Royal Dutch Shell said on Thursday that a total of 5,000 staff would be leaving the Anglo-Dutch oil and gas group as part of a restructuring begun earlier this year.

The human rights group Amnesty International is calling on Nigeria to arrest Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir if he attends an African Union Summit there on Thursday.

Parents may have fond memories of Maurice Sendak's classic children's book, "Where the Wild Things Are." But if their social-networking postings are any indication, some are not pleased with the movie. "It was joyless. There were maybe 15 minutes of the hour and a half that my kids were into it," said James Griffioen of Detroit, Michigan. His 4-year-old daughter asked, "Why is this movie so sad" in the middle of their family's matinee viewing, while his son, a 20-month-old ...

Raj Rajaratnam, the New York-based billionaire and hedge fund manager charged in an alleged insider trading scheme on Friday, was funding the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, which is considered a terrorist group by the US, the Sri Lankan government claimed on Sunday. Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara, spokesman for the Sri Lankan defence ministry, told the Financial Times that the government had been monitoring Mr Rajaratnam for several years. "[Sri Lanka-born] Raj Rajaratnam was involved in several schemes funding the LTTE. ...

While other automakers are closing plants in the U.S., Kia, which is controlled by South Korea's Hyundai Automotive Group, is preparing to open a brand-new assembly plant in West Point, Ga., southwest of Atlanta. The $1.2 billion, 2.2 million–sq.-ft. plant will begin producing Kia vehicles for the retail market next month. Up until now, Kia had imported 100% of its vehicles. The South Korean automakers are coming on strong. Kia is about to up its market share for ...

Saturday night President Obama charmingly delivered a rather bleak message to the gay community on the eve of its latest march on Washington. In a speech to the world's largest gay political group, the Human Rights Campaign, Obama essentially said two things: I'm with you. But I can't do much for you. He said the first part with remarkable comfort for a straight man, the kind of effortless understanding that gay people don't always get at home, school or ...

Didier Drogba came off the bench to rescue a point for Ivory Coast as they drew 1-1 with Malawi on Saturday to book their place at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. Ivory Coast needed only a point from their match with the bottom-placed team in African qualifying Group E but found themselves a goal down in the 64th minute when Jacob Ngwira put the hosts ahead at the Kamuzu Stadium in Blantyre. Elephants coach Vahid Halilhodzic responded by ...

Atlanta rapper DeAndre Cortez Way, better known by his stage name Soulja Boy Tell 'Em or just Soulja Boy, was charged with obstruction after running from police despite an order to stop, a police spokesman said Friday. The 19-year-old singer was among a large group that had gathered at a home in Stockbridge, 20 miles south of Atlanta, said Henry County, Georgia, police Capt. Jason Bolton. Way was arrested Wednesday night along with another man, Bolton said. Police said Way ...

For a nation whose citizens pride themselves on self-reliance, the U.S. doles out an awful lot of welfare. Corporations get it. Farmers get it. Even poor people get it. But no other interest group makes out quite the way homeowners do. They — or we, I should say, for I'm a homeowner too — are at the receiving end of a truly staggering array of subsidies and tax breaks. Putting an exact price tag on all of them is ...

The job of a football scout can be difficult -- soccer's Simon Cowells are charged with scouring the pitches of the world by their respective clubs, to find the youth of today who will become the stars of tomorrow. But their hard task has been made easier this month with a veritable bonanza of soccer's most skilful youngsters on show at the Under-20 World Cup in Cairo, Egypt. No surprise then that many of the world's top ...