Post office

Return to sender? Only if it’s convenient

Retrieved on: 
Thursday, March 7, 2024

This underscores the importance of going beyond the "buy now" button and focusing on the entire retail life cycle, from delivery to return.

Key Points: 
  • This underscores the importance of going beyond the "buy now" button and focusing on the entire retail life cycle, from delivery to return.
  • Ease of return is paramount: 94% of respondents find ease of return crucial, with a majority stating they'd be less likely to shop at a retailer offering only store credit (50%) or charging for return costs (57%).
  • Preferred return methods vary: The top three preferred return methods are courier collection (35%), Post Office drop-off (32%), and in-store returns (26%), with return bars being the least popular (7%).
  • Common reasons for return rejection: The most frequent reasons for rejected returns include exceeding the return window (13%), damaged items (12%), and returning products excluded from the policy (9%).

New Save Manatees Postage Stamp to be Issued on Manatee Appreciation Day

Retrieved on: 
Thursday, February 29, 2024

Postal Service will commemorate the new Save Manatees postage stamp on Manatee Appreciation Day.

Key Points: 
  • Postal Service will commemorate the new Save Manatees postage stamp on Manatee Appreciation Day.
  • Manatees inhabit Florida's inland waterways and warm areas of the coastal Atlantic, Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico.
  • Every day, a West Indian manatee eats up to 10 percent of its weight in aquatic plants.
  • Speakers from the Postal Service and the conservation community will discuss the new postage stamp and manatee conservation efforts.

Celebrating a 'Transformative Figure in Sports and Leadership'

Retrieved on: 
Saturday, February 24, 2024

LOS ANGELES, Feb. 24, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- John Wooden's extraordinary and enduring contributions to college basketball and the athletic community worldwide were lauded during the Postal Service's dedication ceremony for the new stamp in his honor at UCLA.

Key Points: 
  • "In dedicating this stamp, the United States Postal Service honors not just a legendary coach, but a transformative figure in sports and leadership."
  • The event was held outdoors at the East Plaza of Pauley Pavilion, an arena located on the campus of UCLA.
  • Jamaal "Silk" Wilkes -- a three-time NBA All-Star who played for Wooden's Bruins for two championship seasons – was master of ceremonies.
  • Wooden was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor, in 2003 by President George W. Bush.

A Radiant Star Is Born

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, February 20, 2024

STAR, Idaho, Feb. 20, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The Postal Service Monday released Radiant Star, a stamp intended for business-mail users.

Key Points: 
  • STAR, Idaho, Feb. 20, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The Postal Service Monday released Radiant Star, a stamp intended for business-mail users.
  • Showcasing easily recognizable design elements from the U.S. flag, the stamp features an eye-catching image reminiscent of the Stars and Stripes.
  • In this vibrant graphic design, red and white stripes appear to radiate from a blue star.
  • Designer Carol Beehler used two shades of blue for the star to give it a three-dimensional look.

Literary Arts Series Spotlights Novelist Saul Bellow

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, February 6, 2024

CHICAGO, Feb. 6, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Author Saul Bellow was honored today with a new stamp, the 34th in the Postal Service's Literary Arts series.

Key Points: 
  • CHICAGO, Feb. 6, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Author Saul Bellow was honored today with a new stamp, the 34th in the Postal Service's Literary Arts series.
  • Bellow considered himself a historian of American identity, populating his books with dreamers and intellectuals searching for meaning in a materialistic, sometimes disorienting world.
  • The title "Saul Bellow" is in dark purple letters in the upper-right corner, with "Three Ounce" and "USA" appearing vertically along the left side.
  • Bellow began an unfinished novel in 1939, then in 1941, published his first short story, "Two Morning Monologues," in Partisan Review.

‘We miners die a lot.’ Appalling conditions and poverty wages: the lives of cobalt miners in the DRC

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, January 30, 2024

Estimates suggest that as many as 11,000 men and women work on the site, the majority of whom have no other means of deriving a livelihood.

Key Points: 
  • Estimates suggest that as many as 11,000 men and women work on the site, the majority of whom have no other means of deriving a livelihood.
  • Risking their lives, they tunnel deep into the red earth, excavating cobalt in shafts that descend as deep as 100 metres, and yet they receive almost none of the profits.
  • This story of labour exploitation and unequal exchange in Africa has become an all-too-familiar one to me.
  • I was eager to visit the site because I had heard many encouraging things about it.
  • Most artisanal mining sites are found in remote locations, remain unplanned and unregulated, and are subject to a host of social and environmental problems.
  • But at the same time, there has been much fanfare around the idea of organising artisanal miners into cooperatives, as a potential solution to this problem.
  • The team is working with academics from different backgrounds who have been engaged in projects aimed at tackling societal and scientific challenges.
  • There are people who come from Kasai, the Chinese who leave China to come here, Canadians who leave their country to come here.
  • It is very good.

