World News Roundup: Blinken, Lavrov speak amid war of words over Ukraine at G20 meet; Dutch "coffee shops" to stock licensed cannabis in trial and more

Speaking at the United Nations Conference on Disarmament in Geneva, Ryabkov said that the United States and its Western allies wanted to see Russia strategically defeated in Ukraine and accused them of fanning conflict there. Blinken, Lavrov spoke briefly on margins of G20 meeting - U.S. official U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov spoke for less than 10 minutes on the margins of the G20 meeting in New Delhi on Thursday, a senior U.S. State Department official said.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Blinken, Lavrov speak amid war of words over Ukraine at G20 meet

The United States and its European allies sparred with Russia over the war in Ukraine at a meeting of G20 foreign ministers in New Delhi on Thursday, with the rival sides each accusing the other of destabilising the world. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov had a brief encounter on the sidelines of the meeting during which Blinken urged Russia to reverse its decision on the New START nuclear treaty, a senior U.S. official said.

Dutch "coffee shops" to stock licensed cannabis in trial

The Netherlands will trial licensing cannabis growers for its famous "coffee shops" where smoking the drug is authorised, tackling a contradiction whereby selling is legal but supplying isn't, which has fed an illegal market dominated by criminal organisations. Local mayors hope legalizing cannabis production will close this black market.

German ex-leader Schroeder to remain member of Scholz's SPD despite Russia ties

Former German chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, who has become increasingly derided in Germany for his ties to Russia, will be allowed to remain a member of the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD), a party arbitration committee decided on Thursday. Schroeder, 78, had not violated any party rules, said the committee, confirming a decision in August that stopped a move by a local chapter of the SPD to expel him.

Ukraine clings to Bakhmut; Russia says it battles saboteurs in cross-border raid

Ukrainian forces hung on to positions in the ruined eastern city of Bakhmut on Thursday, while Moscow said its security forces were battling Ukrainian saboteurs who had taken hostages in a cross-border raid. Moscow said a group of armed Ukrainians had crossed into Russia's Bryansk province, fired on a car killing one person and wounding a child, and were holding hostages in a shop near the border.

Accident at Russian plane factory kills one, injures several

One person died and several were injured in an accident during pressure testing of an Ilyushin-76 (Il-76) cargo plane at a Russian factory on Thursday, according to its manufacturer, United Aircraft Corporation. "At one of the assembly stages, the hermetic seal of fuselage is checked by pumping excess pressure into the compartments. During these tests, a tragic incident occurred," the company said.

Russia says it suspended nuclear pact because U.S. was using it to help Ukraine

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said on Thursday that Moscow had been forced to suspend its participation in the New START nuclear arms control treaty because Washington was using it to help Ukraine attack Russian strategic sites. Speaking at the United Nations Conference on Disarmament in Geneva, Ryabkov said that the United States and its Western allies wanted to see Russia strategically defeated in Ukraine and accused them of fanning conflict there.

Blinken, Lavrov spoke briefly on margins of G20 meeting - U.S. official

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov spoke for less than 10 minutes on the margins of the G20 meeting in New Delhi on Thursday, a senior U.S. State Department official said. In what is believed to be the two top diplomats' first one-on-one conversation in person since before Russia's February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, Blinken reiterated that Washington is prepared to support Ukraine's defense as long as it takes, the official said.

Russia won't be first to test nuclear device - deputy FM

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said on Thursday Russia would not be the first to test a nuclear device, following Moscow's suspension of the New START nuclear arms control treaty with the United States. Addressing reporters at the Russian mission in Geneva after a disarmament conference, Ryabkov said Moscow would not carry out tests if Washington also refrained, but that Russia still had to prepare for the worst.

Greek train crash toll set to rise, government promises answers

The death toll from Greece's deadliest train crash was set to rise even higher, with 46 confirmed dead but ten people still missing, authorities said on Thursday. Anger grew across the country over how two trains could smash head-on on the same track and the government said it would do all it could to make sure such a crash never happens again.

Torture chambers in Ukraine's Kherson 'financed by Russian state' -investigators

A network of at least 20 torture chambers in the recently liberated southern Ukrainian region of Kherson was "planned and directly financed by the Russian State," war crimes investigators said on Thursday, citing new evidence. The Mobile Justice Team, funded by Britain, the EU and the United States, has been working with Ukrainian war crimes prosecutors across Ukraine and in Kherson since the city was reclaimed from Russian forces in November after more than eight months of occupation.