US Ends Funding for Pakistan's 'Sesame Street'

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) - The U.S. has terminated funding for a $20 million project to develop a Pakistani version of "Sesame Street" in response to alleged corruption by the local puppet theater working on the initiative, U.S. officials said Tuesday.

The organization in question is the Rafi Peer Theater Workshop, a group based in the city of Lahore that jointly developed the show with Sesame Workshop, the creator of the American series.

The show, which includes Elmo and a host of new Pakistani characters, first aired at the end of last year and was supposed to run for at least three seasons. The U.S. hoped it would improve education in a country where one-third of primary school-age children are not in class. It was also meant to increase tolerance at a time when the influence of radical views is growing.

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