i'm zain verjee at haven't haven't in london meerp are's he headlines this hour. insisting there is no crisis facing football. despite growing controversy over alleged corruption. running for re-election unopposed. one of two fifa officials suspended sunday is trying to get back on wednesday's ballot. fresh explosions rock tripoli early tuesday hours ar

the president left the city. ja jacob zuma held talks. more than 100 military officers including 100 army generals defected to the opposition. and russia, importing vegetables including crucumbers. more than 1,000 deaths. the outbreak originated in organic cucumbers from spain. those are the headlines. i'm zain verge any london. "world business today" starts now. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com good morning from london. >> here are our headlines, this tuesday, may the 31st.

>> more crying foul overshadowing fifa's one-man presidential race. economic growth in india slows, putting the squeeze on manufacturing. and cubans wake up and smell the rising price of coffee, as a bizarre concoction make as comeback. and doesn't seem in think his is in crisis but in the ongoing mire of controversy, undoubtedly he's in the minority. at the top of fifa, fans, sponsors and other stakeholders agree it's time for the tarnished institution to clean up its act. >> inside, slightly out of touch. now let's looking a the may players in this fifa corruption crisis. and we have to start, of course, with the prehimself, sepp

blatter. unopposed for the top spot since 1998. tomorrow he'll stand for the presidency once again, and once again, he will be unopposed. now, the reason for that is, his only competitor, talking about this man. the executive committee man, mohammed bin hammam. now, he has been accused of corrupt activities with this man -- goes on and on. fifa vice president jack warner, suspended as well. accused of bribing caribbean delegates to back hammam in the presidential election. now, there is one key other player involved in this. kniss is fifa secretary-general jerome valcke. midday monday, valcke admitted,

look at this. admitted he sent an e-mail to warner implying that he bought the world cup and tried to do the same with the fifa presidency. one hour after that was exposed, bin hammam denied the allegations against him and the world cup bid team did likewise. by 6:30, valcke was clarifying his comments on buying the world cup. what he meant to say, the oil rich nation way well-financed campaign. minutes after he said that, back to mr. blatter. he took the podium and this is how he faced the music. >> from reuters, last night your long-term ally mr. jack warner told me that you should be stopped. can you give us some reaction to that statement?

>> stopped in what? no. no reaction. >> the media today, what happened in the fifa is a crisis. is it a crisis? >> crisis? what is a crisis? if somebody of you would describe to me what there is a crisis, then i would answer. football is not in a crisis. when you have seen the match, the final match of the champions league, and you must applaud and you see what the game is what is fair play on the game. what is good control of the game. we are not in a crisis. we are only in some difficulties, and difficulties will be solved.solved inside ou family. >> ladies and gentlemen, i accept a press conference with you alone here. i respect you.

please respect me, and please respect the procedure of the press conference. did you ask for the question, then ask for the mike, and don't intervene. we are not in a bazaar here. >> this is a press conference and i thought it for asking questions, and there are so many that want to ask questions. it's not about respect, because this is respected. >> yeah, but i have said i have a time majority proposal. i have answered the questions and now i thank you for your attendance. i thank you for your interest, and we are looking forward to tomorrow. >> see, you have said that this is about the ethics committee. >> and -- >> allegations on this -- >> the questions have been -- i do not go into discussions

individually with people. they like to create problems. i just want to tell you one thing. you can laugh. elegance is attitude and respect is attitude. yeah, sure. i think something i have learned this in my life. also life as a journalist. i'm still a member. and when i was in press conference and it was said, it is finished, then i said, thank you. >> well, interesting. the fifa president rattled. claiming there will not be another vote on the 2022 venue. instead looks to be a forgone conclusion. joining me now life. first of all, let's start with that press conference. it does seem to have been a pretty remarkable affair.

