“Tehran does not see any limits to boost the friendly relations between the two countries,” Ahmadinejad said.

Giansanti submitted his credentials to Ahmadinejad and called for bolstering ties in economic and industrial areas with Tehran.

The Italian ambassador also said Iran can help settle tensions and conflicts around the world.

Ahmadinejad meets Sri Lankan, Sudanese envoys

New Sri Lankan Ambassador to Tehran Mohammad Faisal Razeen also met with President Ahmadinejad on Sunday and submitted his credentials to him.

During the visit, the two sides put emphasis on the necessity of increasing ties.

On Sunday, Ahmadinejad also met with Sudanese president’s special envoy and called for full implementation of all agreements signed between the two countries.

The Sudanese envoy conveyed the message of his country’s president to Ahmadinejad and called for increasing cooperation in energy and agricultural fields.

MT/PA

Euro's stability at stake as frustrated Italians cast votes

Source :   Shanghai Daily

ITALIANS voted yesterday in one of the most closely watched and unpredictable elections in years, with pent-up fury over a discredited elite adding to concern it may not produce a government strong enough to lead Italy out of an economic slump.

The election, which concludes this afternoon, is being followed closely by investors; their memories are still fresh of the potentially catastrophic debt crisis that saw Mario Monti, an economics professor and former bureaucrat, summoned to serve as prime minister in place of Silvio Berlusconi 15 months ago.

The controversial Berlusconi was the object of a protest by a group of topless women who were dragged away by police yesterday as he voted.

The protesters, from the Ukrainian women's rights group Femen, shouted "Basta (Enough) Berlusconi," as the media tycoon was voting in a polling station in a Milan school. The same words were painted on their bodies. Police quickly grabbed the women and bundled them away.

Berlusconi, a 76-year-old billionaire, is seeking his fifth term in government and is on trial for having sex with an underage prostitute during alleged orgies at his Milan villa, a charge he denies.

The election could result in a weak Italian government that could, many fear, prompt a new dip in confidence in the European Union's single currency.

Opinion polls give the center-left a narrow lead but the result has been thrown completely open by the prospect of a huge protest vote against the painful austerity measures imposed by Monti's government and deep anger over a never-ending series of corruption scandals. Berlusconi's center-right has also revived.

"I'm not confident that the government that emerges from the election will be able to solve any of our problems," said Attilio Bianchetti, a 55-year-old builder in Milan, who voted for the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement of comic and blogger Beppe Grillo.

The 64-year-old Grillo, who is heavily backed by a frustrated generation of young Italians hit by record unemployment, has been one of the biggest features of the last stage of the campaign, packing rallies in town squares up and down Italy.

Sinai groups to launch protest action over govt neglect

Source :   Maan News Agency

EL-ARISH, Egypt (Ma'an) -- Egyptians in the northern Sinai peninsula will launch a campaign of civil disobedience next week to protest the government's neglect of the region, a Ma'an correspondent said.

Political and civil society groups will start a series of sit-in protests and civil disobedience tactics on Tuesday in response to what they see as neglect of the area by Egypt's central government.

Khalid Arafat, chairman of the al-Karama political party, told Ma'an tha developments projects initiated by the government have not achieve anything in Sinai, and people will protest until their demands are met.

The policy of neglecting the Sinai peninsula is still being practiced b President Mursi, Arafat added.

Two years after the revolution that toppled president Hosni Mubara Egypt's Islamist rulers are contending with a rise in militant activity in th Sinai region that borders Israel and the Gaza Strip.

Egyptian security forces have waged a security campaign in the desert Sina region to reign in militant groups, after 16 Egyptian border guards wer killed in an attack on their post in August.

Security problems such as kidnapping, murder, drug smuggling and violenc continue to affect the Sinai peninsula, where tribesman have lon complained of neglect by the state and have in the past clashed with police who they accuse of heavy-handed tactics.

Spain king’s son-in-law goes to court

Source : Islamic Invitation Turkey

The Spanish king’s son-in-law has appeared before a judge for questioning in a corruption case that has shaken the royal family.

