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Extra! Greek Crisis, European Front Pages


Le Soir, June 29, 2015

The European and Greek flags billow beside each other under the headline "Disunion" on the front page of today's Le Soir, a Brussels-based daily. Negotiations between Athens and its European creditors collapsed over the weekend, plunging the continent into a new depth of uncertainty and crisis.

After European officials rejected the Greek government's final offer for reforms in exchange for an extension of the bailout, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras called a referendum on the bailout terms, set to take place next Sunday, July 5th. The proposals included further cuts to pensions and a rise in sales tax, which Tsipras' left-wing government deems too harsh to accept for an economy already suffering from years of austerity. If voters reject the terms, Greece will be forced to default on its debt, which could force its exit from the Eurozone.

Greece's current bailout expires Tuesday, when it must also make a $1.7 billion payment to the International Monetary Fund. Athens' request for a temporary extension of aid until the referendum was rejected, and the European Central Bank ordered Greek banks to remain closed today, forcing the government to impose capital controls after bank withdrawals spiked over the past few days.

With the impending end of Greece's economic lifeline and a precarious referendum campaign to prepare for, citizens and leaders across Europe look ahead to a week of tension and uncertainty. Here's are some front pages Monday from the European press:

GREECE

GERMANY

ITALY

UNITED KINGDOM

FRANCE

SPAIN

NETHERLANDS

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FOCUS: Russia-Ukraine War

That Man In Mariupol: Is Putin Using A Body Double To Avoid Public Appearances?

Putin really is meeting with Xi in Moscow — we know that. But there are credible experts saying that the person who showed up in Mariupol the day before was someone else — the latest report that the Russian president uses a doppelganger for meetings and appearances.

screen grab of Putin in a dark down jacket

During the visit to Mariupol, the Presidential office only released screen grabs of a video

Russian President Press Office/TASS via ZUMA
Anna Akage

Have no doubt, the Vladimir Putin we’re seeing alongside Xi Jinping this week is the real Vladimir Putin. But it’s a question that is being asked after a range of credible experts have accused the Russian president of sending a body double for a high-profile visit this past weekend in the occupied Ukrainian city of Mariupol.

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Reports and conspiracy theories have circulated in the past about the Russian leader using a stand-in because of health or security issues. But the reaction to the Kremlin leader's trip to Mariupol is the first time that multiple credible sources — including those who’ve spent time with him in the past — have cast doubt on the identity of the man who showed up in the southeastern Ukrainian city that Russia took over last spring after a months-long siege.

Russian opposition politician Gennady Gudkov is among those who confidently claim that a Putin look-alike, or rather one of his look-alikes, was in the Ukrainian city.

"Now that there is a war going on, I don't rule out the possibility that someone strongly resembling or disguised as Putin is playing his role," Gudkov said.

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