for the man who was once second in line for the presidency. >> and an historic moment, nigeria prepares for its first peaceful transition of power. welcome to our viewers in the united states and around the world. i'm george howell. >> and i'm natalie allen. you're watching cnn newsroom. >> and we start this hour with the corruption scandal gripping the world of football, soccer as it is known here in the united states. it is giving fifa a huge credibility problem. >> but the organization's long time leader, sepp blatter, says he won't let the actions of a few destroy its reputation. he is calling for those allegedly involved to be punished as fifa works to rebuild its reputation. all of this comes as members of the fifa congress vote in the coming hours on whether to elect this this man, blatter, to a further term as president.

>> we, or i, cannot monitor everyone all of the time. if people want to do wrong, they try to hide it. but it must fall to me to have responsibility for reputation and well-being of our organization. and to find a way for to fix things. >> so will he survive in the hours ahead? blatter also said he won't step down despite calls do so from world leaders, critics, and the head of european football. >> like many of you, thanks to many of you, we have followed what has been going on in recent days. sincerely for me, who likes fifa, for me who has so much admiration for the history of fifa, for me who followed this for several years, i feel insulted. i feel disgusted. and i'm sick of it. enough is enough.

>> you will remember that this crisis within fifa erupted when the united states charged top officials in the organization with bribery this week on a massive scale. for more, let's bring in cnn world sport anchor alex thomas. for more on what is happening live in zurich switzerland. good day to you. so many people are looking ahead, obviously, to this vote. how will the vote actually work? >> well, george, you got remember who's voting. more than 200 soccer bosses from across the globe have arrived here in switzerland. an they hold arguably the fate of the not tire game in their hands. this could be a water shed moment for the sport. the world's most popular. in the same way the salt lake city scandal was for the olympics own lance armstrong doping in the world of cycling. they have to retain blatter as governing body at the age of 79.

he has already in charge for 17 years and been at the organization since 1981. or choose the challenger, prince ali of jordan. you might hear protests over my shoulder, which are not connected to this week's scandals and what is going on. but it is a palestinian protest. they want israel's football association thrown out of world football and that just shows how many different people have issues that platter and fifa have to deal with. but as far as the vote is concerned, 209 votes are up for grabs. each association, doesn't matter how small they are, gets one vote. and in the first round, are the blatter or prince ali need 140 votes, george, to be elected. if no one gets a clear two third majority gets a second round when you only need 50%. you need 110 votes in the second round. those are the numbers and the way they are stacking up at the moment, blatter has support, to

be re-elected. >> and what's the mood, simply going into this election now? what's the sense, what are people talking about? >> this has been one of the most staggering weeks in the history of football or soccer and it goes back more than 100 years, this game. and it has been dragged from a very sport, like a top level elite sport, into the 21st century. blatter is trying to paint him receive as a reformer. he ceintroducing ethics board a people say that's not enough. he's been in charge when these alleged incidents of corruption occurred. no one ever stopped him. he is a canny political operator as he shows with an excellent speech behind me yesterday at the ceremony. and prince ali says the challenge is up against him even

though many on the outside world say come on, it is time for blatter it go. >> blatter with the backing of the russian president for sure. as you say, touting himself as reformer. at the same time, 14 people indicted under his watch. we appreciate your reporting there live in switzerland. thank you. >> another question involving scandal. the decision to award russia the world cup in to 20th 18 and qatar in 2022. those decisions now under investigation. russia had the lead over a joint bid by spain and portugal in the first round of voting. england got just two votes. and was eliminated. russia then got 13 votes to win in the second round. >> swiss investigators say the russian sports minister is one of the officials they are questioning. russia has long denied any suggestions of inimpropriety. >> more on the fifa scandal.

