■ Malaysia
Betting rings busted
Police have arrested seven people who ran illegal soccer betting rings set up especially for the World Cup, the official Bernama news agency reported. Three men were arrested on Tuesday and four others were seized on Wednesday, Bernama said. Yahya Ramli, the senior investigation division officer from Klang town just outside Malaysia's largest city, Kuala Lumpur, said the syndicates were accepting bets of up to 10,000 ringgit (US$2,740), Bernama reported late on Thursday. Police seized computers, swords, newspaper clippings, a stun gun and synthetic drugs in the raids, Bernama added. A high school student was among those arrested in Wednesday's raid, it said.
■ Australia
Cup bid in the offing
The nation's World Cup success on Thursday sparked calls from politicians for an Australian bid to host the 2018 tournament. The state premiers of South Australia and New South Wales will make a joint submission to the July 14 meeting of the Council of Australian Governments, recommending that planning for a bid begin immediately. Premiers Morris Iemma of New South Wales and Mike Rann of South Australian held a news conference in Sydney as Australians celebrated the 2-2 draw with Croatia that carried their team into the Cup's second round. "We have all been inspired by the Socceroos' sensational performance in Germany this morning against Croatia," Iemma said.
■ Czech Republic
Nedved silent on future
Midfielder Pavel Nedved's international future was in doubt after their World Cup elimination on Thursday. "I don't want to say anything, it has happened to me once before and I'd prefer to leave it open," the 33-year-old told reporters after the 2-0 Group E defeat by Italy. Nedved came out of international retirement to help the Czechs qualify for the World Cup, returning for the two-legged playoffs against Norway in November. He said on Thursday he had not ruled out the possibility of retiring from soccer completely. Nedved said the problems at his club Juventus were also causing him anxiety. "If I am not playing at the top level, I don't think I can play for the national side," he said, answering "yes" when asked if he had considered quitting playing altogether.
■ Ghana
Minister sorry over flag
The foreign minister has apologized to ambassadors from Arab nations after a Ghanaian soccer player triggered a diplomatic bust-up by raising the Israeli flag to celebrate a World Cup victory. Defender John Paintsil, who plays his club football in Israel with Hapoel Tel Aviv, waved a small blue and white Israeli flag after Ghana's 2-0 win over Czech Republic last Saturday, provoking anger from Arab states. Libyan authorities summoned Ghana's Ambassador in Tripoli earlier this week to express their indignation over the incident, Ghana's Foreign Minister Nana Addo Akufo-Addo said. On Wednesday Akufo-Addo met ambassadors from the Palestinian Authority, Libya, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Algeria and Morocco and apologized to them, he said. "The government of Ghana deeply regrets this act by one of our citizens," Akufo-Addo said.
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