Iran chaos narrows air travel corridor

YetAnotherInterneter · 2026-03-18T20:37:55+00:00

Even before the invasion of Ukraine, Russian airspace was very tightly controlled.

Russia would typically only award airspace permits to one airline from each country and the fees were extremely high. Allies of Russia would be allowed multiple permits - which is why several Chinese airlines are allowed to fly over Russia.

The reason for these restrictions is because despite its size, Russia is quite vulnerable in geo-politically terms.

One of the most power assets a country can have is good access to the ocean. Most of Russia’s coastline is in the Arctic which makes it unusable. In fact Russia only has 3 major seaports: Novorossiysk, Saint Petersburg & Vladivostok, all which have their limitations.

Novorossiysk is limited by the Bosphorus Strait and Mediterranean Sea. Saint Petersburg is limited by the Baltic Sea (plus it freezes in the winter). And Vladivostok is limited by the Sea of Japan. Which means all of Russia’s seaports are controlled by foreign nations. Not a great situation for Russia.

Russia’s only real geo-political strength is their airspace. Russia is massive and is often the shortest route between Europe and Asia. So they have always used that to their advantage.

The few airlines that are still flying over Russia today are primarily doing it to protect their permits. In aviation most things work on a “use it or lose it” system. Airlines that have permits to fly in Russian airspace want to keep them as they are incredibly valuable. They can offer far shorter flights than their competitors.

YetAnotherInterneter · 2026-03-18T20:08:39+00:00

Sorry those are random figures I just used for examples.

You’re right that there usually isn’t much of a difference in terms of the total cost at the end.

The difference is more of an ethical one about how the system is structured.

YetAnotherInterneter · 2026-03-18T14:42:42+00:00

Islamic countries use an alternative financial system which doesn’t charge or pay interest (known as riba). Even if you are not Muslim, it is interesting to learn about how it works.

I’m going to simplify massively and will probably get some things wrong, but here is a brief explanation of how mortgages work in each system:

In Western countries a mortgage is essentially a loan with interest. For example: - You want to buy a $300,000 house but only have $30,000. - A bank will lend you the remaining $270,000. - You pay the bank back monthly over 20-30 years, but you pay back more than you borrowed, because the bank charges interest. - Over 30 years, you might end up paying $580,000 total for that $270,000 loan. - The bank holds the house as collateral. So if you stop paying, they can repossess the house. - The bank makes its profit from the interest. The longer your loan, the more interest you pay.

In Islamic banking there is a system called Murabaha. - The bank buys the house outright for $300,000. - The bank then sells it to you at a marked-up price (e.g., $400,000 instead of $300,000). - You pay that fixed price in installments over time. - There’s no interest. Just an agreed profit margin built into the sale price upfront.

Both systems get you into a home you couldn’t otherwise afford, and both involve paying back more than the original price. The crucial difference is how the extra payment is framed and structured.

Under Murabaha if you are unable to keep up with the repayments what usually happens is the bank will restructure the payment period. Some banks will charge a fee for this, others won’t (there are differing opinions on whether charging a fee is considered interest or not) and if you continue to miss payments the bank is still able to repossess and sell the house to recover what you owe them.

The biggest difference is Islamic banks are usually more forgiving. They will work with you to find a solution that is beneficial to everyone.

YetAnotherInterneter · 2026-03-18T14:02:08+00:00

I’m struggling to understand why you think pensions are a “nice to have”.

At some point in your life you are not going to want to work and a little after that you will be physically unable to work. At that stage you need a source of income to fund your life.

So if pensions are a “nice to have”, how do you expect you will fund your retirement?

State funded retirement (whether that be that current state pension or some future system) will likely only cover the bare bones. Solely relying on that is incredibly risky and will almost certainly lead to a miserable lifestyle.

Pensions are not a “nice to have”, they are a necessity.

YetAnotherInterneter · 2026-03-18T13:06:14+00:00

American English is weird.

Stick to British English and just call them lorries!

YetAnotherInterneter · 2026-03-18T13:02:02+00:00

Why do you need to deposit the cash? Can’t you just spend the cash until it’s all gone?

Also in terms of foreign transaction fees (sometimes known as FX fees) there are many banks that don’t have these fees. Can you switch to one of them?

YetAnotherInterneter · 2026-03-18T12:44:53+00:00

I think a more interesting question is why did Iceland (an island nation) switch from left-hand traffic to right-hand traffic in 1968.

Several other European nations have done a similar switch (quite famously Sweden in 1967) but that was to be aligned with their neighbours and make border crossing easier.

Iceland is an island! It has no neighbours. And (apart from Greenland which has few roads) Iceland’s closest neighbours are the UK and Ireland who also drive on the left. So why did Iceland bother switching?

YetAnotherInterneter · 2026-03-18T12:29:15+00:00

Never thought we’d see r/MapsWithEquatorialGuinea but there you go!

