Asians Pray, Cheer, Dance as Eclipse Blacks Out Sun
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GENERAL SANTOS CITY, Philippines — President Corazon Aquino joined thousands of other Asians today who prayed, cheered, danced, beat drums and observed other traditions as a total eclipse of the sun darkened a wide area of Indonesia and the southern Philippines.
The sun was blacked out by the shadow of the moon for up to four minutes along a 108-mile swath that moved from the Indian Ocean across Indonesia and the southern Philippine island of Mindanao.
A partial eclipse was visible across a wide area of Asia as far west as India--including Southeast Asia, China, Japan and New Guinea as well as parts of Australia and the Pacific islands.
Scientists said the eclipse would end at sunset in the Gulf of Alaska.
Clouds obscured the solar spectacular in the eastern Mindanao city of Davao, where thousands of tourists and scientists had gathered to observe the eclipse.
But it was visible to President Aquino and thousands of others for about three minutes in this city about 650 miles southeast of Manila despite early scattered clouds.
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