- Israel readying response to Iran missile attack
- Schutt, Mooney help Australia beat Sri Lanka in Women's T20 World Cup
- Liverpool extend Premier League lead with win at Palace
- Djokovic 'shakes rust off' to make third round of Shanghai Masters
- 'Imperfect' PSG fighting on all fronts - Luis Enrique
- Struggling Pakistan look to thwart adaptable England
- Child 'trampled to death' in asylum seekers' Channel crossing: minister
- Gauff fights back to set up Beijing final against Muchova
- Guardiola claims Premier League won't delay season for Man City
- Israel to mark October 7 attack as Gaza war spreads
- Gauff fights back to reach China Open final
- Recovering Stokes ruled out of first Pakistan Test
- Hezbollah battles troops on border as Israel pounds Lebanon
- Alcaraz, Sinner breeze into third round of Shanghai Masters
- Bagnaia wins Japan MotoGP sprint to cut Martin's lead
- Alcaraz breezes into third round of Shanghai Masters
- Gaza cultural heritage brought to light in Geneva
- 'Bullet for democracy': Trump returns to site of rally shooting
- Italy targets climate activists in 'anti-Gandhi' demo clampdown
- South Korean cult-horror series 'Hellbound' returns at BIFF
- Nepalis fear more floods as climate change melts glaciers
- Honduras arrests environmentalist's alleged murderer
- Padres pitcher Musgrove needs elbow surgery
- Supreme Court lets stand rules to curb mercury, methane emissions
- Boston beat Denver in NBA exhibition season opener, but Jokic says omens are good
- Chagos diaspora angry at lack of input on islands' fate
- Biden says 'not confident' of peaceful US election
- US trade chief defends tariff hikes when paired with investment
- Lukaku stars as Napoli beat Como to hold Serie A top spot
- Ohtani set for MLB playoff debut as Dodgers face Padres
- Pogba's drug ban cut to 18 months from four years
- Devine leads New Zealand to big win over India in Women's T20 World Cup
- Bosnia floods kill 16 people
- EU court blocks French ban on vegetable 'steak' labelling
- Prosecutors seek dismissal of rape charges against French rugby players
- Meta AI turns pictures into videos with sound
- Bolivia's Morales says claims he raped a minor are a 'lie'
- MLB Reds hire two-time champion Francona as manager
- Daniel Maldini receives first Italy call-up for Nations League
- US dockworkers return to ports after three-day strike
- Ancelotti points finger at Madrid's 'lack of intensity'
- Haiti reeling after 70 killed in gang attack
- Five Czech kids in hospital over TikTok 'piercing challenge'
- What happens next in Iran-Israel conflict?
- Country star Garth Brooks denies rape accusations
- Stubbs hits maiden century as South Africa make 343-4 against Ireland
- DR Congo to begin mpox vaccination campaign Saturday in east
- Odegaard injury has forced Arsenal to be 'different', says Arteta
- Ratcliffe refuses to guarantee Ten Hag's Man Utd future
- Meta must limit data use for targeted ads: EU court
Blinken seeks 'strong' Latin American pact on migration
The United States is seeking a strong declaration to coordinate on rising migration when Latin American leaders meet in Los Angeles in June, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday.
Blinken is paying a two-day trip to Panama to meet regional counterparts as record numbers of people are displaced around the world -- causing not only a humanitarian crisis but growing political worries for President Joe Biden.
Blinken said the Panama talks aim to "lay the groundwork for a strong declaration by our leaders" at the June 6-10 Summit of the Americas in California.
Blinken called for a "Los Angeles Declaration on migration protection that sets forth our shared principles for a collaborative, coordinated response."
"We can make a profound difference in the lives of our most vulnerable fellow citizens and for the future of our region," he said.
Biden called the summit to highlight his agenda of promoting democracy, with autocratic rulers in the region expected to be excluded.
Nearly 100 million people around the world are displaced -- the most since World War II, with Ukrainians fleeing at a startlingly fast pace since Russia's deadly invasion in February.
Migration rates have been increasing for years in the Western Hemisphere, fueled by conflicts, poverty and disasters worsened by climate change.
US authorities in March apprehended more than 221,000 people on the Mexican border, the most for a single month in more than two decades, an issue sure to be highlighted by Biden's Republican rivals in November congressional elections.
But nations throughout the Americas have been coping with rising migration, largely coming from El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras and Venezuela.
Blinken, accompanied by Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, renewed calls to focus on root causes of migration, including corruption, political repression and climate change.
But in the near term, he called for coordination to support the nations such as Colombia, Mexico, Panama and Costa Rica that are accommodating migrants.
"We know that no country -- no community -- can solve a challenge as complicated as irregular migration alone."
Panama, a close US partner that is home to the dangerous Durian Gap connecting North and South America, on Tuesday signed an agreement to step up coordination with the United States.
Panamanian Foreign Minister Erika Mouynes highlighted efforts taken by her country, including biometric tracking to identify criminals.
But she said the region needed to speak "with a single voice," including at multilateral institutions to secure shared funding.
"We pass this hard test only if we work on it together," she said.
G.Machado--PC