18 APRIL

1947 - The Treaty of Amity between the Philippines and China is signed at Manila by Vice-President Elpidio Quirino and Minister Plenipotentiary Chen Chih-Ping in the bid to maintain and strengthen the good relations between them; the treaty renounces the use of force in settling disputes and referring them instead to the International Court of Justice.

1906 - The Great San Francisco Earthquake strikes, killing hundreds of people while toppling many buildings and sending shock waves as far as southern Oregon to Los Angeles; estimated at an intensity of close to 8.0 on the Richter scale, the earthquake that has given rise to several raging fires was due to the San Andreas Fault's slippage over a segment some 275 miles long.

1960- Tens of thousands of people from all over the globe protest against the H-bomb during the Aldermaston "ban the bomb" march rally that culminates at Trafalgar Square, London; the largest demonstration seen in London during the 20th century, it constitutes the third annual Easter march organized by the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament.

1994 - The ethnic violence that has killed tens of thousands of Rwandas spreads from the capital city of Kigali to much of the African country; the violence that began following the death of Rwandan President Juvenal Habyarimana will lead to the massacre of some 800,000 Tutsis and Hutus, rendering it one of the 20th century's worst human rights atrocities.