Mehmet Kasapoğlu

Mahmut Ustaosmanoğlu, a Turkish Sufi sheikh and the leader of the influential İsmailağa Jamia of the Naqshbandi-Khalidiyya Tariqah, died on June 23 at the age of 93.

According to a statement by the tariqah, his funeral service will be held on June 24, in Istanbul's Fatih district where the movement is centered.

With the participation of some 150 athletes from 15 countries, the eastern province of Şırnak, once associated with terror, is now preparing to host its first international tennis tournament, the country's sports and youth minister has said.

"The noise of the tennis rackets will echo on the foot of Mount Cudi," Mehmet Kasapoğlu told the Daily Milliyet.

The Turkish president on Oct. 29 inaugurated the Atatürk Cultural Center in Turkey's metropolitan Istanbul.

Speaking at the inauguration ceremony on the 98th anniversary of the foundation of the Republic of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said: "We are striving to repay our debt to the founders of our republic by setting out our 2023 goals and working day and night to achieve them."

A dispute over coronavirus procedures has led to the cancellation of an Tuesday friendly football match, with Turkish side Galatasaray pointing discrimination, rude and unfair treatment by Greek officials at the airport.

Top Turkish sports officials and bodies on April 19 took a stand against plans for a breakaway European football league.

Youth and Sports Minister Mehmet Kasapoğlu took to Twitter to criticize the European Super League project, saying it violates the "principle of participation," which he said is a value of all sports organizations.

Turkish athlete Göksu Üçtaş Şanlı won the silver medal in seniors' floor in the Women's Artistic Gymnastics 2020 European Championships in the Mediterranean province of Mersin on Dec. 20.

Şanlı racked up a total of 13,100 points to come in second in the seniors final.

Turkish pentathlete İlke Özyüksel bagged a gold medal on Nov. 20 in the Modern Pentathlon U24 Junior European Championships in Drzonkow, Poland.

"I'm very happy to have achieved such success during the coronavirus [pandemic]. Although it was the beginning of the season, we achieved our best," Özyüksel told Anadolu Agency.

As Turkey moves towards normalization from the coronavirus outbreak, quarantines for recently returned expatriates are coming to a close.

There are no citizens left in quarantine in dormitories in Turkey, said Mehmet Kasapoğlu, the youth and sports minister, on May 23. 

More than 28,000 Turkish citizens are in quarantine after returning from abroad as part of measures to stem the spread of the novel coronavirus, an official said on May 3.

A total of 28,700 citizens are in isolation at dormitories across 76 provinces, said Youth and Sports Minister Mehmet Kasapoğlu.

Nearly 13,000 citizens who came from abroad are currently in quarantine in Turkey as part of measures to mitigate the spread of the novel coronavirus, the country's youth and sports minister said on April 14. 

A total of 12,912 citizens are under quarantine at dormitories across 57 provinces, said Mehmet Kasapoğlu.