CLICHY-SOUS-BOIS, France (Reuters) – Aroua Hamdane nervously eyed a group of teenagers ambling across the street from his home in one of Paris’ tinderbox high-rise suburbs and let out a sigh, shaking his head disapprovingly.

“Look at them. They do not work. They hang around like that all day. Always smoking grass and getting into trouble with the police,” said the 66-year-old retired salesman.

PARIS (Reuters) – President Nicolas Sarkozy vowed on Monday to punish al Qaeda’s north African wing for killing a 78-year-old French hostage after a commando raid in Mali failed to free him.

Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) said on Sunday it had killed Michel Germaneau in response to the raid against the group last week, according to a recording aired on Al Jazeera.

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – FIFA’s disciplinary committee will meet to decide whether Uruguay striker Luis Suarez should face extra punishment for a deliberate handball on the goalline in their quarter-final against Ghana.

He will already be banned for one match but a two-game suspension — if FIFA take that course of action — could rule him out of the July 11 World Cup final should Uruguay win their semi against Netherlands.

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – Ghana defender John Pantsil choked back tears as he bemoaned a decision to award a last-minute penalty instead of a goal which would have seen the Africans qualify for the semi-finals of the World Cup on Friday.

Uruguayan striker Luis Suarez handled the ball on the line in the dying seconds of the quarter-final, denying Ghana a goal while both teams were tied at 1-1.

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – Nigeria has until Monday evening to reverse a decision to withdraw the national soccer team from international competition or its football federation will be suspended, FIFA said on Friday.

Soccer’s world governing body, which does not tolerate government interference in football matters, said a failure to comply with its ultimatum would mean the Nigerian Football Federation would be barred from all FIFA-related activities.

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – Ghana will stick to the tactics that have proved successful so far in the World Cup when they take on Uruguay for a place in the semi-finals, defender John Pantsil said on Monday.

The team, which became only the third African nation ever to advance to the quarter final stage of the World Cup, also had no fears about dealing with the attacking qualities the South Americans had shown so far in the tournament, players said.

JOHANNESBURG, June 28 (Reuters) – It was a mistake to show
replays of Argentina’s controversial opening goal against Mexico
on giant stadium screens during Sunday’s World Cup game, world
soccer’s governing body said on Monday.

The replay of Carlos Tevez’s opening goal from a clear
offside position sparked a melee during the game and at
half-time rival substitutes squared up to one another behind the
Mexican bench.

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – Old rivals England and Germany’s second-round match will set World Cup betting records spurred by a wave of ‘patriotic gambles’ on the game, bookmakers said on Saturday.

Bookmaker William Hill said the betting industry was likely to see a record 30 million pounds ($44.91 million) placed with many punters putting their money on a win for England in Bloemfontein on Sunday

JOHANNESBURG, June 26 (Reuters) – Old rivals England and
Germany’s second-round match will set World Cup betting records
spurred by a wave of ‘patriotic gambles’ on the game, bookmakers
said on Saturday.

Bookmaker William Hill (WMH.L: Quote, Profile, Research) said the betting industry was
likely to see a record 30 million pounds ($44.91 million) placed
with many punters putting their money on a win for England in
Bloemfontein on Sunday

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – Switzerland captain Alex Frei will be on the bench for Friday’s World Cup Group H game against Honduras in Bloemfontein, said a team spokesman.

“We will start with the same lineup that played against Spain,” Marco von Ah told Reuters. “He (Frei) will be one of the first to go on if the result is going our way.”