Milestones

DIED. Axel Springer, 73, West German self-made press tycoon, who owned 18 newspapers and magazines including Europe's best-selling (circ. 5.27 million) daily newspaper, Bild Zeitung; of a heart attack; in West Berlin. A strong supporter of West German postwar conservative governments, Springer stood for reconciliation with Israel, the reunification of Germany, free trade and German-American friendship. In 1966 he declared, "My country is divided by barbed wire. My world is divided by ignorance, prejudice and fear."