Lebanon’s government has reversed a controversial decision to delay the start of daylight saving time by a month.

Najib Mikati, the country’s caretaker prime minister, said the cabinet had voted to move the clocks one hour ahead on Wednesday night.

Mr Mikati angered many Lebanese last week when he delayed the start of daylight saving time until the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which would have allowed Muslims to break their fasts an hour earlier.

The measure would have postponed the changing of clocks until 21 April.

Lebanon‘s top Christian authority had defied the announcement and moved its clocks forward on Saturday night, along with some schools, media outlets and businesses.

It left many Lebanese in the position of juggling work and school schedules in different time zones in a country just 88km (55 miles) across at its widest point.

The country typically sets its clocks forward an hour on the last Sunday in March in alignment with most European countries.

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Lebanon has been without a president for five months and a protracted financial crisis has stalled most public institutions.

Mr Mikati referred to the crisis when he announced the clock change on Monday, saying: “The problem is not winter or summer time… Rather, the problem is the vacuum in the top post in the republic.”

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