>> officially everyone here and at fifa is holding the line that russia will continue to hold the world cup in 2018. but reading between the lines, that certainly appears to have been badly dented. even the russian president appearing on russian state president to ensure anxious football fans andifa investigat as partly motivated. take a listen to what he had to say. >> translator: we are not concerned. but of course i have an opinion on this issue. as we know on friday, the fifa presidential elections are to be held. and mr. blatter has all the chances to be re-elected. we know that pressure has been exerted on him to ban the world cup in 2018 in russia. we know his position which has nothing to do with a special relationship of fifa and russia. this is a general principle. sports and politics should be separate. >> of course, many russian

officials refuse to believe that sport and politics are separate in this case. president putin giving voice to that suspicious. going ton accuse the united states of orchestrating the fifa investigations in order to meddle in the affairs of other countries. matthew chance, cnn, moscow. >> in the u.s., a former speaker of the house of representatives has been indict foed for lie together fbi about $3 million he was offer ford hued together fbi about $3 million he was offer ford hu for hush mone. >> the indictment does not explain what hastert's alleged misconduct was but does detail transactions offer several years. hastert was house speaker from 1999 until 2006. cnn has not yet reached him for comment. now on to iraq where two car

bombings killed at least nine people in baghdad. simultaneous closes targeted the babylon hotel and ishtar sheraton hotel. both are popular with the city's elite and foreigners, including journalists. >> iraqi forces and shia militias had heavy fighting. control of that facility has gone back and forng now nor months. cnn crew described the scene as quote apocalyptic. forensic teams pulled nearly 500 bodies from makeshift gra s graves. it has been almost four months since three british school girls skipped out of the uk and went into sir why y uk and went into sir why ria to isis. >> one of the girls was found

on-line and there is disturbing new information about how she became a radical. >> tweets of 15-year-old amira read like any typical teenager. tweets on her favorite football club, chelsea. >> a very radical process. >> melanie smith of the institute of strategic dialogue mapped how amira turned to isis. >> we can see the process of her becoming more politically engaged. becoming more concerned with syria and finally making the decision to leave. >> smith says the decision may have been last year when a classmate left for syria. >> this is when we see her become more engaged with syria. shortly after, amira's concern increased with frequent mentions of her close friends. then in february, amira posted this picture with them. sisters. four days after posting her

"sisters" pictures, the girls were caught on camera at airport leaving for istanbul according to authority. then, video of them meeting what police describe as people smuggler to take them into syria. >> baby, please come home. >> the families made tearful appeals for their return. no response. then in april, one photo appeared on twitter with the caption, take away in the -- or state of isis. the families say they are too distraught to comment but have aunl ric authorized their lawyer to talk on their behalf. . >> tweeting something of a normal picture where they hadn't been in contact with her family so she seemed to are -- or the family saw it that way, she tweeted meals for the world but no phone call home really. >> cot girls have been stopped and what is the responsibility of the parents.

ami amira's parents came under fire. he maintains his client is not an extremist and acknowledges need for scrutiny by parents and cooperation by the police and muslim community. >> i think the lesson to be learned there really is that we teed to be able to, as parents, monitor influences that affect our children,. >> amir, kadeeza, all minors, just 15 and 16, and that may be the critical factor. at the time they left the k, it was indicated the girls may not be prosecute fed they choose to and are able to return home. cnn, london. >> we have now learned that some of the girls have made contact with their families.

the families' attorneys releasing a statement saying they let is known they are safe and in good health but are no longer in the company of one another. furthermore they have intermated they are unlikely to return to the uk in the immediate future. >> thailand, and other nations are taking steps to kbroe in the migrant crisis in southeast asia. there's an international summit under way. so far, the solutions are fru and tensions are high. we will have the latest. >> plus, people in india dealing with scorching heat. we will have a live report on what the government is doing to help.

a british migrant ship rescued hundreds off the coast of libya. >> more than 50 children were found inside an overcrowded double-decker wooden boat. five operations were carried out by german, italian and irish ships, part of the ongoing international humanitarian mission. >> meantime, thailand is hosting an international sum it to try to find a solution to southeast asia's growing migrant crisis. >> representatives from 17 different countries are

attending this meeting in bangkok and we are already seeing signs of progress. malaysia agreed to host another summit with leaders of indonesia, thailand and myanmar. but there was a contentious moment when the delegate rebuked the u.n. from calling on his country to recognize the muslim refugees as citizens. >> you need to be more informed. you need to be more informed. i say that because this migration of people, you cannot single out my country. >> thousands of refugees are believed to be stranded own boats. and some have been there for many months. >> can you even imagine. we can't. but more than 12,000 muslims tried to reach malaysia in just the first three months of this year. most were sent back to live in

camps in myanmar. itn's lucy watson got a firsthand look inside those camps. >> reporter: rudimentary life is one of rejection and suffering. regarded as illegal immigrants so looking for my escape. this family fled to malaysia on a ship with 400 others. an ordeal that lasted 50 days. they were rescued two weeks ago. we got a handful of rice a day. we today sit in t we had to sit in the same place the whole trip. if you moved, you got beaten. >> the ride was so brutal. some days i wanted to jump into the sea. i wished i was dead. it was so hard.

