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Tropical storm Ian has strengthened into a hurricane set to unleash significant winds, flash floods and mudslides in Florida, Cuba and Jamaica, weather experts have warned.

The weather system is about 90 miles (150km) southwest of the Cayman Islands in the Caribbean Sea, according to the latest advisory issued by the National Hurricane Centre (NHC) on Monday.

Authorities in Cuba’s Pinar del Rio province, about two hours southwest of capital Havana, are preparing to evacuate people before the storm is expected to hit the western part of the island en route to Florida.

A hurricane warning is in place in Grand Cayman, the largest of the Cayman Islands, together with Pinar del Rio and other Cuban provinces including Isla de Juventud and Artemisa.

The NHC tweeted on Monday morning: “Life-threatening storm surge and hurricane-force winds are expected in portions of western Cuba beginning late today, and Ian is forecast to be at major hurricane strength when it is near western Cuba.

“Efforts to protect life and property should be rushed to completion.”

Florida governor Ron DeSantis declared a state of emergency amid mounting concerns over the impact of the hurricane, with residents urged to monitor the storm’s evolving path and prepare for heavy rainfall, high winds and rising tides, leading to widespread disruption including power outages.

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Weather models predict the hurricane will travel in the direction of Florida’s west coast or Panhandle region – but forecasters are currently unsure where it will make landfall.

Governor DeSantis told a news conference on Sunday: “We’re going to keep monitoring the track of this storm.

“But it really is important to stress the degree of uncertainty that still exists,” he warned.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis addressing journalists in Tallahassee, Florida Pic: Tallahassee Democrat / AP
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Florida Governor Ron DeSantis warned the storm would have ‘broad impacts through the state’. Pic: Tallahassee Democrat / AP

“Even if you’re not necessarily right in the eye of the path of the storm, there’s going to be pretty broad impacts through the state.”

US President Joe Biden has also declared an emergency, as authorities begin co-ordinating disaster relief and providing assistance to protect lives and property.

Mr Biden also delayed a planned trip to Florida on Tuesday due to the storm.

Senior hurricane specialist at the NHC, John Cangialosi, urged people to begin gathering supplies – amid reports of a rush on water and generators.

Residents in Tampa, Florida, queue for two hours to fill sandbags on Sunday, 25 September Pic: Tampa Bay Times via AP
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Residents in Tampa, Florida, queue for two hours to fill sandbags on Sunday. Pic: Tampa Bay Times via AP
Empty shelves stripped of water at a supermarket in Tampa, Florida Pic: Tampa Bay Times / AP
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Empty shelves stripped of water at a supermarket in Tampa, Florida. Pic: Tampa Bay Times / AP

“It’s a hard thing to say stay tuned, but that’s the right message right now,” he said.

“But for those in Florida, it’s still time to prepare.

“I’m not telling you to put up your shutters yet or do anything like that, but it’s still time to get your supplies.”

The approaching storm also delayed another planned attempt on Tuesday to launch NASA’s Artemis moon mission from Kennedy Space Centre in Florida.

Dr Reinhard Schiemann, associate professor at the National Centre for Atmospheric Science at the University of Reading, warned of the impact climate change could have on tropical cyclones including Ian.

“Although the total number of tropical cyclones may not change much, or could even decrease, we expect to see increased peak wind speeds so that the fraction of category 4 and 5 cyclones – the worst and potentially most destructive – will increase.

“It is likely that the average rate of rainfall in tropical cyclones will also increase, because warmer air can hold more water and because at higher wind speeds the rate of moisture supply to a rainy area increases.

“We also expect that the most intense phase of tropical cyclones will tend to occur at higher latitudes than we have seen in the past.”

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Here’s how climate change could be at play.

In Canada, Storm Fiona washed away homes and knocked out electricity in two provinces after transforming from a post-tropical storm into a hurricane on Saturday.

Meanwhile in Italy at least 10 people died after “water-bomb” flash floods, likened to a tsunami, swept into Italy’s central region of Marche earlier this month.

Record-breaking rains in Pakistan triggering unprecedented floods affected 33 million and claimed the lives of hundreds of people including children, disaster officials said.

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Hailey Bieber pregnant: Pop star Justin and wife announce they are expecting first child

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Hailey Bieber pregnant: Pop star Justin and wife announce they are expecting first child

Justin and Hailey Bieber have announced they are expecting their first child.

Hailey, the 27-year-old model, posted a video and a series of photos on Instagram showing off her baby bump.

Justin, 30, is also in the social media footage and has shared his wife’s post. It racked up over 1.8 million likes in less than an hour.

