عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Varieties

Royal Mail Adds Digital Touch to Traditional Stamps

A Royal Mail delivery vehicle drives along a road near Mount Pleasant, in London, Britain, June 25, 2020. Picture taken June 25, 2020. REUTERS/John Sibley/File Photo
A Royal Mail delivery vehicle drives along a road near Mount Pleasant, in London, Britain, June 25, 2020. Picture taken June 25, 2020. REUTERS/John Sibley/File Photo
TT
TT

Royal Mail Adds Digital Touch to Traditional Stamps

A Royal Mail delivery vehicle drives along a road near Mount Pleasant, in London, Britain, June 25, 2020. Picture taken June 25, 2020. REUTERS/John Sibley/File Photo
A Royal Mail delivery vehicle drives along a road near Mount Pleasant, in London, Britain, June 25, 2020. Picture taken June 25, 2020. REUTERS/John Sibley/File Photo

Royal Mail is adding special barcodes to stamps, making it possible for people to watch videos, messages and other information, The Guardian reported.

The move from Tuesday follows a successful trial, with the aim of connecting a letter with the digital world.

Customers can scan the barcodes in the Royal Mail app and will eventually be able to watch videos, information about services, or birthday messages and other greetings from senders.

At the moment, a video featuring Shaun the Sheep, created exclusively for Royal Mail by the animation studio Aardman, can be viewed.

It is the first in a series of planned videos to be released during 2022 that will allow customers sending stamped mail to choose which one the recipient can see when they receive an item of mail. The barcoded stamps will have a “digital twin” and the two will be connected by the Royal Mail app. The barcodes match the stamp color and sit alongside the main body of the stamp, separated by a simulated perforation line.

The barcodes will be available on “definitive” stamps – the regular everyday stamps featuring the profile of the Queen.

Non-barcoded definitive and Christmas stamps will remain valid until January 2023.

Nick Landon, Royal Mail chief commercial officer, said: “Introducing unique barcodes on our postage stamps allows us to connect the physical letter with the digital world and opens up the possibilities for a range of new innovative services in future.”

Most Viewed

 
 
Varieties

Four Out of Every 10 Cancer Cases Are Preventable, Says WHO

Visitors walk past a sculpture of a pink ribbon installed to promote the "Pink Ribbon" breast cancer awareness campaign in this illustration, October 5, 2011. (Reuters)
Visitors walk past a sculpture of a pink ribbon installed to promote the "Pink Ribbon" breast cancer awareness campaign in this illustration, October 5, 2011. (Reuters)
TT
TT

Four Out of Every 10 Cancer Cases Are Preventable, Says WHO

Visitors walk past a sculpture of a pink ribbon installed to promote the "Pink Ribbon" breast cancer awareness campaign in this illustration, October 5, 2011. (Reuters)
Visitors walk past a sculpture of a pink ribbon installed to promote the "Pink Ribbon" breast cancer awareness campaign in this illustration, October 5, 2011. (Reuters)

Nearly four out of every 10 cancer cases could be prevented if people avoided a range of risk factors including smoking, drinking, air pollution and certain infections, the World Health Organization said Tuesday.

New research published on the eve of World Cancer Day estimated that 38 percent of all new cancer cases globally in 2022 -- 7.1 million -- were linked to preventable causes.

The large team of researchers, which included the WHO's International Agency for Research on Cancer, looked at 30 factors that increase the risk of getting cancer.

Tobacco was the leading offender, responsible for 15 percent of all new cancer cases, followed by cancer-causing infections with 10 percent and drinking alcohol with three percent, according to the study published in the journal Nature Medicine.

Other risk factors included being overweight, a lack of exercise, UV radiation and being exposed to threats such as asbestos while working.

"This is the first global analysis to show how much cancer risk comes from causes we can prevent," senior study author Andre Ilbawi, the WHO's team lead for cancer control, said in a statement.

Almost half of all the preventable cases were lung, stomach or cervical cancer.

Lung cancer was linked to smoking and air pollution, while stomach cancer was largely linked to a bacteria called Helicobacter pylori.

Cervical cancer cases were overwhelmingly caused by human papillomavirus (HPV), which vaccines are effective against.

Men were far more likely to get preventable cancer, with 45 percent of new cases compared to 30 percent for women.