but zura's husband left more than a month ago. their family's heard nothing of him since. i'm so worried about him, i think he must be dead. i'm terrified for my sister and her children. it is so difficult here. they have little to survive on. >> a million rohinghas, 140,000 of them living in camps like these. they see their existence of living in a prison. that's the root of the problem pushing them into the clutches of the traffickers. traffickers who are known to them, one agreed to talk. >>. >> translator: there are lots of us here. we are 150 pounds of person when we take them to the big ship. >> this minority with little access to education, medicines

or sanitation is being capitalized upon. as the government still refuses to class them as burmese. >> i'm afraid and i worry. some people don't follow our program and they don't -- they are refusing to apply citizenship. so that's why this is a problem. prs. >> but while rohinghas homes are gated and movement monitored, their reason to leave via sea won't leave. >> now to that incredible heat wave in india. the government there warning people not to step outside between 11:00 in the morning and 44:00 in the afternoon to avoid the blistering heat wave that has already killed more than 1700 people. the broil oing temperatures continue to climb.

cnn's monica joins me with the latest from mumbai. you add report the last hour, monica, people with who were ill are suffering so much in this heat wave. >> that right. people who are ill, that's on the report, you know, what we really see in the heat wave exposed is the people who are most vulnerable. who has been affected most by the heat wave. you know, everybody has been affected because temperatures are much higher than normal. but the people who have been most exposed to it are the poorest of the poor. these are people who have no choice but to be outside. it is very easy for the government issue an advisory or to issue a list of dos and don't which it has, telling people stay indoors during the hours of 11:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. stay hydrated, drink water. if you are stepping outside, cover your head and use an

umbrella if you can. but for a lot of people, that choice is a luxury. whether you talk about homeless people, whether you talk about people who have to work on construction sites. beggars. migrant laborers. people living on the side of the streets waiting for admission into hospitals. these are people that don't have the choice. we have seen this affect the poorest of the poor. and very recently i visited a district in south india. this is one of the worst hit in india. local officials told us more than 73 people died from the heat wave just in that district alone. we went there and saw the situation firsthand. even though the homes there, some homes did have a fan, and had access to power, because of all of the power cuts. they were barely able to use the fans for an hour or two a day. so we have seen this heat wave affect the poorest of the poor really badly. >> and heat waves are not a new

phenomenon to indians. but this year it has been hotter than usual across india. why is it exceptionally hot this year? >> it is definitely exceptionally hot. i've lived here for many, many years, natalie. and i can tell you this summer is hotter than previous hotters. why? one of the reasons is climate change. we see temperatures rising slowly across o the world each year. but there is a particular wind call the lou. this is a very hot and dry wind which is blowing in from the northwestern region, pakistan, afghanistan. and when this wind blows in, it is a very dry wind and it drys up any moisture in the air. and that increases the temperature. but of course it is not just india that is experiencing the heat. you know, part of pakistan, afghanistan, they are experiencing higher temperatures too. the reason we feel it so much

more in india is simply because of the pop liegs. this is a country of 1.2 billion people and people here live very closed cramps quarters. there is a high density of population. a lot of pressure on the land. people living together very tightly. if you look at the living conditions here for most people, a lot of people live in tiny condensed slums. very little ventilation. interfra stru interinfrastructure is a problem. that's one of the reasons people are feeling the heat so much more and suffering so much. >> thank you no are that report. as you are describing it, we can almost feel what the people are dealing with there. thanks so much. yes, not just climate change but also they have that freakish wind to deal with. >> yes. she did an excellent job describing the dry northwest areally wind. but we can't also forget about the fact that world's tallest mountains are on the