>> reporter: the press conference i have ever been in, charles, the term was irreverent, and that illustrated to journalists in attendance. i think he's got it wrong. he came out. he was in a joevial mood and ths wasn't the right occasion. we're talking about serious allegations. this around several's his colleagues and i don't think this is a joking matter, even though he is smiling, he says, good to see you all, and made certain political jokes about comments that journalisms had, and in the end, as you just heard, pandemonium in there. this is where the press kch conference took place and everybody had a very sour taste in their mouth after it was all said and done. i believe the first thing he plans to do is to offer his p.r.

message because the tone of that press conference was completely wrong on monday afternoon. charles? >> okay. let's not pump ourselves up too much in terms of the press and journalists. obviously, we seem important to ourselves, but in a way there's a rather more important issue for stakeholders. that is the sponsors of these fifa events and they're starting to be arrested. what's more, arrested in black and white, in print, right? >> reporter: let's face it, fifa and most government bodies don't care much about what fans think. otherwise, for example, football would have installed some kind of technology now. they don't care what they think, the media. we know we're not that important, we just try to get those little kquestions and thoe answers out. but they might listen to sponsors. as you mow, money talks. we have had some reaction to sponsors.

the kind of companies that sponsor the events. that's, of course, the world cup. let me read an excerpt from a couple's statements we received over the last 24 hours. the first one, coca-cola, a top sponsor, they've shown distress to what has been occurring. we have every expectation that fifa will resolve the situation in an expedient and thorough manner. not an aggressive tone but definitely sending a message. a german's company, sports manufacturer, went a step further. adidas, we have enjoyed a long-term partnership with fifa and that we are looking to continue. having said that, the public debate surrounding fifa, negative tenor of the public debate surrounding fifa is neither good for football nor for fifa. the sponsors that pay hundreds

of millions of dollars to have their brands at the top events of the football world governing body organizers. >> okay. we'll have to see whether sedd blatter pays attention that. unopposed as we expect later this week and carries on in the presidency which he's held since 1998. joining us live from outside fifa headquarters in zurich, switzerland. and a story, the developments of the top of the world football governing body and let me remind you, of course, you can follow the story on our website, to get up to date. what pedro has to say. go to cnn.com/worldsport, allegations of corruption, and also on a defiant stand we just saw there. extraordinary stuff, charles. well, monday was rather an

indecisive day on global stock markets, because the uk market, more importantly, the u.s. market, were both closed for holidays. memorial day in the united states, but we did see a little bit of trading. here we're seeing much more indecision a buy going on. a decent rally particularly on the xetra dax. gains for the banks there, zurich smi, each un. london ftse up by 30. and one hour 12 minutes into the trading day. all the same, still focused on the debt crisis, and something we're watching now. reports that germany is considering dropping its push for early rescheduling of greek bonds. that is having an impact on world currencies. we're also watching the yen, but we are seeing a little bit of strength returning to the euro.

1,4407. 1,6524 for the gbp and 81.75 that japan faces a possible down grade. on moody's watch list. it's interesting, charles, you said, moody's taking a close look at japan. investors focusing on that yen story you were talking ak there. that means its weighted against the u.s. dollar, and that means good news for exporters. also other good news. increased industrial output after the march 11th earthquake giving investors extra cause. putting japan on view for a potential credit downgrade. more on that a little later in the show. around the rett of the region, shanghai finally snapping an eight-day losing streak. chinese currency there reached another record high against the u.s. dollar. on friday the u.s. treasury

department conceded that beijing is not manipulating its currency. how the day ended across the region, the nikkei having a pretty strong day up nearly 2%. hong cohn better, up by more than 2%. shanghai, up 1.4% and australia almost 1% higher. charles? ahead on "world business today," the second country in the world in terms of population and an economic powerhouse. but what's different now about india's financial might? and watch out coffee drinkers. you'll soon be in for quite a jolt. blame it on the weather. we'll tell you why in a moment. nationwide insurance. talk to me.

