The past week started with debates on expedience of recognition of Nagorno Karabakh’s independence by Armenia. According to Caucasus Institute Director Alexander Iskandaryan, such move will change nothing in the negotiation process but will have a strong impact on internal political life of Armenia.

Presidents of Georgia and Azerbaijan, following in the footsteps of their predecessors Heydar Aliyev and Eduard Shevardnadze, once again initiated a “project of the century”, this time a gas one. At the Baku meeting the Presidents together with the Leader of Romania Traian Basescu signed an agreement on the new energy project Azerbaijan-Georgia-Romania Interconnector (AGRI) for transportation of Azerbaijani liquefied gas to Europe.

Did you know that the authors of Shrek, the beloved animated comedy, could not bind two plot lines for a long time, that the script was written for over 3 years and that the 90-minute film was created on the basis of thin book with uninteresting plot?

Head of High and Information Technology Department at the Armenian Ministry of Economy Vache Kirakosyan said that an educational multimedia laboratory will open in Gyumri in 2011. Besides, certain educational programs will be developed in this field for school students, he said during MARANI business forum on animation and information technologies. “The government will launch an e-education program,” he said. Kirakosyan also said that the Armenian government will increase financing of the IT field in 2011.The drop in funds for IT development in 2010 - from AMD 200mln to AMD 80mln - was reasoned by general reductions in the budget with respect to the global economic crisis, Kirakosyan told a PanARMENIAN.Net reporter.

Football: Football Academy opened in Yerevan on September 1 with Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan and UEFA President Michel Platini participating in the ceremony. According to FFA President Ruben Hayrapetyan, the project cost $12 million of which $ 7 million 475 thousand was allocated by the UEFA and $400 thousand by FIFA. The territory of the Academy covers 13 thousand m2. It has 5 playing fields, 2 pools and several gyms. “UEFA built many academies in Europe but the one in Yerevan is special,” Mr. Platini noted.

For dozens of centuries Armenians had been celebrating the New Year, Navasard, on August 11. Once a favorite popular holiday, it now became a topic of historians’ remarks or Armenian folklore only. “August 11 is the first day of the new year according to the ancient Armenian calendar. It was celebrated by all – the rich and the poor,” said ethnographer Gohar Vardumyan, senior fellow at the Armenian National Academy of Sciences.