The full eclipse lasted 90 seconds in Cornwall

England have

Up to 350 million people in Europe and Asia have witnessed the last totalsolar eclipseof the century.

The phenomenon began over the Atlantic, a few hundred miles east of Boston, North America.

The only part of mainland Britain to witness totality - the full blacking out of the sun by the moon - was Cornwall in south-west England.

Cloudy skies mean spectators there were unable to see the full effect, but the spectacle was still dramatic.

The temperature dropped and darkness fell in Falmouth at 1111 BST (1011 GMT).

TV astronomer Patrick Moore, watching in Falmouth, described it as a "strange, weird experience".

Hundreds of people who gathered on the Isles of Scilly were the first to witness the eclipse.

After Britain the eclipse was seen throughout Europe and Asia.

Across the Channel in northern France there were clear skies as there were in Munich, Germany.

But at the moment of totality, atorrentialdownpour spoiled the view.

The streets of Ramnicu Valcea, the south-central city in Romania -where totality could be seen the longest - were crammed with spectators.

In Egypt, Muslims shut themselves away on the orders ofclericsbut Jordan and Syria declared a national holiday.

Spectators in Pakistan and Bangladesh suffered the same fate as those in the UK, having their views obscured by clouds.

The eclipse will lead to greater scientific understanding, largely because its track across Europe and south Asia allowed astronomers many vantage points with clear skies.

During an eclipse scientist are able to measure the effect of the sun on the Earth's atmosphere and observe the violent magnetic storms in outer atmosphere of the sun - the corona.

Ronnie and Reggie arrived separately"

Violet Kray, 72, died of cancer last week.

It was the first time the Krays, 49, had been seen in public since being sentenced to life imprisonment for murder in 1969.

Security was tight for the funeral service in east London.

The brothers arrived separately - both were handcuffed to a prison guard and flanked by police officers.

Ronnie Kray was brought from Broadmoor Hospital for the criminallyinsanein Berkshire where he has spent the last four years.

His brother travelled from Parkhurst Prison in the Isle of Wight where he is still held as a maximum security Category "A" prisoner.

The service was attended by a number of celebrities and underworld figures known to the twins from the days when they ran one of London's biggest criminal operations.

Among them was actress Diana Dors who arrived wearing a black dress and sunglasses and carrying a bouquet.

The brothers were not allowed to attend the graveside service at Chingford Mount cemetery in Essex where their mother wasinterredin the family burial plot.

solar eclipse: the moon interrupts light from the sun（日食）

torrential: pouring in abundance（奔流的）

cleric: a clergyman or other person in religious orders（牧師）

notorious: having an exceedingly bad reputation（聲名狼籍的）

insane: afflicted with or characteristic of mental derangement（患精神病的）

inter: place in a grave or tomb;to bury（埋葬）