Thousands may have starved to death in Syria: UN

The United Nations human rights chief warned on Monday that thousands of people may have died of starvation during sieges affecting nearly half a million people in war-torn Syria.

The comments by Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein came as the first major ceasefire in the five-year conflict entered its third day, and as the UN prepared to deploy trucks loaded with humanitarian aid into the country during the lull in fighting.

"The deliberate starvation of people is unequivocally forbidden as a weapon of warfare. By extension, so are sieges," said Hussein.

He added: "thousands of people may have starved to death".

Al Jazeera's Jamal Elshayyal, reporting from the Turkish border town of Giazantep, noted that US Secretary of State John Kerry has accused the Syrian government of using food as "a weapon of war".

"This war in recent months hasn't just been fought with weapons - it's also been fought through the use of food," he said. "The guns here haven't gone totally silent, so it's still dangerous for aid workers."

The UN and its partner organisations were planning to start delivering aid to Syrians in several besieged areas previously cut off by the violence.

A UN spokesman told Al Jazeera that trucks bound for Mouadamiya in the southern outskirts of Damascus were loaded and were planning to move shortly.

Aid deliveries were also planned to arrive in the towns of Zabadani, Kefraya, Fouaa and Madaya by Wednesday.

The deliveries are part of humanitarian aid planned for 1.7 million people in hard-to-reach areas in the first quarter of 2016, UN Resident Coordinator in Damascus, Yacoub El Hillo, said in a statement on Sunday.

The UN estimates there are almost 500,000 people living under siege of a total of 4.6 million who are hard to reach with aid.

"It is the best opportunity that the Syrian people have had over the last five years for lasting peace and stability," El Hillo said.

"But we all know that without a meaningful political process and a political solution, both cessation of hostilities and entry of humanitarian assistance will not be enough to end the crisis in Syria."

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and US Secretary of State John Kerry spoke on the phone on Sunday at the initiative of Moscow on the progress of the ceasefire, Russia's foreign ministry reported on Monday.

Syria's main opposition grouping, the High Negotiations Committee (HNC), on Sunday described the ceasefire as "positive", but lodged a formal complaint with the UN and foreign governments about breaches on the first day.

A HNC letter to Ban Ki-moon, the UN secretary-general, accused Bashar al-Assad's government and its allies of committing "24 violations with artillery shelling and five ground operations ... in 26 areas held by the moderate opposition".

The letter, signed by HNC head Riad Hijab, also criticised Russia for conducting "26 air strikes on areas falling within the ceasefire".

It said continued breaches of the ceasefire would make peace talks unattainable.

Syria's ally Russia has said it has only targeted areas under the control of  al-Nusra Front, which is linked to al-Qaeda, and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). Nusra and ISIL are excluded from the terms of the international pact.

Thousands may have starved to death in Syria: UN

The United Nations human rights chief warned on Monday that thousands of people may have died of starvation during sieges affecting nearly half a million people in war-torn Syria.

The comments by Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein came as the first major ceasefire in the five-year conflict entered its third day, and as the UN prepared to deploy trucks loaded with humanitarian aid into the country during the lull in fighting.

"The deliberate starvation of people is unequivocally forbidden as a weapon of warfare. By extension, so are sieges," said Hussein.

He added: "thousands of people may have starved to death".

Al Jazeera's Jamal Elshayyal, reporting from the Turkish border town of Giazantep, noted that US Secretary of State John Kerry has accused the Syrian government of using food as "a weapon of war".

"This war in recent months hasn't just been fought with weapons - it's also been fought through the use of food," he said. "The guns here haven't gone totally silent, so it's still dangerous for aid workers."

The UN and its partner organisations were planning to start delivering aid to Syrians in several besieged areas previously cut off by the violence.

A UN spokesman told Al Jazeera that trucks bound for Mouadamiya in the southern outskirts of Damascus were loaded and were planning to move shortly.

Aid deliveries were also planned to arrive in the towns of Zabadani, Kefraya, Fouaa and Madaya by Wednesday.

The deliveries are part of humanitarian aid planned for 1.7 million people in hard-to-reach areas in the first quarter of 2016, UN Resident Coordinator in Damascus, Yacoub El Hillo, said in a statement on Sunday.

The UN estimates there are almost 500,000 people living under siege of a total of 4.6 million who are hard to reach with aid.

"It is the best opportunity that the Syrian people have had over the last five years for lasting peace and stability," El Hillo said.

