Where you sleep. Whether your children go to school. When you can shop. The rhythm of bombardment dictates life in the besieged Syrian town of Douma, much of it spent underground.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said Tuesday that his Fatah party, which is facing internal divisions, will hold its first congress since 2009 at the end of November.

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi on Tuesday warned Turkey against provoking a confrontation while saying he does not want war, after Ankara deployed tanks and artillery near the border.

Kuwait's election authorities on Tuesday barred 47 candidates from contesting parliamentary polls later this month for being convicted in courts or not fulfilling nomination requirements, candidates said.

People stuck in war-ravaged Aleppo do not have the luxury of refusing help from jihadists, a high-level member of Syria's main opposition said, lashing out at international "inaction" in breaking the siege.

The U.N. said Tuesday it had received more reports of Islamic State group fighters forcing thousands of civilians into Mosul, possibly to be used as human shields against advancing Iraqi troops. 

The Turkish military has deployed tanks and artillery to southeastern districts near the Iraqi border, military sources said Tuesday.

Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu on Tuesday accused the US-led coalition in Syria of failing to rein in hardline rebels, and said the chance of a political settlement was now remote.

Morocco has arrested 11 people over the death of a fish seller whose crushing in a rubbish truck sparked widespread demonstrations, prosecutors said on Tuesday.

The suspects have been brought before an investigating magistrate in connection with allegations of involuntary manslaughter and forgery of public documents, a statement said.

Human Rights Watch on Tuesday slammed a "well-funded" clampdown on Gulf Arab rights activists and urged the six monarchies to implement "much-needed reforms" instead of jailing peaceful critics.

Apart from Bahrain and Oman, where authorities cracked down on pro-reform protests in 2011, Gulf Cooperation Council states have been spared much of the unrest brought in by the Arab Spring uprisings that rocked the Middle East.