New York’s right-to-shelter policy faces scrutiny amid migrant crisis

September 26, 2023 by WDNY Radio

Luiz C. Ribeiro for NY Daily News via Getty Images

(NEW YORK) — New York City Mayor Eric Adams is narrowing the timeline in which migrants can stay in city-run facilities as he takes the battle over the state’s “right-to-shelter” laws to court.

More than 60,000 migrants are in the city’s care, according to city officials, as Texas officials continue sending busloads of migrants from the border to Democrat-led cities in a move that New York Mayor Eric Adams has called a “political stunt” and “dehumanizing” for migrants seeking asylum.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said the busing brings attention to the migrant crisis at the U.S.-Mexico border.

What do the ‘right-to-shelter’ laws entail?

The New York State Constitution states that “the aid, care and support of the needy are public concerns and shall be provided by the state and by such of its subdivisions, and in such manner and by such means, as the legislature may from time to time determine.”

In 1979, the Coalition for the Homeless sued state and city officials on behalf of homeless men in New York City in the court case Callahan v. Carey, arguing that a right to shelter for the homeless existed under the New York State Constitution.

That lawsuit led to a 1981 consent decree. The consent decree required that the city and state provide temporary emergency shelter to anybody who “meets the need standard to qualify for the home relief program established in New York State,” or “by reason to physical, mental or social dysfunction, is in need of temporary shelter.”

The right to shelter was extended to homeless women by Eldredge v. Koch in 1983 and to homeless families with children by McCain v. Koch in 1983, according to the Coalition for the Homeless.

How does this impact the ongoing migrant crisis?

The city requested in May that the language of the decree be changed to allow the city to forgo its obligation if it lacks “the resources and capacity to establish and maintain sufficient shelter sites, staffing, and security to provide safe and appropriate shelter,” according to court filings.

In housing tens of migrants who lack basic resources, the city argues that it is “facing an unprecedented demand on its shelter capacity,” and that these challenges could never have been “contemplated, foreseeable, or indeed even remotely imagined” when the consent decree was originally agreed upon.

The mayor has already begun to limit the extent of the city’s right to shelter obligations.

All asylum seekers arriving for the first time will now receive a 30-day period to find alternate housing outside of a city-run facility, supported by “intensified casework services” to “discuss their options and plan their next steps,” according to Adams’ office.

Adult asylum seekers were previously given 60-day notices to find alternate housing. Those who have not yet secured housing under the 60-day notice and seek to reapply for shelter will be given an additional 30 days with intensified casework services under Adams’ plan.

“For over a year, New York City has stepped up while waiting for the substantial help necessary from federal and state partners to comprehensively address this crisis and support the tens of thousands of asylum seekers in our care, and today’s announcement is another step in our efforts to help asylum seekers take the next step in their journeys,” said Adams on Friday when he announced the new restrictions.

He continued, “With more than 60,000 asylum seekers still in our care and without additional help, we will be forced to continue making difficult decisions.”

The city said it has opened 210 emergency shelters, including 17 total large-scale humanitarian relief centers, to take care of the influx of migrants.

Critics say the move is unnecessary after the federal government announced that it would be expanding Temporary Protected Status for Venezuelans and expanding resources to job opportunities to transition people from shelters. Housing advocates also assert that an end to the right to shelter policies for migrants will spur a surge in homelessness.

“Any policy limiting the amount of time that our clients can reside in shelter is arbitrary and devoid of compassion,” the Legal Aid Society and the Coalition for the Homeless said in a joint statement. The two organizations are fighting the city’s attempts to restrict the right to shelter.

It continued, “Pushing new arrivals who have nowhere else to turn out of the shelters risks dramatically increasing the number of people bedding down on the streets, something nobody wants to see happen.”

City officials and right-to-shelter advocates will return to court Tuesday to continue discussions.

Hiker falls to death at North Carolina waterfall overlook

September 26, 2023 by WDNY Radio

(REEMS CREEK, N.C.) — A woman who was hiking through Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina this weekend fell 150 feet from an overlook to her death, park officials said.

Nancy Sampson, 61, of Greer, South Carolina, reportedly fell off a steep cliff at the Glassmine Falls Overlook around noon Saturday, according to the National Parks Service.