The son in law of Spain’s King arrived at a court in Palma on the Mediterranean island of Majorca on Saturday for a second questioning in his corruption case.

Inaki Urdangarin, made his way into the building amid tense street scenes where a contingent of around 170 police kept noisy protesters away from the courthouse.

He is accused of embezzling public funds paid in contracts to a company he managed several years ago.

Urdangarin, who has the title of “Duke of Palma”, is also accused of using his royal title to steal money.

His father-in-law, King Juan Carlos, has banned him from family functions. The investigation into the alleged financial misdeeds has deeply embarrassed the monarchy in a country hard hit by a financial crisis and sky-high unemployment.

Urdangarin who is married to Princess Cristina, the second of King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia’s three children, was a professional handball player. He retired from professional sport in 2000, and went on to study business administration.

Indigenous Venezuelans Hold Ritual for Chavez

Source : RIA Novosti

MOSCOW, February 23 (RIA Novosti) – Supernatural forces were evoked on Friday night in Venezuelan politics, as representatives of the country’s indigenous peoples held a ritual for their ailing president Hugo Chavez.

The ritual, held in downtown Caracas, involved lighting a “sacred fire,” mass dancing and a prayer for presidential health, Venezuelan state news agency AVN reported.

The fire was intended to collect “bad energies” which were then to be disposed of by scattering the ashes over the river, said one of ritual’s co-organizers, an indigenous “wise woman” identified as Betania.

Chavez, 58, appears to need all the help he can get as he continues his battle with cancer. He underwent extensive treatment, including four operations, over the past two years, but was nevertheless unable to attend his own presidential inauguration in January.

The president reportedly struggles with respiratory problems that render him unable to speak, though he spent five hours on Friday issuing written instructions, media reported.

Still, the Secretary General of Organization of American States, Jose Miguel Insulza, said on Friday that Chavez may resign next week.

Though Chavez is a Catholic, he was the target of indigenous American rituals before: Shamans prayed for him in Ecuador in January, and another ceremony was held in Caracas on Thursday, attended by Guatemalan Nobel Peace Prize laureate Rigoberta Menchu, who participated in her self-described capacity of a “Mayan spiritual guide,” according to Venezuelan daily Ultimas Noticias.

US says new Iran centrifuges would be provocative

Source :  thenews.com.pk

WASHINGTON: The United States warned Iran Thursday that the installation of next-generation centrifuges at one of its main nuclear plants, as reported by the UN atomic agency, would be a "provocative step."

The installation "would be a further escalation and a continuing violation of Iran's obligations under the relevant UN Security Council resolutions and IAEA board resolutions," State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said. "So it would mark yet another provocative step," she said. The International Atomic Energy Agency, the UN nuclear watchdog, on Thursday said Tehran had begun installing the new IR-2m centrifuges earlier this month at the Natanz plant. "This is the first time that centrifuges more advanced than the IR-1 have been installed" at the plant in central Iran, an IAEA report said. The report comes five days before Iran is set to sit down with world powers in Kazakhstan for the latest round of talks on the Islamic republic's nuclear program, which the West and Israel say is a front for weapons development. Tehran insists its program is strictly for peaceful purposes. The talks between the so-called P5+1 -- the United States, China, Russia, Britain, France and Germany -- and Iran will be the first since June, when three rounds of meetings ended in stalemate in Moscow. Nuland, who said the report of new centrifuges were no surprise, urged Iran to consider "another path... the diplomatic path." "They have an opportunity to come to those talks ready to be serious, ready to allay the international community's concerns, and we hope they take that opportunity," she said.

India, Britain agree to push economic, trade relations to new high

Source :   Xinhua | English.news.cn

NEW DELHI, Feb. 19 (Xinhua) -- India and Britain Tuesday agreed to push their economic and trade relations to a new high while launching talks on a civil nuclear agreement.

Visiting British Prime Minister David Cameron and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh discussed India's application for membership of the world's elite nuclear club, Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) and other multilateral export control regimes during talks held in the Indian capital.

