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It appears that war might be very close, BA have decided to stop flying to Oman altogether, and have cut down on all their other flights to Middle Eastern countries. The crew used to stay overnight in Dubai, but now, due to what I hear are staff fears, they have decided to stay in Larnaca in Cyprus and shuttle to Dubai. BA is a likely target for any terrorist, as are any assets or symbolic assets of the US or UK.
Following changes in travel advice from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to British nationals travelling to Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, and Jordan, British Airways is making adjustments to its schedule for the whole of the Gulf region.
British Airways flights to Abu Dhabi, Bahrain, Doha, Dubai, Jeddah, Kuwait, and Riyadh are now operating via Larnaca in Cyprus.
Services to Kuwait and Abu Dhabi are combined and operating from London Heathrow to Kuwait via Larnaca and Abu Dhabi.
Flights to Doha and Bahrain continue as a combined service and will operate from London Heathrow to Larnaca, Doha and then Bahrain.
The return flights from both Jeddah and Riyadh are operating via Larnaca.
Flights to Dubai are reduced from two per day to a daily service, with the BA109/ BA108 suspended.
Flights to Muscat are suspended until further notice.
British Airways will be contacting customers on affected flights. Alternatively, passengers holding bookings on cancelled services can contact British Airways at 0845 77 999 77 between the hours of 06:00 and 21:45.
Passengers based in the Gulf may contact the local British Airways offices on:
Abu Dhabi 6224540, Bahrain 587777, Doha 4321434, Dubai 3075777, Jeddah 6693464, Kuwait 802777, Muscat 568777 and Riyadh 4645550
The change in schedule is part of a carefully planned series of measures which will allow the airline to maintain a smooth and safe operation to the region. Flights will be timed to land at London's Heathrow airport as close to the original schedule as possible to ensure that disruption to our customers is kept to a minimum.
British Airways apologises to all customers who are affected by the changes for any inconvenience this may cause. Safety and security is our number one priority.
12:51:00 PM 
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I seen this story over on Slashdot, it is a good read with some details on future shuttle programs. Worth a look.
12:46:28 PM
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Robert Fisk asks if the US can prove that it did indeed catch Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. He asks some pointed questions about the veracity of the claims made by the US. Worth a look, a brief article.
12:35:04 PM
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As I was blogging yesterday, I went to see a redoing of an ancient tragedy. I have re-read it now, and I am struck by many of the passages in it, especially those of Creon. I will quote some of his speeches over the next few days hopefully- from the Penguin Classics translation.
No other touchstone can test the heart of a man,
The temper of his mind and spirit, till he be tried
In the practice of authority and rule.
12:29:27 PM
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Fellow Irish blogger Karlin has bought a new Apple powerbook. Since I have been considering a portable computer, and I have read a couple of reviews lately of Apple's iBooks, I am now increasingly tempted to 'switch' to Apple. Hmm. What to do. I think I will leave it a while, but Apple is definately becoming more attractive. I was looking at Apples Irish store today, the prices are certainly reasonable. I just hesitate for some reason.
12:23:18 PM
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More than a search engine? (CNET)
CNET is asking the question, is Google changing? With the acquistion of Pyra, increased selling of ads, it asks if Google is changing for the better or worse. I have also been following much interest in relation to the privacy of Google searches. I am concerned with the cookies Google is using on my computer, it makes me feel like I should be clearing out my cookies after every session.
12:19:38 PM
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3G debut in Europe (Herald Tribune)
'3' has opened a shop on Londons Oxford Street. What does it sell? 3G phones. Yes they are here, and over the next year we might be using 3G (UMTS) networks without even realising it. There is a fairly comprehensive here, on the Herald Tribune. I read a similar article to it in the Economist.
12:05:06 PM
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God and the 'F word' (The Guardian)
Ian Black writes an amusing piece as usual in his Inside Europe article. The now long running issue of whether to put a god, or the God, in the European constitution is the subject of his article this week. Of couse, as he says, the 'F' stands for Federal, and no that other word as some of you out there may think.
God or gods should not be put in any constitution. Europe should not even be writing a constitution nevermind having one to put God into in the first place.
11:56:01 AM
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Direct action is the solution (The Guardian)
Naomi Klein is now imploring peace activists to take action - civil disobediance. Klein is always a good read, I look forward to her articles in the Guardian.
In this weeks piece she talks about the "voila moment" - the point at which Iraqi people turn against their leader. She is sceptical that the propaganda being used by the US will work, in order to achieve this moment. But her is her suggestion to all of us:
The civil disobedience the US military is hoping to provoke in Iraq is exactly the sort of thing the anti-war movement needs to inspire in our countries if we are really going to stop, or at least curtail, the pending devastation in Iraq. What would it take for large numbers of people in the US, the UK, Italy, Canada - and any other country assisting the war effort - truly to break with our leaders and refuse to comply? Can we create thousands of Voila Moments back home?
She goes on to say that the marches must continue, every weekend, that once war starts people should call sick for work, not watch CNN and not buy anything. This sort of activism is refreshing in a society that seems to apathetic towards politics.
11:27:25 AM
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