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General News of Wednesday, 29 March 2006

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Are you ready for the solar eclipse?

The Chinese used to think a dragon was eating up the sun and Indians stand neck deep in water expressing solidarity with the sun.

A solar eclipse brings the world together, in fear, if nothing else.

There's a solar eclipse scheduled for March 29 and tourists and scientists are gathering at spots around the world for the spectacular solar show.

The first total eclipse in years will sweep northeast from Brazil to Mongolia, blotting out the sun.

Wednesday's eclipse will also blot out the sun in highly populated areas, including Ghana, where governments scrambled to educate people about the dangers of looking at the eclipse without proper eye protection.

There have been several popular superstitions attached with the eclipse and have been passed down the generations.

In India also, there are some myths attached to the eclipse.

Pregnant women ate advised not to go outside during the eclipse to avoid having a blind baby or one with a cleft lip.

It is also suggested that food cooked before the eclipse should be thrown out afterward as it becomes impure.

Another interesting story attached with the eclipse is that those who are holding a knife or axe or any other sharp instrumet during the eclipse will cut themselves.

The moon is expected to first begin blocking out the sun in the morning in Brazil before the path of greatest blockage migrates to Africa, then on to Turkey and up into Mongolia, where it will fade out with the sunset.