Debris clearance ends at the deadly Maltepe building collapse site, Turkey publishes age-limit rules for social media, the first high-speed train runs from Edirne, and an Anadolu photojournalist is wounded covering the West Bank olive harvest.

In this episode

• Maltepe Building Collapse: Debris Clearance Work Completed at Site
• Turkey Publishes Regulation Setting Age Limits for Social Media Users
• Passengers Board First High-Speed Train Service Between Edirne and Çerkezköy
• Israeli Forces Wound Anadolu Photojournalist With Rubber Bullet in West Bank

Transcript

Deniz: Good morning, everyone. Welcome to Turkey Brief Daily. It's Saturday, October 10. Today — a deadly building collapse in Istanbul reaches its final stage, Turkey sets new age rules for social media, and a historic train journey kicks off in Thrace.

Maya: And a photojournalist gets hurt while covering the olive harvest in the West Bank. Let's get into it.

Deniz: We start in Maltepe, Istanbul. Clearance operations are now complete at the site of a seven-storey building whose lower three floors collapsed earlier this week.

Maya: And five people died.

Deniz: Five. Four died at the scene and one in hospital. Residents trapped on the upper floors that didn't collapse were evacuated. Search and rescue teams looked for fourteen people under the rubble — nine were pulled out alive.

Maya: So the search is over, but the investigation is just starting.

Deniz: Right. The Istanbul Anatolian Chief Public Prosecutor's Office has opened an inquiry, and it's ongoing. The municipality has fenced off the plot, put up police tape and closed the area to traffic.

Maya: OK. Next story — this one will touch a lot of our listeners. Turkey has published a regulation setting age limits for social media.

Deniz: Yes. It was prepared by the Presidency's Cybersecurity Directorate. Under the rules, providers will not be allowed to offer services to children under fifteen.

Maya: Fifteen. And how do they check that?

Deniz: Age verification runs through the e-Devlet gateway — an "age verification token." The regulation is careful to say it only determines the age threshold, not identity. So protecting personal data is paramount.

Maya: Right. And what happens to the kids who are allowed on?

Deniz: Accounts of children over fifteen fall under a dedicated children's service. Those accounts are private by default, with high privacy settings. Live streaming and personalized advertising are prohibited, and children can receive messages only from accounts they follow.

Maya: Hm, that's a big change for the platforms.

Deniz: It is. Now a much lighter story — Thrace got its first high-speed train service today.

Maya: Oh, nice.

Deniz: Passengers gathered at Edirne Station early this morning. The first service on the new Çerkezköy-Kapıkule line departed at nine. One traveler said the old trains took seven hours from Edirne to Istanbul. Another said she'll now reach Çerkezköy in fifty-five minutes, instead of arriving at one in the afternoon.

Maya: Fifty-five minutes. That's a huge difference.

Deniz: Exactly. And passengers said it opens up the European route. Finally, Anadolu Agency photojournalist Issam Rimawi was injured by a rubber bullet fired by Israeli soldiers while covering an olive harvest in the West Bank village of Deir Mesal, near Ramallah.

Maya: He was wearing press gear?

Deniz: He and other journalists were wearing press vests and helmets identifying them as media. He was struck in the right calf and taken to a local hospital.

Maya: That's a sharp reminder of the risks reporters face.

Deniz: It is. And that's it for this morning. Head to turkeybrief dot com to read the full stories. Thanks for listening.

Maya: Have a good weekend, everyone.

Voices in this episode are AI-generated. Stories are based on Turkey Brief's reporting.