The announcement did not include a caption, with Hailey simply tagging her husband in the post.

The couple tied the knot in a secret ceremony in New York in 2018. The Instagram footage shows Hailey in a white lace dress during an apparent vow renewal held in a field.

Kylie Jenner was among the celebrities congratulating the couple in the comments of Hailey’s social media post.

Hailey Bieber and Justin Bieber are seen in Los Angeles, California.on June 2 2023 Credit: BauerGriffin / MediaPunch /IPX
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The couple married in secret in 2018. Pic: BauerGriffin / MediaPunch /IPX

US reality star and entrepreneur Kim Kardashian, model Gigi Hadid and TV personality Chrissy Teigen also commented with their warm wishes.

Read more from Sky News:
Person arrested outside Drake’s home
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Hailey is the daughter of actor Stephen Baldwin and niece of actors Alec, William and Daniel Baldwin, while Justin was discovered as a singer online aged 13 and went on to become a pop sensation with his hits including Baby, Love Me and Yummy.

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The Canadian superstar was forced to cancel the remaining dates of his Justice world tour last year amid his ongoing recovery from Ramsay Hunt syndrome, a condition that can cause facial paralysis.

He unexpectedly stepped on stage at Coachella last month to perform the 2020 hit single Essence, alongside Wizkid, during a set by Nigerian star Tems.

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Joe Biden says US will stop some weapons shipments to Israel if it invades Gaza city of Rafah

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Joe Biden says US will stop some weapons shipments to Israel if it invades Gaza city of Rafah

President Joe Biden has warned Israel in his toughest public comments so far that the US would stop supplying it with some weapons if Israel invades the southern Gaza city of Rafah.

If Israeli forces launch an all-out assault on the city, the last major Hamas stronghold in the besieged enclave, the US president said “we’re not going to supply the weapons and artillery shells used, that have been used”.

In an interview with CNN, Mr Biden acknowledged US weapons have been used by Israel which have killed civilians in Gaza during its seven-month offensive aimed at destroying Hamas.

Middle East latest: Follow live updates

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IDF launches another Rafah operation

It comes after his decision last week to pause a shipment of heavy 2,000lb bombs to Israel over concerns about a looming attack on Rafah, following public and private warnings from his administration.

“Civilians have been killed in Gaza as a consequence of those bombs and other ways in which they go after population centres,” Mr Biden told CNN.

“I made it clear that if they go into Rafah – they haven’t gone in Rafah yet – if they go into Rafah, I’m not supplying the weapons that have been used historically to deal with Rafah, to deal with the cities, that deal with that problem.”

US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin confirmed the weapons delay earlier on Wednesday, saying the US paused “one shipment of high payload munitions”.

“We’re going to continue to do what’s necessary to ensure that Israel has the means to defend itself,” Mr Austin said.

“But that said, we are currently reviewing some near-term security assistance shipments in the context of unfolding events in Rafah.”

Israel carried out military operations in Rafah earlier this week in what it described as “targeted strikes”.

Read more:
Not much Biden can do to stop his Rafah red line being crossed
Netanyahu’s choice: Accept ceasefire or gamble on Rafah incursion
Sunak to meet university bosses to discuss rise in antisemitism

Palestinians inspect the site of an Israeli strike on a house in Rafah. Pic: Reuters
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Palestinians inspect the site of an Israeli strike on a house in Rafah. Pic: Reuters

Palestinians wait to receive food cooked by a charity kitchen, in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip.
Pic Reuters
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Palestinians wait to receive food cooked by a charity kitchen in Rafah. Pic: Reuters


Mounting death toll

Nearly 34,800 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have been killed so far in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run health ministry. It does not differentiate between civilians and combatants.

The war began when Hamas stormed into Israel on 7 October, killing around 1,200 people and abducting about 250 others, of whom 133 are believed to remain in captivity, according to Israeli tallies.

Palestinians flee Rafah. Pic: Reuters
Palestinians flee Rafah on a donkey-drawn cart. Pic: Reuters
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Palestinians flee Rafah. Pics: Reuters

US will still supply defensive systems

Mr Biden told CNN the US would continue to provide defensive systems to Israel, including for its Iron Dome defence system.

“We’re going to continue to make sure Israel is secure in terms of Iron Dome and their ability to respond to attacks that came out of the Middle East recently,” he said.

“But it’s, it’s just wrong. We’re not going to – we’re not going to supply the weapons and artillery shells.”

