Elie Saab has the formula down pat: Take miles of flowing silks and tulle, whip the fabrics into flattering, nip-waisted silhouettes and cover them with a ton of shimmering sequins and beads and you've got yourself a red carpet winner.

For Wednesday's fall-winter 2012-12 couture collection, the Lebanese designer didn't stray from the winning recipe that has helped him conquer red carpets worldwide. But then again, with gowns that look that good, why would he?

President Barack Obama answered questions from Twitter users across the U.S. in a town hall meeting Wednesday that used the popular social media service and focused on jobs and the economy.

White House officials say Obama sees social media as a way to reach beyond the mainstream media and interact with Americans directly, particularly the younger and more tech-savy part of the electorate as his campaign for re-election in 2012 ramps up.

It began as a bright white dot in Saturn's northern hemisphere. Within days, the dot grew larger and stormier.

Soon the tempest enveloped the ringed planet, triggering lightning flashes thousands of times more intense than on Earth.

LG Electronics is touting 3D smartphones as an alternative to dedicated handheld game devices.

The company launched its LG Optimus 3D phone Thursday in South Korea after beginning a global release last month covering more than 60 markets including Spain and Britain.

Quick on the heels of Google's launch of its latest social-networking venture, Facebook said Wednesday that its 750 million users will now be able to make video calls on the site.

The feature will be powered by the Internet phone service Skype. Facebook also redesigned its chat feature, so that the people a user messages the most often show up first.

Nokia Corp., battered by the popularity of smartphones, is abandoning the Japanese market, after a brief foray with luxury cell phones costing as much as 20 million yen ($250,000).

The Finnish handset maker is closing by the end of July its last store selling high-end Vertu cell phones in Ginza. Previously, it had three such stores in Japan, although when the decision to leave Japan was made or how many Vertu phones Nokia had sold in Japan have not been disclosed.

Even with half the season to go, the Formula One championship already appears to be a battle for second place as hopes of catching Sebastian Vettel are fading fast.

The defending champion goes into Sunday's British Grand Prix with a commanding 77-point lead, having won six of the eight races and been runner-up in the other two.

Want a virtual bite of what you'll eat before ordering from the menu?

An Asian-themed restaurant in London's theater district is giving its customers just that, projecting images of dragon rolls, black cod, and other dishes directly onto diners' plates.

Long before "FarmVille" there was "Civilization," the iconic computer game in which players build a civilized world over thousands of years. Now, the game's designer, Sid Meier, is bringing his creation to Facebook.

Available Wednesday, "Civ World" is a lighter, social version of the classic PC strategy game, which launched in 1991 and migrated to video game consoles in 2008. In the Facebook adaptation, players cooperate to build cities and engage in diplomacy, scientific discovery and economics as they advance civilization throughout the ages.

A Lebanese-born U.S. man on the FBI's most wanted list of terror suspects is accused of using a fake passport in an attempt to get into Israel and conduct a bombing on behalf of Hizbullah, according to an indictment unsealed in federal court in Detroit.

Faouzi Ayoub, 44, faces one count of passport fraud, according to the August 2009 indictment that was only unsealed in U.S. District Court in Detroit within the past week.