A juror in the trial of George Zimmerman said the actions of both he and Trayvon Martin led to the teenager’s fatal shooting - but the neighbourhood watch volunteer did not break the law.

Cleared by a Florida jury, George Zimmerman walked free from criminal charges in the shooting death of unarmed black teenager Trayvon Martin but was still under fire from civil rights leaders and critics who were dismayed by the verdict.

Demonstrators protested in three California cities against the acquittal of George Zimmerman and officials say they broke windows and vandalised cars in Oakland.

The neighbourhood watch volunteer who killed an unarmed black teenager can be released from jail while he awaits trial on a second-degree murder charge, a Florida judge has ruled.

The man who shot US teenager Trayvon Martin must return to jail, a judge has ordered.

US neighbourhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman publicly accused police of covering up the beating of a homeless black man by the son of a white officer more than a year before he shot unarmed teenager Trayvon Martin, it emerged today.

Neighbourhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman followed and confronted the black teenager he is accused of murdering after a police dispatcher told him to back off, prosecutors in the US said.

George Zimmerman made his first courtroom appearance since he was charged with the fatal shooting more than six weeks ago of unarmed black teenager Trayvon Martin, as a judge agreed to seal some records in the highly-charged case.

Neighbourhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman has made his first court appearance on a second-degree murder charge following the shooting death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin.

Prosecutors face steep hurdles to win a second-degree murder conviction against a neighbourhood watch volunteer charged in the shooting death of unarmed teenager Trayvon Martin, experts say.

A neighbourhood watch volunteer was charged tonight with second-degree murder over the fatal shooting of unarmed black teenager Trayvon Martin.

Neighbourhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman is to be charged withsecond-degree murder over the shooting dead of unarmed black teenager Trayvon Martin in Florida.

An elderly couple have reached a settlement with Spike Lee after the pair said they had to leave their Florida home after the film director helped spread a Twitter posting listing their address as that of the man who shot an unarmed teen.

The parents of a shot Florida teenager have accused police of leaking information about their son being suspended for marijuana and details about the fight in which he died that portrayed him as the aggressor.

The parents of an unarmed black teenager shot dead by a neighbourhood watch helper in Florida are leading a rally in protest at the lack of an arrest.

The US police chief who has been bitterly criticised for not arresting a neighbourhood watch volunteer in the shooting death of an unarmed black teenager and the county prosecutor both left the case, with the chief saying that he is temporarily stepping down to let passions cool.

Civil rights leaders in the US have demanded the arrest of a neighbourhood watch helper who went free after shooting dead an unarmed black teenager.

The US Justice Department is to investigate the shooting of an unarmed black teenager by a neighbourhood watch guard following a day of protests over the incident.

Some of the 85,000 holidaymakers stranded overseas following the collapse of Britain’s third largest tour operator are trickling home today.