"I thanked Prime Minister Cameron for the UK's support for India's full membership of the Nuclear Suppliers Group and other multilateral export control regimes. We have also decided to commence negotiations on a bilateral Civil Nuclear Agreement," Singh said at a press conference with Cameron after the talks at the Hyderabad House in central Delhi.

Cameron, who brought a 100-member delegation of officials and businessmen, has expressed optimism for bilateral relation.

"It is a strong partnership that we want to build together.. we are on track to double our trade to 23 billion pounds by 2015," he said.

Cameron said earlier Monday in Mumbai that Britain would ease visa norms for Indian businessmen and students.

Besides trade relations, the two prime ministers also discussed the newly emerged scam over an Indian government contract to buy 12 British made VVIP choppers, as the deal has been shrouded in suspected corruption after the CEO of a Italian corporation which owns the British company Agusta Westland -- which makes the choppers -- was arrested last week in Rome over suspected bribery.

Situation in Pakistan and Afghanistan was also on the agenda of talks between Singh and Cameron. The two sides are also considering set up a contact group on Afghanistan to exchange information during the period of NATO pullout from the war-torne country which is due next year.

Russian Security Council Chief Urges Global Asteriod

Source :    RIA Novosti

MOSCOW, February 19 (RIA Novosti) - The recent meteorite strike in Russia’s Urals underlines the necessity of establishing an international asteroid defense system, Russian Security Council chief Nikolai Patrushev said on Tuesday.

“The Russian Security Council has repeatedly proposed to develop an interstate target program to counter space threats, such as asteroids, comets and space junk,” Patrushev said in an interview with the Rossiyskaya Gazeta government daily, to be published in Wednesday’s edition.

“Preventing such threats requires the inter- governmental cooperation of states that have the ability to monitor and analyze the situation in near-Earth space,” the official said.

Moscow Against North Korea Trade Sanctions

Source : RIA Novosti

MOSCOW, February 19 (RIA Novosti) - Moscow will not support trade sanctions against North Korea but is ready to support additional UN Security Council sanctions aimed at Pyongyang's controversial nuclear program, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov said on Tuesday.

“In principle, we are ready to support additional UN Security Council sanctions against North Korea, which held a nuclear test last week. It all depends on the nature of those sanctions,” Gatilov said.

“It’s too early to say what kind of measures we will be ready to support. Anyway, apparently, it should be measures aimed at preventing North Korea from taking further actions related to nuclear non-proliferation and a future nuclear test,” he said. “But we will oppose sanctions damaging normal trade and economic relations with North Korea.”

Seismic activity was detected in North Korea at 11:58 a.m. Korean time (02:58 GMT) on January 12, fuelling suspicions the country had carried out an underground nuclear test. Pyongyang state media confirmed later that day it had carried out its third nuclear test.

The 15-member UN Security Council issued a statement last week condemning the nuclear blast, calling it a “grave violation” of UN resolutions banning Pyongyang from conducting such tests and "a clear threat to international peace and security.

8 armed men steal millions in diamonds from plane at Brussels airport

Source : Fox News

Police on Tuesday were looking for eight men who made a hole in a security fence of Brussels' international airport, drove onto the tarmac and robbed tens of millions of dollars worth of diamonds from the hold of a Swiss-bound plane.

Brussels prosecutor's spokeswoman Anja Bijnens said Tuesday the armed and masked men used two vehicles in their daring Monday raid and within minutes made their way to the plane, took the cache of stones and drove off into the darkness.

Police found a burnt-out vehicle close to the airport later Monday night but said it was still looking for clues.

The heist was estimated at some 50 million dollars in diamonds, said Caroline De Wolf of the Antwerp World diamond Centre.

`'What we are talking about is obviously a gigantic sum," De Wolf told VRT network.

An airport spokesman says the robbers made a hole in the perimeter fence, and drove right up to the Swiss passenger plane that was ready to leave. The robbers got out of the car, flashed their arms and took the loot from the hold, airport spokesman Jan Van Der Crujsse said. Without firing a shot they drove off through the same hole in the fence, completing the spectacular theft within minutes, he said.

