News In Brief

Kremlin 'leak' asserts Sakharovs still alive

A West German newspaper published photographs of Soviet dissident Andrei Sakharov and his wife Tuesday. The paper said a Soviet journalist offered the pictures to prove the couple is alive. But there was nothing apparent in the photos to prove they were taken recently.

The tabloid daily Bild Zeitung said it obtained the photographs on Sunday from Victor Louis at a hotel in Zurich, Switzerland. Mr. Louis is a Soviet journalist who is often used by the Kremlin to leak stories to the West. The newspaper said Louis personally guaranteed the authenticity of the photos.

Louis implied the Soviet authorities would allow Sakharov to be examined by an international medical team once he had returned to full health.

Bild, part of the right-wing Axel Springer group of newspapers, has a circulation of 5.4 million.