Release v0.16.18

What's Changed

• Update stable release to v0.16.17 by @michi-covalent in #2794
• action: Run version command with --client flag by @michi-covalent in #2797
• chore(deps): update ubuntu:24.04 docker digest to 56a8952 by @renovate in #2796
• vendor: Remove gops dependency by @michi-covalent in #2798
• github: Remove unused files by @michi-covalent in #2801
• chore(deps): update ubuntu:24.04 docker digest to dfc1087 by @renovate in #2800
• release: Install curl by @michi-covalent in #2803
• chore(deps): update azure/login action to v2.2.0 by @renovate in #2799
• Prepare for v0.16.18 release by @michi-covalent in #2805

Full Changelog: v0.16.17...v0.16.18