northeastern side, the himalayans. that blocks cold air from coming up and over the mountains and helping blow off the sub continent of india. it is a major problem there. fatalities approaching 1700. and with two third of the population of india having access to reliable energy remember that means 400 million people have the ability to cool them receives with air conditioning and think about refrigeration or agriculture and for purposes of food as well. now, the indian meteorlogical department has scaled back its heat wave warnings but it is still persistent along the east coast. this is where we have seen the highest fatality rate. this is the temperature when you factor in the humidity value, soaring in the middle 40s. that will continue into the weekend. there is some relief in sight. temperatures dropping 1 or 2 degrees from where they were

earlier this week. this man's got the right idea delivering ice and water to his local communities. making the best of what is available to them. here is a forecast for a few different cities through out india again the main story, main headline, it will continue to be hot. water is a high necessity an finding any shade possible. we did have a small rain shower pop up but not enough to say that monsoon set in just yet. we still have about two to three weeks before that cooler and more moisten ladened air settles in bringing moisture from the extreme heat we have experienced there. now to the other side of the world. we just had a volcano actually erupt in the southwestern portions of japan. this is actually a volcanic island chain. take a look at this footage of the volcano actually erupting at that very moment. that's at 10:00 a.m. friday morning. h is called a pyroclastic flow.

this is the hot gas and rock -- by the way, traveling at about 450 miles per hour. and get to temperatures of about 1800 degrees fahrenheit. but when it reaches the ocean, it looks like this, guys. starts to cool off and we are watching geography unfold right before our very eyes. that is an expanding island, natalie and george. >> that is fascinating p. >> fascinating stuff. there are about 110 people on that island evacuated in advance of this. >> i don't think many more people will be moving there. >> i don't think it is a good idea to move there, no. >> thank you. >> all right. the group in charge of world football is grappling with its biggest crisis ever. at the aim same, we will vote its new president. what is at stake for fifa in zurich today. >> plus, explain how one brazilian entrepreneur ended up at the heart of this scandal.

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welcome back to our viewers in the united states and around the world. we are glad to have you with us. fifa's president said he is not responsible for everything that happened on his watch. but sepp blatter says it is up to him to find a way to fix the organization. this crisis unfolded when the united states charged top officials in the organization this week with bribery on a massive scale. >> forensic teams in iraq pulled nearly 500 bodies from makeshift

graves near tikrit. it is believed they are iraqi military cadets killed last year. isis and shia drove militias from tikrit in march. allowing surveillance planes to identify migrant if southeast asia. the u.n. estimates more than 2500 refugees are stranded. at sea. thailand is hosting an international meeting right now to discuss the crisis. >> the head of fifa says the corruption scandals engulfing his organization brought quote shame and humiliation to football. >> but sepp blatter said he won't step down as fifa president despite calls to do so from world leaders, critics and various football associations. members gathering in zurich now will decide within hours whether to re-elect blatter. >> and you will remember, he is up against jordan's prince ali.

for the top job at world football's governing authority. >> we want to talk more about the upcoming vote and the fifa standal and how it might all shake out with matt from inside world football, joining us via skype. matt, thank for joining us. we just learned that fifa is canceling the news conference set to happen after today's congress saying the newly elected president, whoever that will be, will not speak until tomorrow. that sounds like a big deal. >> news just in from fifa. i was just talking to them about that. they said it needs to be postponed until tomorrow because of an executive committee meeting tomorrow. i'm afraid i find that -- i don't think there is no reason at all why blatter couldn't hold a press conference after the events of congress today. the only thing that would

prevent him doing that is presumably time. at 79 years of age, i suspect he feels quite tired quite frequently which puts a question mark over his ability to be head of football. >> do you think he will emerge as head of fifa? >> yes. there is no question in my mind. he is a victor already. just a question of whether it happens in the first or second round. in the first round he would need two thirds majority to be elected president. if it goes to second round, then he could need a simple majority. but i just think there are far too many people, far too many jurisdictions around the world. a lot of these national associations are not registered or recognized as nation states by the u.n. but they have a vote in the fifa congress. so you know, there are far too many of these who owe their

local importance, their regional standing, to sepp blatter. and more sinister reasons for people. >> everyone is thinking blatter will carry on here, he already said i can't monitor everyone all the time. i can't keep up with it. so then moving forward, how is there confidence in heme to clean up fifa and make sure these egregious acts don't occur again or continue? >> well, it is not confidence if hem to clean up fifa that people will be voting for him. i think there is very little confidence worldwide about that. he has been emblem attic by what fifa has stood for in a long time. the person he apoippointed as chairman of the governance committee and some would have been very effective i think. but the executive committee

