(CNN) -- Two children died Saturday in the suburbs of the Syrian capital -- not because of guns, bombs or other weapons, but because of malnutrition, activists and an opposition group said.

The two boys suffered from marasmus, a type of acute malnutrition that can very quickly lead to death if not treated, the opposition Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

Ibrahim Khalil was 4; Ammar Arafa was even younger, but his exact age wasn't known, opposition activist Ahmed Al-Muadami said from the town, Moadamiyet al-Sham, in the Damascus suburbs.

Moadamiyet al-Sham was one of the areas affected by the alleged chemical weapons attack August 21. It was the first town United Nations inspectors visited this week to gather evidence about the attack and speak to the wounded.

Al-Muadami said the town has been under siege by Syrian troops since last November and that the situation there is "disastrous."

"We ran out of food supplies and we cannot get anything into the town," he said.

Doctors lacked the medicine and necessary nutrients to treat the children because of the siege, the Syrian Observatory said.

"We haven't seen a piece of bread for six months now," said another resident, Abu Alnour. "We went through our food supplies, local produce and cattle."

He said government checkpoints and snipers are blocking all the roads leading into the town and are not allowing anything in or out. The Syrian government typically calls rebels "armed terrorists."

"The Red Crescent tried to send an aid shipment into the town in early July but the government forces denied them access, and that was the last aid shipment we heard about," Al-Muadami said. What are the answers to this following set of questions: 1. What did the children die of?
2. What was the specific name of the disease?
3. What were the names of the boys?
4. What country were they in?
5. What did that town run out of?
6. Who tried to send in aid?
7. What happened to it?
8. What is blocking the roads?
9. How long has it been since they've seen bread?
10. What did doctors need to treat the children?
11. What agency sent inspectors this week?
12. To do what?
13. About what?
14. Who were they going to speak to?
15. How long has the town been under seige>
16. What does the Syrian government call rebels?
17. What is the name of one resident?
Answer: 1. malnutrition
2. marasmus
3. Ibrahim Khalil and Ammar Arafa
4. Damascus
5. food supplies
6. The Red Crescent
7. government forces denied them access
8. checkpoints and snipers are blocking all the roads
9. for six months
10. lacked the medicine and necessary nutrients
11. United Nations
12. to gather evidence
13. about the attack (Chemical)
14. to the wounded.
15. since last November
16. "armed terrorists."
17. Abu Alnour

Defying warnings from the international community, North Korea launched a long-range rocket on Friday, but it broke apart before escaping the earth's atmosphere and fell into the sea, officials said.

"It flew about a minute, and it flew into the ocean," said Noriyuki Shikata, a spokesman for Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda.

He added that Japanese authorities "have not identified any negative impacts, so far," though he said the international ramifications could be significant. "This is something that we think is a regrettable development," he said.

Joseph Cirincione, president of the global security foundation The Ploughshares Fund, told CNN that the launch's apparent failure "shows the weakness of the North Korea missile program" and suggests that the threat from North Korea has been "exaggerated."

"It's a humiliation," he told CNN. "I wouldn't want to be a North Korean rocket scientist today."

In an unusual admission of failure, the North Korean state media announced that the rocket had not managed to put an observation satellite into orbit, which Pyongyang had insisted was the purpose of the launch.

In the past, North Korea has insisted that failed launches have been successful.

"Scientists, technicians and experts are now looking into the cause of the failure," the official Korean Central News Agency said in a report, which was also read out in a news broadcast on state-run television.

The United States, South Korea and other countries see the launch as a cover for a ballistic missile test.

"Our government strongly criticizes their action," said South Korean Minister of Foreign Affairs Kim Sung Hwan. "They have ignored the starvation of their people and spent money on missiles. It is very unfortunate." What are the answers to this following set of questions: 1. did something happen on the day that follows Thursday?
2. did it hit anything?
3. what happened to it?
Answer: 1. North Korea launched a long-range rocket
2. no
3. fell into the sea

Edmonds, Washington (CNN) -- For Michael Reagan, the portraits always start the same way.

"I do the eyes first so I get this connection with the face," he said. "I am pretty exhausted after a picture. Just try staring at a photograph for five hours without any distractions."

Reagan, a professional artist for 40 years, is known for his vivid etchings of politicians, celebrities and athletes.

Today, he has a new subject: fallen members of the military.

It all started three years ago when the wife of a Navy corpsman who was killed in Iraq asked Reagan to draw her late husband.

Reagan insisted on doing the portrait for free. Then he had a realization.

"I looked at my wife and told her what happened and said, 'Now we need to do them all,' " Reagan remembered.

"Doing them all" meant closing his art gallery and reaching out to the families of fallen service members.

Most of the troops Reagan draws are U.S. service members killed in Iraq and Afghanistan. He has recently started drawing portraits for family members of British and Canadian troops killed in those conflicts.

Many families were unsure why someone would offer to do a portrait for them at no cost. They wanted to know why someone would volunteer to, as Reagan puts it, "participate in the worst time of their life."

Slowly, word among military families spread and requests for portraits began pouring in. Reagan, a Vietnam veteran, grew to know the faces of hundreds of troops lost to war. What are the answers to this following set of questions: 1. How long has Reagan been an artist?
2. What is his new subject?
3. How do the portraits start for Reagan?
4. Did it all start 5 years ago?
5. How long ago did it start?
6. What are most of the troops Reagan draws?
7. Has he drawn portraits for troops from other places?
8. Where were they from?
9. What are most families unsure of with him?
10. Is Reagan a veteran?
11. Of which war?
12. Who first asked Reagan to draw her late husband?
13. Did he draw the picture for free?
14. What was his realization?
15. What is Reagan known for?
16. Does he feel energized after a picture?
17. How does he feel?
18. Did he keep his art gallery open?
Answer:
1. 40 years
2. fallen members of the military
3. He does the eyes first.
4. no
5. three years ago
6. U.S. service members killed in Iraq and Afghanistan
7. yes
8. Britain and Canada
9. why he would offer a free portrait
10. yes
11. Vietnam
12. the wife of a Navy corpsman
13. yes
14. That he needed to do them all
15. for his vivid etchings of politicians, celebrities and athletes.
16. no
17. exhausted
18. no