Armenian News - NEWS.am presents a daily digest of Armenia-related top news as of 22.10.19:

·       The chief executor of the terrorist act in the Armenian parliament on October 27, 1999, Nairi Hunanyan, sentenced to life imprisonment, has filed an application for parole, Nona Navikyan, head of the public relations department of the Criminal Executive Department at the Armenian Justice Ministry told Armenian News - NEWS.am.

The question regarding the statement of Hunanyan will be resolved in the manner prescribed by law - within 80 days. 

On 27 October 1999, a group of terrorists broke into the National Assembly building on Baghramyan Avenue in Yerevan, while the government was holding a question-and-answer session. They shot dead eight people.

·       By secret order of Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, the salaries of ministers, deputy ministers, and general secretaries of the ministries substantially increased. The order was issued in July, Hetq.am reported.

The salary of government officials is established by law. However, it turns out that without changing the law, by secret order of the Prime Minister, the salaries of senior officials - ministers and deputy ministers - doubled, the source noted.

·       The Criminal Court of Appeal of Armenia on Tuesday ruled in favor of the prosecution’s appeal and ordered that former of transport and communication minister and Stones company coordinator Gurgen Sargsyan be remanded in custody.

The ex-minister was transferred from the courthouse to prison, and with police escort.

Gurgen Sargsyan was charged during the investigation of the criminal case into misuse in the course of the development and implementation of the North-South Road Corridor Program.

·       The attack on the Nouvelles d'Arménie in Paris may be the work of the Turks, Nouvelles d'Arménie journalist Alain Sarkissian told Armenian News-NEWS.am.

“It was an important issue. There were articles about the Turkish attack (in the north of Syria), a report on WCIT 2019, material dedicated to the 150th anniversary of Komitas,” the journalist said. 

According to him, there are suspicions that the Turks did this in order to intimidate or to do harm, since the editorial position protects the Kurds.

·       Unknown persons damaged the car of My Step’s faction MP Kristine Poghosyan, breaking one of the rear side windows, shamshyan.com reported.

The deputy parked a Mini cooper car near the National Assembly building. Coming out of the building soon, Kristine Poghosyan found the car damaged.

According to the source, this is not the first case with the same car. On January 21, Kristine Poghosyan left the car in the courtyard of the house on Teryan Street and then the car windows were also broken.

·       On October 18, the Croatian Parliament unanimously (115 in favor and 4 in absentia) ratified the Armenia-EU deal, presenting it for President's signature, Armenian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Anna Naghdalyan wrote on her Facebook.