Marshal dies

Nikolai Ogarkov, one of the last marshals of the Soviet Union and the man who publicly defended the shooting down of a South Korean airliner in 1983, has died aged 76, Reuter reports from Moscow. Ogarkov was Chief of the General Staff of Soviet armed forces and first deputy defence minister for more than seven years. He was removed in 1984 in circumstances that stirred speculation he had fallen into disgrace.