WORLD BRIEFS

Yemeni officials say suspected U.S. drone kills al-Qaida men

SANAA, Yemen — Yemeni security officials say a suspected U.S. drone strike has killed four alleged al-Qaida fighters in the country’s central Marib province. The officials say the men were killed on Wednesday and have yet to be identified but the area is a known al-Qaida hotbed. They say that a day earlier, five other suspected al-Qaida operatives were also killed in a similar drone attack in the neighbouring Shabwa province. Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula is considered by Washington to be the group’s most dangerous branch. It has expanded its territory in the chaos of Yemen’s civil war. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to release the information. PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — Haitian authorities say they will rebuild the country’s National Palace to resemble the iconic 90-year-old structure that was smashed during the country’s 2010 earthquake. The collapse of the ornate domed building became a twin symbol of the quake’s devastation and of the shattered government’s dysfunction. President Jovenel Moise on Wednesday created a reconstruction commission that includes Haitian architects and historians. He says a new National Palace will “make the connection between the history, culture and future of the Haitian nation.” Clement Belizaire is executive director of the government’s agency for public buildings. He says a revived palace will “absolutely” be completed by 2020 and they will keep the architectural concepts of the previous building. Officials say they expect the reconstruction project to go a competitive bidding process later this year.

Haiti to rebuild National Palace smashed in 2010 earthquake