What do Ronald Williams, Jim McNerney, and Kenneth Chenault have in common? 

They are the three most popular board directors at the 30 companies that make up the Dow Jones Industrial Average. 

RJ Andrews, who runs the Info We Trust blog, mapped out the board member overlap at DJIA companies.

The research is based on Bloomberg data and includes common board members only. 

Ruba Aleryani, Contributor

In early 2015, Amira Abase and Shamima Begum, both 15-year-old girls, and Kadiza Sultana, 16, boarded a plane from England to Turkey. From there the teens crossed over to Syria to join the Islamic State (otherwise referred to as ISIS, ISIL, or Daesh).

The story of these London schoolgirls captured widespread media attention, driving headlines and leaving the world haunted by Shamima Begum’s last words to Umm Layth, a female ISIS member, on Twitter: “follow me so I can dm [direct message] you back.”

By Alexandra Talty

Recently called "the Silicon Valley of the Middle East" by CNN, and "the Middle East's Tech Hub" by TechCrunch, Beirut's tech scene is the darling of international media of late. (Though Techonomy first wrote about it over two years ago.) The tech scene here has turned a corner, going from fledgling to now officially on the map. Among the reasons: the launch of various funds that will bring over $100 million in investments to Lebanon's startup economy over the next five years, and the ongoing efforts of Lebanon's Central Bank to decrease the risk of investing in startups.

• Natasha Bertrand

A former Islamic State militant recently spoke with NBC news about his experience fighting with the group in Syria — and why he surrendered after just three days on the frontlines.