UN warns surge in gang violence puts pregnant women at risk in Haiti
‘Too many women and young women in Haiti are victims of indiscriminate violence committed by armed gangs,’ UN says. The United Nations has warned that nearly 3,000 pregnant women could be cut off from essential health services in the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince, which has been paralysed as a result of surging gang violence. In a statement on Friday to mark International Women’s Day, the UN Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH) said nearly 450 pregnant women could suffer “life-threatening” complications without access to healthcare. Another 521 survivors of sexual violence — a prevalent problem that has worsened amid the instability in Haiti — also could be cut off from medical services by the end of the month if the violence persists, the UN office warned. “Today, too many women and young women in Haiti are victims of indiscriminate violence committed by armed gangs,” said Ulrika Richardson, BINUH’s deputy special representative. Widespread gang violence has plagued Haiti for nearly three years, particularly after the assassination of President Jovenel Moise in July 2021 deepened political instability in the Caribbean nation. The crisis worsened last weekend when gunmen overwhelmed the main penitentiary in Port-au-Prince and another nearby prison, freeing thousands of inmates in a raid that left several people dead. Haiti’s de facto leader, Prime Minister Ariel Henry, was out of the country when the recent spate of violence erupted, and gang leaders have called for his immediate resignation. Henry — who has faced a crisis of legitimacy since he took up his post less than two weeks after President Moise’s killing — has been in the US territory of Puerto Rico since earlier this week, apparently unable or unwilling to return to Haiti. He had previously travelled to Kenya in late February in an attempt to revive plans for a multi-national security force to help bolster Haiti’s police forces. On Friday, the US Department of State said Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke to Henry a day earlier and urged the Haitian leader to “expedite a political transition through the creation of a broad-based, independent presidential college”. This would then help “steer the country toward the deployment of a Multinational Security Support mission and free and fair elections”, the State Department said in a readout of the talks. “The Secretary [Blinken] urged Henry to support this proposal in the interest of restoring peace and stability to Haiti so the Haitian people can resume their daily lives free from violence and despair.” Adblock test (Why?)
Former Israeli security agency chief: Netanyahu wants an endless war
Marc Lamont Hill challenges former head of Israeli navy and former director of Israel’s security service Ami Ayalon. After five months of Israel’s brutal bombing campaign and siege of Gaza, which has killed more than 30,000 Palestinians and seen Israel facing a genocide case at the International Court of Justice, negotiations continue and a ceasefire may be imminent. In the meantime, the humanitarian situation in Gaza is intensifying with shortages of food, water and basic medicine. And as people near starvation, there are reports of people eating grass and animal feed to survive. Can Israel realistically achieve its objectives? And will there be accountability for any war crimes committed? On UpFront this week, Marc Lamont Hill interviews Ami Ayalon, former commander-in-chief of the Israeli navy and former director of Israel’s security service, about Israel’s violations of international law in its war on Gaza. Adblock test (Why?)