‘The work we do is hard’

  • Many told me they only started mining because they wanted to create a better life for their kids.
  • It is easy to understand why a parent would tolerate hardship, injustice and risk, if it could help their children.
  • We only do this work because we don’t have the means to survive.
  • The work we do is hard because it’s a job you do all day long.
  • We only do this work because we don’t have the means to survive.

‘We miners die a lot’

  • Six miners were killed and the depth and design of the tunnels meant that the bodies could not be recovered.
  • And to be sure, all the miners I spoke to feared such a disaster could happen to them at any time.
  • Death and injury is common among artisanal miners, due to both tunnel collapses and working without personal protective equipment.
  • We miners die a lot.
  • We miners die a lot.

Toxic dust and birth defects

  • Further compounding the hazardous working conditions, cobalt dust is toxic, affecting all those working in mines, but also those in the wider community.
  • That research also found high concentrations of uranium in the urine of exposed children and miners.
  • A Lancet study found that pregnant women living in cobalt-mining communities have the highest levels ever reported of heavy metals in their blood.
  • The same study demonstrated a five-fold increase in risk of birth defects in babies born to fathers working in cobalt mines.
  • Alphonsine, eloquently described the horrific conditions that washers must endure:
    There are several problems in doing this work.
  • Recent comparisons of time-lapse satellite imagery over the past five years demonstrates the dramatic growth of cobalt mines in and around Kolwezi.

The invisible face of the cobalt rush

  • Hunting for the buried blue treasure – a key ingredient in the lithium-ion batteries used in consumer electronics and electric vehicles that are vital to global efforts to combat climate change – artisanal miners like Ghislain have long been the invisible face of the cobalt rush.
  • The Congolese cobalt rush fuels a multi-billion-dollar industry for international mining companies and buying agents – often from China – that have moved into the country.
  • Southern Congo sits upon 3.4 million tons of cobalt, an estimated two thirds of the world’s known supply.
  • Alphonsine told me that she didn’t know what happened to the cobalt she washed, after it left the site.
  • Instead of buying well so that we too can win, they buy the products maliciously.
  • As the world transitions to electric vehicles, competition over supplies of cobalt continues to intensify, with global demand set to increase up to eight-fold by 2040.
  • Against this backdrop, the OECD estimates that there are more than 200,000 creuseurs, often labouring alongside large-scale industrial operations, who extract up to 30% of Congo’s cobalt.

Child labour

  • Such claims have provided fertile ground for a high-profile legal case against the world’s largest tech companies, launched in December 2019 by Congolese families, over deaths and serious injuries sustained by child labourers in cobalt mines.
  • In October 2022, the US Department of Labour added lithium-ion batteries to its list of goods produced by child labour.

No such thing as ‘clean cobalt’

  • Profit margins are much higher when it’s possible to purchase cobalt that is extracted under slave-like conditions.
  • And the reality is that cobalt unearthed by creuseurs is bought by agents and processed alongside cobalt from large-scale mines, with over 80% of it then being refined in China.
  • As things stand, there is no such thing as “clean cobalt”.

Plausible deniability


While the negative impacts of the cobalt boom may be increasingly visible and have now become impossible to ignore, industry is not held accountable, partially because it has found new ways to hide its exploitative business practices.

  • Complexity in the supply chain helps big corporations to demand profit-boosting efficiencies at arms’ length, giving them plausible deniability for the consequences of their actions.
  • These companies also have become adept at spinning their purported efforts to improve conditions.
  • Look at their websites and you’ll probably see a massive section devoted to sustainability and community-building.


For you: more from our Insights series:
Mr Bates vs The Post Office depicts one of the UK’s worst miscarriages of justice: here’s why so many victims didn’t speak out

Victims of the green energy boom? The Indonesians facing eviction over a China-backed plan to turn their island into a solar panel ‘ecocity’

Unlocking new clues to how dementia and Alzheimer’s work in the brain – Uncharted Brain podcast series

To hear about new Insights articles, join the hundreds of thousands of people who value The Conversation’s evidence-based news. Subscribe to our newsletter.
For this research, Roy Maconachie received funding from the Global Challenge Research Fund (GCRF), the Bath Research in Development (BRID) Fund, and the Bath Impact Fund.

USPS Roars Into Lunar New Year With New Stamp

Retrieved on: 
Thursday, January 25, 2024

SEATTLE, Jan. 25, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, the U.S. Postal Service unveiled the Lunar New Year: Year of the Dragon Forever stamp in the historic Chinatown - International District in Seattle. The Postal Service printed 22 million stamps that are now on sale at Post Offices and usps.com.

Key Points: 
  • Postal Service unveiled the Lunar New Year: Year of the Dragon Forever stamp in the historic Chinatown - International District in Seattle.
  • This stamp is a great example that reflects our nation's rich, multicultural heritage and traditions."
  • "The Lunar New Year: Year of the Dragon stamp is much more than U.S. postage," said Tan, the Wing Luke Museum executive director.
  • For USPS media resources, including broadcast-quality video and audio and photo stills, visit the USPS Newsroom .