NPS Law Enforcement Rangers and first responders from Reems Creek Fire Department quickly responded to the scene and found Sampson fell 150 feet below the overlook and had succumbed to her injuries, the NPS said.

The fire department members rappelled from the top of the overlook to the site where Sampson’s body was discovered, the Reems Creek Fire Department said.

Authorities said it hasn’t been determined yet how Sampson fell off the overlook and police are investigating.

The overlook is one of the park’s main attractions and is at an elevation of 5,200 feet, according to the NPS.

Park visitors come to the overlook to view the Glassmine Falls, a skinny waterfall that only flows during rainy weather, the NPS said.

125 dead in blast as Armenian refugees flee disputed enclave

September 26, 2023 by WDNY Radio

(LONDON) — At least 125 people were killed in an explosion on Monday night at a makeshift gas station being used by ethnic Armenian refugees as thousands sought to flee the disputed enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh, according to local authorities, as senior U.S. officials visited Armenia to signal concern over the humanitarian crisis affecting the region’s civilians.

Dozens of people are in a critical condition with severe burns and in urgent need of evacuation from the enclave where medical assistance was already minimal, the health ministry of the Nagorno-Karabakh’s unrecognized ethnic Armenia government, the Republic of Artsakh, said in a statement. It said many people were still missing following the blast.

The explosion and fire ripped through the fuel store on Monday night as hundreds of refugees were lining up for gas for their vehicles to leave Nagorno-Karabakh, according to local officials.

Thousands of ethnic Armenians have been leaving the enclave following a successful military offensive last week by Azerbaijan that defeated the local Armenian authorities and restored Azerbaijan’s rule over the region.

Over 28,000 people have crossed from Nagorno-Karabakh into Armenia since Sunday, according to a statement from Armenia’s government. It’s feared the enclave’s entire population — estimated at 120,000 — may seek to flee in the coming days.

Armenia’s prime minister on Monday said what was happening was the “ethnic cleansing” of Nagorno-Karabakh’s Armenian population.

Long traffic jams of people seeking to leave were visible snaking miles along the only road out of Nagorno-Karabakh to a checkpoint in the “Lachin Corridor” that links the enclave to Armenia.

Nagorno-Karabakh has been at the center of a decadeslong conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Internationally recognized as Azerbaijan’s territory, the two countries fought a bloody war over the enclave amid the collapse of the Soviet Union, in which Armenia backed local ethnic Armenian separatists, who succeeded in establishing control over most of the region. Hundreds of thousands of Azerbaijani civilians were driven from the region during that war.

Azerbaijan reopened the conflict in 2020, launching a full-scale war that decisively defeated Armenia and forced it to largely abandon its claims to Nagorno-Karabakh. Russia helped broker a truce and dispatched a peacekeeping force there that remains deployed. Last week, Azerbaijan launched a new offensive that swiftly forced the Nagorno-Karabakh Armenian’s leadership to surrender.

Since then thousands of ethnic Armenians have been preparing to leave the enclave, which has been under Azerbaijani blockade for nine months, unwilling to live under Azerbaijan’s rule and fearing they will face persecution.

Western countries, including the United States, France and Germany, have expressed concern for Nagorno-Karabakh’s Armenian population and warned Azerbaijan it bears responsibility for their rights and security.

The Biden administration has dispatched Samantha Power, currently administrator of USAID and senior another State Department official to Armenia to express U.S. support for the country amid the crisis.

Power on Tuesday visited the checkpoint at Armenia’s border with Nagorno-Karabakh where refugees have been arriving, and called for international monitors and aid groups to be given access to the enclave and for Azerbaijan to facilitate the evacuation of injured civilians from there.

“It is absolutely critical that independent monitors as well as humanitarian organizations get access to the people in Nagorno-Karabakh who still have dire needs,” Power told journalists at the checkpoint. “There are still tens of thousands of Ethnic Armenians there living in very vulnerable conditions,” announcing the U.S. would provide $11.5 million in humanitarian assistance that would include everything from food to psychiatric support.

Power, who has been a high-profile campaigner for human rights, said she was in Armenia to also hear testimonies from people fleeing Nagorno-Karabakh and that she would be reporting back to the Biden Administration as it considers how to respond to the crisis.

