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According to the British "Times Higher Education (THE) World Universities Impact Rankings" Turkey became the second country with the largest number of universities in the world after India. Phil Betty, global relations specialist at THE, said he was particularly impressed by the position of Turkish universities in the THE 2024 Impact Rankings ranking: "Turkey, as the second country with the second largest number of universities in the world (100 universities), is demonstrating its reputation in creating social and economic impact in accordance with the UN Sustainable Development Goals. This is even more impressive in an environment where 447 more universities are ranked than last year and world competition has increased significantly".

In partnership with the municipality of Aydin and IDO, flights to the Greek islands from Kusadas will begin on June 29. Flights will be organized on Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. The ferry will depart from Kusadasa at 08.00 am and from Patmos at 18.00 pm. Those wishing to visit the Greek islands can buy tickets on the website www.egeadalari.ido.com.tr

The development of technology and the growing trend towards urbanization have affected shepherding, a traditional profession in the agricultural regions of Turkey. The profession, which used to be inherited, today does not attract young people. In the Zara district of Sivas, residents cannot find a shepherd with a salary of 50,000 lire ($1,522 with accommodation and food). Herdsmen suffer financial losses as victims of fraudsters. Zeki Shimshek, president of the District Chamber of Agriculture: "We are faced with such a problem: the shepherd with whom we agreed for 50 thousand lire receives an offer of 61 thousand lire elsewhere and immediately leaves the herd. Even if it is in the mountains, it leaves the animals at the same time. Our ministry must do something about the shortage of shepherds. We must support our youth and the livery industry." H dyr Özt rk, resident of the village of Eimir: "We cannot find people who would graze our animals. We had a deal with three people this year, they said they didn t have the money to come, so I transferred the money to their accounts. When I got the money, they blocked me and turned off my phones. We offer 300,000 lire in exchange for caring for 150 head of cattle for six months. We provide the shepherds with accommodation, food, clothing and every two weeks we will pay a hairdresser. Despite this, we never found a conscientious employee".

According to the report of the Turkish Institute of Statistics TÜIK, the amount of transport on the country s roads increased by 9% compared to the same period last year and amounted to 29.142.942 units. On average, there is one vehicle per Turkish citizen. TOP 10 provinces with the maximum registered number of vehicles: Istanbul - 5.486.007 unitsAnkara - 2,613,515 unitsIzmir - 1.822.733 unitsAntalya - 1.466.017 unitsBursa - 1.159.117 unitsKonya - 868.567 unitsAdana - 830,472 unitsMersin - 776.160 unitsManisa - 731,816 unitsGaziantep - 676,290 units

Minister of Finance and Treasury of Turkey Mehmet Shimshek announced an increase in the number of facilities operating in resort cities. During the summer, the teams will conduct inspections of entertainment establishments, yacht tourism, beach clubs, as well as hotels and hostels. Special attention will be paid to such regions as Antalya, Mugla and Izmir, where in addition to inspection of entertainment establishments, will check the housing, rented out on a daily basis. The Ministry s Revenue Management teams have already drawn up a checklist for these areas. " The results will be followed up. Our fight against the shadow economy will continue to be uncompromising and decisive," said the minister.

The first stage of the Blue Exile Art Project (BEAP) underwater park was opened in Bodrum on the island of Bitez Mevka G režek. The project is implemented in cooperation with the project "Poseidon", Bodrum Municipality, Bodrum Maritime Museum and Rotary Club "Blue Aegean Sea". Selen Jambazoglu, project coordinator and manager of the Bodrum Marine Museum: "There are similar underwater parks in the world and in our country, however, we can show Bodrum Underwater Park as the only underwater park that combines ecology and art. The theme of the underwater park in 2024 was "Oxygen". We want to draw attention to the fact that the most important source of oxygen in our world are the seas. We are trying to show how important it is to respect the marine ecosystem in order to preserve the purity of the water in Bodrum, the abundance of marine life and the wealth of our shores. I would like to thank everyone who contributed to the creation of the BEAP Underwater Park".

