Five Somali regions declared famine zones

US officials say that the Somalia famine has killed more than 29,000 children in the last 90 days. The UN, on Wednesday, also declared that three new regions in Somalia are famine zones, making a total of five regions in Somalia affected by famine thus far. But, the UN's food arm said that famine is likely to spread across all regions of Somalia's south in the next four to six weeks. Famine, as defined by the UN, refers to situations when at least 20 per cent of households face food shortages so severe that they are unable to cope with it and more than two people out of 10 000 people die daily. Additionally, famine conditions are likely to persist until December, the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) said.