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»	18 December 2007 – Berne (Switzerland)
	Santa Claus, or Father Christmas, still a popular addressee…
	T he hundreds of thousands of letters sent each day to Santa Claus or Father Christmas at this time of year make the white-bearded gentleman, as well as other figures like St. Nicholas, the Three Kings or Ded Moroz, the most popular recipients of personalized letters.
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»	17 December 2007 – Berne (Switzerland)
	Together for a greener planet…
	T he day after the United Nations Climate Change Conference, which ended in Bali (Indonesia) last week, the Universal Postal Union and the other UN system agencies pledged to continue their work toward climate neutrality and to serve as an example in efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
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»	12 December 2007 – Berne (Switzerland)
	Spain and the UPU undertake to develop postal financial services in Latin America …
	M agdalena Alvarez Arza, the Spanish minister responsible for the postal sector, and Edouard Dayan, Director General of the Universal Postal Union (UPU), signed an agreement in Madrid yesterday whereby Spain and the UPU undertook to implement the International Financial Transfer System (IFS). Under this agreement, Spain, through the postal operator Correos, will connect Latin America with the UPU's electronic financial network, thereby improving the quality of postal services and providing small and medium-sized businesses with access to postal markets.
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»	6 December 2007 – Berne (Switzerland)
	Letter traffic rallying; profits up…
	T he UPU publishes its world postal statistics for 2006. Letter volumes are stabilizing, the growth in parcel volumes is continuing, and postal revenue is sharply up: these are the three major trends highlighted in the worldwide postal statistics for 2006, published today by the Universal Postal Union.
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»	4 December 2007 – Guangzhou (People's Rep. of China)
	China hosts international meeting on UPU strategy…
	A n international meeting on the Nairobi Postal Strategy is taking place today and tomorrow in Guangzhou (China). The meeting ends a cycle of seven regional round tables held over the past few months to gather the views of UPU member countries on the future sector strategy. The first round table was held in Moscow (Russia) last June and the last one in New Delhi (India) last week.
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»	21 November 2007 – Geneva (Switzerland)
	Postal services: providing local access to international markets…
	S peaking yesterday at the World Trade Organization's "Aid for Trade" conference in Geneva, the UPU Director General called attention to postal services' role in stimulating international trade, particularly for small and medium-sized businesses.
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»	12 November 2007 – Berne (Switzerland)
	DAYAN, HUANG to run for second mandate…
	U PU Director General Edouard DAYAN and Deputy Director General Guozhong HUANG, from France and China respectively, announced they would run for a second mandate from 2009–2012.
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»	12 November 2007 – Berne (Switzerland)
	Council of Administration ends 2007 session…
	T he UPU's Council of Administration (CA) ended its 2007 session on Friday. The CA is the UPU body that approves the UPU's programme and budget, sets the strategic direction of the worldwide postal sector and looks at policy issues such as universal postal service and the reform of the Union, among others. Among the highlights of this session.
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»	8 November 2007 – Berne (Switzerland)
	Stamps issued in support of the Nairobi Congress…
	A t least five African countries have recently issued postage stamps to support the organization of the 24th Universal Postal Congress, to be held in Nairobi (Kenya) from 13 August to 3 September 2008. South Africa, Botswana, Mauritius, Nigeria and Tanzania will give Kenya half of the proceeds from the sale of these stamps. Kenya is also taking part in this effort, intended not only to raise funds but also to announce the Congress throughout the continent. The different stamp sets issued feature African costumes, the Congress logo and different animal species.
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»	7 November 2007 – Berne (Switzerland)
	Cooperation agreement benefits the Portuguese-speaking countries of Africa…
	T he Association of Post Office and Telecommunications Operators from the Portuguese Speaking Countries and Territories (AICEP) and the Universal Postal Union signed a cooperation agreement today, at the start of the UPU Council of Administration plenary session in Berne. This agreement defines a package of assistance that will be given to Portuguese-speaking countries in Africa, totalling 120,000 USD over two years.
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»	29 October 2007 – Berne (Switzerland), Kigali (Rwanda)
	Connect Africa Summit: postal networks must be a partner of choice…
	A UPU paper published for the Connect Africa Summit, which opened today in Kigali (Rwanda), states that a postal network linked to other providers of infrastructure and network services would contribute to economic development and bring relief to poor and unconnected people.
