Czech and Slovak Leaders Rally Behind Hungary's Orban Ahead of Critical Election 
U.S. Blockade of Strait of Hormuz Sends Oil Tankers Into Retreat 
South Korea and Poland Forge Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Centered on Defence 
U.S., Australia, and Philippines Conduct Joint South China Sea Military Drills Amid Rising Tensions With China 
Viktor Orban Loses Power After 16 Years as Hungary's Tisza Party Claims Landslide Election Victory 
Peru Presidential Election 2025: Lopez Aliaga Leads Early Results 
U.S.-Iran Peace Talks in Islamabad Pause With Key Differences Unresolved 
Britain Pauses Chagos Islands Deal Amid U.S. Opposition and Diplomatic Tensions 
Hungary's Orban Loses Power as Magyar Wins in Landslide; U.S. Reactions Divided 
Trump Blasts Pope Leo as "Weak" Amid Foreign Policy and Immigration Disputes 
Poll: Israelis Split on Iran Ceasefire as Netanyahu's Approval Declines 
BCA Research Warns U.S.-Iran Ceasefire Could Collapse, Maintains Cautious Equity Outlook 
U.S. Blockade of Iran Begins as Nuclear Talks Collapse in Islamabad 
U.S. Blockades Strait of Hormuz Amid Escalating Iran Tensions 
Peter Magyar Ends Viktor Orbán's 16-Year Rule in Historic Hungary Election 
U.S. Blockades Strait of Hormuz After Iran Nuclear Talks Collapse 
Spain's Sanchez Visits China to Deepen Trade Ties Amid U.S. Tensions 
US President Joe Biden has officially signed the bipartisan infrastructure bill into law this week. As the law is set to take effect, Biden has also appointed former New Orleans mayor Mitch Landrieu to oversee its implementation.
Prior to the signing of the bill into law, Biden appointed Landrieu to the role of “infrastructure czar” that will oversee the billions of federal funding and the law’s implementation. This follows a week after the House passed the bipartisan bill that had already passed the Senate back in August. The bill would go into transportation systems, roads, bridges, airports, as well as expand broadband internet access and clean drinking water.
“In this role, Landrieu will oversee the most significant and comprehensive investments in American infrastructure in generations -- work that independent experts verify will create millions of high-paying, union jobs while boosting our economic competitiveness in the world, strengthening our supply chains, and acting against inflation for the long term,” the White House said in a statement.
Landrieu served as the mayor of New Orleans in 2010 in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina as the city struggled to recover from the natural calamity. Landrieu also served as Louisiana’s lieutenant governor.
Biden has already stressed that it would be weeks or months before the public can start seeing the effects of the bipartisan infrastructure bill. Biden is also looking to rely on its passage in a political sense, in time for the 2022 midterm elections, which will determine which party controls the House and the Senate.
In other related news, BBC reports Biden has signed legislation that would stop companies suspected to be a security threat from receiving new telecommunication equipment licenses. The legislation, also known as the Secure Equipment Act, says the Federal Communications Commission will no longer review applications from companies marked as a threat.
This would mean that equipment from Chinese companies like Huawei, ZTE, and three others cannot be used in US telecom networks. The legislation was passed on a bipartisan vote in the Senate back in October along with the majority of the House, with four representatives opposing the legislation.