USPS Reaches for Final Frontier With New Priority Mail Stamps

Retrieved on: 
Monday, January 22, 2024

GREENBELT, Md., Jan. 22, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The U.S. Postal Service today celebrates NASA's continued exploration of deep space by issuing two new stamps featuring stunning images captured by the James Webb Space Telescope. A $9.85 Pillars of Creation Priority Mail stamp is being released along with a $30.45 Cosmic Cliffs Priority Mail Express stamp.

Key Points: 
  • Postal Service today celebrates NASA's continued exploration of deep space by issuing two new stamps featuring stunning images captured by the James Webb Space Telescope.
  • A $9.85 Pillars of Creation Priority Mail stamp is being released along with a $30.45 Cosmic Cliffs Priority Mail Express stamp.
  • The Priority Mail stamp features the Pillars of Creation, a trillions-of-miles-tall formation that lies 6,500 light-years away from Earth within the vast Eagle Nebula.
  • For USPS media resources, including broadcast-quality video and audio and photo stills, visit the USPS Newsroom .

Post Office Horizon scandal: four reasons why the government's model for outsourcing is broken

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, January 16, 2024

For over a decade, the Post Office and its supplier, Fujitsu, insisted that the Horizon system used in its branches was completely “robust”.

Key Points: 
  • For over a decade, the Post Office and its supplier, Fujitsu, insisted that the Horizon system used in its branches was completely “robust”.
  • Instead, it blamed the shortfalls on sub-postmasters, made them pay the losses, and prosecuted over 700 of them.
  • The multimillion-pound contract between the Post Office and Fujitsu is at the heart of the scandal.

1. The systems are too complex to understand

  • It had to process all kinds of transactions, from selling travellers cheques to managing rent payments, across tens of thousands of disparate branches, using a complicated web of communications systems.
  • The problem is, by outsourcing such a complex service, the Post Office ended up without the expertise to understand how it worked and what Fujitsu was (or wasn’t) doing.

2. Contracts generate perverse incentives

  • But then how do they get a supplier to do everything they need and not just the things in the contract?
  • This kind of “service level agreement” is still standard in many government contracts.

3. The buyer is locked in

  • There’s an idea in economics that if a supplier needs to make these “specialised investments”, it’s very difficult to get rid of that supplier.
  • They have a huge advantage over their competitors, because anyone else would need to make these investments all over again.
  • Read more:
    Post Office scandal: why thousands of victims are yet to see justice

    This is what happened with the Horizon contract.

4. Suppliers are prioritised over workers and the public

  • Horizon was responsible for processing all branch transactions and keeping track of all money coming in and going out.
  • Government bodies are dependent on protecting their relationships with these suppliers and are invested in their financial stability.
  • But as long as UK government bodies outsource complex, essential services, it’s unlikely that the Horizon fiasco will be the last public scandal with a government contract at its heart.


Alice Moore is a member of the University and College Union.

Why the Post Office was able to bring private prosecutions in the Horizon IT scandal

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, January 16, 2024

That the Post Office was able to bring so many prosecutions – and to conduct them so appallingly – is because the company was not supervised.

Key Points: 
  • That the Post Office was able to bring so many prosecutions – and to conduct them so appallingly – is because the company was not supervised.
  • Just as any other public company or private citizen might, the Post Office brought private prosecutions.
  • As co-directors of the Criminal Law Reform Now Network, we have been working on a review of private prosecutions since 2019.

How private prosecutions are brought

  • To bring a private prosecution, a person or company asks a magistrate to issue a summons against the accused person.
  • When the accused person answers the summons, an ordinary criminal case ensues – not a civil case.
  • This is one duty which the Post Office manifestly declined to perform, as has been highlighted by statutory inquiry into the Post Office Horizon scandal.

Safeguards for private prosecutions

  • There has long been the possibility for the director of public prosecutions (DPP) – who, since 1986, is the head of the CPS – to take over a private prosecution or discontinue it.
  • Since 2009, the policy has been to discontinue private prosecutions which do not meet the same core standards (that there be a realistic prospect of prosecution or that a prosecution is in the public interest) with which the CPS must comply.
  • However, it would normally be up to the accused person themselves to ask that the DDP or CPS should take it over, and the decision would still be made on the basis of the files in the possession of the private prosecutor.

Private prosecutions should be reformed, not abolished

  • It is important not to look at private prosecutions entirely through the prism of the Post Office scandal.
  • Where wealthy and determined victims have the means to investigate and prosecute effectively, they may, in fact, be doing a public service.
  • Some succesful private prosecutions have led to confiscation orders being made against convicted defendants that have resulted in millions of pounds being handed over to the Treasury.
  • In recent years, many legal firms specialising in private prosecutions have formed their own Private Prosecutors’ Association.


The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.