Reuters

George Zimmerman has offered a surprise apology to the family of Trayvon Martin, the black teenager he shot dead in a Florida suburb, and a judge ordered Zimmerman freed on $150,000 bail pending trial on second-degree murder charges.

Former France international Sebastien Chabal will join Lyon Olympique Universitaire next season, the Top 14 rugby club says.

Levon Helm, the drummer for The Band whose twangy vocals brought a poignancy and earthiness to songs like "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down" and "Up on Cripple Creek," has died at the age of 71 from cancer, his manager said.

UN-Arab League mediator Kofi Annan's deputy has told the Security Council that the swift deployment of more observers to Syria was needed despite continued risks and persistent violence, council diplomats told Reuters.

Didier Drogba scored late in the first half and Chelsea kept free-scoring Lionel Messi in check to secure a 1-0 win over holders Barcelona in their Champions League semi-final first leg.

American troops are seen posing with the maimed bodies of suspected Afghan insurgents in photos published by a US newspaper in an incident that threatened to further fray US relations with Afghanistan's government and prompted the Pentagon chief to issue an apology.

Norwegian anti-Islamic fanatic Anders Behring Breivik says he should be executed or acquitted after killing 77 people last summer in what he said was a battle to defend Europe against mass immigration.