• Environmental hero's mission to save the most over-fished sea in the world
• Ikea Foundation sends shelters to Syria and Turkey as firms offer earthquake aid
• Turkish man plants 30 million saplings and creates forest on once-barren land

• Turkey: Maharishi Vastu conference in Istanbul draws developers, builders, architects from Middle East and Asia
• Prevent terrorism utilizing the most advanced and cost-effective technology
• Protecting Turkey: How to confidently achieve and maintain Middle East stability

• Hope fades for survivors as Turkey-Syria earthquake toll passes 20,000
• Earthquake death toll in Turkey and Syria surpasses 5,000
• Explainer: Why was the Turkey-Syria earthquake so bad?

---

Positive Trends
Short Summaries of Top Stories

Environmental hero's mission to save the most over-fished sea in the world
24 April 2023 - Famous for its crystal blue hues, sweeping beaches and unspoilt coves, the 'Turquoise Coast' is one of Turkey's natural wonders. Stretching more than 600 miles along the Mediterranean, the country's southwest shore has long been heralded for its beauty, attracting tourists from around the world. But while the sparkling waters look inviting, life under the surface is less so. In recent decades, the area has become severely nature-depleted due to overfishing, illegal fishing, tourism development and climate change. (more)

Ikea Foundation sends shelters to Syria and Turkey as firms offer earthquake aid
24 February 2023 - The Ikea Foundation has sent 5,000 flatpack shelters to southern Turkey and northern Syria to house people left homeless by the earthquake last week, as companies around the world pledge help. Last week the foundation donated another euros 10m [10 million euros] to Medecins Sans Frontieres for healthcare assistance. Dozens of other companies have said they are donating aid including food, medicine, services, and money. (more)

Turkish man plants 30 million saplings and creates forest on once-barren land
13 February 2022 - Hikmet Kaya has proved that good intentions and hard work can yield big rewards. The retired Turkish forest management chief has posed proudly in front of the barren land that he and his team have transformed into a lush forest. Working together with his team and villagers, he brought in and planted 30,000,000 saplings over the course of his tenure. Long after his retirement, these trees have continued to grow; and today, this barren stepped land has undergone an incredible transformation. (more)

Turkish man strikes up 37-year friendship with swan
8 February 2021 - An unusual friendship between a Turkish man and a swan he rescued has endured for decades. Recep Mirzan and a group of friends were taking a shortcut in their car when they noticed the swan, with a broken wing, in an empty field. Mirzan immediately took the swan in to protect her from predators and kept her in the car until that afternoon, when he was able to take the swan to his home. Since then, Garip has lived on the man's farm in the Karaagac region, bordering Greece. (more)

The forgotten stones that still inspire Turks to help their neighbors
24 August 2020 - When Turkey suspended mass prayers in mid-March to try to stop the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, shoe racks at the entrance to Dedeman Mosque in northern Istanbul stood empty. And as businesses around the city shut their doors, the mosque's young imam, Abdulsamet Cakir, knew that the pockets of some members of his community might soon be empty as well. He dragged the shoe racks into the garden to clean them off and then filled them with some groceries. 'Then I called up some of the people in the neighborhood who I thought might be in need and invited them to come take what they wanted.' Word of Cakir's initiative spread quickly. Soon it was drawing recipients from all around Istanbul, and donors and media attention from across Turkey, and even abroad. But what seemed like a novel idea for pandemic times was actually inspired by a very old tradition: the sadaka tasi, or charity stone. (more)

Turkey's unique hand-sanitizing method
8 April 2020 - For hundreds of years, this Ottoman-era cologne has been synonymous with Turkish hospitality. Now, it's being used to fight coronavirus. As commercial hand sanitizers run dry in the US and Europe, people in Turkey are turning to a traditional, aromatic fragrance that has taken on a whole new relevance amid the coronavirus pandemic: kolonya. (more)

In Turkey, keeping a language of whistles alive
30 May 2019 - Before cellphones, Turkish 'bird language' allowed farmers to communicate across long distances in the Pontic Mountains. ... kus dili, or 'bird language,' ... transforms the full Turkish vocabulary into varied-pitch frequencies and melodic lines. (more)

Istanbul vending machines offer subway credit for recycled bottles and cans
17 October 2018 - The city of Istanbul is installing 'reverse vending machines' at metro stations that allow passengers to add credit to their subway cards simply by inserting a plastic bottle or aluminum can into the machine. The initiative aims to encourage recycling in the city of more than 15 million people, where recycling practices are scant or indifferent. But the alternative way of paying to travel is sure to be welcomed by commuters ... (more)

Turkey expected to reach 14 GW of solar in 2023
4 October 2018 - Turkish solar energy association, Gunder has released a new Solar Energy Map, which predicts that PV could reach a cumulative capacity of around 14 GW in 2023. This means that an additional capacity of more than 11 GW will have to be deployed in the country over the next five years, given that in mid-2018, total registered unlicensed solar power reached 4.8 GW (AC), according to the association's report. (more)

