Precisely when many in the developed bloc were frantically counting their money at the height of a surreal shock over subprime rate, the globalising world was jolted by a potential crisis of subsistence that would hit the poor and other vulnerable sections very hard. Is there a link, therefore, between the slippery subprime banking rate and the soaring prices of rice and other staples?

South Pacific nations have taken steps to shore up dwindling tuna stocks, banning licensed tuna vessels from fishing in international waters between their islands and requiring them to always carry observers. The new rules, agreed to at a fisheries meeting in Palau on Tuesday, will take effect from June 15, 2008. "This is an historic moment for the Pacific, its people, marine life and future food security," Lagi Toribau, Greenpeace Australia's Pacific Oceans campaigner said on Wednesday.

The government should attach top priority to the country's agriculture and food security and public service sectors in the forthcoming national budget of fiscal 2008-09, speakers said in a discussion in Rajshahi on Tuesday. They also said, the budget should be pro-people and welfare-oriented so that it could bring economic emancipation of the poverty-stricken people. And enhanced subsidy to the agriculture sector could be the means of increasing its yield, they pointed out.

As the world grapples with fears of a major food crisis, the United Nations Emergency Relief Coordinator has decided to reserve $100 million from the world body's emergency fund to address immediate issues arising from it. John Holmes, who also serves as Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, said that these funds will be used for life-saving activities in the hardest-hit sectors, including food, agriculture, health, nutrition and logistics.

With a view to revive the negotiations in the multilateral trade, the WTO released two revised draft texts on Monday evening

A World Trade Organisation agreement removing barriers to commerce is "absolutely essential'' to bring down soaring food prices, European Union Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson said. "We have to address the underlying problems of demand and supply of food,'' he said in a Bloomberg Television interview on Monday in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, where he and hundreds of business executives are attending the Middle East's World Economic Forum. "To do that, we have to bring about a fundamental reform of trade in the world, and that can only be brought about by a WTO deal.''

Fuel From The Fields: A Balance-Sheet What are biofuels? Made from renewable sources, biofuels promise a viable, eco-friendly substitute to fossil fuels. Can be made from a variety of crops like maize, sugarcane, beetroot, palm oil, jatropha-anything that is rich in sugar and carbohydrates. Typically, blended with petrol or diesel. Why are they controversial? Countries like the US are diverting their corn and maize crops to produce biofuels, thus contributing to the tight foodgrain position and spiralling global prices. What are the types of biofuel?

From panacea to pariah, biofuels have come full circle. Not unlike other advances of modern sciences

This global food crisis is a complex problem that cannot be solved with simplistic approaches.