Van Der Crujsse could not explain how the area could be so vulnerable to theft. `'We abide by the most stringent rules," he said.

The Swiss flight, operated by Helvetic Airways, was canceled after the robbery. Swiss, an affiliate of Germany's Deutsche Lufthansa AG, declined to comment on the heist, citing the ongoing judicial investigation.

The insurance for air transport -- handled sometimes by airlines themselves or external insurance companies -- is usually relatively cheap because it's considered to be the safest way of transporting small high value items, logistics experts say.

Unlike a car or a truck, an airplane cannot be attacked by robbers once it's one its way, and it is considered to be very safe before the departure and after the plane's arrival because the aircraft is always within the confines of an airport -- which are normally highly secured.

Australia, China plan for a new Titanic

Source : LBCI News

Australian billionaire who's planning to build a high-tech replica of the Titanic at a Chinese shipyard has received an "overwhelming" response from people who want to be the first paying passengers.

Representatives for Clive Palmer, who in April announced a preliminary agreement with state-owned Chinese company CSC Jinling Shipyard to build Titanic II, said Saturday that his shipping company had received inquiries from people in the United States, Britain, Asia and South America.

Interest has been so strong that "we've probably had half a dozen people already offering more than $1 million to get on the maiden voyage" slated for 2016, said James McDonald, global marketing director of Blue Star Line Pty. Ltd.

The strong interest comes even though construction has not even started on the ship. Blue Star officials said they hoped to sign a final contract soon with CSC Jinling, based in Jiangsu province. They would not reveal how much Titanic II is expected to cost.

The Titanic was the world's largest and most luxurious ocean liner when it hit an iceberg in the North Atlantic and sank on April 15, 1912, killing more than 1,500 people.

Palmer has said the new ship will be just as luxurious as the original but also have the latest navigation and safety technology. The designers will be assisted by a historical research team as they try to make the ship look as close as possible to the original. The diesel-powered ship will even have four smoke stacks like the coal-powered original, but they will be purely decorative.

Raymond Tam, Blue Star's director of Asia operations, said the contract for Titanic II will be a shot in the arm for China's fledgling shipbuilding industry as it tries to compete globally.

"China has been one of the strongest players in building bulk carriers and container vessels," Tam said. "In terms of building luxury ships, they have a small market share. However, Titanic II will be the start of a massive Chinese challenge to the European luxury shipbuilders."

Palmer built his fortune in real estate and coal. Australia's BRW magazine estimated his net worth last year at $4 billion, although Forbes puts it at $895 million.

Iranian photographer wins awards at World Photo Press

Source : Tehran Times

TEHRAN -- Iranian photographer Ebrahim Noruzi has won two awards at the World Photo Press 2013.

The winners of the world’s largest and most prestigious annual press photography contest were announced on Friday

Noruzi won the first prize of the Observed Portraits Section for his photo collection “Victims of Forced Love”.

The collection depicts the aftermath of an attack in Iran, during which a man poured acid over the faces of his wife, Somayyeh Mehri, and his two daughters, Rana and Nazanin, while they were sleeping at home in a village in the southeastern city of Bam in 2012, after Somayyeh filed for divorce.

Somayyeh lost her sight in one eye. The skin across her face and arms is covered with rough, discolored scars. Her younger daughter, Rana, now at 3, has been disfigured and also lost one of her eyes. The older daughter, Nazanin, was injured less severely.

Noruzi also won the second prize at the Staged Portraits Stories Section for his photo collection “Mournful”.

The collection features the rituals of mourning season of Muharram in Lorestan Province, especially in Khoramabad in Iran.

Born in 1980 in Tehran, Noruzi began working as a professional photographer in 2004 with the Fars News Agency.

His photographs have appeared nationally and internationally, in such publications as The New York Times, Time, The Washington Post, and have been distributed by Agence France-Presse, the Associated Press, Reuters, United Press International and the European Press Photo Agency.

World Press Photo is an independent, non-profit organization based in Amsterdam, Netherlands.

The awards ceremony is held in the Oude Kerk in Amsterdam.

