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Extra! In Italy, Mediterranean Kills In Two Different Ways

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Two very different tragedy-at-sea stories occupied the front page of Thursday's Rome-based daily La Repubblica.

The Italian island of Lampedusa was once again witness to the horror of would-be immigrants dying after setting out from North Africa in an attempt to reach European shores. As many as 300 people were feared dead after taking a boat from Libya. La Repubblica's headline called the situation the "Infinite Shame," and quoted Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi as calling on Europe as a whole to contribute to stemming the tide of desperate migrants making the perilous journey. Renzi also noted that the growing instability on the ground in Libya is contributing to people leaving the country.

Meanwhile, farther north along the Mediterranean was the setting of La Repubblica's centerpiece photograph showing Italian cruise ship captain Francesco Schettino, who was sentenced Wednesday to 16 years for his role in the deaths of 32 people in the January 2012 Costa Concordia sinking off the Italian island of Giglio. Prosecutors had asked for a 26-year sentence. Schettino will remain free as he appeals the verdict, which could take years to conclude.

Here's a video of Schettino, who has denied wrongdoing, saying "part of me died also on that day."

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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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