SCIENCE IN THE NEWS DAILY
Leap Second Decision Is Postponed
from BBC News Online
A decision on whether to abolish the leap second--the occasional, extra second added to the
world's time--has been deferred. Experts at the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) were
unable to reach a consensus, so moved the matter to a meeting in 2015.
The US argued at the meeting that leap seconds were causing problems for communication and
navigation systems. But the UK said that the long-term consequences of losing it were great.
An ITU spokesman said that Canada, Japan, Italy, Mexico and France all supported the United
States' stance on losing the leap second, while Germany, like the UK, wanted the extra second to
stay.
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