this is bbc news. i'm rachel schofield. the headlines at eight. music aretha franklin, the "queen of soul" known for hits like respect and ‘say a little prayer‘ dies at the age of 76. as soon as news of her death broke, tributes began pouring in from around the globe, from eltonjohn to diana ross, sir paul mccartney to sister sledge. such a grace about her, such a confidence and strength. she was a queen. literally. she was a queen. in other news, a rise in the number of a level students getting top grades, the most for six years. allegations that a call to jihad was heard at the didsbury mosque linked to the manchester arena bomber, salman abedi. in italy, engineers say operations to find survivors of the genoa bridge collapse will continue for another 48 hours. up to 20 people are still unaccounted for, two

days after the disaster. england rugby star, danny sipriani, apologises after pleading guilty to assault at a hotel in jersey. he was fined £2000. and the pilot whales who keep getting stuck in an icelandic fjord. she was known as the queen of soul, one of the greatest stars of the 20th century. this morning aretha franklin died at the age of 76 at her home in detroit in michigan, surrounded by her family. she was diagnosed with cancer eight years ago but only retired from performing last year. aretha franklin began singing as a child, with a gospel choir at the church

where herfather was minister. she went on to become a global star selling more than 75 million records. aleem maqbool is in detroit for us tonight. 0utside outside the new birth baptist church which is where once people were drawn to it because they heard of this and incredible young singer, this and incredible young singer, this little girl with this powerful once—in—a—lifetime voice and an average on here when aretha franklin was a star because she would come and sing care and give everybody a food as well but over the last week people have been drawn to this church because of vigils and hearing that she was in a serious condition and now they come to lay tributes and now they come to lay tributes and many have been driving past, playing aretha and talking about how much she means to them. my colleague, david has been looking back at the life of aretha franklin. the queen, aretha franklin!

# looking out on a morning rain. the statement said simply that the matriarch and rock of our family had gone. aretha franklin, the queen of soul. i was wanna raise a destroyed. born on her music. raised on her music. —— born and raised in detroit. it is a sad day.” music. —— born and raised in detroit. it is a sad day. i will miss seeing care and concerns. but i still have her music to live on. i am good. as long as i can here. music she had a... the best voice. when she sunk, you could fill in your soul. she always said something positive and nice. i remember as a

kid, back in the 50s and 60s, you had for her to go. she feels like family. —— you hate for her to go. 0ur family. —— you hate for her to go. our final concert family. —— you hate for her to go. 0urfinal concert was family. —— you hate for her to go. our final concert was last year, her health was failing but the voice was still there. the song, the anthem that captured everything about her. miss aretha franklin didn't ask for respect. she commanded. and for the generation that followed, she was the benchmark for soul. #is the benchmark for soul. # isjust a little bit. she is the queen. she has to quit. i love her fire and spirit. i love the songs that she sang. i love the fact you could tell the new mexico tally off in the middle of the song. she was great. —— she could tell you off in the middle. among the tributes, carol kane, where life she said. annie lennox, sir eltonjohn... and

from sir paul mccartney... her legacy a moment such as these, the federal of martin luther king. —— the funeral of martin luther king. and here, the inauguration forfirst black american president. this is music to help define pivotal moments in history. and the emotional charge gained from her childhood in hospital and the church, listening to her father's preaching. hospital and the church, listening to herfather‘s preaching. —— in gospel and the church. it certainly served as a testing ground for me as a singer as well as many other good things came from the church. # you are no good. # you are no good.

# you are a liar and a cheat. but there was also head side to her. one of her producers describe it as a mystery asa ro. of her producers describe it as a mystery asaro. she had lost some mother at a senate had to users about the time she was 16. i probably life was turbulent. but in public,... —— she lost her mother at ten and she had two children by 16. she always predicted strength and after a career deep in the 70s, she bounced back in the 80s. but it will be wrong to measure hair by awards. —— to measure her partner awards. perhaps it perhaps it captures it. this was soul music, hardship and sorrow turned into beauty and hope. # i feel like sorrow turned into beauty and hope. # ifeel like a natural woman. aretha franklin, the queen of soul.

we heard a conference in the statement from the family that aretha franklin did have advanced pancreatic cancer, it is clear that she had been ill for many years but it was not something she wanted to talk about but she cancelled so many concerts because of ill health and she lost so much weight the people knew that something was wrong but when she did perform, right until the end, she absolutely gave her all and we heard from eltonjohn and he performed with aretha franklin and her last concert at the end of last year at age benefit concert. he said that he was moved to tears and that is what she did concert after concert because of the power in her voice and also in the way she conveyed emotion but it was more than just about the music industry.

