US to push for multinational Haiti intervention force in Canada talks

 US Secretary of State Antony Blinken heads Thursday to Canada for talks expected to focus on Haiti, with an American official voicing hope for progress on setting up an intervention force to address the impoverished Caribbean nation's spiralling security and health crises.

Haiti's government and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres have both appealed for international intervention as armed gangs take over vast stretches of the country and a cholera outbreak worsens.

President Joe Biden's administration has made clear it has no desire to send US troops in harm's way but a top official rejected pessimism that no country would step forward amid discussions at the UN Security Council.