The Department of Cultural Property of the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IBB) restored Makam Taksim, one of the symbolic Ottoman heritage buildings built during the reign of Sultan Mahmud I, and turned it into a museum. The opening ceremony was attended by the mayor of Istanbul Ekrem Imamoglu. Taksim Maksemi, from which the name of Taksim Square derives, is a structure where the water flowing into the city from the Taksim Water Pipes built by Mahmud I. Taksim Maxem is an important Ottoman construction, which has been active in meeting the city s water needs for hundreds of years. The museum exhibits the history of the Turkish Republic and the personal belongings of Mustafa Kemal Atat rk. The Museum of the Republic can be visited from 10.00 to 19.00 every day except Monday.Address: Binbirdirek, At Meydanı Cd, 34122 Fatih/İstanbulEntrance tickets: full - 50 lire, for privileged categories of citizens - 15 lire, tourist - 100 lire.

According to the decree amending certain articles of the current Law 5199 on the protection of animal rights, the fine for those who abandon their animals will be increased tenfold, from 5,000 to 50,000 Turkish lire. The decree also specifies that shelters will not accommodate all homeless animals, but only those who pose a threat to the life and security of citizens. Harmless sterilized dogs, who are cared for and fed by residents of neighbourhoods, will not be touched or returned to the place of residence after sterilization. The proposal is expected to be presented to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan after the Kurban Bayram, then discussed with the opposition and submitted to Parliament.

The airline Turkish Airlines has entered into a black list of Nedim Shahin, the owner of the catering network "Baruthane Pilavcısı", for the fact that he ate pilaf his own mark on the flight of the airline. During the flight, Shahin demonstrably took out the pilaf with the logo "Baruthane Pilavcısı" and ate it instead of the food provided by the airline. He shared the video on social networks. Shaheen was blacklisted for damaging the THY brand and banned him from using the airline s services for a year.

The fee for vessels transiting the Turkish Strait will increase on 1 July to $5.07. This was announced by the Minister of Transport and Infrastructure of Turkey Abdulkadir Uraloglu. "For the first time in 39 years, the fee for passage through the Straits was increased on October 7, 2022 to $4.08. Then from July 1, 2023 the fee was increased to $4.42. This year, from July 1, the fee will be $5.07. In the future, fees for passage through the Straits will be updated annually on July 1," - said Uraloglu. According to the Montreux Convention, vessels transiting the Turkish Straits are charged three charges: sanitary inspection, lighthouses and rescue operations. The calculation of fees is based on the net tonnage of ships (NRT) and the unit of measurement is "gold francs" indexed to the price of an ounce of gold. If we consider a ship of 10,000 net tonnage, then until the first update in 2022, the fee for passage for such a vessel was a total of $3,240. After July 1, 2024, this vessel will pay already $20,370. Thus, the fees will be increased by 6,3 times. "Thanks to the fees charged, we are constantly improving our infrastructure and traffic monitoring systems to improve the safety of navigation as well as the environmental safety of the Turkish Straits, one of the most risky narrow waterways in the world. Raising the fee will also increase the inflow of foreign currency into the state treasury of Turkey," said the minister.

On June 24, G Randevu Sistemi (GRS) will start working in Turkey, a system for recording and tracking rendezvous when applying for residence permits. You can log in to GRS via e-devlet or via https:/randevu.goc.gov.tr/ (starting from June 24). It is reported that the system will keep all data of a foreigner in the personal profile. It will be able to track the entire history of appeals, view documents, etc. Thanks to the system, foreigners will be able to make an appointment without re-entering data. Official Source: https://goc.gov.tr/yenilenen-goc-randevu-sistemi In addition, the original documents will now be submitted to notaries. Thus, the application process for residence permits will be as follows:

In recent years, there has been an upward trend in foreign direct investment from Turkey, including real estate investment. For example, all world media reported that a Turkish citizen bought "one of the most expensive residences in the world" in Dubai in 2023. According to Mehmet Kaya of Ekonomimcom, Turkish investment in overseas real estate in January-April 2024 exceeded the same period of the record 2023, when the volume of investment amounted to 2 billion. 86 million dollars. Since the beginning of 2024, real estate investments accounted for 41.3% of total foreign investment ($2.4 billion). In January-April this year, investments in foreign real estate increased by 56.4% compared to the same period in 2023. It is predicted that last year s annual record may be broken in 2024. Share of investments in foreign real estate by year (% of total investments): 2020 - 8.9 per cent2021 - 11.4 per cent2022 - 16.2 per cent2023 - 36.8 per cent2024 (January-April) - 41.3 per cent