BRUSSELS, Dec 14 (Reuters) - European Union leaders made a historic decision on Thursday to open membership talks with Ukraine, bypassing objections from Hungary to give Kyiv a major political boost as its war against Russia's invasion grinds on.

Although membership would likely be many years away, the decision at a summit in Brussels takes Ukraine a step closer to its long-term strategic goal of anchoring itself in the West and liberating itself from Moscow's orbit.

LONDON, December 15. /TASS/: The United Kingdom will impose a ban on imports of diamonds from Russia beginning from January 1, 2024, the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development office said in a statement.

"The UK government is introducing separate legislation to ban the import of diamonds from Russia and plans to proceed with a prohibition on ancillary services relating to metals when this can be done in concert with international partners," the statement says.

BRUSSELS, December 15. /TASS/: Austria has lifted its objections to the 12th package of anti-Russian sanctions, but it is yet to be adopted, a European source told reporters on the sidelines of the ongoing EU summit in Brussels.

"Yes, it has withdrawn," the source said.

The diplomat emphasized that the document was still in the process of formal adoption.

Earlier, Reuters reported, citing EU sources, that the process was blocked by Austria, who demanded that Ukraine exclude its Raiffeisen Bank International from the blacklist of companies supporting Russia.

SEOUL, Dec 15 (NNN-YONHAP) – South Korea’s overseas direct investment fell for the fourth straight quarter, on lingering uncertainty over global economy, government data showed, today.

Overseas investment through the purchase of foreign stocks and the establishment of foreign offices, stood at 14.62 billion U.S. dollars in the Jul-Sept quarter, down 20.4 percent, from the same quarter of last year, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance.

MOSCOW, Dec 14 (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin appeared briefly lost for words on Thursday when confronted with an AI-generated version of himself.

The "double" took the opportunity to put a question to Putin about artificial intelligence during an annual news conference where dozens of callers from around the country were hooked up to the president by video link.

DUBAI, Dec 14 (Reuters) - Iran said it was lifting visa requirements for 33 countries, including Gulf states like Saudi Arabia with which Tehran had frosty relations for years until a recent rapprochement, the Iranian Students News Agency said on Thursday.

"The ministry of tourism believes that an open-door policy will showcase Iran's determination to engage with different countries of the world," the semi-official ISNA reported.

STOCKHOLM, December 14. /TASS/: Finland has decided to once again close all crossing points along the border with Russia, Minister of the Interior Mari Rantanen said.

"The border will be closed from tomorrow, Friday, December 15, 8:00 p.m. (6:00 p.m. GMT), and [the closing procedure] will be completed on January 14. <...> We have been able to state that illegal immigration on Finland's eastern border has continued," Rantanen said during a parliamentary question-and-answer meeting, broadcast on the Finnish Cabinet’s website.

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 15 (NNN-Bernama) — The Malaysian ringgit opened marginally lower Friday despite a falling US Dollar Index (DXY) as market expectation for an interest rate cut in 2024 supersedes statistical releases, including the better-than-expected US retail sales and initial jobless claims statistics, said an analyst.

At 9.01 am, the ringgit eased to 4.6700/6740 against the greenback from Thursday’s close of 4.6695/6745.  

HONG KONG, Dec 14 (Reuters) - Every day, nearly 60 fully loaded very large crude-oil carriers sail between the Persian Gulf and Chinese ports, carrying about half of the oil that powers the world's second-largest economy.

As the vessels enter the South China Sea, they ply waters increasingly controlled by China's growing military, from the missile batteries and airfields at its bases on disputed islands to its stealthy Type 055 destroyers.

ANKARA, Dec 14 (Reuters) - An opposition Turkish lawmaker died on Thursday, two days after suffering a heart attack and collapsing in front of parliament as he finished a speech criticising the government's policy toward Israel.

Hasan Bitmez, 54, a member of parliament from the opposition Felicity (Saadet) Party, died in Ankara City Hospital, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca told reporters in televised remarks.

MOSCOW, December 14. /TASS/: The conflict in Ukraine is a tragedy, akin to a civil war between brothers, President Vladimir Putin said at the combined Direct Line Q&A and year-end press conference.

"What is happening now [in Ukraine] is a huge tragedy, a kind of civil war," he said.

KAMPALA, Dec 15 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Ugandan troops killed about 200 ADF fighters in the Democratic Republic of Congo, as the military operations to flush out the Daesh group-affiliated militants continue, Uganda’s president said.

“We have been carrying out air attacks on the terrorists in Congo,” President Yoweri Museveni said on X, formerly Twitter, adding that around “200 of them were killed” in strikes carried out on Sept 16.

More strikes against the fighters have been carried out since then, Museveni added, without giving further details.