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Iraq ranked second-worst after Egypt, followed by Saudi Arabia, Syria and Yemen.

Egypt is now the worst country for women's rights in the Arab world, according to a poll of gender experts

sexual harassment was cited as the main factor.

A UN report in April said 99.3% of women and girls in Egypt had been subjected to sexual harassment.

Iraq was now more dangerous for women than under Saddam Hussein, with women disproportionately affected by the violence of the past decade.

and Algeria had calling for output cuts of as much as 2 million bpd.

The wealthy Gulf states have made clear they are ready to ride out the weak prices that have hurt the likes of Venezuela and Iran

hoped that lower prices would help drive some of the higher-cost U.S. shale oil production out of the market.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries accounts for a third of global oil output.

A price war might make some future U.S. shale oil projects uncompetitive due to high production costs, easing competitive pressures on OPEC in the longer term.

"We interpret this as Saudi Arabia selling the idea that oil prices in the short term need to go lower, with a floor set at $60 per barrel, in order to have more stability in years ahead at $80 plus," said Olivier Jakob from Petromatrix consultancy.

the country will produce 14m barrels a day (b/d) next year, on a par with Saudi Arabia

Iraqi oil exports, stricken by the war and its aftermath, are also set to increase.

Libya could be another source of production: its exports have collapsed to only a few hundred thousand barrels a day, against 1.6m in June last year.

OPEC’s best hope is continued American protectionism. Any easing of the restrictions on the export of liquefied natural gas (LNG) or crude will exert more downward pressure on the oil price.

But that would cede market share to their hated rivals, Iran and Iraq.

America’s domestic production of crude (and gas, which displaces some oil) is rocketing.

The United States and the European Union have imposed economic sanctions on Russia over its role in the crisis in Ukraine.

Russia, a long-standing ally of Assad, denies sending troops and weapons to support separatists fighting government forces in east Ukraine

Assad will not attend, the president said those taking part should not lose sight of the main goal, clearly meaning restoring peace

Many Syrian opposition figures shunned the January talks, saying they would appear only at meetings that led to Assad's removal from power.

Finally, although Qatar has a high per capita income, the national investment in education was small. Teachers received low pay and little professional development, many school buildings were in poor condition, and classrooms were overcrowded.

he most fundamental need was for clear curriculum standards oriented toward the desired outcomes of schooling. The new system’s curriculum, assessments, and professional development would all need to be aligned with these clear standards

AND presented three governance options to the Qatari leadership for discussion: (1) a Modified Centralized Model, which upgraded the existing, centrally controlled system by allowing for some school-level flexibility with or without parental choice of schools; (2) a Charter School Model, which encouraged variety through a set of schools independent of the Ministry and which allowed parents to choose whether to send their children to these schools; and (3) a Voucher Model, which offered parents school vouchers so that they could send their children to private schools and which sought to expand high-quality private schooling in Qatar.

Qatar now possesses curriculum standards in Arabic, mathematics, science, and English for all 12 grades — and these standards are comparable to the highest in the world.

These tests and surveys were then upgraded and repeated in 2005 and 2006 as part of the ongoing accountability system. The tests are the first standardized measures of student learning available in the Arabic language.

otential school operators responded enthusiastically to the call to open the new schools.

from a pool of 160 initial applicants; all 12 opened under three-year renewable contracts. In 2005, 21 additional Independent schools opened, and in 2006, 13 more opened.

Increased expertise is needed in Qatar’s teaching workforce and among the Institutes’ staff. Non-Qatari specialists are likely to be required in the future, but it is important that they find the means to transfer knowledge to Qataris to build local human resources.

The four principles of the reform — autonomy, accountability, variety, and choice

The emirate of Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates recently adopted a strategy of public financing for private providers of education that is similar to that of Qatar. Also, the Secretary General of the Gulf Cooperation Council praised Qatar’s initiative, especially its curriculum standards. Since these standards are the foundation for teaching, learning, and accountability, the Secretary General’s praise, motivated by concern throughout the region about preparing students for later life, represents a major endorsement of the approach taken in Qatar.

In addition, the benefits of female education for women's empowerment and gender equality are broadly recognized:

While 53 percent of the women said that the decision should depend on the children's capabilities, 39 percent said that the son should go to the university, compared with only 8 percent who said that the daughter should go. The survey also found that mothers of children who had never attended school were more likely to cite the cost of education as a reason for not educating their daughters than for not educating their sons.

As women's educational attainment in MENA countries has increased, more women have moved into the job market. But women's participation in the labor force is still low: Only 20 percent of women ages 15 and older in MENA countries are in the labor force — the lowest level of any world region.

But those rates are lower than rates found outside the region. In France, for example, women make up 45 percent of the labor force; in Indonesia, which is home to the world's largest Muslim population, women make up 38 percent of the labor force.16

Women in MENA countries are twice as likely to be illiterate as men are and make up two-thirds of the region's illiterate adults. The gender gaps in education vary greatly across countries in the region but are generally wider in countries where overall literacy and school enrollment are lower. In Yemen, for example, the illiteracy rate among young women (54 percent) is triple that of young men (17 percent). But countries that make political and financial commitments to reducing illiteracy, as Jordan and Tunisia have, generally see significant improvements in reducing illiteracy and narrowing the gender gap (see Figure 6).