U.N. Pulls Anti-Polio Workers

The United Nations said on Wednesday that it would scale back its anti-polio vaccination effort in Pakistan after three more health workers were shot, two fatally. Eight health workers have been killed in the past 48 hours, and the U.N. spokesman said all workers had been pulled off the streets. No group has claimed responsibility, but the Taliban have issued threats before against the U.N.’s anti-polio campaign, although a spokesman for the Pakistani Taliban insisted the group is not responsible for the attacks. Pakistan is one of just three countries left in the world where polio is rampant, and the government has tried to insist on the vaccination program despite backlash from the hardline Islamic community.