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»	9 October 2007 – Berne (Switzerland)
	World Post Day 2007: postal services a driver of economic development…
	T oday, on World Post Day, the Universal Postal Union is drawing attention to the importance of ensuring that all the world's citizens have easy access to postal services. Universal postal service, a catalogue of postal services to which citizens have access, is often considered from a political or social point of view. But the universal postal service must also be seen in terms of its economic benefits, as UPU Director General Edouard DAYAN stressed in his annual message to the organization's member countries.
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»	2 October 2007 – Barcelona (Spain)
	New technologies put postal services at the heart of communication…
	E ach edition of the annual POST-EXPO trade show confirms that new technologies are increasingly playing a larger role in postal operations. And far from being a threat to the postal sector, they provide many opportunities to postal operators and their customers.
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»	28 September 2007 – Berne (Switzerland)
	The international reply coupon turns 100…
	W ith 2.2 million sold each year, the international reply coupon is a much-travelled centenarian which has been of service to generations of postal customers. This method for the prepayment of postage was first introduced by the UPU International Bureau on 1 October 1907, in response to a proposal by the "British Colonies of Australasia", which wished to see a system already in use domestically in several countries – the ability to prepay the postage charge for a correspondent from whom a reply was expected – extended worldwide.
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»	14 September 2007 – Montevideo (Uruguay)
	Strategy: round tables in Montevideo and Vienna…
	T he series of UPU regional round tables on the future World Postal Strategy continues. On 3 and 4 September, it was the turn of member countries of the Postal Union of the Americas, Spain and Portugal (PUASP) to add their input to the next UPU postal strategy: Nineteen Latin American countries, as well as Canada, United States of America and Spain, recently met in Montevideo (Uruguay). PUASP Secretary General, Serrana BASSINI CASCO, welcomed the Strategy's regional approach.
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»	6 September 2007 – Berne (Switzerland)
	The humanitarian face of mail…
	T he United Nations Postal Administration (UNPA), the Universal Postal Union and Swiss Post unveiled four stamps today to raise awareness of the importance of "humanitarian mail" in times of natural catastrophes or conflicts.
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»	31 August 2007 – Quito (Ecuador)
	UPU and PUASP organize first training workshop for Latin America in Ecuador…
	W ithin the framework of a regional development plan (RDP) drawn up jointly by the Universal Postal Union (UPU) and the Postal Union of the Americas, Spain and Portugal (PUASP), the two organizations teamed up with Correos del Ecuador to organize a training course in Quito from 21 to 23 August 2007.
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»	30 August 2007 – Berne (Switzerland)
	Collaboration with the World Customs Organization…
	T he World Customs Organization (WCO) and the UPU have just signed a new memorandum of understanding. This agreement, aimed at taking greater account of the needs of international trade, recognizes the importance of a single postal territory, the universal postal service, and security measures for international mail transport networks. It represents another chapter in the collaboration between the two organizations which began in 1965. The last agreement, signed in 1994, was aimed at countering drug trafficking.
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»	28 August 2007 – Berne (Switzerland)
	A tiger's appeal to save the planet…
	S ZE EE Lee, a 14-year-old Malaysian girl, has won the 36^th Universal Postal Union International Letter-Writing Competition. It is the first time that Malaysia wins the international competition, which has been held since 1972.
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»	20 July 2007 – Berne (Switzerland)
	Harry POTTER gets special delivery…
	T he Universal Postal Union has surveyed its member countries regarding the distribution of the latest Harry POTTER book and is pleased to convey the following information. American and British postmen and women will tomorrow distribute 2.4 million books. Their German and Swiss counterparts will distribute the German version of Harry POTTER and the Deathly Hallows the night of 27 October, between midnight and 2 a.m. From 2004 to 2005, the global volume of ordinary parcels rose by 11%, outlining the postal sector's role as a partner of choice for e-commerce.
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»	19 July 2007 – Nairobi (Kenya)
	UPU regional round table on the future World Postal Strategy…
	"T his plan gives us hope for the future of the postal business as the postal service remains the most important means of communication for the majority of the population," said Norman MUNZHELELE of the South African Ministry of Communication, at the close of the second UPU regional round table on the future World Postal Strategy, which took place on 18 and 19 July in Nairobi, Kenya, host city of the 2008 UPU Congress.