Turkey offers to host Russia-Ukraine peace talks as Erdogan hosts Zelenskyy
Erdogan pitches himself as go-between, Zelenskyy indicates Russia would not be invited to the first meeting. Turkey is ready to host a summit between Ukraine and Russia to end the war, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said after talks with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Istanbul. Speaking after their meeting on Friday, Erdogan, who has balanced relations with Moscow and Kyiv throughout the two-year war, spoke of “opportunities that Turkey can provide with its stance”. “While we continue our solidarity with Ukraine, we will continue our work to end the war with a just peace on the basis of negotiations,” he said. Zelenskyy said the talks had been “sincere and fruitful”, though he refrained from alluding to the mooted peace summit in a statement released on X after the meeting. Talks between Ukraine and Türkiye are always sincere and fruitful. Today, we have reached agreements on joint defense projects both at the government level and between companies. I met with the Turkish defense industry representatives. We are prepared to move quickly to put… pic.twitter.com/mDpYDDEnwi — Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) March 8, 2024 However, the Ukrainian leader, who is on a mission to obtain more munitions and weaponry from allies to halt his foe’s advance on the eastern front, was cited by the Reuters news agency as saying that Russia would not be invited to the first meeting of the summit, due to be held in Switzerland. Zelenskyy also thanked Erdogan for his efforts in negotiating the release of Ukrainian prisoners “held in Russian prisons and camps under extremely harsh and inhumane conditions”. I am grateful to President @RTErdogan for his efforts to release our citizens from Russian captivity. Thanks to Türkiye’s mediation, we have achieved significant humanitarian results. We are now counting on further efforts. Today, I submitted a list of our Ukrainian citizens,… pic.twitter.com/qFBW7AEDXh — Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) March 8, 2024 Erdogan, who reiterated Turkey’s support for Ukraine’s “territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence”, said he and Zelenskyy had discussed port security, safety in the Black Sea, prisoner exchanges and food security. Turkey’s strategic location on the Black Sea and its control of the Bosphorus Strait gives it a unique military, political and economic role in the conflict. Shortly after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Turkey hosted failed ceasefire talks between Kyiv and Moscow. “Both sides have now reached the limit of what they can achieve through war,” Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said this month. “We think it’s time to start a dialogue towards a ceasefire.” In July 2022, Ankara with the United Nations brokered the Black Sea Grain deal, the most significant diplomatic agreement so far reached between Kyiv and Moscow. But Moscow ditched the initiative a year later, complaining that the terms were unfair. Kyiv has since used an alternative shipping route hugging the coastline to avoid contested international waters. The Erdogan-Zelenskyy meeting comes a week after Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov met his Turkish counterpart Fidan at a diplomatic forum in Antalya. Russian President Vladimir Putin was set to visit Turkey last month, but postponed the trip, according to Turkish and Russian media citing diplomatic sources. The Kremlin said it is rescheduling the visit. Adblock test (Why?)
‘Incendiary and wrong’: Biden spurs anger for calling migrant ‘an illegal’
Rights advocates have slammed United States President Joe Biden for referring to an undocumented immigrant as “an illegal” during his State of the Union address, accusing him of echoing the dehumanising rhetoric of his predecessor Donald Trump. During Thursday’s speech at the US Capitol, Biden was heckled by Republicans over the killing of Laken Riley, a 22-year-old woman who was allegedly murdered by an undocumented immigrant. Riley’s death has become a rallying cry for conservatives. “[Laken] Riley, an innocent young woman who was killed by an illegal. That’s right — but how many thousands of people are being killed by ‘legals’? To her parents I say, my heart goes out to you,” Biden said. Rights advocates and progressive lawmakers have long condemned the use of the term “illegal” to refer to human beings who do not have immigration status in the US or who cross the border without permits in search of asylum. “We remind President Biden that no human being is illegal –– and dangerous rhetoric inevitably leads to more violence against our community,” said Faisal Al-Juburi, chief external affairs officer at RAICES, an immigrant support and advocacy group in Texas. Let me be clear: No human being is illegal. — Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) March 8, 2024 Members from Biden’s own Democratic Party also condemned the