A relief official says the Syrian government has allowed food supplies to enter two besieged areas under rebel control near the capital, Damascus.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon says that half of Syria’s population now “urgently need humanitarian aid”. He was speaking at a donor conference in Kuwait to raise funds for the worsening humanitarian crisis.

The construction of the wire fence at the Bulgarian – Turkish border will begin on January 20, Minister of Defense Angel Naydenov announced.