
Admiral Gorshkov prior to conversion
We recently posted about the Chinese conversion of the Russian aircraft carrier Varyag. China is not the only country looking to surplus Russian aircraft carriers to expand their naval power. India purchased the surplus carrier, Admiral Gorshkov, from the Russians in 2004. The ship was notionally free and upgrades and refurbishment were expected to cost $947 million. The ship was supposed to be delivered to the Indian Navy in 2008. The ship, to be renamed INS Vikramaditya, still has not been delivered and the cost has risen by a factor of three to $2.9 billion. The ship is now expected to go into service in 2012.


Last week, a bright orange jelly or “goo” floated up on the beaches of Kivalina, a remote Alaskan village of just over 400 residents. Now scientists at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration have determined that the goo is not man-made but rather millions of microscopic invertebrate eggs, filled with fatty droplets. Experts are guessing that they are from some sort of crustacean, but so far have been unable to identify which species of invertebrate laid all the eggs or whether the mass of eggs will prove harmful to the village water supply or impact local fishing.
The barque
The Viking longboat replica,
In May, we posted about what appears to be the deck of an aircraft carrier built onto the top of a government building in China (
The Royal Navy has appointed Lt Cdr Sarah West the command of
After adverse winds carried her off course, marathon swimmer Diana Nyad, 61, ended her attempt to become the first person to swim from Cuba to Florida without a shark cage. She had been swimming for 29 hours when she ended the swim.
Last December