president’s comment. “Let me be clear: No human being is illegal,” Congresswoman Ilhan Omar wrote in a widely shared post on the social media platform X. Joaquin Castro, a Democratic congressman from Texas, said that, while Biden’s address had “a lot of good” in it, “his rhetoric about immigrants was incendiary and wrong”. “The rhetoric President Biden used tonight was dangerously close to language from Donald Trump that puts a target on the backs of Latinos everywhere,” Castro wrote on social media. “Democrats shouldn’t be taking our cues from MAGA extremism,” he added, referring to Trump’s Make America Great Again movement. The former Republican president — and presumed 2024 GOP nominee — pursued staunch anti-immigration policies during his term in the White House, including restrictions on the ability of asylum seekers to seek protection in the US. Trump also continues to regularly use anti-immigrant rhetoric as he campaigns for a second term in the White House. He is widely expected to once again face off against Biden in November’s general election. In a video posted on his Truth Social platform before the State of the Union, Trump attacked migrants and asylum seekers seeking protection in the US as “illegal alien criminals” and promised to oversee “the largest domestic deportation operation in American history” if he is re-elected. We should not be trying to out-do Republican extremists with cruel and inhumane enforcement policies that fail to keep our communities safe, which is why I have stood against the provisions in the Senate border deal. Instead of surrendering to Republican demands, we must deliver… — Congresswoman Delia Ramirez (@repdeliaramirez) March 8, 2024 Last year saw new records for irregular border crossings into the US. In the 2023 fiscal year, for example, US Customs and Border Protection documented 1,475,669 “encounters” with migrants and asylum seekers arriving irregularly across the southern border with Mexico. In December alone, there were 301,983 “encounters”. That, in turn, has increased political pressure on the Biden administration to act, with Republicans and some Democrats criticising the president for failing to lower the numbers. Observers have said Trump and his allies are trying to make the situation into a winning election issue for the Republican Party. Against that backdrop, Biden himself has pushed for Congress to pass a spending bill that would tighten border security and create new restrictions on asylum claims. Democrats have accused Republicans of stalling the legislation in a bid to help Trump with his re-election campaign. During his State of the Union speech on Thursday night, Biden said the bill would allow Washington to hire more border officers and grant him the authority “to temporarily shut down the border when the number of migrants at the border is overwhelming”. “My Republican friends, you owe it to the American people to get this bill done. We need to act,” he said. “We can fight about the border, or we can fix it. I’m ready to fix it. Send me the border bill now!” Al-Juburi at RAICES, the immigrant rights group in Texas, said in a statement that Biden “embraced the toughest set of border security reforms we’ve ever seen in this country, formally adopting a more radical anti-immigrant position” in his speech. “He succumbed to the pressures of a political climate that is increasingly hostile towards immigrant, refugee, and asylum-seeking people and families.” At tonight’s #SOTU, @POTUS missed an opportunity to distinguish himself from his predecessor on immigration. Instead, he doubled down on the Senate’s failed border bill & parroted dehumanizing Republican rhetoric about immigrants. We urge the President to do better. — National Immigration Law Center (@NILC) March 8, 2024 The National Immigration Law Center also said Biden “missed an opportunity to distinguish himself” from Trump on immigration. “Instead, he doubled down on the Senate’s failed border bill & parroted dehumanizing Republican rhetoric about immigrants,” the group said on social media, referring to the State of the Union. “We urge the President to do better.” Adblock test (Why?)
Aid airdrop kills five people in Gaza after parachute fails
Five people were killed and several injured after a parachute landing a humanitarian airdrop failed to open, bringing a pallet crashing down into a crowd of people waiting for food in the north of the Gaza Strip. The government media office in Gaza confirmed the casualties after the incident occurred on Friday, lambasting the “useless” airdrops as “flashy propaganda rather than a humanitarian service” and calling for food to be allowed through land crossings. “We previously warned it poses a threat to the lives of citizens in the Gaza Strip and this is what happened today when the parcels fell on the citizens’ heads,” it said in a statement. Reporting from Rafah, Al Jazeera’s Hani Mahmoud said that people are experiencing “a tragedy” in the north of Gaza. “Not only are they confronted with the lack of