she had an impact. we talked about a lot in those terms in the way that she sang one be back and change the way people think that our inner voice and the diversity of the songs that she sang from gospel to jazz, the blues and pop, she had a bigger impact than that. barack 0bama talked about her making you forget about everything and just dancing and we spoke to people live in the very streets who said during the civil rights movements, she was the kind of voice that could make you do that and make you forget about that and she was heavily linked with the civil rights movement, herfather was a good friend of martin luther king. so, it is clearfrom one of the people we have spoken to that this was a woman who not only changed the music industry, but in doing what she did and becoming a successful black woman in the 1960s, she also changed the face of this country as a whole. aretha franklin's death has led to an avalanche of tributes from across the showbiz world from singers, west

end stars and dj's. let's get a flavour of some them throughout the day. she sang songs with meanings, that's why i said she was such a great writer, like you said, she sang songs that were relevant and relevant to her, relevant to life and they relevant to life and they spoke to our lives. like, you make me worry and whine, what is that, try a little tenderness, wearing the same old party dress. try a little tenderness. when she sang that, she sang that song. you can see the whole picture and you knew that transformed women who were in that particular state. this is about us. it makes me emotional now because there won't be any artist that has impacted soul music like she has. all my favourite songs i can think of, even artists like whitney houston, it all leads back to aretha franklin. she is the queen of soul.

i've been playing her music since the early 60s. just a wonderful singer. as has been said, from the gospel background like so many soul singers are, that she had that unique voice. somebody who sold over 76 million records around the world has to be pretty good, 18 grammy awards and a part of the civil rights movement as well and so in the early days i think there was a certain amount of anger to her voice which actually made it into more remarkable because she was on tour and you have to remember sometimes she couldn't stay in the hotels with the people she was touring with. so her background and her career wasremarkable. we can speak to david nathan, soul music historian and writer. thank you for being with us. we keep hearing that expression, the queen of soul. i wonder if it's even

possible to try and pin down what was that gave heard that status. that is a really good question. thank you having me on. what made aretha of the queen of soul? well, i think part of it is that she was the first woman who came from a gospel background and trends in music and moved into the secular field. you have men like ray charles and sam cooke who came to prominence in the 50s and 60s, and aretha was the first woman who did that. i think that alone, that made her a pioneer. why was she the queen? because i think ever recorded she ever made, almost no exception, was an view with that mysterious element, you can't relive the find called soul. that feeling and passion and she epitomized that. you met her, so you

saw what was behind that voice and that stage persona, where do you think that passion was rooted in the ability to interpret the music was yellow i think like many of her. contemporaries, she has we know began sinking in gospel and church and with her father travelling at the age and the early teens. it comes from the ability to bring passion and emotion into the music, andi passion and emotion into the music, and i think that is really the key thing. i think more than anything else that was what she stood for. she did that and she did that as a human being and as a person i got to know and there was an earthiness about her, a real down to earth, very funny and witty, she had many jokes, some of which i can possibly do on the air. laughter she was

real. the authenticity of her as a human being that i think that a lot her music to communicate how such a level with everybody. she was real. mosley, a reach of the natural woman. she became an icon in many ways. —— areth, the real natural woman. a symbol of feminist and civil rights movement. was that a label that she wore happily? that she see herself as political?|j don't she see herself as political?” don't think she would have said it that way. she did acknowledge that by virtue of her father's fame as a preacher in the united states was in the patient with mark ilott again. she was aware of that connection. —— was friends with martin luther king. she was very conscious that she was pa rt she was very conscious that she was part ofan she was very conscious that she was part of an important movement. i don't know that she would have called her cell political in that

sense with some people might refer to it. as far as feminism, it is interesting. years afterwards people said to areth, respect was like a female had them. she said that she never saw it that way. but a hindsight she could see how it had actually been there. she did a recorderfor actually been there. she did a recorder for that reason so to speak, and acknowledged that he had made such a difference. —— she did not recorded for that reason. and it reflected something across the gender but practically for woman in the 60s, and cutting it in context, african american woman in the 60s did not have a voice. many ways, aretha was the voice for that woman. thank you for sharing your thoughts. —— for those women. and we'll find out how this story, and many others are covered in tomorrow's front pages at 10:40 and 11:30 this evening in the papers, our guests joining me tonight are writer & broadcaster, mihir bose and ros altmann, former pensions minister. the headlines on bbc news.

