Biden’s Houthi Terrorism Designation and Its Impact on Red Sea Shipping Attacks

Welcome back to Foreign Policy’s SitRep. The main news discussed are Biden’s decision to redesignate the Houthis as a terrorist group, the emergence of a top contender for NATO’s next secretary-general, the deployment of unmanned U.S. Navy ships in the Asia-Pacific, and more. The article discusses FTO and SDGT and their implications in sanctions. For aid organizations, the SDGT option is preferable because it gives them more flexibility and mitigate harm from sanctions. Republican lawmakers criticized the Biden administration for not going far enough in their efforts to designate the Houthis. The article also describes some key personnel changes in the Biden administration. Mark Rutte, the former Dutch Prime Minister, has emerged as the front-runner to become the next NATO secretary-general. British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s effort to deport asylum-seekers to Rwanda has been approved with some dissenting voices. Finally, unmanned U.S. Navy ships are patrolling the Asia-Pacific.