On May 18, 2010 Armenian National Assembly approved the law on compulsory insurance of motor vehicles, which envisages payment of compensation to people who suffered in car accidents. Sale of insurance policies will start from October 1, 2010, with the law taking effect January 1, 2011.

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.

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?

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.