TÜRKIYE
Türkiye gears up for May 19 holiday as athletes carry soil from Atatürk’s birthplace
As millions across Türkiye prepare to celebrate the May 19 Commemoration of Atatürk, Youth and Sports Day, officials have brought soil from modern Türkiye founder Mustafa Kemal Atatürk’s birthplace in Thessaloniki as a symbolic tribute to the start of the nation’s War of Independence.