It comes as Mr Biden’s administration is due to deliver a formal verdict this week, the first of its kind, on whether Israeli airstrikes on Gaza and restrictions on the delivery of humanitarian aid have violated international and US laws.

A decision against Israel would heap further pressure on Mr Biden to limit the flow of weapons and money to Israel’s military.

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Rafah is Biden’s red line for Netanyahu – but there’s not much he can do to stop it being crossed

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Rafah red line: The push-me-pull-you geopolitical balance is intensely difficult for Biden right now

Setting red lines is all very well, as long as you follow through when they are crossed. President Joe Biden knows that all too well.

But he also knows that if he follows through on this big new red line of withholding offensive weapons for Israel it could cost him dearly domestically.

The push-me-pull-you balance of geopolitics and domestic politics is intensely difficult right now for the American president.

Gaza latest: Follow live updates

I’ll break this down into two parts. The politics in a moment. First the challenges of red lines.

Western leaders throw them down in interviews, like Mr Biden’s pronouncement on CNN last night, as unequivocal threats. “Cross the line, if you dare!” is the rhetoric.

But too often they turn out to be flawed tools of geo-political diplomacy.

Barack Obama set a chemical weapons red line with Syria’s Bashar al Assad in 2012. He walked right through it.

Vladimir Putin remembered that when he walked through a red line Mr Biden had set on Ukraine in 2021. Mr Putin invaded. The rest is history.

Every red line is distinct, of course, and they vary in terms of the gravity of the event they are seeking to prevent.

But the principle behind laying them is the same, as is the message set when they are crossed.

Read more:
Israeli hostages’ families urge Netanyahu to accept deal
Israel claims control of key Rafah crossing

Joe Biden met with Vladimir Putin in Moscow in 2011 when he was vice president and Mr Putin was Russian prime minister. Pic: AP
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Joe Biden with Vladimir Putin during their meeting in Moscow in 2011. Pic: AP

Biden’s frustration with Netanyahu

Over the past six months, as Israel has sought to defeat Hamas in Gaza, President Biden didn’t think he’d need to lay out red lines. After all, Israel is one of America’s closest allies.

Instead, the Biden administration thought gentle diplomacy and frank back-channels with a “close friend of America” would do the trick.

But gradually, as Mr Biden and the Netanyahu government increasingly diverged on protecting civilians and a plan for “the day after” in Gaza, a red line began to appear – Rafah.

This has become Mr Biden’s red line for Israel.

The American president has repeatedly made clear his opposition to Mr Netanyahu’s insistence on a ground invasion of the southern Gazan city (Mr Netanyahu’s own red line) where about 1.4 million people are living, half of them under 18.

Smoke rises from Rafah after an Israeli airstrike on the Gaza city
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Smoke rises from Rafah after an Israeli airstrike on the Gaza city this week. Pic: AP

The Israeli military has not (yet) moved into Rafah city but is instead concentrating its operations to the east of the city and around the crossing to Egypt.

That fact has allowed the Biden administration to claim its red line hasn’t yet been crossed. “They didn’t describe it as a major ground operation,” spokesman John Kirby said this week.

Sometimes, red lines are smashed through. Sometimes, they are gradually chipped away at.

To counter the chipping Mr Netanyahu has been doing for weeks, Mr Biden hardened his red line.

“I made it clear that if they go into Rafah – they haven’t gone in Rafah yet – if they go into Rafah, I’m not supplying the weapons that have been used historically to deal with Rafah, to deal with the cities – that deal with that problem,” he told CNN.

A significant admission

That he has personally admitted what was already a fact – that American weapons have killed thousands of civilians – is significant.

But there is important nuance in his red line.

He’s talking about stopping the delivery of offensive weapons for the type of operations that have flattened much of Gaza and could do the same to Rafah.

He is not threatening to cut Israel off from all US weapons, of course not.

Defensive weapons to counter Iranian proxy rockets will keep coming. As will long-range weapons and jets to counter Iran. None of that will stop being delivered.

Still, it’s a big shift for Biden. It’s not been done before and symbolically for Israel, in the middle of its longest and most critical war, it looks terrible.

The domestic political risks

And that brings us to the domestic politics of all this.

For every lever of influence Mr Biden pulls (and he’s seen they have their limited use) there is a domestic political calculus.

Pretty much all Republicans are against every lever; they want nothing less than unequivocal support for Israel.

More than that though – a significant number of his own Democrats will also be uneasy about America limiting weapons for Israel.

But critical voters in key states are very pro-Palestine. President Biden isn’t oblivious to their cry “Genocide Joe!”

It is a perilous political push-me-pull-you and the election is six months away.

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