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Russia

Online Shopping Causes 500-Ton Backlog At Russian Post Office

KOMMERSANT (Russia)

Worldcrunch

MOSCOW - Russians have long griped about the time it takes packages to arrive in the mail, complaining about government bureaucrats and not-always diligent postmen. But blame for a recent deepening of postal delays falls squarely on the shoulders of...the Internet.

Due to an explosion in online purchases - especially those e-purchases shipped from out of the country - the Russian post office is dealing with a serious backlog, with more than 500 tons of international packages sitting at customs points and airports in Moscow alone, Kommersant reports.

This backlog has international reverberations, as the German post office has send their Russian counterparts official complaints about the excessive wait times for German trucks handing over mail to the Russian post office, Kommersant reports.

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A Moscow post office (A. Savin)

Part of the problem is the boom in Internet shopping. In 2009, there were approximately 2.3 million packages ordered online in Russia, while in 2012, there were 17 million. The post office has not been able to keep up. It doesn’t help that the customs service, where much of the delays take place, is supposed to reduce the number of personnel by 20 percent between 2011 and 2013.

What is the solution for those waiting for packages to arrive? Patience, the Russian post office says.

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Society

Why Poland's Draconian Anti-Abortion Laws May Get Even Crueler

Poland has some of the most restrictive abortion laws in Europe. Several parties vying in national elections on Oct. 15 are competing for conservative Catholic voters by promising new laws that could put women's lives at risk.

Photograph of a woman with her lower face covered holding a red lightning bolt - the symbol of the Women's Strike - during the demonstration outside Kaczynski's house.

November 28, 2022, Warsaw, Poland: A protester holds a red lightning bolt - the symbol of the Women's Strike - during the demonstration outside Kaczynski's house.

Attila Husejnow/ZUMA
Katarzyna Skiba

-Analysis-

In 2020, Poland was rocked by mass protests when the country’s Constitutional Tribunal declared abortions in the case of severe fetal illness or deformity illegal. This was one of only three exceptions to Poland’s ban on abortions, which now only applies in cases of sexual assault or when the life of the mother is at risk.

Since the 2020 ruling, several women have filed complaints to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) after giving birth to children with severe fetal abnormalities, many of whom do not survive long after birth. One woman working at John Paul II hospital in the Southern Polish town of Nowy Targ told Polish daily Gazeta Wyborcza that a patient was forced to give birth to a child suffering from acrania a lethal disorder where infants are born without a skull.

However, even in cases where abortion is technically legal, hospitals and medical professionals in Poland still often refuse to perform the procedure, citing moral objections.

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