Power and the Acting Assistant Secretary for Europe and Eurasian Affairs, Yuri Kim met with Armenia’s prime minister Nikol Pashinyan on Monday. Power delivered a letter from President Joe Biden in which he expressed condolences for the loss of life in Nagorno-Karabakh and promised help on addressing humanitarian needs.

“I have asked Samantha Power, a key member of my cabinet, to personally convey to you the strong support of the United States and my Administration for Armenia’s pursuit of a dignified and durable regional peace that maintains your sovereignty, independence, territorial integrity, and democracy,” the letter read.

Pashinyan told Power the international community and Armenia had failed to prevent the “ethnic cleansing” of Nagorno-Karabakh’s Armenians.

“Unfortunately, at the moment the process of the ethnic cleansing of Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh is continuing, it is happening right now. It’s a very tragic fact. We tried to inform the international community that this ethnic cleansing would happen, but, unfortunately, we did not manage to prevent it,” Pashinyan told Power and Yuri Kim, the State Department’s acting assistant secretary for Europe and Eurasian Affairs, according to the prime minister’s press service.

Armenia and Azerbaijan were due to hold talks mediated by the European Union in Brussels on Tuesday, the first talks between the sides since Azerbaijan’s retook Nagorno-Karabakh.

Monday’s blast at the fuel station added a horrific complication to the exodus from Nagorno-Karabakh, with local authorities pleading for people to hold off leaving as the traffic-choking the roads out was preventing the evacuation of the severely injured.

Helicopters from Armenia’s capital, Yerevan, were reported to have flown to Nagorno-Karabakh to help evacuate some of the worst injured. A long line of ambulances was also filmed by Russian media crossing into the enclave.

The enclave’s Armenian health authorities said the hospitals in the enclave, already short of medicine and other equipment, were not equipped for the disaster.

Russia’s peacekeeping contingent said it was also providing medical assistance and showed videos of its soldiers evacuating some of the injured.

Charges dropped against Philadelphia officer in fatal shooting of Eddie Irizarry

September 26, 2023 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — A judge dismissed the case against a former Philadelphia police officer who had been charged with murder in connection to the death of Eddie Irizarry.

Mark Dial had been charged earlier this month with murder, voluntary manslaughter, aggravated assault, possessing an instrument of crime, simple assault, reckless endangerment of another person and official oppression, in the Aug. 14 shooting.

Judge Wendy Pew dismissed the case during a preliminary hearing on Tuesday, citing lack of evidence, court records show.

Originally, police had said that Irizarry, 27, was outside the car and was killed after lunging at police with a knife, but two days later the department acknowledged that he was shot while inside his car.

In announcing the charges, Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner released footage from the body-worn cameras of Dial and a second officer who was at the scene, warning the video “will in some ways be traumatic.”

The Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office said it “disagrees” with the judge’s decision.

“In keeping with our oath to seek justice, we will move to have all criminal charges, including Murder, reinstated against this defendant,” the office said in a statement following the hearing.

The office has since refiled the criminal complaint against Dial on all charges. The Court of Common Pleas has scheduled a hearing on the motion for Oct. 25.

The footage shows Dial getting out of his cruiser and approaching Irizarry’s car with his gun drawn. “I will f—— shoot you,” he says, before firing into the front driver’s seat where Irizarry was seated. Prior to shots being fired, an officer can be heard yelling at Irizarry to show his hands.

Dial fired six shots “at close range,” Krasner said.

Brian McMonagle, one of Dial’s attorneys, said they were “elated” at the judge’s decision and said the officer was acting in self-defense.

“We have said from the very beginning, this is a tragedy and not a crime,” he told reporters while leaving the courthouse on Tuesday.

McMonagle said evidence presented in court Tuesday — including testimony from Dial’s partner at the scene of the shooting — showed that the officers believed Irizarry raised what appeared to be a gun and “pointed it” at them. The officers later determined the object to be a knife, McMonagle said.

“Before there was a discharge in this case, the other officer shouted gun, and my officer thought what he clearly believed to be a gun before he fired,” McMonagle said. “There’s no doubt about the fact that he believed it was a gun.”

McMonagle had previously called the murder charge “abhorrent.”

