[01] PASOK AND NEW DEMOCRACY LEADERS TO PIT THEIR STRENGTHS IN DEBATE

[02] M.P.A. TO PRESENT SIMITIS-EVERT DEBATE VIA INTERNET WITH SOUND AND VIDEO

[03] POLITICAL LEADERS CONTINUE RACE, PRE-ELECTION CAMPAIGN FEVER INTENSIFIES

[04] ALBANIA'S FIRST PRIVATE BANK "TIRANA" IS GREEK-OWNED

[05] FRANCE'S PRIME MINISTER ALAIN JUPPE ARRIVES IN GREECE TOMORROW

[06] BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA TO HOLD FREE ELECTIONS FOR THE FIRST TIME AFTER WAR

NEWS IN DETAIL

[01] PASOK AND NEW DEMOCRACY LEADERS TO PIT THEIR STRENGTHS IN DEBATE

For the first time in Greece's political history, two rivaling party leaders will make a joint television appearance where they will debate each other's strengths and weaknesses.

Prime Minister and PASOK President Kostas Simitis will be pitted against main opposition leader, New Democracy's Miltiades Evert, in a televised debate to be broadcast live at 9.00 p.m. local time by ERT and re- transmitted by virtually all of the country's television networks.

The two leaders will field 12 questions posed by journalists and will be given two minutes to answer each question.

[02] M.P.A. TO PRESENT SIMITIS-EVERT DEBATE VIA INTERNET WITH SOUND AND VIDEO

In an effort to provide the mass media of the Greeks living abroad with immediate access to election information, the Macedonian Press Agency will electronically transmit, via sound and video, the most significant excerpts from the first televised debate to be held between the country's political parties.

Shortly after the end of the debate, M.P.A.'s server (http://www.mpa.gr/gr/ekloges96) will feature excerpts from the debate and a brief video of the televised duel.

For a faster transmittance of these data, these files will be mirrored in Athens at the server of the National Technical University of Athens (http://www.ntua.gr/gr/ekloges96) and in the United States will be mirrored on the server of the Hellenic Research Institute (http://hri.org/MPA/gr/ekloges96).

Moreover, M.P.A.'s server features an election special edition where one can find each political party's positions on foreign policy and overseas hellenism policies, the MP candidates, all supplied with color photographs amd brief resumes. Also, M.P.A.'s server provides a history of election outcomes since 1974, the Prime Ministers and the Presidents of the Republic.

The Macedonian Press Agency will broadcast through the Internet the election outcomes.

[03] POLITICAL LEADERS CONTINUE RACE, PRE-ELECTION CAMPAIGN FEVER INTENSIFIES

Prime Minister and PASOK President Kostas Simitis has expressed his certainty and confidence of the Socialist Movement's victory in the upcoming elections of September 22.

Yesterday, Mr. Simitis stated that from the data and reports that his party has gathered so far, he has concluded that a very positive climate is apparent.

"We believe that everything forecasts a victory," he said.

Main opposition party leader, New Democracy's Mitliades Evert will arrive in Thessaloniki on Saturday evening where he will present his conservative party's economic policy and its basic axes.

On Sunday morning, Mr. Evert will visit the premises of Thessaloniki's International Trade Fair and will give a press conference in the afternoon at the city's "Macedonia Palace" hotel.

Minor opposition party leader, Political Spring's Antonis Samaras, will give a press conference in Thessaloniki this afternoon. Speaking in the city of Serres last night, Mr. Samaras criticised both Mr. Simitis and Mr. Evert and stated "they have put Grece's national issues up for auction."

Communist Party of Greece (KKE) Secretary-General Aleka Paparega will meet with university deans in Athens today.

Coalition of the Left and Progress (Synaspismos) leader Nikos Konstantopoulos will tour Serres today. Yesterday, Mr. Konstantopoulos spoke at an open rally in Thessaloniki and emphasized that his party must enter the Parliament while he stated that he is opposed to bipartisanism.

President of the Democratic and Social Movement (DHKKI) Dimitris Tsovolas has a speaking engagement in Nikaia this evening.

[04] ALBANIA'S FIRST PRIVATE BANK "TIRANA" IS GREEK-OWNED

The Bank of Albania yesterday approved the permit to establish the country's first privately-owned bank "Tirana", which has Greek proprietorship.