aretha franklin, the "queen of soul" known for hits like respect and ‘say a little prayer‘ dies at the age of 76. a—level students have been awarded the highest proportion of as and a stars since 2012, amid changes toughening the exams in england. allegations that a call to jihad was heard at the didsbury mosque linked to the manchester arena bomber — salman abedi. policies for the slight delay. a bit ofa policies for the slight delay. a bit of a technical issue. we were hoping to get to the sports but we will see

if we can link up with the bbc sports centre in just a few moments. a level students across england, wales and northern ireland have been getting their results today. they've received the highest proportion of as and a stars since 2012 — despite major changes to the system. this year students in england were assessed mainly on their final exams rather than coursework. 26.4% of a level entries got an a or a star. but with thousands of university places still available through clearing, many institutions are competing to attract students with offers. 0ur education editor branwen jeffreys reports from nottingham. exhausting, exciting and a relief. excited, nervous, relieved. excited, proud and a little bit nervous. i passed! relief after months of anxiety. for some, even with the highest grades the current four they the place of their dreams

in clearing is beginning. 0tis hopes to study medicine. with four a grades he isjust one start short of his offer. knowing my grades and then not knowing whether i have got in yet or not is something that is kind of at the back of my mind and is stressing me but mostly i am glad to know my results and i am really hopeful. kyra is the first in her family to go to university. she got an unconditional offer from nottingham trent. it has took a lot of the pressure off. but it still made me work hard because i wanted to prove that i could still do it regardless. kyra got her grades. three bs. she chose her university to stay local but there is a worry that offers without grades could tempt others to ease off. 22% of our students received at least one unconditional offer and, for some, that may be an enabling thing terms of taking the pressure off. for others, it will certainly erode

the motivation to study. by sam this morning 350,000 students had accepted places. this year there are 3.5% fewer 18—year—olds. to compete for the best students universities have already made almost 68,000 unconditional offers. there is so much emotion for students picking up their results today. many weren't sure how they would do in these new a levels but even for those who have dropped a grade of two, it is a good year. because universities are competing fiercely to offer them a place. you are through to the nottingham trent university. here they promise a place in student housing with clearing places. other universities have been more shameless, one offering £1,500 cash every year. some universities may slash the grades needed but not

here. the students here need a good standard of qualifications when they come here so it is not in our interest and it is certainly not in in our interest and the students' interest to get the student into university and then to drop out. now they have to work out how to pay the rent. drew will get one of the new welsh grants for living costs. when you weigh everything up and you consider that you are there for four years and you are thinking of the pros and cons, it had a mad effect, yeah. for others, the hunt for a place continues. bus pick up on some of that. —— let's pick up on that. some students might not have got quite what they were hoping for and face the prospect of going through clearing. to talk about that, we can speak to professor richard harvey, academic director of admissions at the university of east anglia.

thank you for coming to. there will have been people very elected by people who are in a muddle tonight thinking what the why do now because i haven't quite got the grades i needed. -- very elected. keep calm is the motto. plenty of places out there, think carefully, take your time, try and sort of way to all of the options. it is quite a difficult year because ascher piece implied beforehand are quite a few seductive offers out there. but there are still very good universities and good students. when you're trying to make your case and saying what something is wrong to celebrate canada,is something is wrong to celebrate canada, is there an opportunity to do that and that person away but is that clearing more of a bureaucratic system where you have to send your paperwork back through? is all about the person. great write the comedy a really important. the important

thing you need on the telephone is your numberand thing you need on the telephone is your number and some information about your grades. people need to quickly help you evaluated but after that, it can be a very personal matter ain't you should have a number of quite detailed conversations with academics, an opportunity to visit us and have a look around and make a decision in a slow and easy way. i suppose that issue times gaza border in the worry people will jump at issue times gaza border in the worry people willjump at the issue times gaza border in the worry people will jump at the first thing because they are in a panic. —— timescale. how much realistic time do people have to sort out the situation? yeah, you are probably are right for a couple of days. the issueis are right for a couple of days. the issue is the upa is one of the hiring is. that tends to mean that we are one of the first place is that people call. —— one of the top institutions. we tend to build more quickly to the sum of the others. but i think we will be ok into early

next week. and i think that issue of the highly ranked institutions i've been looking at. professor, tell us... been looking at. professor, tell us... we were talking about disappointed people thinking they might have to read think but what about people who did well and think perhaps i could go back to a university i didn't think i should apply because i can get them. is there an opportunity to trade up? are you interested in people like that? yes, that is. any have excellent grades. good. —— if you have excellent grades, good. it is surprisingly not very popular, though. most people spend a lot of time really starting choices. principal week help students to trading up, we don't see very much of it. the government was very persuaded that shredding it would be very important indeed and there will be lashings that people doing it. and practise that hasn't been in place. —— there will be loads of