food and medical supplies, but as they wait for packages of food, they are either targeted by the Israeli military or killed by a non-functional parachute,” Mahmoud said. The deaths occurred as famine stalked the enclave, with the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reporting last month that at least half a million, or one in four people in Gaza, face famine. It highlighted the problem of getting desperately needed humanitarian relief into Gaza amid Israeli restrictions. UNRWA, the largest UN agency in Gaza, says Israeli authorities have not allowed it to deliver supplies to the north of the strip since January 23. Palestinian children wait to receive food cooked by a charity kitchen in Rafah [File: Ibraheem Abu Mustafa/Reuters] The World Food Programme, which had paused deliveries in Gaza because of security concerns, said the military forced its first convoy to the north in two weeks to turn back on Tuesday. In response, a number of countries – including the United States, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt – have conducted airdrops, which have been criticised by aid agencies as a costly and ineffective way of delivering food and medical supplies. On Wednesday, the WFP said that the controversial method should be considered “a last resort”. By way of contrast, it said that the week’s airdrops had only delivered six tonnes of food, while a failed 14-truck convoy would have brought 200 tonnes of food to people. #Airdrops are only a last resort to reach Northern Gaza. Road routes are the only way to bring in the large quantities of food desperately needed to avert #famine. For comparison: 🪂 This week’s airdrops = 6 tons of food🚛This week’s failed 14-truck convoy = 200 tons of food pic.twitter.com/xkR3ZfDgmt — WFP in the Middle East & North Africa (@WFP_MENA) March 6, 2024 On Friday, Juliette Touma, UNRWA’s communications director told Al Jazeera, “There is an easier and cheaper way to bring in much-needed supplies into the Gaza Strip … That is via the road including sending more trucks from Israel into the Gaza Strip. “When there is a political will there is a way,” she said, adding that, so far, desperately needed supplies have not been cleared fast enough and “there needs to be much more” going into the strip. Friday’s disaster struck only a day after US President Joe Biden announced a complicated workaround to build a temporary pier off Gaza’s coast to deliver aid, a move criticised as an attempt to divert attention from the looming famine and Israel’s consistent blocking of assistance to the enclave. British Foreign Secretary David Cameron said that the United Kingdom would be participating in the project, but said it would “take time to build”. While welcoming the development, he nevertheless urged Israel to open its own port of Ashdod in the meantime. “We need to make a difference right now,” he said. Meanwhile, a maritime corridor delivering aid from Cyprus to the besieged enclave – a collaboration of a number of partners, including European countries, the US, and the UAE – could be established as soon as this weekend, according to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. Adblock test (Why?)
Environmental worries after ship hit in Red Sea sinks
NewsFeed Environmental concerns are growing after the Rubymar, a UK-owned vessel, sunk in the Red Sea. It was hit last month by anti-ship missiles launched by Houthi rebels in Yemen. It had been leaking oil and fertiliser from its cargo. Published On 8 Mar 20248 Mar 2024 Adblock test (Why?)
‘I yearn for the girl I used to be’: Gaza women tell their stories
Deir el-Balah, Gaza Strip – On International Women’s Day, the women of Gaza are continuing their daily struggle to care for their children and families, and to stay alive. Four women who have been displaced by Israel’s war on Gaza since October 7, along with their families, talked to Al Jazeera about their lives now. ‘I’ve forgotten what it means to be a woman’: Nada Abdelsalam Nada Abdelsalam, 34, sits beside her children in front of their tent, baking bread over a wood fire. Since the onset of the war, Nada says she has lost track of the passing days, consumed by the ceaseless demands of caring for her eight children from dawn to dusk in difficult conditions. “Women in Gaza have borne the brunt of this war. Our burdens have multiplied, and our sense of privacy has vanished,” Nada says as she tends to the fire, adding more loaves. Nada Abdelsalam, 34, bakes bread over a wood fire outside her tent in central Gaza [[Abdelhakim Abu Riash/Al Jazeera] “Here I am, sitting on the street in a tent, deprived of life’s basic necessities. No water, no electricity, no bathrooms, no sanitation. Nothing,” she adds. Nada was forced to flee from the Maghazi refugee camp in Gaza City to Deir el-Balah in central Gaza due to Israeli evacuation orders early in the war. Her home was bombed and destroyed. “I came out with only the clothes I was wearing and some clothes for my children,” Nada says. “I never imagined I’d reach this