Folks, there have been multiple IP flood / DDOS attacks against IB's network over the last week, not specifically targeted at PPRuNe, but it's just as affected as all their other sites.
Different people in different parts of the world have been more or less affected, depending on what IP address ranges IB have had to block, temporarily.
On top of that there was a problem with the Search engine, now fixed.
There's not a lot we can do (apart from hoping that the attackers get tired / IB find out how to prevent or mitigate the problem), and Mods and Admins are just as affected as you, the members / guests using the forums.
SD