Hidden hunger

"With the price of food skyrocketing around the world, desperately poor and overpopulated Bangladesh is considered one of the world's most vulnerable nations.

An adviser to the country's Ministry of Food, A.M.M. Shawkat Ali, warned of a ''hidden hunger'' in Bangladesh and economists estimate 30 million of the country's 150 million people could go hungry -- a crisis that could become a serious political problem for the military-backed government.

''We fear some 30 million of the ultra poor will not be able to afford three meals a day'' said Qazi Kholiquzzaman Ahmad, a leading economist in Dhaka, the capital."