point. My closet was once full of clothes.” She says she feels ashamed to go outside her tent in the shabby, worn-out clothes she is left with. “I wear a prayer robe for everything – to sleep in, to go out,” She adds. The war has robbed Nada of more than just her home and possessions, she says. She has lost her sense of self too. “I’ve forgotten what it means to be a woman in this war. I feel decades older than my actual age. Even my appearance reflects it.” Nada is one of countless women in Gaza who have been enduring similar exhaustion and heightened responsibilities during the ongoing war. “Before the war, we bought bread from the bakery, laundered clothes with a machine and lived in clean, modern apartments,” Nada recalls. “Now, we’ve regressed to Stone Age methods, baking over open fires and handwashing laundry. “It’s a suffering I wouldn’t wish upon any woman.” Sawsan Al-Zein, 50, lost an eye during an Israeli bombing that destroyed her home near Gaza City at the start of the war [Abdelhakim Abu Riash/Al Jazeera] ‘This war requires great strength from women’: Sawsan al-Zein In a nearby tent, Sawsan al-Zein, 50, sits with female relatives. The mother of eight lost an eye after being seriously injured in the first week of the war when her house on Salah al-Din Street, east of Gaza City, was bombed. “We were sitting normally that day, following the news of the war, when suddenly I found myself lying in blood,” she recounts. “At the hospital, they told me that my eye was seriously injured, and it was removed immediately. I have one eye now, and I still need to complete my treatment abroad. My hand was injured too, and I cannot move it.” One of her daughters and her son-in-law were killed in the bombing, after which the family fled to Deir el-Balah about five months ago. “Losing my eye affected my psychology greatly,” Sawsan says. “Once the pillar of my household, responsible for managing everything big and small like any mother, now I struggle with basic chores. I can’t cook over an open flame or carry objects due to my injuries.” Despite her daughter’s assistance, Sawsan mourns the impact her injuries have had on her normal life. “Previously, my children used to love my cooking, but now, I’m restricted by my condition,” she says. “Now I cannot, especially in these circumstances, which require great strength from mothers and women to manage their family affairs.” Sawsan’s only wish is for the war to end soon, so she can return home to northern Gaza, even if it lies in ruins. “Life in displacement is harsh, let alone for an injured woman like me who needs special care.” Sawsan says. “We suffer in the simplest aspects of life. Our privacy as women is eroded. Our hearts are heavy with the loss of loved ones and fear for children. What happened to us is enough.” Etemad Assaf, 29, pictured with her two children, is eight months pregnant and is fearful of giving birth in these conditions [Abdelhakim Abu Riash/Al Jazeera] Terrified to give birth: Etemad Assaf Etemad Assaf, 29, sits on a stone outside her tent, washing clothes by hand. Etemad, the mother of two children who is eight months pregnant with her third, is struggling to care for her family in these circumstances. She fled from Jabalia refugee camp to Deir el-Balah and longs for the time she might be able to return home. “The war turned our lives upside down,” she says, rubbing the clothes with her hand. “Every night I feel like I’m going to give birth now because I’m so tired.” “You see? Is this a suitable life for a pregnant woman? A tent, cold, open air and the lack of the basic necessities of life?” Etemad says she is unable to provide even the basics for her children. “My little daughter, who is 11 months old, needs diapers, and they are expensive. We can barely afford food, and sometimes there is no food to eat at all,” Etemad says. “My big concern now is my impending birth and the dire conditions around me, particularly given what we hear about the complete collapse of hospitals in Gaza.” “The healthcare system is crumbling. There is not even a proper place to rest after delivery.” Etemad says she never imagined how bad things could get. “Two days ago, I looked at myself
Why are millions internally displaced in DRC?
International solidarity campaigns have managed to bring attention to DRC’s decades old conflict, but how can they make a real impact? The conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has been brought to the world’s attention over the last few months through awareness campaigns on social media. Many of them have also called for the boycott of electronics made with minerals mined from the DRC. But organisations on the ground struggle to achieve change with a corrupt Congolese government that falls short in prioritising its citizens’ interests over those of international mining companies. Presenter: Anelise Borges Guests:Hadija Ali – Volunteer, Friends of the CongoPappy Orion – Founder, Focus on CongoReagan Miviri – Analyst, Ebuteli and Congo Research Group Adblock test (Why?)