Turkey, Netherlands to reappoint ambassadors in couple of months: Cavusoglu
20 July 2018 - Turkey and the Netherlands will reappoint ambassadors in the next couple of months, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Friday (20 July), after the NATO allies agreed to normalize ties following more than a year of diplomatic tensions. (more)

---

Success of Maharishi's Programmes
Short Summaries of Top Stories

Turkey: Maharishi Vastu conference in Istanbul draws developers, builders, architects from Middle East and Asia
4 May 2019 - Developers, builders, architects and engineers from the Middle East and Asia met together in Istanbul, Turkey, last month at a conference on Garden Cities and Communities for a Sustainable Future. The conference introduced participants to Maharishi Vastu architecture - ancient principles of proportion, placement, and orientation of buildings and planning, combined with up-to-date lifestyle trends including sustainability, community-building, and wellness. Architects who coordinate Maharishi Vastu projects around the world presented details on community design and led master-planning design workshops. The working groups produced designs for eight Vastu communities planned for the Middle East and Cyprus. (more)

Prevent terrorism utilizing the most advanced and cost-effective technology
7 March 2016 - Dr David Leffler, in a letter published by The Turkish Sun, presents Invincible Defense Technology (IDT) as a way for Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to prevent terrorism. By deploying a proven, advanced human resource-based military technology, these specially trained IDT Prevention Wings of the Military reduce national and cross-border collective stress. The IDT soldier's daily routine includes the practice of the non-religious Transcendental Meditation technique and its advanced programs, which creates a palpable influence of peace that permeates the surrounding environment. Dr Leffler reports that military field tests and 23 peer-reviewed studies have shown that the technology quickly, effectively, and efficiently ends turmoil. He points out that this approach to reducing stress and violence is already part of the training of Brazil's Elite Police force, and has been field-tested by other militaries worldwide. (more)

Protecting Turkey: How to confidently achieve and maintain Middle East stability
19 October 2014 - Dr David Leffler, Executive Director at the Center for Advanced Military Science (CAMS) in Fairfield, Iowa writes that 'a statistical guarantee of stability, based on empirical evidence, is only attainable with the advanced military technology, Invincible Defence Technology (IDT).' He adds, 'a scientifically-validated defence strategy would protect Turkey by preventing hostility and conflict before they arise both within and outside the country.' (more)

Young leaders invited to first Global Enlightened Leadership Summit: 18-25 January in Turkey
1 January 2014 - The first Global Enlightened Leadership Summit (GELS) will convene 18-25 January in the beautiful setting of Antalya, Turkey. GELS is 'for all young leaders--those currently practising Transcendental Meditation and those who wish to learn'--a global network, all sharing a common desire to create a world of new enlightened leaders, governing from the deepest level of silence in their own consciousness. Attendees not yet practising Transcendental Meditation can learn the technique during the Summit, to be held at a 5-star hotel overlooking the Mediterranean. Concurrent with GELS is a conference of TM practitioners coming from many countries to create coherence and peace for the Middle East through their group meditations. (more)

Turkey: Natural health care, Vastu architecture, advanced meditation courses expanding
18 July 2013 - In the past year groundbreaking took place for the first Maharishi Peace Palace in Turkey. When completed the three-storey building, located in Istanbul, will be 1,000 square metres. The Peace Palace will be a home for the programmes of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, including Transcendental Meditation, and a lighthouse of harmony and peace for the area through participants' group meditations. (more)

Third Annual Middle East World Peace Assembly convenes in Turkey: Participants from 13 countries meditate together, create coherence and harmony
14 February 2013 - One hundred fifty participants from 13 countries convened for the Third Annual Middle East World Peace Assembly, 11-19 January in Antalya, Turkey. The participants were all advanced meditators who practised Transcendental Meditation and Yogic Flying together every day--a technology of consciousness shown by published scientific research to reduce violence and conflict, and create coherence and harmony in society. In a news article about the assembly, an Israeli journalist who was a participant wrote: 'Leave politics aside. In Turkey, Israelites, Palestinians, Iranians, Lebanese, and Egyptians who know how to bring peace to the area gathered together. On the agenda: Transcendental Meditation, including Yogic Flying together.' (more)

Turkey: Positive news reflects rising coherence in the nation through Maharishi's programmes
3 October 2011 - Initiatives in Turkey to promote social coherence through more people learning Transcendental Meditation and making use of its advanced programmes, are being reflected in news reports of rising positive trends in the nation, Transcendental Meditation teachers commented recently. (more)

Turkey: Bringing more approaches of Maharishi Ayur-Veda health care to the public
29 September 2011 - Maharishi Ayur-Veda health care has been expanding in Turkey, with more of its many valuable approaches becoming available for the public in the past year--including consultations with a renowned Vaidya (expert Ayurvedic physician from India), Vedic Aromatherapy, and Maharishi Light Therapy with Gems. (more)

Turkey: International courses aim to create coherence and harmony for Middle East
26 September 2011 - The first in a series of special international courses was held this summer, in a beautiful location in the mountains of Turkey. A main theme of the course was health--people from many countries enjoyed a variety of programmes and approaches of Maharishi Ayur-Veda health care, with training also held for medical doctors. All the participants practised Transcendental Meditation and its advanced techniques, and the course also inaugurated a one-year programme of advanced meditators' courses, with the goal of creating a continuous influence of peace, harmony, and coherence for the Middle East. (more)