According to the Albanian state-owned radio station, the Bank, whose initial capital is two million USD, will manage all banking transactions, such as deposits, loans, money orders, etc.

The director of the Bank of Albania exhalted the new bank's significance and announced that other permits are expected to be issued soon for other privately-owned banking institutions in order to expedite the privatization process of the country's banking system.

The "Tirana Bank"'s general manager Byron Pitsilides expressed his optimism for the Bank's course and emphasized that its function will contribute to the development of the Albanian banking sustem not only by providing quality and productive services but also through its cooperation with the country's other banks.

[05] FRANCE'S PRIME MINISTER ALAIN JUPPE ARRIVES IN GREECE TOMORROW

France's Prime Minister Alain Juppe will arrive in Greece tomorrow for a two-day official visit, to commemmorate the 150th anniversary of the founding of the French Archaeological School in Athens.

On Saturday, Mr. Juppe will meet with Greek Prime Kostas Simitis and is scheduled to visit Delphi where he will be proclaimed an honorary citizen.

Mr. Juppe will return to Athens on Sunday evening where he will meet with main opposition party leader, New Democracy's Miltiades Evert and will attend the school's celebrations.

[06] BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA TO HOLD FREE ELECTIONS FOR THE FIRST TIME AFTER WAR

Free elections for the first time after the four- year war will be held in Bosnia-Herzegovina tomorrow where the 2.9 millions of the war-torn country's electorate body will be called to vote on a tripartite, rotating presidium and to form a parliament.

Late last evening, United States Under-Secretary of State John Kornblum met with the Serb Republic's acting Premier Biljiana Plavcic and, according to reports, discussed the application of the Dayton peace agreement as well as the imminent elections.

Mr. Kornblum will likely travel to Belgrade on Sunday where he will relay to Serb leader Slobodan Milosevic the final lift of sanctions imposed on the Yugoslav Federated Republic. According to the Dayton agreement, these sanctions must be raised ten days after the elections.

The legislative and executive bodies of the newly- formed state will be primarily composed by the three- member presidium of the Bosnia-Herzegovina union, which will comprise three representatives, a Serb, a Muslim and a Croat. The presidency will be on a rotating, six-month basis and among the likeliest candidates are Bosnia's current President Alia Izetbegobic, a Muslim; Croat Krezimir Zubac, current President of the Mulsim-Croatian Federation; and Serb Momcilo Krisnik, current President of the Bosnianserb Parliament.

The Common Representatives Body will be made up by 42 parliamentarians, 14 from the Serb Republic and 28 from the Muslim-Croatian Federation.

The Muslim-Croat Federation Parliament, will be composed by 120 MPs and expected to take a lead are Alia Izetbegobic's SDA, the Party of the Democratic Action, and the Croat Democratic Union (HDZ) which is led by the like-named party of the Croatian President Franjo Tudjman. Main opponents of these two parties are considered to be the Union for Bosnia-Herzegovina of former Premier Haris Silaigic, and Rasim Kadic's Liberal Alliance.

The Serb Republic's Parliament will be made up by 83 Bosnianserb parliamentarians. It is almost certain that the Serb Democratic Party (SDS) will prevail, led by Radovan Karadic. The Coalition for Peace and Progress led by the Socialist Party and supported by President of Serbia Slobodan Milocevic and the Democratic Patriotic Bloc, led by Banja Luca's former mayor Predrag Radic have also increased their chances of entering parliament, although they're lagging far behind the ruling SDS.

The Serb Republic's Presidency, which up to date has been steered by the acting President Plavcic, is likely to gain majority appeal by the Bosnianserbs. However, one cannot doubt the outcome if in Plavcic's seat was Radovan Karadic who, this summer succumbed to the international community's profound pressure to withdraw from Bosnia's political proscenium. Nevertheless, Karadic's candidature as SDS party leader is so heavily promoted in the region, that local authorities have formally protested to the Serb Republic for not observing the pre-election campaign policies.

Complete archives of the Macedonian Press Agency bulletins are available on the MPA Home Page at http://www.mpa.gr/ and on the U.S. mirror at http://www.hri.org/MPA/