Athens News Agency: News in English, 01-03-22

Athens News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article

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

CONTENTS

[01] Foreign Exchange Rates - Friday

[02] Patriarch - Pope visit - Greece

[03] Weather Forecast-Friday

[04] Athens 2004 - Marketing - IOC

[01] Foreign Exchange Rates - Friday

Friday's buying rates

U.S. dollar 380.258

German mark 172.829

French franc 051.531

Pound sterling 540.229

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 45.276

Swedish kroner 36.585

Finnish mark 056.852

Spanish peseta 002.032

Portuguese escudo 001.686

Japanese yen (100) 306.595

Swiss franc 221.180

Norwegian kroner 41.646

Cyprus pound 584.376

Canadian dollar 241.872

Australian dollar 186.487

[02] Patriarch - Pope visit - Greece

ISTANBUL (ANA) -- Ecumenical Patriarch Vartholomeos welcomed the upcoming visit by Pope John Paul II to Greece in early May, stressing that he hopes the elderly pontiffs pilgrimage will contribute to ?a climate of unity, brotherhood and love.?

Vartholomeos spoke from the southern Italian region of Calabria, which still hosts a noteworthy Greek-speaking community in lands known during antiquity as ?Magna Graecia?, after accepting an invitation by the regional government of Calabria, the council of Roman Catholic bishops and the Orthodox Metropolis of Italy.

John Paul II will visit Greece on May 4 and 5 at a time when the Patriarch will also be in the predominately Eastern Orthodox country in the northeastern Greek city of Xanthi between May 2-3 and nearby Serres from May 5-6.

The Autocephalus Church of Greeces influential Holy Synod last week acquiesced to a pilgrimage by John Paul II the first-ever by a pontiff to the modern Greek state and the first by a Roman Catholic pope in Greece proper for more than 1,200 years.

[03] Weather Forecast-Friday

Mainly sunny weather is forecast on Friday, turning to showers in eastern Macedonia, Thrace and the northern and eastern Aegean Sea. Winds west-northwesterly, moderate to strong, and very strong at sea. On the northern mainland, temperatures will range from 7C to 19C; on the rest of the mainland from 9C to 22C; and in the islands from 13C to 21C. Mostly sunny in Athens, with temperatures between 12C and 22C. Same in Thessaloniki, with temperatures from 9C to 19C.

[04] Athens 2004 - Marketing - IOC

Marketing for the upcoming Olympic Games was the focus of talks here on Thursday between visiting IOC executive Michael R. Payne and the Athens 2004 organising committee (ATHOC) leadership.

During a press conference afterwards, Payne the director of the all-important marketing division for the Lausanne-based organisation expressed satisfaction with ATHOCs progress so far.

The British IOC executive cited ATHOCs efforts to meet its set goals, noting that 70-75 percent of national sponsors have been signed up, while the international marketing programme reaches the $430-million mark. He also reiterated that the IOC will allocated some one billion dollars for the Athens 2004 Games.

Athens News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article