“The undisputed facts of the case are that an individual made an illegal turn right in front of police officers, took off at a high rate of speed, and then tried to evade officers by going down a one-way street the wrong way, tried to hide from them,” McMonagle told reporters earlier this month.

“And when police officers ordered him to show his hands, he instead produced a weapon and pointed it at an armed police officer,” he continued.

Dial was initially released on $50,000 bail on Sept. 8, though his bail was revoked after prosecutors argued he was not eligible with a potential first-degree murder charge on the table.

The city’s police commissioner at the time, Danielle Outlaw, said on Aug. 23 that Dial would be terminated at the end of a 30-day suspension.

Outlaw, who has since left the department, said at the time that an administrative investigation found Dial violated department rules against “insubordination” by allegedly refusing to obey “proper orders from a superior officer.” She said the administrative investigation also accuses Dial of “conduct unbecoming” an officer for “failure to cooperate in any departmental investigation.”

Philadelphia Jim Kenney said in a statement Tuesday that he trusts the district attorney’s office “will do everything in its power to pursue justice and accountability.”

“My thoughts are with Eddie Irizarry’s family and loved ones today as they continue to seek justice and answers around his death,” he said, adding he remains confident that the police department’s Internal Affairs Bureau’s investigation into the shooting “will provide accountability and transparency following the police-involved shooting that took Mr. Irizzary’s life.”

FTC sues Amazon, accuses company of illegally maintaining monopoly power

September 26, 2023 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — The Federal Trade Commission and 17 state attorneys general filed a lawsuit against Amazon on Tuesday, accusing the company of illegally maintaining its monopoly power “to inflate prices, degrade quality, and stifle innovation for consumers and businesses.”

The major tech firm allegedly deployed illegal business tactics “to stop rivals and sellers from lowering prices, degrade quality for shoppers, overcharge sellers, stifle innovation, and prevent rivals from fairly competing against Amazon,” the FTC said in a statement.

The sheer size of Amazon does not amount to a violation of the law, the FTC said. Rather, the agency’s complaint centers on a set of “far-reaching schemes” that impact hundreds of billions of dollars in sales each year and hundreds of millions of shoppers.

“Our complaint lays out how Amazon has used a set of punitive and coercive tactics to unlawfully maintain its monopolies,” FTC Chair Lina Khan said in a statement. “Today’s lawsuit seeks to hold Amazon to account for these monopolistic practices and restore the lost promise of free and fair competition.”

In a statement, Amazon rebuked the allegations, saying the practices at issue have helped fuel innovation rather than stifle it.

“Today’s suit makes clear the FTC’s focus has radically departed from its mission of protecting consumers and competition,” Amazon said. “The practices the FTC is challenging have helped to spur competition and innovation across the retail industry, and have produced greater selection, lower prices, and faster delivery speeds for Amazon customers and greater opportunity for the many businesses that sell in Amazon’s store.”

“The lawsuit filed by the FTC today is wrong on the facts and the law, and we look forward to making that case in court,” the company added.

The FTC’s lawsuit focuses on alleged practices undertaken by Amazon that the agency says result in higher prices for consumers.

For instance, Amazon allegedly punishes sellers on its platform that offer products at discounted rates elsewhere online. By placing such sellers in an inferior position in potential customers’ search results, Amazon can render them “effectively invisible,” the FTC said.

Further, the company allegedly makes products’ eligibility for availability on Prime contingent upon vendors using Amazon’s expensive fulfillment service, the FTC said. “This unlawful coercion has in turn limited competitors’ ability to effectively compete against Amazon,” the FTC added.

The announcement on Tuesday follows a lawsuit brought by the FTC against Amazon in June that accuses the company of using deceitful tactics in a yearslong effort to trick millions of customers into enrolling in its Prime subscription service.

In a statement provided to ABC News in June, Amazon called the FTC’s claims “false on the facts and the law. The truth is that customers love Prime, and by design we make it clear and simple for customers to both sign up for or cancel their Prime membership.”

Charges dropped against Philadelphia officer in fatal shooting of Eddie Irizarry: Report

September 26, 2023 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — A judge dismissed the case against a former Philadelphia police officer who had been charged with murder in connection to the death of Eddie Irizarry, according to Philadelphia ABC station WPVI.

