Malatya

The Ankara-Diyarbakır Touristic Train has officially started service on April 19, departing from the historic railway station in the capital Ankara, offering immersive experiences to explore more of the country's rich landscapes.

Supreme Election Council (YSK) head Ahmet Yener has announced that preparations for the upcoming local elections in the earthquake-stricken region of southern Türkiye are complete.

"As of now, our schools and container areas are ready for the elections," Yener told the media in the earthquake-hit city of Diyarbakır on March 7.

The devastating twin earthquakes in early February last year affected not only buildings but also the economy of southern Türkiye.

Before the earthquakes, Adıyaman's economy was based on two main pillars: Agriculture and livestock, and textile factories, which accounted for almost 90 percent of the city's industry. Food, construction and building materials were also produced.

World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Türkiye has initiated a disaster recovery project in Malatya, one of the provinces severely impacted by the devastating February earthquakes.

The "Restorative Village" project, aligned with WWF Türkiye's "green recovery" call, aims to establish earthquake-resistant homes that are "harmonious with nature."

A magnitude 5.3 earthquake shook southern Türkiye on Aug. 10, causing damage to buildings and wounding 23 people, Turkish officials said.

Dried apricot exports from Malatya, which was among the several provinces affected by the powerful earthquakes that hit Türkiye's south in early February, increased by 2 tons in the January-April period from a year ago.

Malatya accounts for 85 percent of the apricot production in the world.

Expert teams from the General Directorate of Cultural Heritage and Museums have recovered 288 artifacts from many historical and cultural buildings that were destroyed in the earthquakes.

While almost none of the buildings in the southeastern province of Malatya's Bostanbaşı neighborhood collapsed in the earthquakes, the buildings that looked intact on the outside were almost completely ruined on the inside.

The death toll in Turkey from last month's major earthquakes has risen to 48,448, Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said on Monday, as authorities rush to set up container cities to house for the longer-term those left homeless by the disaster.

The combined death toll including those killed in Syria has climbed to more than 54,000.

At least seven people were killed and nine injured when a minibus collided with a cargo truck in the Central Anatolian province of Sivas on Sept. 1.