And nearly a quarter of all preventable cancer cases among men were from smoking, compared to 11 percent for women.

To address the problem, the researchers called for countries to adopt strong tobacco control measures and alcohol regulation, and to vaccinate against common infections such as HPV, improve air quality and ensure safer workplaces, healthy diets and exercise.

"If we want to reduce the cancer burden we also need to reduce the noncommunicable disease (NCD) burden -- it is indisputable that tobacco, alcohol, ultra-processed food and air quality are major drivers of multiple kinds of cancer," said Katie Dain, CEO of the NCD Alliance.

Varieties

Spain to Ban Social Media Access for Children Under 16

FILE PHOTO: Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, Kick, YouTube, Facebook, Twitch, Reddit, Threads and X applications are displayed on a mobile phone ahead of new law banning social media for users under 16 in Australia, in this picture illustration taken on December 9, 2025. REUTERS/Hollie Adams/Illustration/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, Kick, YouTube, Facebook, Twitch, Reddit, Threads and X applications are displayed on a mobile phone ahead of new law banning social media for users under 16 in Australia, in this picture illustration taken on December 9, 2025. REUTERS/Hollie Adams/Illustration/File Photo
TT
TT

Spain to Ban Social Media Access for Children Under 16

FILE PHOTO: Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, Kick, YouTube, Facebook, Twitch, Reddit, Threads and X applications are displayed on a mobile phone ahead of new law banning social media for users under 16 in Australia, in this picture illustration taken on December 9, 2025. REUTERS/Hollie Adams/Illustration/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, Kick, YouTube, Facebook, Twitch, Reddit, Threads and X applications are displayed on a mobile phone ahead of new law banning social media for users under 16 in Australia, in this picture illustration taken on December 9, 2025. REUTERS/Hollie Adams/Illustration/File Photo

Spain will ban access to social media for minors under 16 and platforms will be required to implement ‌age verification ‌systems, Prime ‌Minister ⁠Pedro Sanchez said ‌on Tuesday at the World Government Summit in Dubai.

"Our children are exposed to a space they were never meant to navigate ⁠alone... We will no longer ‌accept that," Sanchez said. "We ‍will protect ‍them from the digital ‍Wild West."

He added that his government would also introduce a new bill next week to hold social media executives accountable for illegal and ⁠hateful content.

Australia in December became the first country to ban social media for children under 16.

It's a move being closely watched by other countries considering similar age-based measures, such as Britain and France.

Varieties

Saudi Media Ministry and SDAIA Launch Key Initiatives at Saudi Media Forum

Officials are seen at the fifth Saudi Media Forum in Riyadh on Monday. (SPA)
Officials are seen at the fifth Saudi Media Forum in Riyadh on Monday. (SPA)
TT
TT

Saudi Media Ministry and SDAIA Launch Key Initiatives at Saudi Media Forum

Officials are seen at the fifth Saudi Media Forum in Riyadh on Monday. (SPA)
Officials are seen at the fifth Saudi Media Forum in Riyadh on Monday. (SPA)

The Saudi Ministry of Media, in partnership with the Saudi Data and AI Authority (SDAIA), launched on Monday two key initiatives at the fifth Saudi Media Forum in Riyadh.

The Media Innovation Bootcamp (Saudi MIB) and the AI principles in media document were announced by Minister of Media Salman Al-Dossary and SDAIA President Abdullah Alghamdi.

The initiatives aim to enhance the national media ecosystem and integrate artificial intelligence technologies into content creation.

The bootcamp trains a new generation of journalists and content creators in smart journalism tools, emphasizing automated data collection and deepfake detection for accurate reporting.

The AI track enables participants to collaborate with software engineers to create digital characters that mimic human behavior, facilitating 24/7 multilingual broadcasts with real-time audience interaction.

The AI principles in media document provides guidelines for responsible AI use in the media lifecycle. Developed with SDAIA, the Saudi Broadcasting Authority, and the General Authority for Media Regulation, it aims to ensure content integrity, address challenges posed by misleading content and deepfake technologies, and boost efficiency by leveraging AI to accelerate content production and deliver personalized user experiences.

The initiatives represent a partnership between the Ministry of Media and SDAIA to empower national talent and promote responsible technology use, aligned with Saudi Vision 2030.