British police officer named in Chris Kaba murder pleads not guilty
Judge lifts officer Martyn Blake’s anonymity because there are no ‘immediate’ threats to his safety. A British police officer, named for the first time as Martyn Blake, has pleaded not guilty to the murder in 2022 of Chris Kaba, a 24-year-old Black man. Kaba, who was unarmed, was driving in Streatham Hill, south London, on September 5, 2022, when he was stopped by police firearms specialists. He was shot in the head through the car windscreen and died the following day. The officer who shot Kaba was previously identified only by the codename NX121 because he had faced some threats to his safety. However, Judge Mark Lucraft lifted his anonymity on Friday, saying there was no “real and immediate risk” to Blake after analysing the threats. Blake, 40, entered his not-guilty plea on Friday at London’s Old Bailey court, where he will stand trial on October 2. Members of Kaba’s family were in the courtroom during the brief hearing. The killing of Kaba triggered widespread protests and anger among the country’s Black community, and reignited a national conversation about racism within the police force, as well as the need for reform. The police said at the time that his car had been stopped after his registration number was “linked to a firearms offence in the previous days”. Black Lives Matter UK welcomed the naming of Blake as “a positive development” but said, “we cannot ignore the trauma and pain inflicted” on the Kaba family which “has endured the anguish of seeking answers and accountability for the extrajudicial killing of their loved one”. We also cannot ignore the broader trend where on-duty police officers involved in fatal shootings have evaded conviction for murder or manslaughter. This moment serves as a reckoning for both @metpoliceuk , forcing them to confront the reality that they cannot act with impunity. — #BlackLivesMatterUK (@ukblm) March 8, 2024 The group posted on X that this “serves as a reckoning” for the police. “No longer can they hide behind anonymity while inflicting harm and terror upon our communities. Police officers must be held to account.” In a statement, the Metropolitan Police Federation said it was “hugely shocked, saddened and concerned over the decision to name the firearms officer involved in this incident”. Federation chair Rick Prior said that “being a firearms officer in London is one of the world’s toughest jobs. Officers, who volunteer for the role, know the responsibility and accountability that comes with it. It is a job like no other and they need fairness when it comes to scrutiny.” Statement from the Metropolitan Police Federation about the decision to name firearms officer NX121https://t.co/FidQlDIBVK pic.twitter.com/q5uPGB4fM9 — Metropolitan Police Federation (@MPFed) March 8, 2024 Last March, an independent review of London’s Metropolitan Police Service – Britain’s biggest police force – said it was institutionally racist, misogynist and homophobic. The review, which was commissioned after a young woman was raped and killed by a serving officer, said the force must “change itself” or risk being broken up. Adblock test (Why?)