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»	17 July 2007 – Nairobi (Kenya)
	Africa gears up to host the next Universal Postal Congress…
	E douard DAYAN, Director General of the Universal Postal Union, and the Honourable Mutahi KAGWE, Kenya's Minister for Information and Communication, today signed an agreement which marks another milestone in the preparations for the 24th Universal Postal Congress, to be hosted by the Kenyan Government and Posta Kenya in Nairobi from 13 August to 3 September 2008. The agreement defines the detailed requirements for Congress.
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»	22 June 2007 – Saint Petersburg (Russian Federation)
	Postal strategy: UPU holds its first round table…
	T he first Universal Postal Union regional strategy round table was held yesterday in Saint Petersburg, Russian Federation, within the framework of the "Pochtovaya Troika" strategic forum. This round table, which was organized in cooperation with the Regional Commonwealth in the Field of Communication (RCC), brought together the 12 RCC member countries: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russian Federation, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan.
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»	20 June 2007 – Saint Petersburg (Russian Federation)
	UPU participates in Pochtovaya Troika 2007…
	T he eighth "Pochtovaya Troika" strategic forum opened its doors yesterday in Saint Petersburg, Russia. This three-day meeting, organized every two years by the Russian Post, enables representatives of postal organizations from all over the world to come together and discuss the challenges they face. A delegation from the Universal Postal Union, led by its Director General, Edouard DAYAN, is attending.
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»	19 June 2007 – Berne (Switzerland)
	Global quality measurement system comes a step closer…
	H ow can we effectively measure the quality of the international postal services provided in the 191 UPU member countries, to enable each country's terminal dues income to reflect its quality of service? This was the question posed by a workshop held at UPU headquarters from 12 to 14 June 2007, organized by the Postal Operations Council's Quality of Service Project Group Steering Committee.
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»	13 June 2007 – Montevideo (Uruguay)
	Latin America and UPU prepare the ground for postal reform…
	T he regional development plan (RDP) for Latin America, drawn up by the UPU, received the stamp of approval from the region's Posts at the meeting of the supreme body of the Postal Union of the Americas, Spain and Portugal (PUASP). The adoption of this plan by the PUASP Executive and Consultative Council, followed by the signing of a cooperation agreement between the regional postal union and the UPU in Montevideo on 13 June, marks the start of a series of concrete actions defined in the RDP, aimed at improving the region's postal services.
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»	11 June 2007 – Berne (Switzerland)
	Posts and electronic services go hand-in-hand…
	S ome 150 people attended a conference on the postal sector and the information society, organized on Friday 8 June at UPU headquarters in Berne.
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»	11 June 2007 – Berne (Switzerland)
	E-Commerce: quality of the postal service is essential…
	S mall businesses that sell on eBay depend on their local post office for their survival, but local post offices also depend on E-Commerce for an increasing part of their business, said Nick STAHEYEFF, Chief Executive Officer of eBay International, at a conference on the postal sector and the information society, held on Friday 8 June.
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»	8 June 2007 – Berne (Switzerland)
	UPU and ITU commit to continuing close relations…
	D uring today's conference on "The postal sector and the information society" in Berne, the Director General of the Universal Postal Union (UPU), Edouard DAYAN, and the Deputy Secretary General of the International Telecom-munication Union (ITU), Houlin ZHAO, signed a memorandum of understanding.
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»	15 May 2007 – Berne (Switzerland)
	Affordable high-speed Internet: a must for developing countries…
	M ore reliable telecommunications systems offering reasonably priced services in developing countries: this is what the Universal Postal Union needs to step up its efforts to extend its postal financial network throughout the world.
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»	4 May 2007 – Berne (Switzerland)
	E-services big on POC agenda…
	T he world's postal operators will further integrate e−services into their strategies to grow their core business and develop new opportunities for themselves and their customers. The UPU's Postal Operations Council (POC), which concluded its 2007 session today at UPU headquarters in Berne, approved an e−services strategy developed by the Electronic Products and Services Group, as well as a resolution urging other POC groups to integrate e-services into their future work.
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»	3 May 2007 – Berne (Switzerland)
	Tulips for peace…
	T housands of beautiful tulips will bloom each year on the grounds of the Universal Postal Union headquarters, site of the 2007 International Peace Garden. The City of Berne received the honour to host the garden following a nomination from Dublin (Ireland), last year's recipient. In turn, Berne decided to plant the tulips donated by the Netherlands at the International Bureau of the UPU, the only United Nations organization located in the Swiss capital.
