The Instagram controversy is the latest example showing that pageants occur "in a broader international context," Trisko Darden said in a Guardian column last week.

So much for world peace in 2015.  A selfie taken by a Miss Universe contestant, Doron Matalon, who represents Israel, has caused a huge stir – because one of the other contestants in the photo happens to be Saly Greige, Miss Lebanon.

France and Saudi Arabia signed an agreement on Tuesday for Paris to provide the Lebanese army with $3 billion worth of weapons paid for by Riyadh, the French foreign minister said.

The U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and PBS LearningMedia will host a series of blended online and in-person conversations about ancient civilizations with high school students, the first of which will take place on Wednesday, October 22.

Lebanese Prime Minister Tammam Salam announced that he asked Iranian President Hassan Rouhani for “Iran’s help in holding presidential elections because a vacant presidency weakens the country.” He clarified that Rouhani stressed his country’s keenness on maintaining Lebanese national unity. 

Iran's Ambassador to Lebanon Mohammad Ali Fathali and Lebanese Culture Minister Raymond Ariji voiced enthusiasm for utilizing the two sides' entire capacities to bolster Tehran-Beirut cooperation, particularly in cultural spheres.

Over the past few days, the positions and activities of the GCC and Egypt, Iraq, Jordan and Lebanon are becoming clearer against ISIS. The group, which met in Jeddah on Sept. 11, can now be dubbed the GCC+4.  First, the GCC+4 is to develop a multi-prong approach to soft power options to break ISIS’s logistical chains in manpower and finance as well as to develop counter-narratives to negate the group’s capabilities and messaging.

In the UK’s biggest ever response to a humanitarian crisis, the government has committed over £600 million to help those affected by the conflict in Syria – the second highest total after the US. Aid is being allocated to help a million refugees in Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey and Iraq.