Parliament axed an opposition proposal to have a national holiday on August 11, but many companies will still stay closed for the day as they expect most to take the day off anyway. One can empty a bank in two minutes. We'll also have to be prepared for self-proclaimed prophets preaching the end of the world and the possible panic that could trigger,'' he said. But the Germans have not yet been gripped by the eclipse fever that is sweeping Britain. ZDF public television is chartering a special plane to transmit pictures from 40,000 feet.
Hospitals are on standby.
The total eclipse starts off the coast of Nova Scotia and travels at about 1,500 miles an hour across the Atlantic. It makes landfall at Britain's Isles of Scilly and then passes over France, Germany, Austria, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Turkey, Iraq, Iran and Pakistan. Birds will stop singing and return to their nests. Temperatures will plummet dramatically, a strong breeze will rise. Earth experiences a bizarre twilight and the horizon shows all the colours of dawn.