Threat over Russian missile plan

Russia's top military commander has threatened a pre-emptive strike on Nato missile defence facilities in eastern Europe.

The Chief of General Staff, Nikolai Makarov, said: "A decision to use destructive force pre-emptively will be taken if the situation worsens". The Defence Minister, Anatoly Serdyukov, also warned that talks on the issue between Moscow and Washington were "close to a dead end".