Hurricane Milton has made landfall near Siesta Key, Florida, as a dangerous Category 3 storm. It is the fifth hurricane to make landfall in the US this year. Milton is bringing “an axis of extreme rainfall” to the Tampa Bay area, increasing the risk of deadly flash flooding, according to the National Weather Service. The storm could become one of the most destructive on record for Florida’s Gulf Coast. Hurricane Milton’s wind field more than doubled in size since yesterday — meaning its disastrous impacts are being felt over a much larger area. Tropical-storm force winds are expected to cover the entire width of the Florida peninsula and stretch from Miami to Savannah by Thursday. Hurricane force winds roaring through the Tampa Bay area are gusting with such force it’s pushing water through one building’s wall. - CNN
Vice President Kamala Harris has raised more than $1 billion in less than three months as a presidential candidate, according to three people with knowledge of her fund-raising haul. While other presidential candidates, together with their parties, have passed that threshold before, the sheer speed with which Ms. Harris and her affiliated party committees raised the sum is notable. And it’s more than former President Donald J. Trump has announced raising in all of 2024. - NYT
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EU countries have approved providing Ukraine with a loan of up to €35bn before the end of the year as part of a G7 plan to fund Kyiv’s defence against Russian aggression. A majority of EU ambassadors on Wednesday backed the issuance of a loan guaranteed by the bloc’s common budget, according to people familiar with the matter. The decision comes after months of wrangling over how to structure their share of a $50bn plan by the G7 to support Ukraine. Under the G7 plan, the entirety of the $50bn loan will be repaid by profits from Russian state assets frozen in the west in response to Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. More than €200bn of those assets are immobilised in the EU. Washington had premised its participation in the G7 loan on the EU extending the length of its sanctions regime from 6 months to 36 months in order to guarantee that the Russian assets remained frozen and put the repayment scheme on a more predictable footing. - FT
‘We Are Not Going to Just Surrender and Give Up Our Independence’ – Ukraine at War Update for Dec. 18
A third foreign-flagged vessel has been struck in the span of four days as Russia steps up ballistic missile attacks on Odesa region. The heavy attacks have resulted in six deaths and 11 people injured, many seriously. Officials said a Panamanian-flagged container ship, the Shui Spirit, was the latest to be hit. Significantly, the vessel was struck as the Odesa ports were gearing up to restart container vessel movements for the first time since the start of the war. Ukrainian officials said a Palau-flagged vessel was hit on Monday, and a civilian Saint Kitts and Nevis-flagged vessel loaded with corn hit Sunday. “An insidious enemy is trying to disrupt the work of the Ukrainian grain corridor, killing civilians and destroying infrastructure," Odesa regional governor Oleh Kiper posted on social media.
Israeli forces killed at least 64 Palestinians in Gaza on Wednesday, most of them in the north, where a six-day siege has forced the United Nations to shut down schools-turned-shelters, as well as hospitals. In the occupied West Bank, Israeli forces shot and killed at least four Palestinians in what the governor of Nablus called “a cowardly and deliberate assassination”. Israel’s military also continues to pound Lebanon, killing at least five people in the southern town of Wardaniyeh, and another five paramedics in the Tyre district. - Al Jazeera
Chinese internet company Baidu is seeking to roll out its driverless ride-hailing service overseas in an effort to extend its competitive advantage outside China. The Beijing-based company hopes to test and deploy its Apollo Go robotaxis in places including Hong Kong, Singapore and the Middle East, people familiar with the matter said - WSJ
More than 180 years of horse racing has come to an end in Singapore, as the Singapore Turf Club hosted its final race day before its track is handed back to the government to provide land for new homes. The site of more than 120 hectares (300 acres) is to be bulldozed for new public and private homes as the nation, smaller than New York City, tries to accommodate a growing population that crossed six million this year. The government has said that this is necessary to ensure “there is sufficient land for future generations”. After some preparation work, the site must be returned by early 2027 - Bangkok Post
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