people going to. thank you, professor. sport now, and for a full round up, from the bbc sport centre, here's hugh woozencroft. i have been called worse, rachel. fair enough let's start with the latest in the matches involving for british clubs. in the europa league we've reached the third qualifying round, winter night and they will advance to next week's playoff match. the saints also went down and lost 5—100 aggregate and denmark. more positive news for the rangers. currently playing still hold a 3—1 lead i wait and slovenia. score list of there. burly match against istanbul half an hour old. —— burly‘s match. still no score there. the drop of the second run of the

carabao cup was made over an hour ago. the states that the premier league not playing in europe enter, visit some of the eye—catching ties john. the early matchups sees a shock caused derby between brighton southampton. jamie va rdy will face his old club fully wet and new counsel might not that's a good trip to nottingham forest. a full day detail of the drop available on the bbc sport website and apps. mauricio pochettino says he is disappointed at the delay in moving to the club's new stadium in this verse help the first match at the new ground against liverpool next month. technical problems mean they won't move and hotel late october at the earliest and that is angered some fa ns earliest and that is angered some fans who buy tickets for games at the new grounds that one day be played at wembley instead. —— who buy tickets. i understand the problems about the tickets and the money. i feel sorry for them

problems about the tickets and the money. ifeel sorry for them i problems about the tickets and the money. i feel sorry for them i want to say thank you and i apologise and we are going to try to reward them by winning games. that's the way we only can act. head coach trevor bayliss says the decision to include ben stokes and england squad for the third test against india on saturday was taken for the all around his well—being will stop stokes joining up well—being will stop stokes joining up with his england teams here. bayless says he will take time before deciding whether to place stokes and the match and this will come after he will be involved and a fight last september but found not ofa of a freight earlier this guilty of a freight earlier this week. —— of an afraid. guilty of a freight earlier this week. -- of an afraid. we will find out over the next couple of days. i'm sure he's as funny a phone call. we have the next two days to assess. -- i'm we have the next two days to assess. —— i'm sure he had said plenty of phone call. we have guys in form at the moment. it will be decision to

make. whether it be him or somebody else. it is a position would be trying to get it for a while. the one—day team, it is a difficult team to select. this team, it's been difficult for other reasons but we're starting to get some good young players coming into the cave. which makes the job of is the selectors debacle. england rugby union international danny cipriani has apologised after pleading guilty in court to common assault and resisting arrest at a nightclub on the island ofjersey. was fined £2000 in order to pay £250 in compensation to a police officer following the incident in the early hours of wednesday. the fly half said he was truly sorry for the confusing situation and was mortified if ian harvey police officer in any way. —— at the harm the police officer. changes to the davis cup this afternoon. the competition which andy murray led

great britain to victory three years ago as a silly most of the calendar get with the final in november. but tennis federation today approved plans to turn it into an 18 team season ending event, britain governing body were among those to oppose the proposal. we've had a mama of golfing history conecuh american has become the tenth player in pga tour history to shoot under 60 ina in pga tour history to shoot under 60 in a row. —— a moment of golf history. he dropped a shot on his first hole, sue metaphor of this incredible shot for an eagle. he had this fight for a birdie on his last hole to go below the 60 and is the first player two cards at a low score on the pga tour this year. that is all the score for now. more for you in sports they including the europa league results at half past ten. see you then. baking. —— thank you. up to 20 people are still missing following the collapse of a bridge

in northern italy on tuesday. 38 people have been confirmed dead and rescue workers are continuing to search through the rubble of the morandi bridge in genoa. but hopes of finding anyone else alive are fading fast. senior politicians have accused the company that runs italy's motorways of not properly maintaining the bridge. 0ur correspondentjames reynolds is in genoa. in genoa, a single terrifying moment is now frozen. more than two days on, these vehicles are stuck in the exact positions which they were abandoned when the rest of this bridge collapsed. nearest the edge is the basko food company truck. its driver, luigi, had the narrowest of escapes. the sampierdarena neighbourhood is right underneath the structure. relief workers have cleared the area. the homes may be knocked down. this morning, locals queued up to collect some of their possessions. these residents are prepared

