Tulip prints, light-as-air silk gowns and as many sparkles as stars in a Middle East night sky -- Elie Saab's haute couture show might have taken place in Paris on Wednesday, but his inspiration was clearly his native Beirut.

The Lebanese designer's elegant outfits have a solid fan following among the wealthy and the famous, several of whom attended the show in a museum a slipper's throw from the Eiffel Tower.

Lawyer Amal Clooney is going before Europe's top human rights court to argue against a man convicted for denying the 1915 Armenian genocide.

Clooney is arguing on an appeal before the Strasbourg-based European Court of Human Rights, which ruled in favor of the man, Dogu Perincek, in December 2013.

Sean Penn is to get an honorary French film award in a Paris ceremony next month in recognition of him being a cinema "living legend", the organizers said in a statement.

The 54-year-old is a "mythical actor, a politically active personality and an exceptional director," said the French Academy of Cinema.

Taylor Swift on Tuesday scoffed at a hacker who took over her social media accounts and threatened to release nude pictures, with the pop star saying none existed.

The singer's Twitter and Instagram accounts were briefly seized by at least one hacker who vowed to release naked pictures of Swift if supporters paid enough in the form of the virtual currency bitcoin.

At Paris' high-octane couture week, what happens on the catwalk is only half the story.

Academy Award winner Goldie Hawn and her daughter Kate Hudson made a surprise appearance at Atelier Versace in an atypical family night out in Paris. But the real frenzy didn't start until the 35-year-old "Almost Famous" star turned her back to the paparazzi.

The stars were aligned at Dior's Haute Couture fashion show in Paris on Monday.

First, American-Israeli actress Natalie Portman -- the advertising face of Dior's "Miss Dior" perfume -- was sitting in the front row, somewhat less stiffly than her Queen Padme persona from the "Star Wars" prequels.

Ava DuVernay, the director of the Martin Luther King historical movie "Selma," is set to again team up with the film's star David Oyelowo for a new project about Hurricane Katrina.

DuVernay and Oyelowo, who were both finalists at this year's Golden Globes, will "develop a new narrative feature film chronicling a sweeping love story and complex murder mystery during the time of Hurricane Katrina," Participant Media said Monday. 

The Church of Scientology has lashed out at a film about the controversial group at the Sundance Film Festival, calling it false and based on "obsessive, disgruntled former Church members."

The dismissive reaction -- also denouncing "vengeful apostates" -- came a day after the world premiere of "Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief," directed by Oscar-winner Alex Gibney.

Greek singer Demis Roussos, best known for operatic pop ballads in the 1970s and 1980s, died in Athens at the weekend aged 68.

The entertainer had been admitted to the Igia clinic some time ago with an undisclosed illness and the medical facility issued only a brief statement on Monday announcing his death.

Colombia's Paulina Vega was crowned Miss Universe Sunday, beating out contenders from the United States, Ukraine, Jamaica and The Netherlands at the world's top beauty pageant in Florida.

The 22-year-old model and business student triumphed over 87 other women from around the world, and is only the second beauty queen from Colombia to take home the prize.