Much of the world today is consumed by fears of recession and unemployment. But for nearly a billion people, the fear is more basic having nothing to eat. Experts from Africa, Europe and the United States gathering in Dublin for a conference on combating world hunger say the two are connected the drift toward recession in the world's wealthiest countries is already increasing malnutrition in the world's poorest ones. The conference begins Thursday, United Nations' World Food Day. Development experts say a global community able to commit hundreds of billions to bolstering banks should be willing to commit a fraction of that to fighting hunger. An estimated 970 million people will hungry in the coming year, up from about 920 million last year.