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Hard Numbers: Venice bus tragedy, Armenia joins ICC, NYC mayor challenges “right to shelter” law, Biden's border U-turn

The site of the tragedy where a bus fell from the Mestre overpass outside of Venice, Italy.

The site of the tragedy where a bus fell from the Mestre overpass outside of Venice, Italy.

Reuters

21: Italian authorities are using DNA samples to identify some of the still-unknown victims of a devastating bus accident outside Venice that left 21 people dead. It remains unclear what caused the electric vehicle to crash.


60: Armenia’s parliament has voted – 60 to 22 – to join the International Criminal Court. Russia said it was disappointed with Yerevan, an ally, considering that the ICC has issued an arrest warrant for President Vladimir Putin. But Armenian officials sought to reassure the Kremlin, saying the move was motivated by its ongoing conflict with Azerbaijan.

122,700: Mayor Eric Adams has asked a judge to suspend a long-term edict mandating that New York City provide shelter to those who seek it. Adams says the Big Apple can’t cope with the 122,700 migrants who have arrived since spring 2022, and he is traveling to Latin America this week to try to deter would-be asylum-seekers from making the journey to New York. For more on the politics of New York’s migrant crisis, see our explainer here.

20: In a remarkable about-face, the Biden administration is set to build 20 miles of wall at the US southern border. The White House, and most Democrats, had long opposed and even ridiculed former President Donald Trump’s calls to “build the wall.” But faced with soaring numbers of undocumented migrants, the administration said Tuesday there is now an “acute and immediate need” for a wall.

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Fabian Sommer/dpa via Reuters Connect
500: By the end of the year, Germany plans to accept over 500 Afghan refugees who assisted German troops on the ground in Afghanistan, or face threats from the Taliban. Although these refugees have already been approved for admission, Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s coalition government delayed their entry into the country. [...]