be documented by weather satellites. The Italian ferry Moby Prince collides with an oil tanker in dense fog off Livorno, Italy, resulting in 140 deaths with one survivor. April 12 – The Warsaw Stock Exchange opens in Poland. April 14 – In the Netherlands, thieves steal 20 paintings worth $500 million from the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam; they are found in an abandoned car near the museum less than an hour later. April 15 The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is inaugurated. End of Apartheid: The European Economic Community lifts economic sanctions on South Africa. April 16 – 18 – General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union Mikhail Gorbachev begins the first ever visit of a Soviet leader to Japan, but fails to resolve the two countries' dispute over ownership of the Kuril Islands. April 17 – The Dow Jones Industrial Average closes above 3,000 for the first time in history, at 3,004.46. April 18 – Iraq disarmament crisis: Iraq declares some of its chemical weapons and materials to the UN, as required by Resolution 687, and claims that it does not have a biological weapons program. April 19 – George Carey is enthroned as Archbishop of Canterbury, the spiritual leader of the worldwide Anglican Communion. April 22 A 7.7 Limon earthquake strikes Costa Rica and Panama with a maximum Mercalli intensity, causing between 47 and 87 deaths and up to 759 injuries. In Taiwan, the Temporary Provisions against the Communist Rebellion are abolished, having been in effect for 43 years. April 23 – Prime Minister of Iceland Steingrímur Hermannsson resigns following an inconclusive parliamentary election; he is succeeded by Davíð Oddsson on April 30. April 26 A series of 55 tornadoes break out in the central U.S., killing 21. The most notable tornado strikes Andover, Kansas. Esko Aho at the age of 36 becomes the youngest-ever Prime Minister of Finland. April 29 A tropical cyclone hits Bangladesh, killing an estimated 138,000 people. A 7.0 earthquake in Racha, Georgia, kills 270 people and leaves 100,000 others homeless. April 29 – 30 – In Lesotho, a bloodless coup ousts military ruler Justin Lekhanya, with Chairman of the Military Council Elias Phisoana Ramaema replacing him two days later. May May 1 – Angolan Civil War: The MPLA and UNITA agree to the Bicesse Accords, which are formally signed on May 31 in Lisbon. May 6 –