World News Roundup: Iran takes dig at Trump, rockets hit Afghan city and more

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

A village remembers Catalonia's ill-fated bid to leave Spain

Oriol Costa looks at a ballot box in a glass case in his village in Catalonia, a reminder of last year's banned Oct. 1 referendum on independence that plunged Spain into its worst political crisis in decades. An inscription under the case reads "Never forget, never pardon", a reference to the scenes of chaos that erupted across the region as riot police descended on polling stations to prevent the vote from going ahead.

America had no achievements at U.N. General Assembly: Iran president

The United States was not able to register any achievements at the United Nations General Assembly meeting which took place this week, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on Thursday. Rouhani and U.S. President Donald Trump exchanged threats and insults during their speeches at the UN assembly.

Far from home, a Syrian rebel group starts over

Syrian rebels forced from their towns when government forces retook eastern Ghouta near Damascus are starting over in the far north, aiming to build hundreds of homes for displaced fighters and civilians on opposition-held land near the Turkish border. Jaish al-Islam, one of Syria's most prominent rebel groups, likens the project to a new town for people from eastern Ghouta who have been living in camps since President Bashar al-Assad recaptured their area in April.

Rockets hit Afghan city during president's visit

Multiple rockets hit the Afghan city of Ghazni on Thursday during a visit by President Ashraf Ghani, according to officials and residents of the city, which is still struggling to return to normal after it was overrun by Taliban fighters last month. At least two rockets landed within 300 meters (yards) of the governor's compound, where Ghani was meeting local officials, while a third struck further off, said Ahmad Khan Sirat, spokesman for Ghazni police.

China demands U.S. 'dispel obstacles' to military ties and stop slander

China demanded the United States "dispel obstacles" to improving military ties and stop slandering it, amid growing tensions over trade, Taiwan, the South China Sea and U.S. President Donald Trump's claims of China meddling in the upcoming U.S. election. Trump on Wednesday accused China of seeking to interfere in the Nov. 6 U.S. congressional elections, saying that Beijing did not want him or his Republican Party to do well because of his pugnacious stance on trade.

Turkey's Erdogan calls on Germany to list Gulen group as terrorist

President Tayyip Erdogan, on the eve of a visit to Germany on Thursday, urged it to designate as a terrorist organization the Fethullah Gulen movement, which Turkey blames for a 2016 coup attempt. His call, in an article published in the Frankfurter Allgemeine newspaper, brought into focus the policy gulf between the two countries as Erdogan arrived, seeking to repair strained political and commercial ties.

EU accepts no-deal Brexit would still include some deals: diplomats

The European Union will wait until November before kicking off full-blown preparations for a possible collapse of Brexit talks, diplomats said, reluctantly accepting that such a scenario would still require some managing. EU envoys of the 27 countries remaining in the bloc after Brexit discussed on Wednesday stepping up contingency planning should no agreement with Britain emerge on how to run the unprecedented process.

Slovak police detain suspects over journalist murder: media, lawyer

Slovak police have detained people suspected of the murder of investigative reporter Jan Kuciak and his fiancee, Slovak media outlets reported on Thursday, citing police sources. The news was confirmed by a lawyer for the family of Kuciak, whose killing seven months ago rocked the central European country, stoking anger over public corruption and sparking the biggest street protests since the fall of communism in 1989.

Killing them softly: Macron's EU election man challenges Brussels political order

Emmanuel Macron ripped up the French political textbook with surprising ease last year but repeating the feat in Europe next year is a tall order when there are decades of perceived French arrogance to overcome. Pieyre-Alexandre Anglade, Macron's European election emissary, has a front-seat role in persuading parties from across the left-right divide to rally behind the president's drive to redraw the landscape and make Europe relevant again.

In legal battle over gay sex, Kenyan court to consider Indian ruling

Parties involved in a court case seeking to decriminalize gay sex in Kenya will be allowed to make submissions based on a recent decision by India's top court to overturn a ban on gay sex, a Kenyan court said on Thursday. India's top court on Sept. 6 scrapped a colonial-era law that punished gay sex with up to 10 years in jail, raising hopes among activists worldwide, including in Africa, for similar reforms elsewhere.