"But we all know that without a meaningful political process and a political solution, both cessation of hostilities and entry of humanitarian assistance will not be enough to end the crisis in Syria."

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and US Secretary of State John Kerry spoke on the phone on Sunday at the initiative of Moscow on the progress of the ceasefire, Russia's foreign ministry reported on Monday.

Syria's main opposition grouping, the High Negotiations Committee (HNC), on Sunday described the ceasefire as "positive", but lodged a formal complaint with the UN and foreign governments about breaches on the first day.

A HNC letter to Ban Ki-moon, the UN secretary-general, accused Bashar al-Assad's government and its allies of committing "24 violations with artillery shelling and five ground operations ... in 26 areas held by the moderate opposition".

The letter, signed by HNC head Riad Hijab, also criticised Russia for conducting "26 air strikes on areas falling within the ceasefire".

It said continued breaches of the ceasefire would make peace talks unattainable.

Syria's ally Russia has said it has only targeted areas under the control of  al-Nusra Front, which is linked to al-Qaeda, and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). Nusra and ISIL are excluded from the terms of the international pact.

Thousands may have starved to death in Syria: UN

The United Nations human rights chief warned on Monday that thousands of people may have died of starvation during sieges affecting nearly half a million people in war-torn Syria.

The comments by Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein came as the first major ceasefire in the five-year conflict entered its third day, and as the UN prepared to deploy trucks loaded with humanitarian aid into the country during the lull in fighting.

"The deliberate starvation of people is unequivocally forbidden as a weapon of warfare. By extension, so are sieges," said Hussein.

He added: "thousands of people may have starved to death".

Al Jazeera's Jamal Elshayyal, reporting from the Turkish border town of Giazantep, noted that US Secretary of State John Kerry has accused the Syrian government of using food as "a weapon of war".

"This war in recent months hasn't just been fought with weapons - it's also been fought through the use of food," he said. "The guns here haven't gone totally silent, so it's still dangerous for aid workers."

The UN and its partner organisations were planning to start delivering aid to Syrians in several besieged areas previously cut off by the violence.

A UN spokesman told Al Jazeera that trucks bound for Mouadamiya in the southern outskirts of Damascus were loaded and were planning to move shortly.

Aid deliveries were also planned to arrive in the towns of Zabadani, Kefraya, Fouaa and Madaya by Wednesday.

The deliveries are part of humanitarian aid planned for 1.7 million people in hard-to-reach areas in the first quarter of 2016, UN Resident Coordinator in Damascus, Yacoub El Hillo, said in a statement on Sunday.

The UN estimates there are almost 500,000 people living under siege of a total of 4.6 million who are hard to reach with aid.

"It is the best opportunity that the Syrian people have had over the last five years for lasting peace and stability," El Hillo said.

"But we all know that without a meaningful political process and a political solution, both cessation of hostilities and entry of humanitarian assistance will not be enough to end the crisis in Syria."

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and US Secretary of State John Kerry spoke on the phone on Sunday at the initiative of Moscow on the progress of the ceasefire, Russia's foreign ministry reported on Monday.

Syria's main opposition grouping, the High Negotiations Committee (HNC), on Sunday described the ceasefire as "positive", but lodged a formal complaint with the UN and foreign governments about breaches on the first day.

A HNC letter to Ban Ki-moon, the UN secretary-general, accused Bashar al-Assad's government and its allies of committing "24 violations with artillery shelling and five ground operations ... in 26 areas held by the moderate opposition".

The letter, signed by HNC head Riad Hijab, also criticised Russia for conducting "26 air strikes on areas falling within the ceasefire".

It said continued breaches of the ceasefire would make peace talks unattainable.

Syria's ally Russia has said it has only targeted areas under the control of  al-Nusra Front, which is linked to al-Qaeda, and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). Nusra and ISIL are excluded from the terms of the international pact.

China Plans to Send a Second Space Laboratory Into Orbit This Year

China will place its second space laboratory into earth’s orbit later this year, sources within the country’s space program told state-run media Sunday, furthering its push under President Xi Jinping to become the world’s next space power.

The Tiangong 2, or “Heavenly Palace,” laboratory will eventually dock with a cargo ship called Tianzhou 1 or “Heavenly Vessel” when it is launched early next year, China’s Xinhua news agency reported.

The space lab, adding to the successful launch and operation of Tiangong 1 in September 2011, aligns with China’s road map to establishing a permanently manned space station in orbit by the year 2022.

