Timely warning to save the planet
MIL/Agencies, Jan 18, 2007.
Dubai, January 18, 2007 - The world officially edged closer to the ultimate deadline when the Doomsday clock was moved nearer to midnight.
The symbolic timepiece was adjusted by scientists yesterday in recognition that the world is closer to nuclear annihilation than at any time since the early eighties.
The clock was devised by the Chicago-based the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists in 1947 at the beginning of the atomic age as a method of warning the world. The last time the clock was moved was in 2002, in the aftermath of 9/11.
Scientists agree that the world is a more perilous place today than during the Cold War due to a combination of factors.
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Tension over Iran's nuclear energy programme, Israel's nuclear arsenal, North Korea, Japan's red-armament, global warming and diminishing resources, the deteriorating Russian nuclear arsenal where underpaid scientists may sell their knowledge to the highest bidder, the "no-first strike'' policy being ditched by security council members, as well as a perceived terror threat that has the potential to involve a "dirty'' or nuclear bomb have all contributed to global tension.
"This move by the atomic scientists shows that the danger of nuclear weapons being used in war is significantly increasing,'' Kate Hudson, Chair of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, told Gulf News from London last night.
"The refusal of the Nuclear Weapon States to disarm as agreed under the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, along with their dangerous nuclear first-use policies and the illegal use of pre-emptive war, is leading to increased proliferation worldwide.
Full Story: http://www.gulfnews.com/world/U.S.A/10097676.html
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