Copyrights and images from Marilyn Monroe's first photo shoot sold for $352,000 at an auction that included also items from Lady Gaga and John Lennon.

Julien's Auctions spokeswoman Caroline Galloway tells The Associated Press on Sunday that the Monroe photos — taken in 1946 when she was still Norma Jeane Dougherty — were the highlight of the Beverly Hills auction known as "Icons & Idols"

Chelsea hosts in-form Valencia in the Champions League on Tuesday in what could turn out to be the most crucial match of Andre Villas-Boas' debut season as Blues coach.

With Chelsea 10 points off the Premier League lead and eliminated from the League Cup, defeat to Valencia would effectively leave Villas-Boas with only the FA Cup to aim for.

Barcelona teammates Lionel Messi and Xavi Hernandez will be up against Real Madrid winger Cristiano Ronaldo for the FIFA world player of the year award.

The three Ballon d'Or finalists were named Monday from 23 nominees. Messi beat Barcelona teammates Andres Iniesta and Xavi to win last year.

Thailand's king called for his countrymen to unite in response to the worst floods in half a century. The revered monarch spoke Monday to mark his 84th birthday and amid deep political divisions plaguing the country.

King Bhumibol Adulyadej spoke at the ceremonial Grand Palace for about five minutes after being driven from a nearby hospital where he has been staying for more than two years. Cheering well-wishers lined the route, waving flags and chanting "Long live the king."

A lawyer for former Miss USA Rima Fakih said police in Michigan arrested his client on a drunken driving charge.

Doraid Elder told the Detroit Free Press newspaper that Fakih is "very saddened and very apologetic for the situation that she is in right now."

U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Jeffrey Feltman has said Washington has evidence that Tehran and its Lebanese ally Hizbullah are bolstering Syria’s Assad regime.

Speaking in Amman, Feltman told reporters that Syrian President Bashar Assad is pegging his ruling Alawite minority against other sects and implementing his "own prophesy, which is moving Syria into more chaos and a civil war."

Weeks before the U.S. pullout, Iraq's prime minister confidently predicts that his country will achieve stability and remain independent of its giant neighbor Iran even without an American troop presence.

Nouri al-Maliki also warned on Saturday of civil war in Iran's ally Syria if Bashar Assad falls — a view that puts him closer to Tehran's position and at odds with Washington. The foreign policy pronouncement indicates that Iraq is emerging from the shadows of U.S. influence in a way unforeseen when U.S.-led forces invaded eight years ago to topple Saddam Hussein.

Bahrain's interior ministry said Sunday a blast occurred inside a minibus parked near the British Embassy, but there were no immediate reports of serious damage or injuries.

A brief statement posted by the ministry said the explosion occurred in a public parking area near the British diplomatic compound in the capital Manama. Investigators sealed off the area.

Maoist rebels have killed 11 people in attacks across an eastern Indian state after their leader died in a gunbattle with security forces, police said.

The rebels blew up railway tracks at two points in Jharkhand before dawn Sunday to protest the Nov. 24 killing of Koteshwar Rao, alias Kishanji, in the neighboring state of West Bengal, police Superintendent D.V. Sharma said.

As potential voters in New Hampshire and Iowa scan the Internet, they probably are seeing ads for Republican Mitt Romney and President Barack Obama alongside deals for shoes and holiday gifts.

The campaign ads will then follow those voters around the Web, popping up on news sites, Google searches and on social networking sites like Facebook.