Turks savor small doses of heartwarming news
Though Turkey's various crises continue to bubble, the recent news wasn't all bad.
Good news is hard to come by in Turkey these days. From further arrests of journalists to endless diplomatic spats, things seem to be going from bad to worse. But that's not to say there isn’t any. An attentive reader can unearth some happy stories. Take today’s news, for instance:
The pro-government daily Yeni Akit reported that a pair of creative surgeons at a state-run hospital in the central Anatolian city of Nevsehir treated burn injuries on a four-year-old boy’s foot by grafting foreskin from a circumcised penis onto the affected area. The patient has been discharged and is recovering.
Another pro-government title, Daily Sabah, ran heartwarming news about how Turkish authorities are helping to evacuate stranded zoo animals from war-ravaged Aleppo. Turkey’s Forestry and Water Affairs Ministry teamed up with Austrian charity Four Paws to rescue three lions, two tigers, two bears and two hyenas from the Magic World zoo. The starving creatures were brought to a shelter in Bursa, western Turkey, where they will be treated for trauma and injuries they sustained during the violence. Two more lions and a pair of wild dogs will be brought in later this month. Forestry Minister Veysel Eroglu called the animals “a shared heritage of the international community.”
The mass-circulation Hurriyet shared an announcement from the Istanbul Metro Authority about tackling the global commuter plague of "manspreading." Following the example of Madrid, Istanbul will take action to deter tube passengers from sprawling their legs. Measures to deter such violations of other passengers' personal space will include signage depicting offenders with a big red X.