to wait patiently, but they also want answers. many say they always believed the breach was unsafe. translation: it's been years we have been saying this bridge was dangerous. we talked about it almost every day. grazia di benedetto and her husband carlo were desperate to get home. translation: they are not letting us in, i need to pick up my medicines. this is awful. she took a moment to recover. it's too early to say what caused the collapse. among the factors that investigators will consider are... the quality of the concrete in the towers and supports and whether these had weakened. the diagonal cables that carried the road, known as stays. these were encased in concrete,

making it hard for accurate checks to be carried out. and the metal connections that anchored the stays to the platform. the private company which operated the bridge autostrada has insisted it followed all safety procedures, but this doesn't satisfy italy's government. translation: we must ensure that everything is done according to standards, and i declare that in this story autostrada cannot reassure us of anything. here, at the scene of the collapse, rescuers continue to search for bodies. amid all the arguments, italy doesn't yet know exactly how many deaths it will be investigating. james reynolds, bbc news, genoa. and lines coming up in a moment. now it's time for a look at the weather with ben rich. —— headlines coming up and a moment.

a bit of rain over the last day or so and that has ushered in so much cooler fresher air. a so and that has ushered in so much coolerfresher air. a bit cool going to what is left of this evening and tonight. admission no clear spells and showers and most plentiful across parts of western scotland and northern ireland. the south and east it will be dry with long clear spells and even in the towns and cities, temperatures around eight or 9 degrees in the countryside in some spots well down into single digits. but it means tomorrow, a right know for his many. and the channel islands will stay brighton today. further west, and the way of class, outbreaks a mostly like and patchy rain. most places on the cool side temperatures in the southeast started to creep up, for many a quite humid weekend and in the south, there will be some rain. hello this is bbc news.

the headlines... # find out what it means to me. aretha franklin, the queen of soul, known for hits like respect and say a little prayer has died in detroit at the age of 76. some of the biggest names in the world of music and politics have been paying tribute to the singer who won 18 grammy awards in a career spanning seven decades. such a grace about her, such a confidence, such a strength. she was a queen. literally, she was a queen. in other news... more than one in four a—level entries has been awarded top grades this year, the highest proportion since 2012. allegations that a call to jihad was heard at the didsbury mosque linked to the manchester arena bomber, salman abedi. engineers in the italian city

of genoa say they will keep looking for survivors under the collapsed motorway bridge for another 48 hours. and the england rugby international danny cipriani is fined £2,000 after an assault in a jersey nightclub. more now on our top story. many singers, celebrities and public figures have been paying tribute to aretha franklin on social media. she has died at the age of 76. barbara streisand posted a picture of the pair of them together and said not only was she a uniquely brilliant singer, but her commitment to civil rights made an indelible impact on the world. diana ross tweeted "i'm sitting in prayer for the wonderful golden spirit aretha franklin." sir mickjagger said "very sad to hear the news about aretha, she was so inspiring and wherever you were she always

brought you to church." paloma faith wrote on instagram "dearest aretha, thank you for giving us all your gift, thank you for being the queen of soul and forever in our memories. what a legacy!" and the former president of the united states barack 0bama tweeted "aretha helped define the american experience. in her voice, we could feel our history, all of it and in every shade, our power and our pain, our darkness and our light, our quest for redemption and our hard—won respect. may the queen of soul rest in eternal peace." one of the many groups influenced by aretha franklin's music were sister sledge and earlier debbie and kim sledge told my colleague simon mccoy about how she had inspired them. she had a power to her boys and it was the power of not only that talent and physical power, but it was also like i've put it, a

supernatural power. a power that goes beyond... it is something that god added to her. i think in the song, try a little tenderness, you could hear it, feel it and the words the way she expressed it. what was the way she expressed it. what was the influence on disco, on the 70s in the 80s because she also managed in some ways to reinvent herself at various times, didn't she? yes, i think it was because she had been gifted with something so special, it did not matter where she sang. it was about the spirit, the music, more so was about the spirit, the music, more so than the kind of music. she could sing mary had a little lamb and it would all be aretha. she was and it would all be aretha. she was a great writer of songs. and she gave us a great writer of songs. and she gave us so many a great writer of songs. and she gave us so many beautiful songs that helped bring us through the things

we we re helped bring us through the things we were going through. there was encouragement there. described that because when you were home, and when you were growing up listening to her,... one of the things that touched me, she had a relationship with her sisters that was special. a really spoke to us as sisters. we used to sing her songs, and the sisters used to sing the songs with herand we sang sisters used to sing the songs with her and we sang many of the songs basheeru courted and it was something so so special about the tightness in the fabric of the voices. you remember # daydreamer andl voices. you remember # daydreamer and i am thinking of you. # daydreaming and i am thinking of you. # look at my mind.

