Bug#515965: update-manager fails with "current dist not found in meta-release file"

[kai-martin]

Package: update-manager
Version: 0.68.debian-7
Severity: grave
Justification: renders package unusable

After I did the upgrades to testing in the wake of the release of lenny, 
the reupdate-manager failed with the following error message:
	current dist not found in meta-release file

The file /var/lib/meta-release is empty

As a workaround I filled the file with a whipped up entry for lenny:

/---------------------
Dist: lenny
Name: lenny
Version: 5.0
Date: Sat, 14 Feb 2009 14:02:31 UTC
Supported: 0
Description: Debian 5.0 Released 14 February 2009
Release-File: http://debian.tu-bs.de/debian/dists/testing/Release
\----------------------

Update manager should not depend on some release settings.

---<(kaimartin)>---



-- System Information:
Debian Release: 5.0
  APT prefers testing
  APT policy: (500, 'testing'), (500, 'stable')
Architecture: i386 (i686)

Kernel: Linux 2.6.26-1-686 (SMP w/1 CPU core)
Locale: LANG=en_US.UTF-8, LC_CTYPE=en_US.UTF-8 (charmap=UTF-8)
Shell: /bin/sh linked to /bin/bash

Versions of packages update-manager depends on:
ii  gconf2                   2.22.0-1        GNOME configuration database syste
ii  libgnome2-perl           1.042-1+b1      Perl interface to the GNOME librar
ii  python                   2.5.2-3         An interactive high-level object-o
ii  python-dbus              0.83.0-1        simple interprocess messaging syst
ii  python-glade2            2.12.1-6        GTK+ bindings: Glade support
ii  python-gnome2            2.22.0-1        Python bindings for the GNOME desk
ii  python-support           0.8.7           automated rebuilding support for P
ii  python-vte               1:0.16.14-4     Python bindings for the VTE widget
ii  software-properties-gtk  0.60.debian-1.1 manage the repositories that you i
ii  synaptic                 0.62.5          Graphical package manager
ii  update-manager-core      0.68.debian-7   APT update manager core functional

update-manager recommends no packages.

Versions of packages update-manager suggests:
ii  update-notifier          0.70.7.debian-5 Daemon which notifies about packag

-- no debconf information