British novelist Salman Rushdie's satire, The Satanic Verses, incenses Muslim readers with alleged "blasphemies," leading Islamic leader Ayatollah Khomeini of Iran to pronounce a death sentence against Rushdie and offer $1 million reward to any person who kills him.

Indian novelist Bharati Mukherjee publishes The Middleman and Other Stories.

Foucault's Pendulum, a mystery by Umberto Eco, is published.

German filmmaker Wim Wenders releases Wings of Desire.

Marcel Ophuls's documentary about Nazi war criminal Klaus Barbie, Hotel Terminus, is released.

Spanish director Pedro Almodovar's comedy Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown is released.

In international sailboat racing, Stars and Stripes of the United States successfully defends the America's Cup against New Zealand by using a catamaran, which tends to be faster than monohulled ships. New Zealand protests, and the outcome of the race is contested in court for the next year and a half. Ultimately, Stars and Stripes is...