Nuclear clock ticks closer to midnight

Chicago - The keepers of the "Doomsday Clock" which tracks the dangers of the nuclear age are to reset the hands of the symbol…

Chicago - The keepers of the "Doomsday Clock" which tracks the dangers of the nuclear age are to reset the hands of the symbol to reflect the recent bomb tests in India and Pakistan.

The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, which has printed the clock on its the cover of the magazine since 1947, said it would reveal the new position of the hands at a news conference in Chicago today. The hands were last moved in 1995 when they were set at 14 minutes to the midnight hour that signifies nuclear holocaust. That new position was three minutes closer than previously and it followed warnings of continued threats to peace in the postCold War era. The clock was set at 17 minutes to midnight in 1991 when the US-Soviet arms race ended.