■UNITED STATES
Two dead in bank bombing
Two police officers were killed and two people were injured by a bomb that exploded at a bank in the western US state of Oregon, authorities confirmed. The fatalities included a bomb disposal expert and a police chief who died after a suspicious package exploded at a branch of the West Coast Bank in Woodburn, 48km south of Portland, on Friday. The bomb also seriously injured a 46-year-old police chief and a female bank employee, Oregon State Police said in a statement. No individual or group has claimed responsibility for the bombing and authorities have issued a US$35,000 reward for information leading to the capture of those responsible.
■HAITI
IDB to double Haiti aid
The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) will double its aid next year to help the Caribbean nation upgrade its crumbling infrastructure and broaden social programs, the bank’s chief announced on Sunday. IDB president Luis Alberto Moreno, in comments at the National Palace in Port-au-Prince, said the bank would double its grants to US$100 million next year to help the country’s government with a raft of vital investments. IDB’s announcement comes a few months after some 800 people were confirmed dead after four devastating storms hit Haiti, the Western Hemisphere’s poorest country.
■UNITED STATES
Palin’s church holds service
Members of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin’s church gathered in high spirits at a middle school on Sunday, two days after their building was badly damaged by a fire authorities are investigating as arson. Palin, the former Republican vice presidential candidate, did not attend services on Sunday because she was in Juneau preparing to propose a state budget, said her spokesman, Bill McAllister.
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