World in brief: Al Qaida deputy calls talks ‘betrayal’

Al-Qaida’s No. 2 man Ayman al-Zawahri said in a message Friday that last month’s U.S.-sponsored Mideast peace conference was a “betrayal” of Palestinians, the terror group’s first reaction to the gathering.

The audiotape by Osama bin Laden’s deputy was the latest al-Qaida attempt to rally Muslims using widespread bitterness felt toward Israel over the Palestinian issue.

Al-Zawahri focused his anger on Egypt, a top U.S. ally and the first Arab country to sign a peace deal with Israel. He called on Bedouin tribes in his native country to rise up against President Hosni Mubarak.

“The Annapolis meeting was held to turn Palestine into a Jewish state,” al-Zawahri said in the 20-minute audio recording posted on an Islamic militant Web forum.

Toronto

Mounties to limit use of Tasers

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police said Friday the force will restrict its use of Taser stun guns in response to a watchdog agency report that officers were firing them too often. Three people have died recently in Canada after being shocked by Tasers.

The police force said it will more clearly define the type of behavior that would prompt an officer to use a Taser, limiting it to situations where “a subject is displaying combative behaviors or is being actively resistant.”

The previous policy allowed officers to use a Taser when a suspect’s behavior was deemed threatening.

Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic

Storm decimates banana fields

Tropical Storm Olga, which killed 27 people in the Caribbean, destroyed thousands of banana and plantain fields across the Dominican Republic, creating what could be the country’s worst agricultural crisis in years, officials said Friday.

The Yaque river flooded more than 9,150 acres of banana fields in the northern part of the country this week, leading to an estimated $40 million in lost exports. An additional 6,178 acres of plantain fields were ruined.