UN moving 600 staffers out of Afghanistan

UN moving 600 staffers out of Afghanistan

KABUL — The United Nations is sending about 600 foreign staff members out of the country or into secure compounds because of the deadly Taliban attack on U.N. workers, warning the Afghan government Thursday that international support will wane unless it cracks down on corruption fueling the insurgency.

The decision follows a drawdown of U.N. operations in Pakistan, casting doubt on whether the world body can operate effectively in this region with war raging on both sides of the border. The moves come as the Obama administration nears a decision on whether to send tens of thousands more U.S. troops to Afghanistan to try to curb the growth of the Taliban.

DNA tests weighed for some refugee applicants

WASHINGTON — The Obama administration is considering using DNA tests for some foreign refugee applicants after a Bush-era pilot program that found massive fraud among those claiming family links to join relatives already in the United States.

The State Department said Thursday that it and the Homeland Security Department are nearing a decision on ways to reinstate a refugee-resettlement program that was suspended last year when the fraud was uncovered.

The U.S. experiment using genetic testing ended in 2008 and was aimed only at proving family relationships. The program was not used to identify nationality by country, similar to a controversial effort in England, officials said.

New foreclosure option

WASHINGTON — Can’t pay the mortgage? You still might be able to stay in your home. Government-controlled mortgage company Fannie Mae is going to give borrowers on the verge of foreclosure the option of renting their homes for a year.

The change announced Thursday could give a temporary break to thousands of homeowners, but critics question whether it will only add to the mushrooming losses at the company, which has received billions in taxpayer money.

The new “Deed for Lease” program will allow homeowners to transfer title to Fannie Mae and sign a one-year lease, with potential month-to-month extensions after that.

Jury convicts polygamist of sexual assault of child

ELDORADO, Texas — The first polygamist-sect member to face criminal trial after the raid at the Yearning For Zion Ranch in West Texas last year was convicted Thursday of sexual assault of a child.

Jurors took a little more than two hours to convict Raymond Jessop, 38, of sexually assaulting a teen with whom he had a so-called “spiritual marriage.”

Jessop purportedly has nine wives. He faces a bigamy charge, but that case is to be tried later. The girl in the assault case, now 21, was previously in a “spiritual marriage” with Jessop’s brother before being “reassigned” to Jessop when she was 15, according to documents seized at the ranch. She became pregnant at age 16.

Jessop, who had been free on bond during the trial, was immediately handcuffed and led across the Schleicher County Courthouse square to the jail after his conviction. Jurors were expected to return to court Monday to begin deciding his sentence. He faces up to 20 years in prison.

US faces Tamiflu shortage

ST. LOUIS — It’s been hard enough to find H1N1 vaccines for children. But if they get the flu, it can also be tough to get a prescription filled for the drug used to treat it.

The early and unexpected flu outbreak, along with kids’ vulnerability to the illness, has created a national shortage of the liquid form of the anti-viral drug Tamiflu. The liquid drug is prescribed to small children and anyone else who has trouble swallowing pills.

The federal government last week released its last 234,000 doses of liquid Tamiflu from a national stockpile. More supplies from Roche, the manufacturer, are not expected until January.

Compromise on climate

BARCELONA, Spain — With the U.S. Congress still struggling to agree on sharp cuts in greenhouse gases or how to fund them, European officials said Thursday they were now striving for a political agreement instead of a new treaty to allow the U.S. and other rich nations to make commitments that are not legally binding.

The revised thinking was an implicit admission of defeat: The two-year timetable for crafting a landmark treaty will miss its deadline, and that failure threatens to deepen the distrust between rich countries and poor nations reeling from drought and failing crops caused by persistently warmer weather.

Combined dispatches