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Weird

Poopgate: Is Beloved Istanbul Street Dog Caught In Turkey’s Political Dirty Tricks?

Boji the dog was giving a good image to Istanbul's public transportation system. Some wonder if opponents of the mayor exercised the canine nuclear option...

Poopgate: Is Beloved Istanbul Street Dog Caught In Turkey’s Political Dirty Tricks?

The innocent Boji rides public transportation in Istanbul

Hannah Steinkopf-Frank

Boji, a street dog in Istanbul, has garnered national and international acclaim in recent weeks for his ability to navigate the Turkish megapolis all on his own — commuting on the metro, riding ferries and even taking elevators.

According to Getty Images photographer Chris McGrath, who followed him around the city, Boji loves riding the city's trams and trains. The dog's name comes from the word "bogie" ("boji" in Turkish), the framework of a vehicle that houses the wheel and axle, since his favorite spot is sitting on top of the bogie and feeling the vibrations of the engine.


City workers began to take care of Boji and track his movements with a mobile app; and a local dog instructor, Ali Yeşilırmak, set up social media accounts that quickly built major followings, with some reporting that even Istanbul's mayor is a fan.

Awwws to ewwws

But this past Friday evening, the mixed-breed canine was suddenly turned into public (transportation) enemy No. 1 after he was blamed for defecating inside one of the city's trams. On social media, a photo of a turd on a seat went viral , with Boji accused of the crime, reports local daily Hürriyet .

But just hours later, another plot twist was in store: The spokesperson of the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality shared a security camera video from the tram in question, showing a bald man in a sweatshirt taking the piece of poop out of his pocket (yes, gross…) and planting it on the seat. Yeşilırmak also tweeted an alibi to the pooch's 100K+ followers : Boji had been hanging out at the shelter that day.

Here's a good Boji


Why would someone choose to slander man's best friend? The answer might just be politics.

Bilge Ebiri, a journalist and filmmaker, tweeted that Boji has become an unofficial mascot for Istanbul and its mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, a center-left politician, who is seen by many as the strongest rival to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his conservative Justice and Development Party.

Was poopgate the ultimate political stinkbomb to make both Boji and Istanbul look bad?

While Boji's Instagram says that he is still waiting for an apology , he seems to have taken the incident in stride, with little damage to his reputation. Anyway, he has a train to catch.


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FOCUS: Israel-Palestine War

After Abbas: Here Are The Three Frontrunners To Be The Next Palestinian Leader

Israel and the West have often asked: Where is the Palestinian Mandela? The divided regimes between Gaza and the West Bank continues to make it difficult to imagine the future Palestinian leader. Still, these three names are worth considering.

Abbas is 88, and has been the leading Palestinian political figure since 2005

Thaer Ganaim/APA Images via ZUMA
Elias Kassem

Updated Dec. 5, 2023 at 12:05 a.m.

Israel has set two goals for its Gaza war: destroying Hamas and releasing hostages.

But it has no answer to, nor is even asking the question: What comes next?

The government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected the return of the current Palestinian Authority to govern post-war Gaza. That stance seems opposed to the U.S. Administration’s call to revitalize the Palestinian Authority (PA) to assume power in the coastal enclave.

For the latest news & views from every corner of the world, Worldcrunch Today is the only truly international newsletter. Sign up here .

But neither Israel nor the U.S. put a detailed plan for a governing body in post-war Gaza, let alone offering a vision for a bonafide Palestinian state that would also encompass the West Bank.

The Palestinian Authority, which administers much of the occupied West Bank, was created in1994 as part of the Oslo Accords peace agreement. It’s now led by President Mahmoud Abbas, who succeeded Yasser Arafat in 2005. Over the past few years, the question of who would succeed Abbas, now 88 years old, has largely dominated internal Palestinian politics.

But that question has gained new urgency — and was fundamentally altered — with the war in Gaza.

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