refused to adopt them. refused to put them before congress. i don't think they would have been accepted by congress had they been proposed. there is a huge sum of money paid out, billion in a four-year cycle, paid out to people in financial assistance programs. they go to national associations around the world. there is no accountability for that money. if it is being misspent or embezzled, nobody will know. that's why people will be so happy to maintain the status q o quo. you can pocket money without anyone really realizing. the question he for me, to really broaden it, why the audits of fifa. kpmg, not really pushing them. very, very hard. how is it that we have seen in this indictment from the united states that a $10 million,

series of payments, amounting to $10 million, belonging to fifa vice president, control by fifa vice president, when that amounted to two third of the amount that went to confederations over the period of 2008, that is an extraordinary finding to me. if it is proven. and kpmg should recognize the red flags immediately. if they are doing an effective order for fifa. and the world relies on fifa's auditors. >> that's a very good question. and all of the sponsors we just saw in that one video clip of blatter, all these huge worldwide names, they might be asking the same question. as they figure out how to continue their support, if they do. we appreciate your insights, matt scott from london, from inside world football. thank you. >> so at heart of this fifa scandal is the brazilian sports

trafficking. his business is called an alleged bribe machine. cnn has the story. >> reporter: getting his start as a sports announcer covering brazilian soccer in the 1970s, he built a small media empire with tv stations and newspapers. then went into sports marketing. here is where he has his headquarters. traffic sports. but he does business across the country and abroad. in pact, according to the u.s. department of justice traffic group came to dominate the lucrative contracts with fifa's american and latin american football con fedcations. advertisers and broadcasters who wanted deals with the coveted and brazil tournaments today go through traffic because they had

exclusive marketing rights p. >> someone very famous in brazil because he started out as hot dog salesman and ended up being a millionaire. >> according to the 61-page indictment, won this by paying off fifa officials. he reported guilty various criminal activity, including fraud and money-laundering. he agreed to forfeit $151 million. former president of the brazilian football association was among those accused of bribery and arrested in raid on wednesday. the indictment doesn't reveal the names of others accused of taking bribes. but it says that by 2013, they paid more than $1 million in bribes for a contract spread among 11 different officials, including $15 million each for the top three officials.

the question for many in brazil, what else the man once called the owner of brazilian football, reveal. >> he was involved with buying and selling players. involved with the advertisement on the pitch. involved with broadcasting rights. >> a for a while, even a steak in a football team. the ft. lauderdale strikers. as as u.s. officials put it, this is just the beginning of their crack down. shasta darlington, cnn, sal paolo. >> it is an historic time in nigeria. >> coming up pb coming through the ballot box.

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welcome back to cnn newsroom. nigeria is minutes away from an historic transfer of power. former minister will be sworn in

today as president of africa's largest eeconomy. >> he is the first to take over through voting rather tan violence. >> out with the old and in with the new. setting up portraits of all nigeria's past presidents at the country gets ready for an unpress departmented change of power. very important. the future generation needs know about nigeria democracy. what it took us to get to this stage. >> after the british handed over power to this man, nigeria's transfer of power has gone something like this. coup. democratic elections. coup, coup pb interim government, coup, handing over power to a former military man

who held by what election observers said were the worst elections in history to this man who died in office allowing jonathan to win his first election but lose his second. for the first time in nigeria's history, peaceful power transfer. expectations for their new president are running high. >> i feel excited. i feel so happy. i feel so good. nigeria. i feel elated. >> measures and penalty for people that break the law so we can see clearly that nobody is above the love. >> he need to take care of this boko haram, take care of citizens to feel safe again, so we can go about our lives.

