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Venezuela creates new time zone

CARACAS, Venezuela, Dec. 9 (UPI) -- Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez says he doesn't care what critics think about his country creating it's own time zone Sunday.

"I don't care if they call me crazy, the new time will go ahead," Chavez told reporters Saturday.

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Chavez said permanently turning the clock back by a half-hour will improve the performance of the country because people will wake up to an earlier dawn, the BBC reported.

Critics condemned the move as Chavez simply wanting to be in a different time zone than the United States -- his arch-rival, the BBC reported.

The new zone puts Venezuela four-and-a-half hours behind Greenwich Mean Time and in a different time zone than neighboring countries.

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