Five key takeaways from Joe Biden’s 2024 State of the Union address
Washington, DC – US President Joe Biden has touted his administration’s economic record and sought to distinguish himself from his predecessor Donald Trump, as he delivered his third State of the Union address just months before a United States presidential election. Addressing a joint session of Congress on Thursday evening, the Democratic president repeatedly hit out at Trump, but did not mention his Republican rival by name. “My purpose tonight is to wake up the Congress and alert the American people that this is no ordinary moment,” Biden said, warning that “freedom and democracy are under attack both at home and overseas”. Recent polls show Biden and Trump neck-and-neck in their push for the White House, and their looming rematch in November’s presidential election cast a large shadow over Thursday’s State of the Union. The speech provided an important platform for Biden, who continues to face questions over whether he is fit enough to seek a second term, as well as protests over his staunch backing of Israel despite its deadly military offensive in the Gaza Strip. Here are five key takeaways from his 2024 State of the Union address. US to build ‘temporary pier’ to boost Gaza aid Biden, who has faced months of fierce criticism for his unwavering support for Israel amid the Gaza war, announced that his administration would build a “temporary pier” off the coast of the Palestinian territory to facilitate aid deliveries. The pier will be able to “receive large shipments carrying food, water, medicine and temporary shelter”, Biden said during his speech, without specifying how long it would take to set up. The move comes a week after the US airdropped 36,000 meals to hundreds of thousands of starving people in northern Gaza. But the Biden administration has ruled out conditioning aid or stopping weapon transfers to Israel to pressure it to allow more assistance into Gaza, stressing that its support for the US ally remains “ironclad”. Critics of Biden’s stance said the Gaza pier will likely fail to alleviate a growing hunger crisis in the territory. Israel has blocked aid deliveries as it continues its military offensive. “It seems to be just another effort to divert attention from the real issue here, which is that 700,000 people are starving from north Gaza down, and Israel is not allowing humanitarian aid needed to them,” Palestinian politician Mustafa Barghouti told Al Jazeera ahead of Biden’s address. More than 100 protesters demanding a Gaza ceasefire blocked a road leading to the US Capitol ahead of the speech on Thursday night. “What do we want? Permanent ceasefire. When do we want it? Now,” they chanted. Pledges Ukraine support, touts pro-Israel bona fides While Biden urged Israel to allow more aid into the Gaza Strip, he stressed that he has been a “lifelong supporter” of the US ally. “No one has a stronger requisition than I do. I challenge any of you here,” he said. He also urged Congress to unblock aid to Ukraine to help the country fend off Russia’s invasion. A growing number of Republican legislators have raised opposition to the high price tag of continued US funding for Kyiv. “My message to President Putin, who I’ve known for a long time, is simple: We will not walk away. We will not bow down. I will not bow down,” Biden said. He also hit out at Trump for saying that he would tell Russia “to do whatever the hell they want” to a NATO country that does not spend enough on defence. “A former president actually said that, bowing down to a Russian leader,” Biden said during his address. “I think it’s outrageous. It’s dangerous and it’s unacceptable.” Biden hit out at Putin and Trump during his address [Shawn Thew/Pool via Reuters] Contrast with Republican rival Trump Biden has long tried to present himself as a bulwark protecting American democracy against Trump and the former Republican president’s Make America Great Again (MAGA) base — and that was a major theme again on Thursday night. A mob of Trump’s supporters stormed the US Capitol in January 2021, in an attempt to stop Congress from certifying Biden’s 2020 election victory. Trump also faces two criminal cases linked to his efforts to overturn the election results. During his State of the Union address, Biden took multiple jabs at his Republican rival. “My predecessor and some of you here seek to bury the truth about January 6 – I will not do that,” Biden said. “Here is the simple truth: You can’t love your country only when you win.” Al Jazeera’s Kimberly Halkett, reporting from the US Capitol, said Biden mentioned Trump at least 10 times throughout his speech, referring to him as “my predecessor”. “It really was more of a campaign speech than it was a State of the Union speech,” Halkett said. “It was unusual for the fact that not only did [Biden] mention him once, but he continued to mention him throughout the speech with each topic that was mentioned.” US House Speaker Mike Johnson, right, and Vice President Kamala Harris stand in the Chamber of the House of Representatives ahead of US Biden’s address [Shawn Thew/Pool via Reuters] Abortion, reproductive rights Biden also has tried to distinguish himself and his Democratic Party from American conservatives who celebrated a 2022 Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v Wade. That landmark ruling had enshrined the constitutional right to abortion in the US for decades. Republican-led states passed a slew of abortion restrictions and bans after Roe was overturned, spurring outrage. The issue resonates with many Democratic voters who have continued to call for access to abortion and reproductive health care. On Thursday night, Biden promised to defend access to abortion nationwide. “If you, the American people, send me a Congress that supports the right to choose, I will restore Roe v Wade as the law of the land again,” he said. Citing recent election victories for Democrats since the right to abortion was revoked, the US president also