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france's finance minister on the road campaigning to become held of the international monetary fund. on monday she began tour of developing countries to garner their support. in brazil, pledging a greater role for large developing countries like brazil in the imf's management. now in japan, sony corporation now resumed production of all ten of its factories damaged by the quake and tsunami in march. the most recent plant to come back into operation is located in the hard-hit miyagi prefecture, now running at a reduced capacity. russia suspended all vegetable imports from germany and spain. the ban comes after an e. coli outbreak linked to raw produce killing more than a dozen people in germany. the e. coli bacteria has been found in cucumbers originating in spain, packaged in germany and distributed throughout europe. the brakes are starting to

go on in india. the country's gdp growth, broader number of economic growth slowed to 7.8% in the first three months of 2011 compared with the previous quarter, and while growth compared with the same quarter last year came in at 8.5%, far short of expectations a downward pattern is emerging, analysts expect it to continue. live from new deli to explain the squeeze and what's behind the growing rate. >> reporter: andrew, struggling due to high inflation and put in place in this regard has been a series of rate hike, bank rate hikes for the past one year. and this is showing that when manufacturing slowed down drastically in the fourth quarter. this shows that rate hikes coupled with inflation has had an impact on consumer demand,

but inflation is a major, major problem. andrew? >> it certainly has been a problem for some time now. i think it's been something like nine interest rate rises since march of last year. what's the outlook now for inflation? is it going to get better -- worse before it gets better? >> reporter: andrew, the economists say that, one, inflation is like a double kick in the belly. india's large impoverished population. and the outlook isn't that bright either. just go to it predictions by the central bank and you find that inflation is expected to remain at this level for months to come until measures to control it start to take root. >> you mentioned manufacturing is slowing down because of the higher rest rates. just broadly, what sort of impact is the inflation rate having on business now in india?

>> andrew, it's up to the president of the leading business chamber here in india today, i spoke with him, and he believes india he's in to take a priority to build infrastructure. let's listen to what he had to say. >> we do have inflation in the short term. i think we should accept that there will be a reasonable level of inflationened not address is to just tightening of interest rates and showing adequate credit flow and buildup of infrastructures. infrastructure i would put above inflation. >> reporter: the gentlemen saying that infrastructure is key. he's saying that india needs to expect this and inflation. planning a trillion dollar spending to overhaul infrastructure but there are new issues in the way. one is land and the government

is struggling to deal with this problem. andrew? >> certainly have a lot of problems in that part of the world. thank you very much. thank you for joining us from cnn new delly. charles? coffee drinkers are getting a jolt, although perhaps not the kind you were hoping for. ahead, why the cost of java is way up. a and a look how cuba is keeping that cost down. all and more ahead on "world business today." there's great ns for people with astigmatism. acuvue® oasys for astigmatism. he said it's the only lens of its kind designed to realign naturally with every blink and created with hydraclear® plus. i'm seeing more clearly, crisply, comfortably, all day long. now life doesn't have to be a blur. [ male announcer ] learn more at acuvue.com. acuvue® oasys for astigmatism.

you're watching "world business today" on cnn. it's midmorning near london. time for a pick me up and something to digest before you take your coffee break. coffee prices are eating up starbucks is the latest coffee brand. announce a price hike with packages going up 17% in july. other major brews increased prices as well. the culprit, inclement weather, likely to mean more smaller crops of the green cup used to make most popular blends. unless conditions improve, prices could keep rising. supply fears have sent coffee futures higher up 95% over the past year. so have you decided you want that cup, anyway? you're not alone. consumption rose to a record high last year. that's interesting, charles,

that consuming, despite rising prices. the searing cost of coffee is prompting an interesting response. in cuba, the country's fourth bev retch, talked about coffee beans, but what about coffee beads. an old concoction is making a comeback. >> reporter: cuban coffee. these day, a little more bitter with less of a jolt. that's because beginning this month, the coffee offered on the communist country's ration card is mixed with roasted peas. a combination that cubans thought they'd left behind in 2005, but the soaring price of coffee imports made the government change its mind. some like this guard welcome the change. the first time i had coffee it was mixed with peas, he says. i liked it, and i'll keep on liking it, but most cubans are not nearly at complacent.

