An influential Iran parliamentarian has said that the country has arrested twelve agents of the American Central Intelligence Agency, the country's official IRNA news agency reported.

Parviz Sorouri, who sits on the powerful committee of foreign policy and national security, that the alleged agents had been operating in coordination with Israel's Mossad and other regional agencies, and targeted the country's military and its nuclear program.

A small plane carrying three adults and three children crashed in flames in the Superstition Mountains east of the U.S. city of Phoenix on Wednesday night, leaving one child confirmed dead and no signs of survivors, authorities said.

Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu said preliminary reports indicate the twin-engine plane flew from Safford to Mesa's Falcon Field to pick up three children for the Thanksgiving holiday and was headed back to Safford in southeastern Arizona.

Nicki Minaj will have another moment to savor from her super year: Billboard is honoring her as its rising star of 2011.

She is slated to get the honor at Billboard's "Women in Music" event on Dec. 2 in New York City.

George Clooney and his ex-girlfriend Elisabetta Canalis are among more than 200 witnesses accepted Wednesday by a Milan court in the trial of former Premier Silvio Berlusconi for allegedly paying for sex with an underage prostitute.

Clooney has said he was approached by Berlusconi's team to testify about "bunga bunga" parties at Berlusconi's villas, but says he only visited the premier's residence once to seek aid for Darfur and declined an invitation to stay.

President Dmitry Medvedev says Russia will aim its missiles at the U.S. missile defense sites in Europe if Washington fails to address Russian concerns on its missile defense plans.

Medvedev said that Russia will deploy missiles in its westernmost Kaliningrad region and other areas if Russia and NATO fail to reach a deal on the U.S.-led missile defense plans.

Formula One team Renault has confirmed Robert Kubica will miss at least the early part of the 2012 season as he struggles to recover from serious injuries sustained in a rally crash this year.

Renault had been hoping Kubica would be fit to resume his role as the team's No. 1 driver from the start of 2012 but said Wednesday that he will not be ready to do so.

World and European champion Spain stays atop FIFA’s monthly world rankings, despite losing a friendly to England which climbs two places to No. 5.

The Netherlands remains second but third-placed Germany narrowed the gap after winning 3-0 in a friendly between the sides.

A finalist in three of the last four years, Manchester United is struggling to even get out of its group in this season's Champions League.

Barcelona, Real Madrid and AC Milan were joined on Tuesday by two more of Europe's footballing elite, Bayern Munich and Inter Milan, in the knockout stage of the game's biggest club competition.

Thailand's criminal court sentenced a 61-year-old man to 20 years in prison Wednesday for sending text messages deemed offensive to the country's queen.

The court found Amphon Tangnoppaku guilty on four counts under the country's lese majeste and computer crime laws, sentencing him to five years imprisonment for each charge.

The U.S. handed over all of the remaining detainees in U.S. custody in Iraq Tuesday, except for a Hizbullah commander linked to the death of four American troops, Iraqi and American officials said.

The prisoner transfer marks another step toward the American military's withdrawal from Iraq, as it plans for all U.S. troops to be out of the country by the end of this year.