SAN FRANCISCO, Nov 18 (NNN-Bernama) — Malaysia has secured a total of RM63.02 billion (US$13.5 billion) in proposed investments in the United States (US) mainly from technology giants, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said Friday.

Out of the total, RM8.33 billion (US$1.8 billion) investments were from the trade and investment mission to the US organised before the start of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), while the remaining investments were from the various one-on-one meetings held by Anwar here.

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — North Dakota’s 2021 legislative redistricting plan violates the rights of two Native American tribes because it dilutes their voting strength, a federal judge ruled Friday.

U.S. District Chief Judge Peter Welte said the redrawn legislative districts violated the Voting Rights Act of 1965. The ruling came months after a trial held in June in Fargo. The decision could lead to another surprise special session of the Legislature.

HELSINKI, Nov 17 (Reuters) - Finland will erect barriers at four crossings on its border with Russia from midnight, officials said on Friday, in a bid to stem an increase in migrants that Helsinki says has been orchestrated by Moscow.

Finland has accused Russian authorities of funnelling migrants to the crossings in retaliation for its decision to increase defence cooperation with the United States, an assertion dismissed by the Kremlin.

BEIJING, Sep 3 (APP): Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), on occasion of International Students Day, has offered a 20 percent special student discount with an 80 kg baggage allowance on the flights for China.

The national flag carrier is currently operating a weekly flight on the Islamabad-Beijing-Islamabad route every Sunday, official sources said on Saturday.

Expressing pleasure over the discount, Ali Imran said that a large number of Pakistani students are studying across China, and they could benefit from the offer during the upcoming winter holidays.

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — When Tymofii Postoiuk and his friends set up an online fundraising effort for Ukraine, donations poured in from around the globe, helping to purchase essential equipment for Ukrainian armed forces.

As the fighting with Russia wore on and war fatigue set in, the donations slowed down, but money continued to come in steadily. Then the Israel-Hamas war broke out on Oct. 7.

STOCKHOLM, November 18. /TASS/: The deputy commander of Finland’s North Karelia border guard, Samuli Murtonen, confirmed the use of gas at the Niirala border crossing, the Yle broadcaster reported.

"There was a group that did not obey the orders and warnings from a border guard," he was quoted as saying in the report. "In order to bring the situation under control, we had to use the mildest possible means, which in this case was a minor spraying of gas."

FRANKFURT, Nov. 17 (Xinhua) -- European Central Bank (ECB) President Christine Lagarde on Friday called for bold actions to advance the capital markets union (CMU) in the European Union (EU).

In a speech at the European Banking Congress in Frankfurt, she said the CMU is essential for raising the money needed to respond to the challenges presented by deglobalization, ageing of the population and climate change. Having a stronger securities and markets authority would be a step in the right direction, she said.

Nov 18 (Reuters) - Armenia and Azerbaijan have been able to agree on the basic principles for a peace treaty but are still "speaking different diplomatic languages", Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said on Saturday, according to Russia's TASS news agency.

The two countries have been at odds for decades, most notably over the breakaway Azerbaijani region of Nagorno-Karabakh, which Baku's forces recaptured in September, prompting a mass exodus of ethnic Armenians from it.

TOKYO, Nov 18 (Reuters) - Daisaku Ikeda, who helped spread Buddhist thought around the world through Soka Gakkai - Japan's largest religious organisation and an ally of the government - has died, the organisation said on Saturday.

Ikeda died on Wednesday evening from natural causes at age 95, Soka Gakkai said in a statement on its website.

He was the longtime spiritual leader of the lay Buddhist organisation known abroad for its association with celebrities and at home for its influence on politics.

BERLIN, November 17. /TASS/: The conflict between Israel and Palestine has confirmed the inevitability of the two-state solution to the Palestinian issue, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said.

"The military confrontation between Israel and Palestine has confirmed that the Palestinian conflict should inevitability be resolved based on the two-state principle within the 1967 borders," the Turkish president said at a press conference with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Berlin, which was broadcast by the Turkish television channel TRT Haber.

HARARE, Nov. 17 (Xinhua) -- Zimbabwe's capital city Harare has declared a state of emergency following rising cases of cholera which have seen the country recording 51 cholera-related deaths, while the number of suspected cholera-related deaths stood at 149 as of Thursday night.

Harare City Council spokesperson Stanley Gama told Xinhua Friday that the council on Thursday held a special meeting where it decided to declare the pandemic a state of emergency.

WELLINGTON, Nov 18 (NNN-XINHUA) – The New Zealand government is contributing a further five million NZ dollars (three million U.S. dollars) to support the response to urgent humanitarian needs in Gaza, the West Bank and Israel.

This brought New Zealand’s total contribution to the humanitarian response to the Gaza conflict so far to 10 million NZ dollars (six million U.S. dollars).

“New Zealand is deeply saddened by the loss of civilian life and the grave humanitarian situation as a result of the conflict,” Prime Minister, Chris Hipkins, said, today.