Turkey: Meditators creating influence of peace for the region
8 June 2011 - Inspired by a large World Peace Assembly featuring group practice of Transcendental Meditation and its advanced programmes, held earlier this year in Turkey, continuous assemblies are planned from August through April to help create an influence of peace and harmony in the region. (more)

---

Flops
Short Summaries of Top Stories

Hope fades for survivors as Turkey-Syria earthquake toll passes 20,000
9 February 2023 - Cold, hunger, and despair gripped hundreds of thousands of people left homeless after the earthquakes that struck Turkey and Syria three days ago as the death toll passed 20,000 on Thursday [9 February]. ...The death toll across both countries has now surpassed the more than 17,000 killed in 1999 when a similarly powerful earthquake hit northwest Turkey. (more)

Earthquake death toll in Turkey and Syria surpasses 5,000
7 February 2023 - Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay said on Tuesday [7 February]that the death toll from the earthquakes centred in southeastern Turkey rose to 3,419, bringing the total including those killed in Syria to more than 5,000. (more)

Explainer: Why was the Turkey-Syria earthquake so bad?
6 February 2023 - The magnitude 7.8 earthquake that struck Turkey and Syria on Monday [6 February] is likely to be one of the deadliest this decade, seismologists said, with a more than 100 km (62 miles) rupture between the Anatolian and Arabian plates. Here is what scientists said happened beneath the earth's surface and what to expect in the aftermath: (more)

Major earthquake kills 3,700 in Turkey and Syria, weather hits survivors
6 February 2023 - Quake strikes central Turkey, northwest Syria. Rescuers hunt for untold numbers trapped in rubble. A huge earthquake killed more than 3,700 people across a swathe of Turkey and northwest Syria on Monday [6 February], with freezing winter weather adding to the plight of the thousands left injured or homeless and hampering efforts to find survivors. The magnitude 7.8 quake brought down whole apartment blocks in Turkish cities and piled more devastation on millions of Syrians displaced by years of war. (more)

What to know about the big quake that hit Turkey and Syria
6 February 2023 - A 7.8 magnitude earthquake that struck Monday devastated wide swaths of Turkey and Syria, killing thousands of people. The quake hit at depth of 11 miles (18 kilometers) and was centered in southern Turkey, near the northern border of Syria, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. Many aftershocks have rocked the area since the initial quake. ...Another strong quake -- magnitude 7.5 -- hit Turkey nine hours after the main jolt. Though scientists were studying whether that was an aftershock, they agreed that the two quakes are related. (more)

Turkish households despair as inflation nears 80 percent
25 July 2022 - Turks are cutting spending to the bone, with little hope of relief from soaring living costs in the coming months. Annual inflation has soared to 24-year highs of nearly 80 percent, according to official data, while academics and researchers at the independent Inflation Research Group say the true figure is more than double that. (more)

Turkey battles wind-driven wildfire near resort for 3rd day
23 June 2022 - Firefighting crews battled for a third day on Thursday [23 June] a wind-driven wildfire that has blackened swaths of pine forest near a popular resort in southwestern Turkey and driven hundreds of people from their homes. More than 2,500 firefighters, aided by water-dropping planes and helicopters, were deployed to fight the blaze that erupted on Tuesday [21 June] in the Bordubet region, near Marmaris on the Aegean Sea coast. The blaze spread rapidly, fanned by winds. ... Extended drought conditions in several Mediterranean countries, a heat wave last week that reached northern Germany and high fuel costs for aircraft needed to fight wildfires have heightened concerns across Europe this summer. (more)

Big wildfire forces evacuations near Turkish Marmaris resort
22 June 2022 - More than a thousand firefighters, aided by water-dropping planes and helicopters, on Wednesday [22 June] battled a wildfire that erupted overnight near a popular resort in southwestern Turkey forcing dozens of home evacuations. The fire erupted Tuesday evening in the Bordubet region, near Marmaris on Turkey's Aegean coast. It spread rapidly, fanned by strong winds, the state-run Anadolu Agency reported. (more)

Turkey's Lake Tuz dries up due to climate change, farming
28 October 2021 - For centuries, Lake Tuz in central Turkey has hosted huge colonies of flamingos that migrate and breed there when the weather is warm, feeding on algae in the lake's shallow waters. The 1,665 square kilometer (643 square mile) lake -- Turkey's second-largest lake and home to several bird species -- has entirely receded this year. Experts say Lake Tuz (Salt Lake in Turkish) is a victim of climate change-induced drought, which has hit the region hard, and decades of harmful agricultural policies that exhausted the underground water supply. (more)

Devastated by wildfires, Turkey's beekeepers see grim future
18 August 2021 - Turkey's wildfires have left little behind, turning green forests into ashen, barren hills. The destruction is being intensely felt by Turkey's beekeepers, who have lost thousands of hives as well as the pine trees and the insects their bees depend on. Twelve days of deadly wildfires have dealt a major blow to Turkey's honey industry and even its longer term prospects appear bleak. (more)