Bloomberg Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese used a historic address in Papua New Guinea to call for a “swift conclusion” to negotiations over a bilateral security agreement, in the latest move by Canberra to counter Chinese influence in the Pacific. In an address to Papua New Guinea’s Parliament on Thursday, Albanese praised the close historic ties between Australia and …

  Bloomberg Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu changed the military leadership in Ukraine, appointing Valery Gerasimov, the chief of the General Staff, as head of the nation’s combined forces. General Sergei Surovikin, who had held the post since October, will become one of Gerasimov’s deputies, the Defense Ministry said in a statement Wednesday. Oleg Salyukov, chief of the land forces, …

  Bloomberg Pakistan’s former prime minister Imran Khan ally won a confidence vote as chief minister in the Punjab Assembly, the latest electoral win for the popular opposition leader demanding early general elections. Chaudhry Parvez Elahi secured 186 votes from lawmakers in the 371-member house, speaker Muhammad Sibtain Khan announced the result in a session that lasted more than an …