British novelist Kingsley Amis publishes The Old Devils.

Argentinean director Luis Puenzo's La historia oficial (The Official Story), a dramatization set during Argentina's Guerra Sucia (Dirty War) of 1976-1983 in which thousands of designated subversives "disappeared," is released. It wins an Oscar for best foreign film of 1986.

French filmmaker Claude Berri releases Jean de Florette, starring Yves Montand and Gerard Depardieu.

Barbara Sukowa stars in Margarethe von Trotta's Rosa Luxemburg.

Juzo Itami's comedy Tampopo, with Ken Watanabe and Tsutomu Yamakazi, is released.

Europe continues to be plagued by terrorist attacks and bombings.

The Annacis Bridge in Vancouver, British Columbia, is completed, making it the world's longest cable-stayed bridge.

Testing of the abortion drug, RU 486, begins in France.

U.S. officials express alarm at the Soviet "peace offensive" led by General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev, who is winning diplomatic gains throughout Western Europe.

1 Jan.

In a sign of lessening Cold War...