Posts Tagged ‘lords’
The roadblock to the participation of Kevin Pietersen, Andrew Flintoff and team-mates in second edition of Indian Premier League seems to have been removed after England and Wales Cricket Board and Professional Cricketers’ Association agreed on a 15-day window for the players.
The duration agreed by the ECB and the PCA means players will be able to play in first few rounds of the IPL, starting in April, before returning for the first Test against the West Indies starting at Lord’s on May 6.
“We think this is realistic and sensible,” PCA chief executive Sean Morris was quoted as saying’. “There was some pressure to get back for a four-day game before the Test. The guys understand that and I think they are happy. I would say we are now 99 per cent there,” Morris added.
The final details involving compensation package remain to be sorted out as counties demand reimbursement for losing their players’ service during the 15-day window. However, there was optimism that the deal could be worked out before England leave for the West Indies on January 21.
If it does go through then Pietersen and Flintoff could earn up to 300,000 pounds for little more than a fortnight’s work when the IPL auction is held on February 6.
drug lord
Posted on: December 13, 2008
- In: World news
- 1 Comment
Colombia has extradited Diego Montoya, alleged to be one of the country’s most powerful drug lords, to the US to face trial for murder and drug trafficking.
The charges relate to Mr Montoya’s time as leader of the Norte del Valle cartel which, at its peak, reportedly exported 70% of cocaine sold in the US and EU.
Known as Don Diego, he ran a private army accused of 1,500 murders.
At the time of his 2007 arrest by the Colombian military, he was on the FBI’s “10 Most Wanted” list.
Mr Montoya arrived aboard a US military plane in Miami, where he is scheduled to appear in court on Monday to face 12 charges including drug trafficking, obstruction of justice, money-laundering and murder.
He faces at least 20 years in jail if convicted.
Earlier, television footage showed the handcuffed 50-year-old in sunglasses and a jacket under a bulletproof vest, being escorted by heavily-armed Colombian police to a military airbase in Bogota.
There, he was handed over to agents of the US Drug Enforcement Administration, the DEA.
His extradition follows those of several other leading members of the cartel which Colombian authorities say has now been mostly dismantled.
Government coup
With a $5m (£3.4m) reward advertised for the capture of the billionaire known in Colombia’s underworld as the “boss of bosses”, Mr Montoya was arrested in his home province of Valle del Cauca.
His capture was seen as a huge coup for the government, ending the reign of one of the legends of the Colombian underworld.
“Colombia is closing a chapter in its fight against drug trafficking,” police chief General Oscar Naranjo told AFP news agency after the extradition.
“This extradition is perhaps the most important in years.”
Officials say Mr Montoya helped found the Norte del Valle cartel, based near the city of Cali.
The FBI said the cartel received help from left-wing guerrillas and right-wing paramilitary groups.
While his army, the Macho Men, has been largely dismantled, the Jeremy McDermott in Colombia says Mr Montoya’s place and the drug smuggling routes he ran have been taken over by a new boss known by the alias Combatant.
Colombia may be claiming another victory on the war on drugs, our correspondent adds, but the flow of illegal narcotics continues largely unchanged.
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