undeniably, the mixed coffee is inferior quality. you don't have to be scientist to know that. the mixture is only 50% vauvia. the rest, roasted peas. president raul castro said the government would no longer pay $47 billion a year for the demand of coffee. while the global price is up 39% peas have only risen 30%. rationing at stores, just four peso, the equivalent of a few cents, but this woman, like so many cubans says she has to mix it with expensive coffee from the superintendent. on its own, it plugged up the coffeemaker, she says. or it just comes out tasteless. but the only way to know for sure is to try it for yourself. so i'm going to cook up a mocha pot here. what most cubans use to make

their coffee, but i've been told i have to be careful, because apparently the peas expand a little more than coffee and these can explode. now for the real test. definitely very bitter. cafes and restaurants still serve the ppure coffee cuba is s for, but the aromatic beans imports more than half of its annual consumption. for cnn, havana. >> ah, but also exports a lot of sugar which you were use to get rid of that bitter taste, i'd say. anyway, no mind. cuba's caffeine woes, japan's economic woes just got worse. one word -- moody's. we'll tell what you they're saying now about japan's debt problems. and here's something you probably haven't seen before.

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from cnn hong kong, i'm andrew. >> and i'm charles at cnn london. welcome back to "world business today." let's see what's been going on in europe. markets are now 19 minutes into the trading day, and after a bit of wavering yesterday, here after the uk and u.s. markets come back from their holiday break, a good bit of buying going on. particularly the xetra dax.

1.75%. zurich and paris, and london sluggish, still up by comfortably more than 1%. banks look as if they're amongst the big gainers. andrew? charles, here in asia, shanghai finally beginning to turn around after falling for eight consecutive sessions. the yuan in china reaching a record high i should add against the u.s. dollar, after the u.s. treasury department conceded friday beijing is not niplating its currency. look what japan did. up by 2% in the end, really on the back of a weakening yuan. good for japanese exporters and signs industrial production is picking up now that the march earthquake and tsunami is well behind them. perhaps not well behind, but

certainly behind them. signs of life finally. up by almost 1%. in a japan, the economic warning bells are still out there's. moody's, just put the country's debt rating on review from possible downgrade. moodsy increasingly worried whether japan's government can reach a credible deficit reduction target warning adding to prime minister naoto kan's direction. first of all, let's talk about moody's. what are they seeing there? looks like they're just laying the blame about japan's economic woes purely on the japan policymakers? >> reporter: it's a little bit of both. the first example that they're saying that moody's is saying, at least in the press release, about why they're reviewing japan's credit is that they are concerned about the larger than

expected fallout of the earthquake and tsunami crisis. as you point out, certainly they're talking about policy. they're talking about a lack of consistent policy, and that lands squarely on the doorstep of japan's parliament. with all of this news that's happening. with all of this economic data we've seen over the last two months and even with this moody's possible downgrade, it doesn't appear that parliament is listening very closely. so that's really what people are saying from the outside. is japan listening to what economic data is saying what the economic experts are saying here? >> the economic data, bottom line here is japan has gone back into recession, as we know, and also the fact that, as you point out, simply a policy praralysis. how will this impact japan's future?

>> reporter: there is a big hope right after the tsunami that the lack of decisive policy would actually turn around. remember, this is a country that in the last five years has seen six prime ministers, and so the hope was that all of the parliamentary members would get behind naoto kan and get behind them, that the vacuum would disappear. that's not what we're seeing this week. just today we saw a slew of bad economic data from unemployment to the number of jobs available for people, but the big story this week out of japan is whether or not there's going to be a no confidence motion put forward in parliament. basically what this no confidence vote would mean is that the lawmakers would be saying -- these are mainly his political opponents, not just the opposition party but with his own party that say, we do not believe in you. we don't approve of your handling of this crisis and the pressure would be for him to step down. again, when you look at the revolving door of the prime

minister's office, the leader gets there, you don't have a chance for the paint to the dry before you have to fight for your job. the concern is there's going to be a continuing lack of policy in an economy that's been struggling now trying to deal with a huge crisis. >> it's a great point. i mean, this revolving door, and i guess -- or can you tell us is have any credible alternative for naoto k acan. >> reporter: that's where people are shaking their heads. who wants this job anymore? the chief cabinet secretary has been in the spotlight. a lot of people are kind of looking at him. the question is, would he actually want this job? there are no a lot of strong candidates out there to step up in place of the prime minister, and, again, it's got to be, if you become the prime minister, how long are you going to be in? and is this something you want for your political future? >> yeah. also, can you bring us up to