# look at my mind. # floating away. that is a great tribute from sister sledge. the grime star stormzy has announced that he will fund two black british students to go to the university of cambridge. he'll pay for tuition fees and provide a maintenance grant for up to four years of an undergraduate course. he's been speaking to our reporter ricky boleto. when we first launched the scholarship i always said i wanted it to serve as a reminder that the opportunity is there. in the most simple form, that the opportunity is there. for people to see the scholarship and know that if you are academically brilliant, don't think that because you come from a certain community that studying at one of the highest education institutions in the world isn't possible. so hopefully it serves as a little reminder. well earlier i spoke to peter fashola—in. he's just graduated from cambridge university having studied theology, religion and philosophy,

and praised stormzy for lauching the scholarship for black british students. we live in a society that is still firmly reliant on the academic institutions when it comes to positions of power. especially when it comes to politics, you just need to look at it last few decades and see where our prime ministers, the academic institutions that have gone to. so with people who look like myself, destroying that barriers to entry to university, it means the probability of people like myself, i could be the next prime minister when they. that is what it means. without that full scholarship, i may have not taken my place at universities. so it shows the potential loss and talent that a lot of these elite institutions face a lot of the time. i mean this is

great as well but there are so many other things that we need to do as a society to increase diversity at universities. it is a very complex socioeconomic situation and problems up socioeconomic situation and problems upa socioeconomic situation and problems up a solution also needs to be as complex. we need to look out representation as well. it is a generous proposition by stormzy, but financial barriers are only one part of it and there is a mental attitude that needs to shifts both in the pa rt that needs to shifts both in the part of society but for young people from black and ethnic minority communities to think i can do that as well as anyone else. absolutely. asi as well as anyone else. absolutely. as i was about to say that is where media representation comes into play. 0ften media representation comes into play. often you do not see people who look like me on the news with the story that we graduated. a lot of us have graduated with first class degrees from the best

institutions of the world, but a lot of it is about drill music and why we may see increasing crime. you cannot aspire to be what you cannot see. so representation from news broadcast stations like bbc one and bbc news in general is very important to help reform our education system. we need to educate or re—educate parents of the diaspora because many people from my type of background do not tend to go to university or certain universities because they feel they must study or be a doctor or be a lawyer. as you read i read theology, religion and philosophy. my sky is my limit. last year's suicide bombing at manchester arena was the most deadly terror attack in the uk for over a decade. 23 people were killed and more than 130

people were injured. among the dead was the suicide bomber salman abedi. the mosque in didsbury in the south of the city which he attended was quick, in the wake of the attack, to condemn his actions. but questions still remain over how he came to be radicalised. the bbc has obtained a recording of a sermon delivered at the mosque six months before the bombing. we've played it to 2 islamic scholars who described it as a call "for armed jihad". the imam denies ever preaching radical islam or calling for armed jihad. our special correspondent ed thomas has this exclusive report is this a call for armed jihad? heard not in syria or iraq but in a mosque in manchester. it's wrong, it's evil, it shouldn't be happening in manchester. mustafa graf, these are your words. "you must dojihad in allah's path." tonight, we confront the imam in charge and reveal his connections

to the manchester bomber salman abedi. sadly i wouldn't be surprised if salman abedi's horrific suicide bombing was partly inspired by this sermon. this audio was obtained by the bbc, a recording of friday prayers inside didsbury mosque in december 2016. the same mosque where salman abedi and his family would pray. we played the sermon in full to two islamic scholars. the jihad he is referring to here is actually being on the battlefield. there's no ifs and buts in this.

from the context of the way these texts are used, it's very clearly referring to militaryjihad, to armed jihad. the sermon focused on people suffering in syria. it included an appeal for donations, and also this... oh, dear. so... dear, oh, dear. so he's reiterated a call not only to stop living a normal life, do something drastic, but to be with the small group of true muslims. he's giving them the narrative

of them against us. he is psychologically and practically brainwashing young people into either travelling or to do something, to take action. we can't be sure where salman abedi was on the day of the sermon. but we've been told that, ten days after, he bought a ticket for the ariana grande concert. if abedi was in this congregation, i fear that this sermon may have contributed to his resolve to punish civilians in britain for somehow being complicit in the murder of muslims in syria. mustafa g raf refused to be interviewed. mustafa, ed from bbc news... but we wanted to know why he gave the sermon inside the mosque. were you trying to incite violence? were you calling for armed jihad? no, never did that. well, do you want to take