After the contest, the prizewinning photographs are assembled into a traveling exhibition that is visited by over a million people in 40 countries.

SB/YAW END

Turkish energy minister says Turkey can't initiate project with Israel

Source : Vesti Kavkaza

Turkish Energy Minister Taner Yildiz on Friday said, "We can't act like nothing has happened. Unless the conditions stated by our prime minister are met, we can't initiate a project with Israel," in reference to the pipeline project between Turkey and Israel, the World Bulletin reports.Yildiz gave an interview to CNBC-e TV channel where he stated that from time to time politics was a burden on energy and from time to time energy was a burden on politics.Yildiz said, "Our aim is to be in cooperation with all of our neighbors and make use of the advantage of our geography. Israel is aware of our sensitivities. It is a risk to begin such projects without political relations maturing. They know about this risk as well."

Possible meteor shower reported in eastern Russia

Source : Reuters

(Reuters) - A powerful blast rocked the Russian region of the Urals early on Friday with bright objects, identified as possible meteorites, falling from the sky, emergency officials said.

"It was definitely not a plane," an emergency official told Reuters, without elaborating. "We are gathering the bits of information and have no data on the casualties so far."

No one was hurt in a meteor shower, an emergency official told RIA-Novosti. Local residents said they witnessed burning objects in the sky of the Chelyabinsk and Sverdlovsk regions.

A Reuters witness in Chelyabinsk reported hearing a huge blast early in the morning and feeling a shockwave in a 19-storey building in the town center.

The sounds of car alarms and breaking windows could be heard in the area, the witness said, and mobile phones were working intermittently.

"Preliminary indications are that it was a meteorite rain," an emergency official told RIA-Novosti. "We have information about a blast at 10,000-meter (32,800-foot) altitude. It is being verified."

The trace from a falling object could be seen in Yekaterinburg, some 200 kilometers (125 miles) southeast of Chelyabinsk, another Reuters witness said.

(Reporting by Andrey Kuzmin and Natalia Shurmina, Writing by Alexei Anishchuk; Editing by Xavier Briand)

Algeria Eager to Further Reinvigorate Ties with Iran

Source : Fars News Agency

TEHRAN (FNA)- Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika in a message to his Iranian counterpart Mahmoud Ahmadinejad stressed his country's enthusiasm for the further enhancement of the relations with Tehran.

Bouteflika in his message congratulated President Ahmadinejad on the 34th anniversary of the victory of the Islamic Revolution in Iran, and called for expansion of Iran-Algeria ties.

He also expressed his determination to broaden bilateral ties.

President Ahmadinejad's administration has striven hard to maximize relations with the African continent.

Iran is also an observing member of the AU and has shown an active presence in previous AU summit meetings.

The country is considered as one of the AU's strategic partners along with India, Japan, China, several South American states and Turkey, while Tehran is also believed to be prioritizing promotion of its economic and political ties with the African states.

Search for alien life starts on Earth

Source : Shanghai Daily

SCIENTISTS at the University of Wisconsin-Madison are helping search for evidence of alien life not by looking into outer space, but by studying some rocks on Earth.

Some of the rocks are up to 3.5 billion years old. Scientists are looking for information to understand how life might have arisen elsewhere in the universe and guide the search for life on Mars one day.

"There's a story always hidden in rocks," said geoscientist Clark Johnson, lead investigator for the Wisconsin Astrobiology Research Consortium. "... It's up to (geologists) to be clever enough to find the tools that we need to interrogate those rocks to find what story they preserve."

The project is financed through NASA, which provided a US$7 million, five-year grant that started in January. It was the group's second five- year, US$7 million grant.

They've found new details of microbial life that dates back 2 billion to 3 billion years, before the planet's atmosphere contained oxygen. They've found that microbes then relied more on iron than sunlight for energy.

Eventually their work will be used to interpret data brought back from Mars by the six-wheel spacecraft Curiosity, which landed in August on a two-year mission to determine whether the environment was ever favorable for microbial life.

"It may be that planets spent a long time in a microbial life condition and then only rarely evolved to advanced multicellular complex life," according to Johnson.