date, too, on reports of an explosion at the fukushima daiichi nuclear plant? >> reporter: a couple concerning moments when we heard there was some sort of explosion that happened on the south side of reactor 4. a robot was there and someone was hurt. bottom line no change in the level of radiation, and in have been no injuries reported. exactly what exploded, though, some type of tank, but as this point, tepco can't tell us exactly what was in the tank or how much was damaged. or how big. >> thank you for that update. joining us live from tokyo. charles, i should add, tepco is just being downgraded on its own ratings. junk status. no surprise there. >> i suppose not. switching gears and look at the weather, because mother nature's been putting on quite a show, it seems, off the coast of

new south wales in southeastern australia and joining us from the international weather center. good morning. >> good morning to tu, charles. you hardly see anything more spectacular than something we are about to show you. this near aboca beach along the southeast coast of australia. here we've got a fairly vigorous weather system, but take a look at these spectacular pictures that were recorded just about 24 hours ago. that is a waterspout, and, yes, they starts off fairly benign, but it wasn't just one. there were three altogether. was no threat, except maybe to maritime boaters, and that's just about it, but this generally happens when you see some colder air aloft with the plume of waters at the lower levels, and as a result you get these very interesting and fascinating pictures. they were saying that this particular one had winds with it just about 160 kilometers per

hour, and usually they dissipate as they edge towards the coast. in this particular instance, that's exactly what it did. all right. for the united states, the south central u.s., great fire danger. this has been continuing for quite some time with some pretty gusty winds. very dry weather conditions, and as a result, we've got just the fuel for fires that have been burning out of control in some cases across portions of new mexico, and in particular, in the last 24 to 48 hour, right around amarillo, a number of evacuation there's. no one injured from that particular storm. but we've also seen an outbreak of severe weather across the northern tier. where you see those red shaded areas, those were reports of tornadoes from nebraska into south dakota. and the other big news are the temperatures that are going to be soaring. no relief in sight from chicago to atlanta, to new york, with temperatures about 10 degrees

above where they should be for this time of year. like they are in philadelphia. readings in the low to mid-30s. big thunderstorms may rumble from paris to stuttgart. we'll teep you updated. charles? >> karen maginnis, joining us live. spectacular pictures from off the australian coast. thanks indeed. andrew? still ahead on world business, shining a spotlight on modern day slavery as cnn's "project freedom" goes to afghanistan. stay with us. [ male announcer ] you've reached the age where you don't back down from a challenge. this is the age of knowing how to make things happen. so, why would you let something like erectile dysfunction get in your way? isn't it time you talked to ?

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were back. you're watching "world business

today." over the course of the year we're investigating modern day slavery. an estimated 10 million to 30 million slaves in the world today. and throughout our cnn "freedom project" we aim to shed light on the victim, expose the perpetrators and meet those who fight to end the trade in human life. >> now today on "wbt" we're investigating a type of slavery known at bonded labor or debt bondage. meant to pay off a loan. entire families find themselves burdened with impossible debts. >> reporter: among these figures crouching and working in the mud is this 8-year-old. he's good at his job but with a grim smile he tells me, i hate it. i am angry and sad, he says. good willing, we'll finish this

work. it's very hard for us. with impressive precision, he carves off lumps of play with his hands. rolls them, sends to him brother and make a brick. the process is repeated endlessly producing thousands of bricks a day. these five brothers age 7 to 17 and their father have lived like this for three years. very sad for my sons, he says. you have to work to pay back our debt or the owner will get angry with us. his leg was blown off by a land mine first worked here after borrowing about $350 from his village to provide for this family. then he's own father got and he had to borrow $900 from the owner of the brickworks to pay medical bills.

he and his sons labor six day as week to pay back the deabt. he says it will take years. nearby, another family with young children and a similar story. he led this country's violence seeking refuge in pakistan. then borrowed money from the brick factory to feed his children, but there wasn't enough work to repay it. so they returned to afghanistan to raise funds for all of think debt. he owes around $1,400. he and his sons earn $4 a day. what can we do? this is our life, he says. they're working all day. at night they're very tired. it makes me feel very sad. these are stories from just one brick killn in the outskirts of afghanistan. he allowed us to shoot video but would not allow an interview.

