Mailing List Service Felist.Com -*-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dear frends! Arminfo news agency inform KAVKASIOANI POWER TRANSMISSION LINE FIRED AT JANUARY 18. The Kavkasioni power transmission line, feeding Georgia with Russian electricity, was disconnected this night because of a breakdown. Experts of the GruzRosEnergo company, owning the line, have already arrived at the scene. It was promised that the line will be repaired by tomorrow evening, General Manager of GruzRosEnergo Shota Maysuradze told BLACK SEA PRESS. He said the line's section running through the village of Tobara, Svaneti, was fired at by some unknown persons. No details are known yet. It should be noted that the line had just been restarted after a continuous effort to allow Georgia to stop importing electricity from Armenia. DELEGATION OF ARMENIAN PARLIAMENTARIANS TO LEAVE FOR STRASBOURG JANUARY 18.A delegation of the Armenian parliamentarians will leave for Strasbourg Jan 19 to take part in the work of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) to be held Jan 21-25. As ARMINFO was informed in the press-service of the Armenian parliament, Chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Foreign Relations Commission Hovhanness Hovhanissyan is the head of the delegation, which includes Armen Roustamyan, the member of the ARF Dashnaktsutiun, Ashot Galoyan, the "Unity" fraction and Gagik Manukyan, the Communist Party of Armenia. A chairman and a vice chairman of the PACE, as well as heads of the commissions are scheduled to be elected in the course of the PACE Plenary Sessions. The PACE Bureau of commissions is also expected to be reformed during the session. The session participants are expected to discuss the situation in Cyprus, social consequences and PACE's response to abuses in the sphere of drug traffic in the CE countries, contribution of the World Trade Organization to development of the world economy, as well as counteractions in Chechnya, Ukraine's fulfillment of its obligations to the CE and an issue of political prisoners' existence in Azerbaijan. Head of the CE Committee of Ministers, Foreign Minister of Lithuania Antanas Valionis is supposed to response to Hovahanness Hovhannissyan's application made during the previous session regarding the blockade in Armenia imposed by Turkey. A festive reception will be held at the CE Administration building on the occasion of the first anniversary of Armenia's admission to the Council of Europe. DEFENSE MINISTER OPERATED ON JANUARY 18. Armenian Minister of Defense Serge Sargssian underwent an operation for removal of gallstones January 16. Talking to ARMINFO, Spokesman of the Ministry of Defense Seiran Shakhsuvarian said that the operation was successfully performed at the Yerevan Hospital, and the minister now feel well and has been discharged from hospital today. FIVE-DAY PRIMARY LENT BEGINS JAN 21 JANUARY 18. The traditional five-day Primary Lent begins in Armenia Jan 21, ARMINFO has learned from the press office of the Holy See of Echmiadzin. This Lent forestalls the Great Lent and begins 5 days before the day of St.Sargis. The Lent was introduced by the first Armenian catholicos, St.Grikor Lusavorich (the Illuminator). According to tradition, released after 13 years of confinement in a condemned cell at Khor-Virap, St.Grikor admonished Trdat III and the whole Armenian people to keep the fast for five days. Then he preached for 60 days explaining the Holy Gospel to people and baptizing them. When St.Grikor became catholicos, the Primary Lent was made an official holiday. Armenian Apostolic Church give several reasons of why one should fast for five days: first, this fast was introduced by St.Grikor; second, as a human being has five senses this period allows him to approach God as close as possible. Another traditions holds that when Adam was expelled from Paradise he did not eat anything for five days. 5 days symbolize God's work to create the world, when nobody "tasted anything." According to the Holy Scriptures, patriarchs Seth, Yenoch, Abraham, Jacob and Joseph kept the fast. During the Primary Lent a Christian enjoys an opportunity to concentrate on prayer and on "temperance and purification of his soul and body," says the press-release of the Holy See of Echmiadzin. METRO-GOLDWYN-MAYER STUDIO PUT FOR SALE JANUARY 18. One of the oldest studios of Hollywood, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, was put for sale. According to Los Angeles Times, one of the owners of the studio Kirk