China also plans to send two astronauts aboard the Shenzhou 11spacecraft into orbit to dock with Tiangong-2 by the end of the year.

Construction of the orbiting space station will likely be completed by 2020, a spokesperson for the Asian superpower’s manned space program said.

Child-Friendly Search Engine 'Kiddle' Launched

A child-friendly search engine which bears a remarkable resemblance to Google has been launched.

Kiddle features a logo similar to that of the search giant, but it is not affiliated with it.

Instead it uses a Google Custom Search bar, which is embedded in the site, to filter out adult content.

It blocks a number of explicit search terms, plus certain celebrities which could lead to adult content being displayed - such as Pamela Anderson.

The site says: "Sites appearing in Kiddle search results satisfy family friendly requirements, as we filter sites with explicit or deceptive content."

But some celebrities currently slip through the net including some of the Kardashian clan, as well as Vanessa Hudgens' racy photoshoots.

A search for a rabbit brings up a news story about a rabbit being killed by a Danish radio host.

The search results are ranked as follows: the first three results include safe sites and pages that are written specifically for kids, and the next four results feature sites that include content written in simple language.

The results appearing after that are written with adults in mind but still are filtered by Google Safe Search.

Kiddle's logo uses the same colours as Google, but replaces the traditional white background with an outer space theme, complete with a friendly robot.

Al-Shabab attack: 30 civilians killed in south Somalia

At least 30 people were killed in twin bomb attacks claimed by al-Shabab at a busy traffic junction and a nearby restaurant in southern Somalia.

The attacks in Baidoa on Sunday were part of the armed group's campaign of violence in its bid to topple Somalia's UN-backed government.

"The official number of the dead has reached 30 people - all of them civilians - and 61 others have been wounded, 15 of them seriously," Abdurashid Abdulahi, governor of the Bay region, told the AFP news agency.

Baidoa lies about 245km northwest of the capital, Mogadishu.

The death toll went up overnight after more people died at the hospital, and could rise further with several of the wounded in critical condition, Abdulahi said.

The attack follows a car bomb attack in Mogadishu near a park and hotel on Friday that killed 14 people, police said.

A police officer said a suicide car bomb blew up at the junction, while a second blast - possibly a bomb that had been planted or a suicide bomber - struck the restaurant.

"We targeted government officials and forces," Sheikh Abdiasis Abu Musab, al-Shabab's military operation spokesman, told Reuters news agency.

He said there was a police station nearby.

Abdirahman Ahmed, a witness who was inside the hotel at the time, said gunfire erupted after the explosion.

"The blast was so huge and windows broken everywhere but the gunfire was outside. Everyone was safe inside, but terrified," said Ahmed.

Regional official Sharif Hassan Sheikh Aden appealed to national and international support to care for the victims, saying the region did not have sufficient medical facilities.

The regional administration in Baidoa is protected by troops of the 22,000-strong African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), which is protecting the internationally-backed government of Somalia.

Al-Shabab attack: 30 civilians killed in south Somalia

At least 30 people were killed in twin bomb attacks claimed by al-Shabab at a busy traffic junction and a nearby restaurant in southern Somalia.

The attacks in Baidoa on Sunday were part of the armed group's campaign of violence in its bid to topple Somalia's UN-backed government.

"The official number of the dead has reached 30 people - all of them civilians - and 61 others have been wounded, 15 of them seriously," Abdurashid Abdulahi, governor of the Bay region, told the AFP news agency.

Baidoa lies about 245km northwest of the capital, Mogadishu.

The death toll went up overnight after more people died at the hospital, and could rise further with several of the wounded in critical condition, Abdulahi said.

The attack follows a car bomb attack in Mogadishu near a park and hotel on Friday that killed 14 people, police said.

A police officer said a suicide car bomb blew up at the junction, while a second blast - possibly a bomb that had been planted or a suicide bomber - struck the restaurant.

"We targeted government officials and forces," Sheikh Abdiasis Abu Musab, al-Shabab's military operation spokesman, told Reuters news agency.

He said there was a police station nearby.

Abdirahman Ahmed, a witness who was inside the hotel at the time, said gunfire erupted after the explosion.

"The blast was so huge and windows broken everywhere but the gunfire was outside. Everyone was safe inside, but terrified," said Ahmed.

Regional official Sharif Hassan Sheikh Aden appealed to national and international support to care for the victims, saying the region did not have sufficient medical facilities.

The regional administration in Baidoa is protected by troops of the 22,000-strong African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), which is protecting the internationally-backed government of Somalia.