Thounsands Flee.............

Tens of thousands of people have fled Pakistan's lawless tribal region ahead of an expected army offensive, officials said Wednesday, as fighter jets pounded Taliban positions. However, a wave of Taliban attacks in Pakistan killing 125 people since last Monday has stoked fears that the long-awaited ground offensive is looming, sending more people fleeing to neighbouring districts.

Authorities have registered 90,000 people displaced from South Waziristan on the Afghan border since August, with a fresh exodus after a weekend hostage siege at army headquarters near Islamabad that deeply embarrassed the military.

Displaced Pakistani children from the troubled district of Bajaur eat donated food at a makeshift camp on the outskirts of Peshawar in 2008. The UN food agencies have said that the food crisis in poor countries coupled with the global economic crisis have caused a spike in world hunger, with more than one billion people undernourished this year.