AFP, Washington

The World Bank on Tuesday announced a 1.2 billion dollar programme to fight the global food crisis, including 200 million dollars in grants to poor countries facing the most dire needs.
The new programme aims to speed up aid to those in need as “high food prices are making the bottom billion (people) into potentially the bottom two billion,” World Bank president Robert Zoellick said.
The Bank also said it would boost its overall support for global agriculture and food to six billion dollars next year, up 50 percent. [Read more]