Athens News Agency: News in English, 01-02-26

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From: The Athens News Agency at <http://www.ana.gr/>

CONTENTS

[01] Patras-Carnival-Events

[02] Chios-Christening-Japanese-Marriage

[03] Weather Forecast-Tuesday

[04] Foreign Exchange Rates-Tuesday

[01] Patras-Carnival-Events

The traditional carnival parade in Patras, western Greece, heightened in the city on Sunday with the participation of 35,000 disguised people and 18 municipal floats. The carnival king of laughter, depicting Zeus, was flanked by 15 floats dedicated to the European Union's member-states.

The parade, having a length exceeding four kilometres and lasting over five hours, was also attended by carnival delegations from European cities whose network includes Patras.

The celebrations culminated in the burning of the carnival effigy, according to the custom lasting 160 years, at the city's port with the spectacular accompaniment of fireworks.

The carnival events were watched by about 300,000 visitors in the city's streets, squares and other spaces.

[02] Chios-Christening-Japanese-Marriage

Isidoros-Vataru Nakamura and Markella-Kaori Sakurai, newly converted to the Orthodox faith, were married on the island of Chios on Sunday afternoon, dressed in traditional village costumes.

Celebrations started in a square earlier in the day, while the groom's father, also baptised a Christian under the name of Koiciro-Alexandros Nakamura, took photos of the event like a true Japanese man.

On Saturday morning, dressed in a white robe Koiciro Nakamura, as well as his and daughter in law were baptised Christians and termed Orthodoxy "the religion of the 21st century."

Father and son are the commercial representatives of the Union of Mastic Producers in the Far East. They were due to leave for Japan on Monday.

[03] Weather Forecast-Tuesday

Cloudy weather with scattered showers is forecast in most parts of Greece on Tuesday.

Winds will be westerly, moderate to very strong.

In the north, temperatures will range from 2C to 11C; on the rest of the mainland and the Ionian from 6C to 15C; and in the Aegean islands from 9 to 16C.

Partly cloudy in Athens with temperatures between 7C and 15C. Possibility of scattered showers in Thessaloniki, with temperatures from 4C to 10C.

[04] Foreign Exchange Rates-Tuesday

Tuesday's buying rates

U.S. dollar 372.934

German mark 172.829

French franc 051.531

Pound sterling 539.545

Irish punt 429.202

Belgian franc 008.379

Luxembourg franc 008.379

Dutch guilder 153.389

Italian lira (100) 017.457

Austrian schilling 024.565

Danish kroner 45.290

Swedish kroner 37.220

Finnish mark 056.852

Spanish peseta 002.032

Portuguese escudo 001.686

Japanese yen (100) 319.802

Swiss franc 220.436

Norwegian kroner 40.994

Cyprus pound 583.635

Canadian dollar 242.544

Australian dollar 194.714

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