this is an industry largely built on the hard labor of families slowly paying off debt. it's called bonded labor and human rights groups say it's the most common form of slavery in the world today. local officials estimate there are as many as 4,000 children growing up in the dust and mud of jalgentlemajalalabad's kilns. teachers don't show up and all the children we've met today are trapped. their lives on hold and years before they can even hope to think about their future. under afghan law, it's illegal for children to do any sort of work until they turn 15. they're not supposed to work physical ly like this until 18. child labor laws are meaningless here. they're never enforced.

sadat says his dream is to finish this job, go back to school, become a doctor and help his country, but he knows it's an empty dream. phil black, cnn, jalalabad, afghanistan. and don't forget you can find the "freedom project" on our website from the voices of the victims, the organizations making strides to end slavery and the complicated tangle of enterprises trading in human life. it's all online. take a look and find out how you can get involved. now just ahead, an outdoor ban that's left some new yorkers fuming. we'll be right back.

checking in on the gold price. concerns about greece's sovereign debt, and seems to be once again heightening gold, up by 40 cents. we're live from london and hong kong. this is "world business today" on cnn. welcome back. and the world health organization wants you to kick the habit. it's the 22nd world no tobacco day when smokers are incurringed to butt out their cigarettes for 24 hours. accoring to the w.h.o. more than 5 million people die every year from tobacco-related deaths. now, the big apple is joining the global movement against outdoor smoking. lighting up in most public

places in new york is now outlawed. and health e living advocates as hailing it as major victory. in true new yorker style, some people are far less than impressed about being told to stomp out smoking. >> reporter: summer is phenolly co finally coming to new york. eating, tanning. another activity is now banned in parks and beaches. >> smoking. >> it's a great idea. >> reporter: why? >> agreed. i have asthma and can't stand smoke. >> reporter: the mayor can't stand smoking either. he signed the new law, smoking was banned in bars and restaurant. >> in this case it came from the public saying, we want this stopped. >> reporter: smokers are fuming. oh a protest saturday at the beach. >> a symbol of freedom. soon you'll have to be giving up cats and dogs, cotton candy and saying the sage thing because they're going to ban that next.

>> it's a danger. a known carcinogen. and the u.s. surgeon general says it'sen safe. >> nobody smoke in america. go to israel, everybody smoke there. go to france. nobody smoke. >> reporter: in a greenwich village park the people were defiantly puffing. >> that is dumb. ip think it's ludicrous. >> i think bloomberg is a social engineer, i don't like what he's doing, telling people how to live. >> reporter: for now the city may just be blowing smoke. kands and sign, the first effort to encourage smokers to stop and smell something else. smokers won't have to boer about the new york city police department. a tiny parks department team is supposed to advise people not to smoke's in in the end it's coming down to public pressure. >> i'm not going to enforce it. i just walk away. >> reporter: smokers face an initial $50 fine. >> i was just told as i lit my cigarette that i'm not allowed to go in the park anymore. >> reporter: smoking is banned

at public plaza's. non-smokers look forward to one particular pain in the butt. >> mummy, what's there? picked up dirty cigarette butts. >> if you stop smoking, everybody's going to get fat butts. get on the twinkie patrol. >> reporter: richard roth, cnn. let's take another look at the markets. some markets in europe were, what, just under two hours into the trading day, and we're seeing quite a bit of buying going on with all of the markets up by 1% and in the case of the xetra dax up nearly 2%. andrew? pretty strong day in asia as well, charles. particularly shanghai after eight days of losses you see there, shanghai bouncing back 1.4% gain. not shab e as all with the shanghai. pretty strong day all around. and nikkei up by nearly 2% after the japanese yen showed signs of

weakening now at 8175 against the u.s. dollar and sizable production may be starting to return to normal after the quake and the tsunami in march. hong kong having a strong day. up by 2% and australia rounding out good day in asia up nearly 1%. that's it for this edition of "world business today" thanks for joining us. andrew stevens in hong kong. >> and i'm charles hobson in london. "world one" is next. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com