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ABUJA (Reuters) - Nigerian President Umaru Yar'Adua has ordered the country's armed forces to tighten security in the Niger Delta and hunt down militants behind an attack on Shell's main offshore oil facility, his office said on Friday.

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon signaled on Friday that he would press ahead with a plan to gradually cede key U.N. roles in Kosovo, despite opposition from Serbia and its big-power ally Russia.

SHANGHAI (Reuters) - China has released most of the 1,315 people detained in the wake of Tibet's deadly riots because their offences were minor, a senior official said on Friday.

ROME (Reuters) - A corruption trial against Silvio Berlusconi and British lawyer David Mills will go ahead in July despite the Italian premier's attempts to have it stopped by accusing the court of bias, the judge said on Friday.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill on Friday that could shield phone companies from billions of dollars in lawsuits for their participation in the warrantless surveillance program begun by President George W. Bush after the September 11 attacks.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President George W. Bush did not know about a White House effort to leak the identity of a CIA agent but tried to protect staffers who were involved in one of the biggest scandals of his administration, former Bush spokesman Scott McClellan told Congress on Friday.

CHICAGO (Reuters) - In an effort to restart U.S. beef shipments to South Korea, the U.S. beef industry is willing to ship beef from cattle under 30 months of age as requested by the Korea Import Beef Association, the U.S. Meat Export Federation said on Friday.

BEIJING (Reuters) - The United States expects North Korea to soon hand over a long-awaited declaration of its nuclear programmes, paving the way for a resumption of stalled disarmament talks, its chief envoy on the issue said on Friday.

CHICAGO (Reuters) - U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama said on Friday nuclear power was "not a panacea" for U.S. energy woes but it is worth investigating its further development.

GENEVA (Reuters) - The diplomat overseeing one of the most fractious areas of global free trade talks said on Friday he will leave his post in August, adding pressure on WTO member states to settle their differences before he goes.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Defense Secretary Robert Gates is set to leave office in seven months, but he is trying to ensure his vision for the U.S. military will outlast him with a series of appointments to key posts.

AMARA, Iraq (Reuters) - Supporters of anti-American cleric Moqtada al-Sadr accused Iraqi security forces on Friday of heavy-handed action in a crackdown in the southern city of Amara, calling it a "clear provocation".

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton will join Barack Obama on the campaign trail next week for the first time since Obama emerged as the presumptive Democratic nominee on June 3.

MONTECRISTI, Ecuador (Reuters) - Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa will bolster his authority this year if voters approve a new constitution extending state control over the economy and opening the way for his possible re-election.

PARIS (Reuters) - Conservative bishops debating the future of the worldwide Anglican Communion have issued dramatic warnings about a looming parting of the ways with liberal churches, but stopped short of outlining steps toward a schism.

BEIJING (Reuters) - Beijing has dispatched 8,000 toilet maintenance staff, each responsible for a specific public restroom in the city and trained in hygiene standards and techniques, Olympic knowledge and practical English expressions, Xinhua said on Friday.

LHASA, China (Reuters) - Tibet's capital Lhasa was under tight security on Friday as it readied to host the Olympic Games torch in a concerted display of China's hold over the restive region.

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The U.N. Security Council demanded on Thursday that warring governments and factions act to halt violence against women, saying rape was no longer just a by-product of war but a military tactic.

SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea's embattled President Lee Myung-bak replaced all his top aides on Friday in a bid to make a fresh start after policy blunders sparked massive street protests against his four-month-old government.

JUBA, Sudan (Reuters) - South Sudanese authorities have begun to collect thousands of guns amassed by civilians during decades of war to try to end tribal conflicts which claim dozens of lives each year, officials said.