Secretary-General To Combat Food Shortage With Task Force

BERN, Switzerland — Secretary-General Ban said he will be the chairman of a new U.N. task force to counter the effects of soaring food prices that are putting basic foods beyond the reach of the world's poorest people.

"Mounting hunger and increasing evidence of severe malnutrition is evident and the capacities of humanitarian agencies to meet these needs are under severe strain," Mr. Ban told a press conference yesterday in the Swiss capital, Bern, where he attended a two-day meeting of the key U.N. development agencies.