States line up to jail Noriega

There’s a fight on to decide who jails Noriega next, writes philip jacobson

You can hardly blame Manuel Noriega, the former military dictator of Panama, for looking forward to a quiet life back home when he is finally released from a US prison in September after serving almost two-thirds of a 30-year stretch for drug trafficking and money laundering.

But the 70-year-old jailbird, whose corrugated features earned him the unflattering nickname of 'Pineapple Face', would be unwise to bank on fulfilling his dream of "enjoying my grandchildren in peaceful retirement" for the foreseeable future.

The judicial authorities in Panama have made it clear that they have no intention of rescinding the two lengthy sentences imposed on Noriega in absentia for conspiracy