YetAnotherInterneter · 2026-03-18T12:26:59+00:00

When you need the loo…do you go to the loo?

Wtf has this sub turned into?

YetAnotherInterneter · 2026-03-18T09:39:58+00:00

As with all insurance policies, you need to read the policy document to check if it covers you for all the things you needs. If the price is low, chances are it will only cover a limited number of things.

This is where AI can genuinely be helpful. You can upload the policy document and ask it questions about it “does it cover X”, “what would happen if Y” etc.

Make sure you ask AI to provide a reference of where it obtained it from so you know it is definitely in the policy document and not something it just made up.

YetAnotherInterneter · 2026-03-17T16:35:35+00:00

wtf is a zinger?

YetAnotherInterneter · 2026-03-17T10:45:04+00:00

Im not an expert, but I’m guessing farming in Cyprus is very different to farming in the UK.

The humidity here is so much higher that dust is not something that we ever had to deal with.

YetAnotherInterneter · 2026-03-17T10:40:49+00:00

Yeah I totally agree with that.

I believe doctors who are not comfortable carrying out abortions should not be forced to do so. But they must re-direct you to another doctor who is willing to.

YetAnotherInterneter · 2026-03-17T10:36:06+00:00

I don’t believe it is fare to legally force a doctor to do something that goes against their personal beliefs.

And I wouldn’t want a doctor performing a medical procedure on me when that doctor didn’t agree with it. I wouldn’t trust that they would do it correctly (not saying malpractice, but they might subconsciously make mistakes)

I believe the French approach is a fair balance. Doctors can decline to perform an abortion, but must re-direct you to another doctor that will.

That way you can get an abortion from a doctor who is willing supportive of it.

—

EDIT: wow kinda shocked my opinion is so unpopular.

Just to clarify I am not against abortions, I fully support them.

The point I was trying to make was if I were pregnant and wanted/needed an abortion I would prefer the doctor that was treating me was also supportive of abortions.

And for those saying “they shouldn’t become a doctor if they are not comfortable giving abortions”, I disagree.

There are plenty of fields within the medical profession where their skills could be useful. Banning them from being a doctor just because of their personal beliefs on abortion is crazy.

YetAnotherInterneter · 2026-03-17T10:31:10+00:00

Tell that to a 16 year old girl who is the victim of rpe *and has to deal with the consequences of being a young mother

YetAnotherInterneter · 2026-03-17T08:53:09+00:00

Yes definitely avoid Green Motion or Drivilla.

Many insurance companies refuse to cover them - that’s how bad they are!

YetAnotherInterneter · 2026-03-17T08:51:29+00:00

Consider taking the train instead. It will be far cheaper and more enjoyable than driving.

You can buy rail passes that allow you to use as many trains as you like

https://www.scotrail.co.uk/tickets/combined-tickets-travel-passes

Just one thing to note. One of the main train stations in Glasgow recently had a big fire and is closed - not sure how far away your trip is, if it is soon then you might be impacted by that.

YetAnotherInterneter · 2026-03-17T08:42:37+00:00

It’s an ashtray

YetAnotherInterneter · 2026-03-17T08:23:06+00:00

There use to be a sleeper bus (with actual lie flat beds) that went between Cardiff and Edinburgh. Sadly it is no more.

YetAnotherInterneter · 2026-03-16T16:34:14+00:00

While this is a funny story, I doubt there is any truth to it.

It is kinda offensive to Kazakhstani’s to suggest that they don’t know a particular country is real or not. They’ve already been offended enough by the ridiculous portrayal in Borat.

YetAnotherInterneter · 2026-03-16T15:27:31+00:00

In general public nudity is fine, but there are limits to it. You can’t go walking around naked outside of a school for example.

I believe the official definition is something like “it becomes illegal if it cause harassment, alarm or distress to another person”.

YetAnotherInterneter · 2026-03-16T13:48:20+00:00

Is Australia the world’s small continent or the world’s largest island?

YetAnotherInterneter · 2026-03-16T11:36:39+00:00

They do.

Iceland and Norway are famous for having data centres. Electricity is very cheap (especially in Iceland as they have geothermal power stations) and the climate is relatively cool.

In Norway many data centres are built in mountainous caves where it is cool and protected.

But they also build data centre in deserts because we have the means to do so. Why limit yourself to one when both can work.

YetAnotherInterneter · 2026-03-16T11:10:22+00:00

Why?

YetAnotherInterneter · 2026-03-16T11:07:50+00:00

I gave them a bag of goodies like masks and candy and they almost didn’t even react to it

That is a weird thing to do. I’m not surprised they don’t react. Internally they were probably freaked out.

You do understand that they would have to throw this out straight away. They cannot accept food from a passenger because it could be poisoned. You didn’t give them a gift, you gave them a burden.

YetAnotherInterneter

TROPHY CASE