Taliban refuse to join peace talks

Taliban refuse to join peace talks

KABUL, Afghanistan

The Taliban said Saturday they will not participate in a peace process with the Afghan government until foreign forces stop attacking their positions and leave the country.

A statement emailed to The Associated Press by spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said the insurgents “reject” peace talks and that reports of their participation were “rumors.”

Face-to-face talks were expected to take place in Pakistan in early March, but Afghan officials said in recent days that they have been postponed for at least a week. Senior government officials had characterized the meeting as the first real step in a peace process aimed at ending the war, now in its 15th year.

Funeral for man in fatal cop shooting

MONTGOMERY, Ala.

Relatives, friends and former classmates crowded a funeral service Saturday for a 58-year-old black man who authorities say was shot and killed by a white Montgomery police officer.

The mourners paid homage to Gregory Gunn, who was fatally shot by Officer Aaron Smith on Feb. 25. Smith was arrested recently and charged with murder in the case.

EU pressured over erosion of freedom of press in Turkey

ANKARA, Turkey

The European Union is facing increasing pressure to speak out against the erosion of media freedom in Turkey after the takeover of the country’s largest-circulation newspaper, but few expect it to take a bold stance toward Ankara while trying to assure its help in dealing with the migration crisis.

Police used tear gas and water cannons for a second-straight day Saturday to disperse hundreds of protesters who gathered outside the headquarters of Zaman newspaper – now surrounded by police fences. Law-enforcement officers stormed the building Friday to enforce the court-ordered seizure of the publication, which is linked to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s top foe, U.S.-based opposition cleric Fethullah Gulen.

Filing: Gyrocopter almost hit airplane

A Florida man who flew a small gyrocopter through protected Washington airspace before landing outside the U.S. Capitol last spring was seconds away from colliding with a Delta flight that had taken off from Reagan National Airport, prosecutors said.

In a court filing Friday, prosecutors said Douglas Hughes flew his one-person aircraft almost directly into the oncoming flight path of the 150-person Airbus turbojet last April. Hughes came within 1,400 yards of Delta Flight 1639, while safety rules require aircraft to remain separated by more than 3,000 yards.

Calif. gets rain, snow

SAN FRANCISCO

Steady rain fell in Northern California and fresh snow blanketed the Sierra Nevada as the first of several powerful storms expected to slam Western states this weekend made its way inland Saturday, ending a dry spell and raising hopes the drought-stricken state can get much needed precipitation.

Droves of snowboarders, skiers and sledders packed Sierra slopes while tourists braved wet weather and visited San Francisco landmarks before an even more blustery storm arrived later in the day.

California is not the only place expecting severe weather. Conditions are especially ripe for tornadoes in the Southeast and Great Plains.

Associated Press