a look at these words? these are your words. mustafa graf, can we talk? after the manchester bomb, he condemned the attack. off—camera, he denied breaching islamist extremism. mustafa graf, these are your words. "you must dojihad in allah's path." this is what we know about the manchester imam. in 2011, he travelled from didsbury mosque to the front line during the libyan revolution. in this interview, mustafa graf talks about waiting for orders to attack. and here he is back home in manchester in 2015. he's the leader of this group, demonstrating about the conflict in libya. ..are causing chaos in libya. months later, here's the same group in london. graf is not there, but watch as the camera moves right. wearing a red t—shirt, smiling.

the manchester bomber, salman abedi. nearly two years before he'd murder 22 people. we shared our investigation with martin hibbert. he and his daughter were closest to salman abedi when his bomb exploded. he wanted to listen to mustafa graf‘s sermon. yeah, i'm speechless in a way. that it's going on kind of 30 minutes away from here. you know, and that this was... you know, if he was in that room that day, a week before christmas, a week later i was, you know, my daughter was unwrapping a surprise ariana grande ticket. this was martin and his daughter eve hours before the concert. she's been left severely

brain—damaged, she can't eat, she can't speak. she can't move the left side. if you could go and see this imam... yeah. what would you say to him? oh, god. i'd probably take him round to see eve. i don't think i'd need to say anything, really. our investigation heard at least five men who attended didsbury mosque either travelled to syria or have been jailed for supporting so—called islamic state. trustees of the mosque deny this. can we come inside? they said mustafa graf‘s sermon was highlighting the plight of syrians. his use of the words jihad and mujahideen have been misinterpreted, and they don't tolerate extremist preaching. ed thomas, bbc news, manchester. you are watching bbc news.

palestinian postal workers are sorting through a mountain of mail that israel has finally delivered to the occupied west bank, after blocking it for years. ten tonnes of parcels and envelopes have been building up injordan for almost a decade. israel is now allowing the mail through as part of confidence building measures between the two sides. here's our middle east correspondent tom bateman. palestinian postal staff are working overtime in this depot in the occupied west bank. israel controls the border with neighbouring jordan, where the mail was being held. it agreed nearly a decade ago that some international post for palestinians could be flown intojordan and brought here. a deal that is taking as long to deliver as these parcels. thousands of people are still waiting, says the man in charge here. we're doing the best we can to deliver those in a very short time, but let me say that it's better to come later

than never to come at all. there's 10.5 tonnes of mail here, it's come from all over the world, i can see a bag from china, there's one here that has come from saudi arabia. there doesn't seem to be much in that. the workers are saying it's going to take at least two weeks to process all this, to get it to the people it has been addressed to, but they say because it's been held injordan for up to eight years it's in a pretty terrible condition. there is a bundle of letters here, a letter addressed to a charity in the city of hebron in the west bank and something else that has come from greece and they're saying look at the state of that, somebody is going to be getting that through the letterbox. this wheelchair was destined for gaza. it was sent from turkey, three years ago, but the manager says the problem is the label has fallen off so they don't know who was supposed to get this. they say they are in touch with the authorities

in turkey to try and find out so it can be delivered. this is one of the oldest items they found here, a high—definition television which has been sent to somebody in the west bank who was expecting it six years ago. the label says it was posted in 2012. israel says the deal to deliver foreign mail to the west bank via jordan is still being worked through. they described this transfer as a one—off gesture. palestinians continue to wait in a part of a world where even the post is political. tom bateman, bbc news, jericho. time for a look at her headlines here on bbc news. aretha franklin, the "queen of soul" known for hits like respect and ‘say a little prayer‘ dies at the age of 76. a—level students have been awarded the highest proportion of as and a stars since 2012, amid changes toughening the exams in england. allegations that a call to jihad was heard at the didsbury mosque linked to the manchester arena bomber, salman abedi.

