Chavez Calls Time for Venezuela

In an apparent move by Hugo Chavez to thumb his nose at Washington, Venezuela turned back the clock for good yesterday. The shift creates a single-nation time zone 4 hours and 30 minutes behind Greenwich Mean Time. Supporters of the move say waking up earlier will boost productivity, but others see it as an anti-US gesture, reports the BBC.

Venezuela's science and technology minister is among the converted. "I see it as a very positive thing that while there is light we can be in it," he said. Chavez said he expects the time change to benefit “dead tired” schoolchildren. "I don't care if they call me crazy, the new time will go ahead," the president vowed. (More Hugo Chavez stories.)