Second chance’ for drunk drivers rejected by alcohol charities

NEW PROPOSALS TO reduce the penalties for drivers just over the blood alcohol limit have been criticised by alcohol charities.Under the new measures, motorists caught just above the new limit of 50mg alcohol per 100ml of blood will only face penalty points and a €220 fine – although if they are caught a second time, they will be banned. It will also be a three-tier system where drivers breath-tested between 80mg and 100mg will be fined €400 and banned for six months, while anyone above 100mg faces a 12-month ban, the Irish Independent reports.Currently, anyone caught even slightly over the limit will have to appear in caught and faces a 12-month ban if convicted. The limit is currently 80mg, but will be reduced to 50mg – or less than a pint of beer – next month in line with several other European...

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Girl's father was 'never fully in favour' of relationship with Turkish teenager

teenage waiter knifed two British women to death in Turkey after one refused to let him marry her 15-year-old daughter.The obsessed 17-year-old lured the women to a secluded wood where he cut their throats. The girl, Shannon Graham, had been dating Recep Cetin for two years. He was said to be ‘totally infatuated’ and ‘very possessive’. Last week her mother Marion, 53, had a blazing row with Cetin, who uses the name Alex.Suspect: Suspect Recep Celik, left, is accused of killing the mother of his girlfriend Shannon Graham, pictured, in a frenzied attack Recep Celik is accused of stabbing Marion Graham (left) and Kathy Dinsmore, both...

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Turkish youth is expected to be formally charged today with the double murder of two Irish women in western Turkey on Thursday night.

Marion Graham and Kathy Dinsmore were found stabbed to death in a wooded area off a road near the port city of Izmir.The dead women were both 54 years old and from the Newry area of Co Down. Both were travelling on Irish passports.The killings followed Ms Graham’s attempts to prevent her daughter Shannon from marrying a 17-year-old youth she had met in the country.The youth was detained by police yesterday, and is the only suspect for the double murder. His father and a local taxi driver were also helping police with their inquiries.The suspect yesterday appeared at a preliminary hearing in Turkey and charges are expected to follow today.Yesterday...

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Community rallies for Montgomery man run over in Spain

People in Montgomery are rallying around a young man severely injured on the Isle of Ibiza off the coast of Spain.  Rob McLendon was riding a moped, when he was forced into oncoming traffic.  Both Rob and a friend, Zoe Bromberg from Jacksonville, Florida, were run over.  Bromberg died from her injuries.  Friends here at home have launched an effort to help Rob recover."He has cracked vertebrae, he has multiple fractures on his face, his liver, his kidneys are all damaged, he punctured lungs and he's really been in a fight for his life," said Chip Broadfoot, Associate Rector for the Church of the Ascension in Montgomery.McLendon grew up in Montgomery, but his career took him to Europe.  His family and close friends have flown to the Isle of...

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Former St Andrews man jailed for killing in Barcelona

William Madley (47) had admitted hitting Lanarkshire man Derek Cowan over the head with a bottle before strangling him with his bare hands in Barcelona nearly three years ago.The father of two confessed to the crime, which occurred in October 2008.Lawyers struck a deal where it was agreed Madley, who spent his formative years in Yorkshire, would serve 10 years in prison. He was also ordered to pay £13,000 in compensation to the family of his victim.The court in Barcelona heard a row, believed to have been over a failed business venture, had ended in the death of the 46-year-old Larkhall man in his apartment in the Spanish city's fashionable Eixample district.It is thought the two Brits had at one time been business partners but had had a disagreement over money and ended the partnership some...

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