an update on the market numbers for you, here‘s how london‘s and frankfurt ended the day. both in positive territory. and at the bottom there, the united states so you can get a sense of how the dow and nasdaq are getting on. once againa sea dow and nasdaq are getting on. once again a sea of green. the england rugby international danny cipriani has been fined £2,000 after pleading guilty to common assault and resisting arrest after an incident in a nightclub onjersey in the early hours of wednesday morning. the 30—year—old fly—half has apologised and say he‘s "mortified" by his actions. robert hall reports from jersey. reporter: danny, will you apologise for your actions? once again, danny cipriani was running the gauntlet of the cameras for an incident off the pitch. another cloud to hang low over a troubled playing career. this episode opened during a night out during

a training trip tojersey. at a seafront bar, cipriani, who admitted having too much to drink, was involved in a confrontation with door staff during which he tried to grab the doorman‘s body mounted camera. after leaving the club, mr cipriani encountered a female police officer who was aware of that altercation. when she attempted to arrest him, he resisted. there was a brief scuffle during which she was slightly hurt and eventually, with the help of a second officer and watched by a small crowd, danny cipriani was handcuffed and taken into custody. in court and later on social media, cipriani apologised for behaviour which he said had left him mortified. his return to the england side in june followed a series of misdemeanours, many associated with alcohol, the theft of a bottle of vodka, injuries after being hit by a bus whilst drunk, a drink—drive ban.

his club are standing by him but tonight danny cipriani waits to find out whether his international career has faltered yet again. robert hall, bbc news, jersey. dramatic footage has emerged of a group of about a hundred pilot whales who got stuck in a fjord in iceland. the whales were guided out by experts, but they then seemed to lose their way again and were found back in the same spot a day later. lebbo diseko has the story. this is a rescue operation in action, the second in as many days for this pod of around 100 whales. they got stuck after swimming into a fjord that‘s opening is both narrow and shallow, making it hard to get out. police helped guide them into more open waters, and it was hoped they‘d go back to sea. but the next day, they were back once again. cue rescue effort number two. translation: 13 of them went all the way to the shore,

and we had to deal with them, push them out by hand, and that went very well. one of the whales even got stuck up on the shore, and needed a kayaker to help get free. it‘s not clear why the group keep going back, but locals say they may be using the incoming tide to help them, and they‘ve certainly attracted quite an audience. translation: naturally this is interesting to see, for both foreigners and icelanders, to view and experience this in nature. you can‘t see this in an aquarium. this is pure nature, which makes it more interesting. the group was eventually guided even further out, in the hope that they‘d find their way to the ocean. that seems to have done the trick. but if they do return, rescue teams will be on hand once again to help them find their way. lebo diseko, bbc news. in a moment, we‘ll have the weather with ben rich,

but first lets look back at the life of aretha franklin. # what you want? # what you want? # baby i‘ve got it. # baby i‘ve got it. # what you need, you know i got it. all i am asking for... is for a little respect. budget confidence in the strength, she was a queen, literally, she was a queen. —— such confidence and the strength. # all confidence and the strength. #alllam confidence and the strength. # all i am asking for is a little respect. #just a respect. # just a little bit. # just a little bit. # i # just a little bit. #iam # just a little bit. # i am combing my hair now, wondering which dress i am going to wear now. on her music, raised on her music. it is a sad day.

# for ever and ever... the kind of music to live on. as long as i can here, i music to live on. as long as i can here, lam music to live on. as long as i can here, i am good. she always sounds nice. # you make me feel like a natural... # you make me feel like a natural... # i feel like... # i feel like... # i feel like... # you make me feel... # you make me feel... # you make me feel like... # you make me feel like... # you make me feel like... # you make me feel... # you make me feel... # you make me feel like a natural woman. #a

woman. # awoman... # awoman... #a # awoman... good evening most of us have seen at least a bit of rain over the last day or so and that has ushered in some much cooler and fresher air. pretty cool as we go through what is left of the evening in the night. a mixture of clear spells and showers in the showers most plentiful across parts of western scotland, and a few for a time across the northwest of england but the south and east will be dry with long and clear spells. towns and cities around eight, nine

i‘m a 10 degrees. some spots well down into single digits. what it means tomorrow, a bright note for the southeast of england and channel islands, it will be right with spells of sunshine. mostly light and patchy rain for northern ireland and west of scotland. most places on the cool side, but for many it is going to be quite humid weekend particularly in the south and there will be some rain at times. hello, i‘m karin giannone, this is 0utside source. she was the queen of soul. # find out me. the world of music pays it‘s respects, to aretha franklin, who has died age 76. tributes are pouring in for a singer whose career spanned seven decades, and racked up 18 grammys along the way. and two days after the bridge

collapse italy‘s government turns its anger on the company that ran it, saying its putting profit before the victims. a judge has sent for trial in malaysia the two women accused of using nerve gas to poison the half—brother of the north korean leader kim jong un. we‘ll be bringing you all the reaction online to the death of aretha franklin, you can tweet us your thoughts too at @bbcos.