Mark Dial had been charged earlier this month with murder, voluntary manslaughter, aggravated assault, simple assault, reckless endangerment of another person and official oppression, in the Aug. 14 shooting.

Judge Wendy Pew dismissed the case during a preliminary hearing on Tuesday, citing lack of evidence, WPVI reported.

The district attorney’s office said it plans to file an appeal on Tuesday, saying in a statement it “disagrees” with the judge’s decision.

“In keeping with our oath to seek justice, we will move to have all criminal charges, including Murder, reinstated against this defendant,” the statement said.

Dial fired six shots “at close range,” Krasner said.

Brian McMonagle, one of Dial’s attorneys, called the murder charge “abhorrent.”

“And when police officers ordered him to show his hands, he instead produced a weapon and pointed it at an armed police officer,” he continued.

The city’s police commissioner at the time, Danielle Outlaw, said on Aug. 23 that Dial would be terminated at the end of a 30-day suspension.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

Three teen boys arrested in shooting that killed 3, violence stemmed from ‘stupid’ fight: Sheriff

September 26, 2023 by WDNY Radio

Richland County Sheriff’s Office/Facebook

(COLUMBIA, S.C.) — The Columbia, South Carolina, community is reeling in the wake of a shooting allegedly carried out by three teenagers that killed three teens and injured a fourth.

Two 17-year-old boys and a 14-year-old boy have been arrested for three counts of murder, attempted murder, possession of a weapon during a violent crime and possession of handgun under the age of 18, Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott said Tuesday.

Sunday afternoon’s shooting apparently stemmed from a previous dispute. Lott called it a fight “over something stupid” from a couple years ago.

The slain children have been identified as 16-year-old Jakobe Fanning, 17-year-old Dre’Von Riley and 16-year-old Caleb Wise, the sheriff’s office said.

The injured teenager, a 14-year-old, has since been released from the hospital, Lott said.

At a Monday news conference, the sheriff was among officials decrying the violence plaguing their community.

“Three kids are dead,” Lott said. “If that doesn’t shock you, then something’s wrong. So we gotta do something. … Now is time for action.”

“Here we are once again,” Richland County Councilwoman Gretchen Barron said.

“Young people got guns and they make poor choices. Now it’s left up to us as a community,” she said.

The sheriff did not say where the gun used in the shooting was obtained, but he said local teenagers are stealing guns from cars. He said 100 cars were broken into this weekend.

Additional security was on campus Monday at Columbia’s Eau Claire High School, where the three slain teenagers and at least one of the suspects were students, according to the sheriff and the superintendent.

“The Richland One family is grieving the loss of three young lives to senseless gun violence,” Superintendent Craig Witherspoon said in a statement. “This is an unimaginable tragedy, and we ask everyone to keep the students’ families and the students and staff at Eau Claire High School in your thoughts and prayers.”

JPMorgan to pay $75 million in settlement involving Jeffrey Epstein

September 26, 2023 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — JPMorgan Chase will pay $75 million in a settlement involving the late disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.

Epstein was found dead in his cell at New York City’s Metropolitan Correctional Center in 2019, where he was awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.

Virgin Islands officials said the bank should have known about Epstein’s human trafficking, and that the investigation it conducted into the matter yielded significant information about the bank’s dealings with Epstein.

In its settlement with the Virgin Islands, JPMorgan Chase will contribute $30 million to organizations whose work is aimed at fighting human tracking, and contribute $25.5 million to “enhance” law enforcement infrastructure related to human trafficking. The remaining funds will cover USVI attorneys’ fees.

“JPMorgan Chase believes this settlement is in the best interest of all parties, particularly those who can benefit from efforts to combat human trafficking and for survivors who suffer unimaginable abuse at the hands of these criminals,” the company said in a statement.

The settlement does not involve admissions of liability on JPMorgan’s part, although the company said it “deeply regrets” any association with Epstein.

Another agreement was reached with former JPMorgan Chase executive James Staley, the details of which are confidential.

Why this mom uses an Apple AirTag on her 3-year-old daughter

September 26, 2023 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — For mom Brooke King, keeping an eye on her toddler can be challenging.

As a result, she has turned to Apple’s AirTag smart devices for some peace of mind and to help her keep track of her 3-year-old daughter, who is still too young for a cellphone.

