Thousands of vessels cross key whale habitats in the Mediterranean at speeds above 15 knots, a lethal threshold for endangered sperm and fin whales. This investigation reveals the dense maritime traffic threat and the urgent policy solutions needed to protect them. Learn more! 👇️ 🧵

Can we stop ships from killing the Mediterranean’s last great whales?

Collisions with ships are a leading anthropogenic killer of the Mediterranean’s two endangered large-bodied cetacean species, sperm and fin whales. In 2025, thousands of vessels traveled through the…

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In 2025, Turkey imported a record 503,000 tons of European plastic waste. This figure is expected to grow with a revamp of the EU's waste regulations in November. @woutermassink.bsky.social reports on the illicit dumping and downstream effects in Adana: www.turkeyrecap.com/p/the-adana-...

And current trends show little sign of slowing despite the recent cooling of Turkey’s official inflation rate. For more details, see @woutermassink.bsky.social new report: 📈 The cost of living crisis: Why middle-income earners are struggling in Turkey

The cost of living crisis: Why middle-income earners are struggling in Turkey

ISTANBUL—In the mid-2010s, when Turkey’s economy was still running strong, Deniz Akkar was a newly appointed public school teacher working in central Istanbul.

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In recent decades, an estimated 186 of 240 lakes have dried up in Turkey. The steady decline of freshwater resources is driven not only by climate change and drought, but also by weak safeguards and mismanagement. @woutermassink.bsky.social reports from Manisa: www.turkeyrecap.com/p/beyond-dro...

“The deaths of delivery drivers are not because of individual mistakes. Couriers are dying, being killed, as a result of the system," Mesut Çeki said. @woutermassink.bsky.social & @daniel-b-thorpe.bsky.social report on the high rate of workplace deaths in Turkey: www.turkeyrecap.com/p/1736-death...

A late-spring frost cut Turkey’s apricot output from 750,000 tons to 10,000 this year. Many other crops were damaged, deepening pressure on global and domestic food prices, which were already rising at a record rate in Turkey. @woutermassink.bsky.social reports: www.turkeyrecap.com/p/cost-of-co...

6.2 earthquake and aftershocks hit Istanbul today. Luckily there doesn't seem to be much physical damage. But the issue of lack of safe gathering spaces in the wake of "urban development" is starkly clear. @turkeyrecap.bsky.social did great reporting on this. www.turkeyrecap.com/p/out-of-spa...

Out of space: Lack of safe zones deepens İstanbul’s earthquake risks

Although provisions were established after İstanbul’s last major tremor – the 1999 İzmit earthquake – experts say Turkey’s largest city remains without adequate safe zones, or assembly areas like park...

turkeyrecap.com

The CHP has called İmamoğlu’s arrest a “coup” intended to block him from running for president. To channel and sustain the resulting outrage, the opposition party has put forward a strategy consisting of three main initiatives. @woutermassink.bsky.social reports from Saturday's Maltepe rally:

Cornered but energized: Turkey’s opposition ramps up pressure for early vote

İSTANBUL — Hundreds of thousands of people gathered in Maltepe, İstanbul Saturday, March 29, for the "Freedom for İmamoğlu" rally, demanding the release of the city’s imprisoned mayor – and now the op...

turkeyrecap.com

Ölü bir denize doğru: Müsilaj kış ortasında Marmara’ya dönüyor @woutermassink.bsky.social'in haberi:

Ölü bir denize doğru: Müsilaj kış ortasında Marmara’ya dönüyor

İSTANBUL — Ekokırım, çevresel felaket, ölü bölge… Uzmanlar doğru kavram üzerine tartışabilir fakat uyarılarında ortaklaşıyor: Marmara Denizi vahim bir durumda.

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"It's a full-scale environmental disaster," Prof. Mustafa Sarı said. With the resurgence of sea snot in cold winter months, experts and fishers fear marine life in the Marmara Sea could face a mass die-off event this spring and summer. @woutermassink.bsky.social reports:

Dawn of the dead zone: Winter mucilage outbreak strangles Turkey's Marmara Sea

İSTANBUL — With the resurgence of sea snot in cold winter months, experts and fishers fear a mass die-off of marine life in the Marmara Sea as temperatures climb this spring and summer, further fuelin...

turkeyrecap.com

Years of unchecked urban development have turned many of İstanbul’s vacant lots into apartments and shopping malls, leaving residents few areas to gather during emergencies. @woutermassink.bsky.social and Boran Göksel report using open source data and spatial analysis:

Out of space: Lack of safe zones deepens İstanbul’s earthquake risks

Although provisions were established after İstanbul’s last major tremor – the 1999 İzmit earthquake – experts say Turkey’s largest city remains without adequate safe zones, or assembly areas like park...

turkeyrecap.com

For Turkey Recap, Wouter Massink and I dive into the world's #1 destination for used European mega-ships: the shores of Aliağa, Turkey 🇹🇷 , whose workers are fighting for recognition and compensation of their occupational diseases linked to asbestos exposure 👇 www.turkeyrecap.com/p/where-ship...

Where ships and men come to die: Turkey’s hazardous ship-breaking industry

ALİAĞA — On the last day of August 2024, İbrahim Karakaya was finishing some work before lunch.

turkeyrecap.com

Aliağa hosts the fourth-largest ship dismantling area in the world. It’s also the most popular destination for EU vessels. Despite this, Aliağa remains marred by a lack of safety standards and poor labor conditions Wouter Massink and Lyse Mauvais report:

Where ships and men come to die: Turkey’s hazardous ship-breaking industry

ALİAĞA — On the last day of August 2024, İbrahim Karakaya was finishing some work before lunch.

turkeyrecap.com