>> the best man for the job. >> tries his best to tackle corruption and corruption is the vital virus in the system. >> for now, nigerians are basking in their own achievements. for the first time in their history, voting one man out and another one in. >> bringing in now christian who joins us by phone, christian, thank you for taking time with us. as we see also, these live pictures on nigerian tv of the actual inauguration, what would you say are the biggest challenges facing buhari? >>. >> caller: george, all coming into -- [ inaudible ] now in the country of the largest auto producer. we just add fuel crisis, with

150 million nigerians are about to run out of petrol for their cars and diesel. today it is about celebrating this achievement that i mentioned in the package just then and that is, after 55 years, nigerians have finally managed to vote one man out and another man in. george? >> christian, another question, again as we see some live images, if we go back to the live images from nigerian tv to this inauguration as it is playing out, what would you say are some of the issues. you mentioned obviously the fuel crisis but what about security? having enough police officers to deal with crises when they come up. >> yes, a very vital role into bringing buhari into power.

he is ex military general. he is strict. they hope to turn the tide against the illegal rule in nigeria. you have boko haram, the terrorist group in the north. billions of dollars stolen by militants. but also generally just the break down of law and order. and lack of the procurement in agencies. and they want to try and change that. security is one. electricity. people will get a few hours of electricity a day if they are lucky in this country. and africa's largest oil producer and so much has gone wrong here for 150 million nigerians. so many are in poverty, out of

work. . the expectations for this man are enormous. he said, the mathic from this man and buhari will not only deal with the issues, but also the expectations of nigerians for what he is able to do, george. >> christian purefoy, live in nigeria. thank you so much. now we transition to sepp blatter who is speaking that the moment. let's go to that directly. >> translator: you know, in this congress, i have identified a number of important elements. it is not just finances. i think the important point today is to move ahead and the important point is transparency.

the important point today is where is our football. where does our fifa stand in the world. it is the fight against corruption. it is the fight against not fixing. against racism and discrimination, which we still have in our game, and this hurts. and we will naturally speak about development. but that all belongs together. and on this agenda, we have a possibility of crowating unity. and i will talk about it, a handshake for peace, which is so easy, so good, so effective.

and we will have the possibility to play and to apply this handshake for peace. and this will be under item 15 on the agenda. we have a problem to solve. and a problem where an association has requested that another association should be suspended. and under this particular point, ladies and gentlemen, we should find what i should call a solution. a solution which will finally satisfy these two federations but mainly the palestinian federation and we will then be able to say under item 15, let the handshake for peace do us work.

and this is what i wanted to tell you for openers, opening remarks and i would like to put this congress under the principle that characterize the association football game. and that is, discipline, respect, and the fair play. and i would like the discipline, respect and fair play to begin today in this room. it is like in a game. it is like being in a stadium and we are playing football. but we do not have a time limit. we have all day until evening.

possibly until tomorrow. there are the laws of the game. the laws of the game are the statutes. of fifa. so we will apply these lawis of the game but we have no referee. you are the referees. the delegates are the referees of this match. and i will mention all the important tasks which are ahead of us. we will have to face them. we have to solve them and together we will achieve that. let's show to the world that we are able to run our institution, which is fifa, that we can do that together. fs with these words i solemnly open the 65th congress of fifa. zurich. may 29, 2015.

i wish you good deliberations and the spirit of fair play and respect. thank you for your attention. [ applause ] >> hearing from the fifa president, sepp blatter there, speaking basically about a fight against match fixing. a fight against racism. a fight against discrimination. opening there, talk together congress there. but again, ahead of an's location and a lot of people questioning what will happen to him and whether he will continue to lead fifa. >> so opening remarks of fifa congress. there is much more to come and we have teams covering it for the next several hours. before we go this hour, we have to get this in. everyone loves a spelling bow. for the second year in a row we have co-champions in the biggest spieling bee in the u.s. 13-year-old ivanya and

14-year-old vinka. tied for victory in the scripps national tournament. here is the final word. >> if you spell this word correctly, the scripps national spelling bee will consider you and vanya co-champions. >> nunatak. >> n-u-n-a-t-a-k. >> correct. >> vanya correctly spelled a term for cut paper art. >> her sister won this 200 9d. these kids live and breath spelling.

>> totally. >> there is no way. no way i could spell it out right. >> love a good spelling bee. love how that nded. thanks for watching this hour. we appreciate you tuning into cnn. i'm natalie allen. >> i'm george howell. for viewer around the world, stay tuned. cnn newsroom continues. this national spelling bee will declare you and vanya co-champions. ready? nunatak. >> n-u-n-a-t-a-k. nunatak. >> correct. >>

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