Kerkorian, who holds 80% of the studio's shares, plans to receive 7bln. USD for the studio, whereas its market capitalization is 5bln. USD. According to the newspaper, Kerkorian plans to receive 30 USd for one share of the studio, whereas the market price of one share is currently 21 USD. The "Goldman Sachs" bank was selected as sale advisor. Los Angeles Times reports that the potential purchasers are the biggest media-groups Vivendi Universal, News Group and AOL Time. But no proposal has yet been made, as the price is too high. Neither Kerkorian nor the chairman of the board of directors or the potential purchasers comment on the sale. The newspaper points out that specialists consider the right to the films about James Bond and the series about Pink Panther the most important assets of the studio. The MGM's film library contains a totals of 4,100 names. It is to be noted that it is the third time that Kerkorian tries to sell the studio. The first time he purchase the studio in 1969 and the third time in 1996 for 1.3bln. AMD. JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES CONSIDER TRIAL UNCONSTITUTIONAL JANUARY 18. Jehovah's Witnesses regard as an unconstitutional relic of the Soviet times the continuing trial of one of the members of the religious organization Levon Margarian. According to the press release provided to ARMINFO by the office of public information of Jehovah's Witnesses, today the prosecutor continued his cross-examination of Lyova Margarian. His questions focused on the stand of Jehovah's Witnesses on the military service and presence of minor children at their meetings and participation in religious activities. Both issues constitute the main part of Article 224, under which Margarian was charged and found not guilty by a lower court. Margarian rejected the notion that he or any of Jehovah's Witnesses influence others to refuse military service. He explained that each of Jehovah's Witnesses makes his own decision based on his conscience. "This is their conviction and their understanding of the Bible, and the Constitution of Armenia guarantees freedom of conscience and expression," Margarian said. As to the activity of minor children, their attendance at meetings and participation in religious activities, Margarian stated that parents have the right and responsibility of making decisions as to activities of their children. "When children attend meetings and engage in religious services, they do so with their parents' permission, and its is not for me ti approves or disapprove," Margarian said. When the defense lawyer stated that according to Article 7 of the law on religion, parents who are Jehovah's Witnesses have the right to raise their children as they see fit, the prosecutor objected claiming that this right only applies to "registered religions". The law under which Margarian has been charged is considered by many to be a Soviet relic and has been referred to as archaic and unconstitutional by other former Soviet republics and removed from their legislation. JUDGE IN NIKOLAY BAGHDASARIAN'S CASE ACCEPTS CHALLENGE JANUARY 18. At today's court hearing of the lawyer Nikolay Baghdasarian's case, 45 lawyers defending their colleague challenged Judge Eduard Avetissian as "perfectly incompetent". The member of the International Union of Lawyers Nikolay Baghdasarian is being tried only for calling Judge Cayane Karakhanian "incompetent and having no right to participate in court sittings", while motivating his challenge to her at one of the court sittings. Criminal proceedings were initiated against Baghdasarian for "affront of the judge". The lawyers substantiated their statement that the judge is incompetent by the fact that Eduard Avetissian once rejected their petition for the case to be dismissed. The word "incompetent" is not insulting and so there is not corpus delicti in Baghdasarian's statement, his lawyers say. They also pointed out the fact that Judge Avetissian is the colleague of Judge Gayane Karakhanian, and Karakhanian herself pointed out this fact in her interview to the "Orinatert" newspaper. After a two-hour-long stay at the conference room, the judge accepted the challenge. It is to be noted that Judge Eduard Avetissian is the third judge in the case to accept a challenge. No information from Site can be used without prior permission of ARMINFO http://www.arminfo.am -*-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Unsubscribe: http://felist.com/member/unsub?grp=media.arminfo http://felist.com/ mailto:ask@felist.com