“I always find myself running after her quickly … I didn’t want to teach her that if she ran off, I would just run after her and it was OK to continue this behavior,” King explained to “Good Morning America.”

In crowded areas, King has her daughter Kella wear the AirTag in the form of a bracelet. If they were to get separated, King can then check her iPhone and see Kella’s exact location.

“It does help me feel more in control of the situation. As a parent, my top priority is her safety in addition to her ability to have some independence,” King said.

After an AirTag is connected to an iPhone, whenever they’re brought near each other, the iPhone will recognize it. AirTags can also be given custom names. Apple told ABC News that the AirTags are meant to track items and not people and suggests customers can use the Apple Watch instead to stay on top of their children’s whereabouts because it has more robust safety features.

Parenting expert Ericka Souter told “GMA” that AirTags can be a good way to give young children independence and let parents look out for their kids at the same time.

“If you have little ones who may be walking to school alone for the first time or going to after school activities and you just want to make sure that they’re safe, [an AirTag might be a good idea],” Souter said. “Parents have a lot of safety concerns in this day and age.”

For older children, Souter said it’s important to build trust and boundaries, and using AirTags might not be the way to go.

“If you have a teenager who needs to go back and forth to school or hangs out with their friends or has a curfew, you have to eventually begin to trust them to follow the rules and be back home when they need to be back home,” Souter added. “So, for a lot of families, the teenage years are kind of a cut off for something like the AirTag monitoring their whereabouts.”

Apple sells individual AirTags for $29 but also offers them in pack of four for $99. Aside from pairing them with an Apple Watch, there are other options with the purpose of tracking children. Similar competitor products usually retail for about $100 and require a monthly fee for service.

Twenty dead, nearly 300 injured in blast as Armenia refugees flee disputed enclave

September 26, 2023 by WDNY Radio

(LONDON) — At least 20 people were killed and nearly 300 were injured in an explosion on Monday night that tore through a makeshift gas station being used by ethnic Armenian refugees amid their exodus from the disputed enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh, according to the enclave’s local Armenian authorities.

Dozens of people are in a critical condition with severe burns and in urgent need of evacuation from the enclave where medical assistance was already minimal, the health ministry of the region’s unrecognized government, the Republic of Artsakh, said in a statement. It said many people were still missing following the blast.

The explosion and fire ripped through the fuel store on Monday night as hundreds of refugees were lining up for gas for their vehicles to leave Nagorno-Karabakh, according to local officials.

Over 13,500 people have crossed from Nagorno-Karabakh into Armenia since Sunday, according to a statement from Armenia’s government quoted by the Russian news agency Interfax. It’s feared the enclave’s entire population — estimated at 120,000 — may seek to flee in the coming days.

Armenia’s prime minister on Monday said what was happening was the “ethnic cleansing” of Nagorno-Karabakh’s Armenian population.

Long traffic jams of people seeking to leave were visible on the only road out of Nagorno-Karabakh to a checkpoint in the “Lachin Corridor” that links the enclave to Armenia.

Nagorno-Karabakh has been at the center of a decades-long conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Internationally recognized as Azerbaijan’s territory, the two countries fought a bloody war over the enclave amid the collapse of the Soviet Union, in which Armenia backed local ethnic Armenian separatists, who succeeded in establishing control over most of the region. Hundreds of thousands of Azerbaijani civilians were driven from the region during that war.

The Biden administration on Monday dispatched Samantha Power, currently administrator of USAID and a high-profile campaigner for human rights, and another senior State Department official to Armenia to meet with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and express U.S. support for the country amid the crisis.

Power delivered a letter to Pashinyan from President Joe Biden in which the president expressed condolences for the loss of life in Nagorno-Karabakh and promised help on addressing humanitarian needs.

Pashinyan told Power the international community and Armenia had failed to prevent the “ethnic cleansing” of Nagorno-Karabakh’s Armenians.

Armenia and Azerbaijan were due to hold talks mediated by the European Union in Brussels on Tuesday, the first talks between the sides since Azerbaijan’s retook Nagorno-Karabakh.

The enclave’s Armenian health authorities said the hospitals in the enclave, already short of medicine and other equipment, were not equipped for the disaster.

Russia’s peacekeeping contingent said it was also providing medical assistance to the injured.

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