Surge of Holiday Packages Delays UPS Shipments

A high volume of holiday packages overwhelmed shipping and logistics company UPS, the company said on Wednesday, delaying the arrival of Christmas presents around the globe and sending angry consumers to social media to vent.

A collision of factors, including a higher volume than expected and recent patches of bad weather, caused the delays, UPS spokeswoman Natalie Black said.

The company projected 132 million deliveries last week “and obviously we exceeded that,” Black said, without disclosing how many packages had been sent.

“For now, UPS is really focused on delivering the remaining packages,” Black said. “You might not see trucks, but people are working.”

Customers awaiting deliveries should expect packages on Thursday or Friday, and those with delivery guarantees will get the appropriate refunds, she said.

In addition, packages shipped via UPS for Amazon Prime customers, who pay $ 79 a year for 2-day shipping, can ask for additional refunds – Amazon’s stated policy for missed deliveries is to offer a free one-month extension of Prime.

UPS had not yet coordinated with Amazon yet, nor has it determined what percentage of the undelivered packages were from Amazon, Black said.

“If customers from Amazon were impacted, we’ll work with Amazon to resolve that,” she said.

Frustrated consumers took to social media, with some complaining that gifts purchased for their children would not arrive in time to make it under the tree by Christmas morning.

“Really @UPS would have been better had you delivered our package yesterday like it was scheduled,” tweeted a user named Heather Bender, who added the hashtags #UPSFail and #NoSantaGiftForMySon.

“Package was delayed in transit & not received as guaranteed. Disappointed 9 year old,” said a Twitter user named Jennifer Marten.

Others on social media urged shoppers to be more appreciative of the delivery company’s work during the holiday season.

“While others take vacation and time off in December, remember we aren’t allowed ever to be off in December. Ever,” Donny Ratcliffe, who identified himself as a UPS driver for the last 20 years, said on the UPS Facebook page.

“So when you see your family and complain that your package is held up, everyone who moves your package is working and doesn’t get the Xmas experience you get. Be thankful for that,” he added.

© 2013 Thomson/Reuters. All rights reserved.

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Surge of Holiday Packages Delays UPS Shipments

Russia Boosting Arms Shipments to Syria – US Officials

WASHINGTON, November 1 (RIA Novosti) – Russia has increased its weapons shipments to Syrian President Bashar Assad’s government since last year, military aid that is likely “more significant” than Iranian arms supplies to Damascus, according to senior US diplomats.

“It has increased from a year ago. There are more deliveries, and in some cases, they are militarily extremely significant,” Robert Ford, the US ambassador to Syria, told a hearing of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee this week.

Ford said he had not seen a “detailed estimate of the dollar value” of the Russian arms shipments, which US officials have said are propping up Assad in his government’s raging civil war against Syrian rebel forces.

Giving an example of the deliveries’ impact, however, Ford said Gen. Salim Idris, commander of the Western-backed Free Syrian Army, told him that Syrian air force jets refurbished by Russia and delivered to Assad’s forces “make a huge difference.”

“I think the Russians would help everyone get to the negotiating table if they would stop these deliveries,” Ford said.

Russian officials have repeatedly defended the weapons shipments, saying Moscow is fulfilling previously signed contracts and not violating international law with the deliveries.

Ford told Thursday’s hearing that the United States and its allies had succeeded in getting one Syria-bound Russian arms delivery sent back by convincing an insurance company to withdraw its coverage from the ship carrying the cargo.

“But that’s a rare success,” Ford said. “ … It would be great if we could make better progress with the Russians.”

Thomas Countryman, assistant US secretary of state for international security and nonproliferation, told the hearing that Russian arms deliveries have become “probably more significant than what Iran provides in terms of military assistance.”

He said Russia is losing credibility in the Arab world and around the Middle East by giving its “unswerving support to the Syrian regime.”

The United States and several other countries accuse Assad’s government of being behind an August 21 chemical weapons attack outside Damascus that Washington claims left more than 1,400 dead.

The Syrian government in turn has accused rebel groups it has been battling since March 2011 of being behind the attack, though it agreed to a Russia-brokered deal to destroy its chemical weapons arsenal.

The deal was struck amid threats by Washington that it would carry out military strikes against Syrian government targets in response to the Aug. 21 attack.

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Russia Boosting Arms Shipments to Syria – US Officials