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north EDITION Referendum deadline
Your English Newspaper
Issue 599
08 - 14 april 2011
Helping hand for Japan
Expats wanting a voice in the crucial British referendum on voting reform face a 14th April deadline to insure they get a vote. It is estimated some 2.5 million British citizens worldwide who are entitled to cast a ballot, the majority resident in Spain – but they must be registered by the cut off date p7
by Jack Troughton
St George and the animals
Cabaret group Cameo Entertainers are performing its hot new show Rollercoaster of Love at a special St George’s Day celebration to raise money for two animal charities p26
Leaving out the logical You’d think that down-toearth practical arrangements like paying tax would entail a certain amount of logic wouldn’t you? p30
Bitter candy
Find out what Alex has been watching on p54
The final whistle
THhe International Cricket Council has become the latest governing body to show that they are completely out of touch with their own sport p62
Standard bearers
Legion marks 90 years of service A MOVING Festival of Remembrance in Alicante marked the 90th anniversary of the Royal British Legion as once again poppies were worn with pride. The audience at Saturday night’s packed Auditorio de la Diputacion de Alicante clapped, cheered, and greeted guests with standing ovations in a hugely enjoyable and at times emotional benefit concert. Read the full story on page 3
GENEROUS EXPATS wanting to extend the hand of international friendship and help Japan recover from the devastation of last month’s earthquake and Tsunami can donate to a special appeal fund. Costa Blanca businesswoman Jennifer Cunningham has organised a bank account in the name of the Japan Earthquake Appeal (see page 10) to collect donations and arranged to transfer them through Currencies Direct to the Japanese Red Cross. Jennifer, who owns Jennifer Cunningham Insurances SL, has family in Tokyo where her son Mark runs a chain of bars called the Hobgoblin Pubs. The death toll from the March 11 disaster is expected to top 25,000 people and has left the country facing its worst crisis since the Second World War. The ‘quake measured 8.9 on the Richter Scale – Japan’s worst since records began and the fifth largest seismic shock recorded anywhere in the world – and struck off the coast of the country, north of Tokyo with Miyagi and Sendai closest to the epicentre. DESTROY The resulting wall of water rushed in land at speeds of up to 800 kilometres per hour – as
fast as a modern jet – destroying everything in its path and sweeping away homes, shops, cars, even ships. The disaster also triggered a nuclear alert and an evacuation around Fukushima as water-cooled power plants threatened to meltdown and the international community, including Spain, has monitored a resulting increase in background nuclear levels, although below those considered a danger to health. The Japanese take pride in their dignity and honour and Jennifer told RTN they always took full responsibility for their actions and were “extremely stoical.” She added: “What will happen is they will rebuild and rebuild as fast as they possibly can but it is a vast area that has been affected.” Jennifer said her son had arrived in London just as disaster struck in the Pacific and had been “distraught” until he knew his wife and children were safe – Mark has since returned to Tokyo and said life was slowly getting back to normal. DISASTER And she said unlike natural disasters in more isolated and poorer parts of the world there was no need of food, water and blankets.
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See page 17