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»	1 May 2007 – Berne (Switzerland)
	Quality of service: Awards for Belarus, Germany and Hungary…
	T he postal operators of Belarus, Germany and Hungary were today awarded the highest level of certification for their quality of service management results.
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»	26 April 2007 – Berne (Switzerland)
	Future postal strategy: many heads are better than one…
	T he UPU International Bureau will organize, with the help of the Restricted Unions and the Strategic Planning Group of the Postal Operations Council, a series of regional round tables to evaluate the progress made with the Bucharest World Postal Strategy and better prepare the Nairobi Postal Strategy.
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»	23 April 2007 – Berne (Switzerland)
	Sustainable development – a turning point in postal culture…
	S ince its creation, microfinancing has benefited 150 million people, but resources are not enough to satisfy worldwide demand, estimated at 1.5 billion people. Praising the initiatives by some Posts that have adapted their financial products to suit people's needs or have formed partnerships with banks to provide financial services to the most disadvantaged, World Bank microcredit expert Xavier REILLE has said that postal networks provide an excellent means of extending microfinancing services. "One of the challenges of microfinancing is to reduce costs, and this can be achieved through the use of new technologies and an efficient infrastructure like the postal network."
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»	19 April 2007 – Berne (Switzerland)
	Forum on integrated postal reform and development plans…
	A s part of the 2007 Postal Operations Council session, today saw the opening of a forum on integrated postal reform and development plans (IPDPs), bringing together around 100 representatives of Posts from the developing countries. In addition to exchanges of experiences, notably those of Costa Rica and the Syrian Arab Republic, of enlisting government support for postal reform, the discussions also focused on access to funding and the impact of necessary postal sector reform on other economic plans. This forum highlighted some of the challenges created by this practical methodology, which has already been implemented in 33 countries.
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»	27 March 2007 – Berne (Switzerland)
	Tanzanian regulator visits the UPU…
	R ichard MARIKI, Chairman of the Board of Directors and Rehema MAKUBURI, Head of Postal Affairs at the Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority met the UPU management team to learn more about UPU activities and, in particular, the technical support provided by the UPU to reorganize the sorting operations at Tanzania Posts Corporation and install a postcode system.
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»	20 March 2007 – Berne (Switzerland)
	UPU at the heart of francophonie: philatelic exhibition inaugurated in Berne…
	T he UPU this evening inaugurated the exhibition "Le timbre au cœur de la francophonie" in the presence of more than 150 representatives of the Diplomatic Corps in Berne and leading philatelists. The collection, on loan from the European Philately Academy, was first presented at the 2006 Francophonie Summit in Bucharest. It illustrates the attachment of 50 countries to the French language and francophonie, with a separate frame being devoted to each country.
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»	7 March 2007 – Mexico City (Mexico)
	Air transport and postal sectors committed to improving quality of service…
	A irlines and postal operators must focus more on standardization and an increased use of electronic data interchange (EDI) messages to improve the quality of service and security of international mail. That is the message the head of the Universal Postal Union delivered today at the World Cargo Symposium organized by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) in Mexico.
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»	20 February 2007 – Berne (Switzerland)
	E-commerce offers Posts huge potential…
	P osts have no other choice but to develop strategies to harness the enormous potential of e-commerce. That's what some 30 electronic services experts from all over the world heard during a workshop today at UPU headquarters.
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»	6 February 2007 – Berne (Switzerland)
	New Chinese regulator meets UPU managment…
	F or his first official visit abroad, Junsheng MA, Director General of the new regulatory body created by the State Post Bureau in China, met the management team of the Universal Postal Union to explain the challenges facing the Chinese postal sector today and to learn more about postal regulatory matters. The postal reform that led to the creation of the new regulatory body also saw the birth of a new China Post, known as China Post Group Corporation. In a recent article published on Chinadaily.com, MA said that it was "important to better monitor the postal market in order to have healthy and fair competition."
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»	26 January 2007 – Berne (Switzerland)
	Algerian Minister visits the UPU…
	M r. Boudjemaâ HAÏCHOUR, the Algerian Minister of Posts, Information Technology and Communications (MPTIC), accompanied by Mr. Kamel HOUHOU, the Algerian Ambassador to Switzerland, met the Director General of the UPU for a working visit, during which they addressed questions such as cooperation between the UPU and Algeria Post for training and the use of postal information and communication technology in postal operations (e-banking, analytical management).
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