Armenian News - NEWS.am presents a daily digest of Armenia-related top news as of 08.05.2020:

·       May 8, 2020, marks the 28th anniversary of the unique operation, by the Artsakh defense army and Armenian volunteer detachments, for the liberation of Karabakh’s strategic town of Shushi, from Azerbaijani armed forces.

The liberation of Shushi was a crucial phase in the Nagorno-Karabakh War. Sushi had turned into an Azerbaijani military base during this war that was unleashed by Azerbaijan.

The Armenian side had 57 losses during this military operation, whereas the Azerbaijani army suffered between 250 and 300 casualties.

By the way, Armenian PM Nikol Pashinyan will head to Artsakh tomorrow to take part in May 9 events.

The Armenian people celebrate the triple holiday on May 9, the victory in the Great Patriotic War, the liberation of Shushi, and the anniversary of the establishment of the Artsakh Defense Army.

·       As of May 8, 11:00 AM, 3,029 COVID-19 cases have been confirmed in Armenia with 1,218 recoveries and 43 deaths. 1,758 patients with COVID-19 are currently undergoing treatment. In total, 29,205 tests have been completed. Thus, we have 145 new cases and 33 recoveries.

Regarding the latest case of death, the 48-year-old female patient had a pre-existing chronic disease. 1 case of death was registered yesterday when the patient had tested positive for COVID-19, but the cause of death was another disease. The total of such death cases is 10.

Later on Thursday, the Artsakh health ministry has reported that another two citizens have tested positive. Now Artsakh has confirmed a total of 10 COVID-19 cases, and six of the patients have already recovered.

·       Armenian defense minister Davit Tonoyan noted that nearly two dozen servicemen have tested positive for COVID-19.

According to him, there are also those isolated in the army.

·       The situation in the Armenian parliament heated up during the speech of Edmon Marukyan, chair of the opposition Bright Armenia party, and the fists were raised. The fight occurred between him and My Step ruling bloc MP Sasun Mikaelyan.

Later, the Bright Armenia party left the session in protest. Marukyan noted that both they and the My Step MPs are responsible for the current incident.

Armenian PM Nikol Pashinyan, in turn, noted that what happened in parliament is their biggest defeat since the revolution. He noted that all this is connected with the law on the confiscation of illegal property and various criminal cases.

In the meantime, the Prosecutor General's Office of Armenia has been studying the incident.

·       Armenian ex-president Robert Kocharyan's attorneys have motioned to release him on a personal guarantee during the first trial after an almost two-month break.

The former PMs of Armenia Vazgen Manukyan, Khosrov Harutyunyan, Karen Karapetyan, and the former PM of Artsakh Anushavan Danielyan vouched for Kocharyan.

Each of the guarantors is required to pay AMD 500 thousand. If the defendant does not show proper behavior, the money will not be returned. The guarantors signed copies of the protocol and left the trial.

Kocharyan's attorney submitted a second motion - dated March 24, when a state of emergency was already declared in the country. The defense seeks to amend or cancel the preventive measure amid the COVID-19 pandemic. He noted that European structures unequivocally declare the need to release, if possible, those arrested and imprisoned in connection with the pandemic, in particular those at the risk group.

Later Judge Anna Danibekyan has left to make a decision. It will be made public on May 13 at 5:50 pm.