A United Nations conference aimed at helping the world’s poorest people opened on Monday with dire warnings about the threat of rising food and fuel prices to the vulnerable.There were also calls to seize investment opportunities in developing countries.U.N. Secretary—General Ban Ki—moon was among up to 8,000 delegates who converged on Istanbul for the conference on “least—developed countries,” which lists 48 members in its ranks. Thirty—three are in Africa, 14 are in Asia and one - Haiti - is in the Americas.
