# r—e—s—p—e—c—t # find out what it means to me # r—e—s—p—e—c—t # take care, tcb # the queen of soul, aretha franklin, has died. one of the greatest stars of the 20th century — she passed away this morning at her home in detroit at the age of 76. after seven decades in the spotlight, aretha franklin finally stopped performing last year. her family say she died of pancreatic cancer. a crown for the queen of soul on hollywood's walk of fame, as fans and stars from round the world mourn her death. she knew when to be silent, she knew when to let rip. she knew how to say so much without the words. the notes were enough. we'll be live from the church in detroit in michigan where her career started. also tonight... oh my god! i've passed! the highest proportion of as and a stars for a—level students since 2012, despite changes to toughen the exams in england.

was the manchester arena bomber radicalised by an imam at his local mosque? we have a special investigation criketer ben stokes gets back to training today, as the england coach says he should apologise publicly despite being found not guilty of affray. coming up on sportsday on bbc news, can steven gerrard's rangers side hold on to make progress on the europa league? find out at10:30pm. good evening. aretha franklin — one of the greatest stars of the 20th century — has died at the age of 76. she passed away this morning 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 — the queen of soul — selling more than 75 million records. aleem maqbool is outside the church in detroit where it all began. yes, and fora yes, and for a lot of the people who have been gathering here to pay their tributes today and play aretha franklin's music, aretha was a member of this church unity. she was one of them. in spite of her becoming a huge star, her home remain to detroit, but she affected people through her music around the world as this towering figure of popular culture. but in a way that went far beyond music. # all i'm asking is for up little respect

#just a respect # just a little bit # just a little bit #just a # just a little bit # just a little bit # just a little bit # i'm about to give all of my money song #. aretha franklin was peerless. with a voice so stunning it could lift spirits, and so powerful it could and often did move those who heard her to tears. at the church where she first started singing, people who grew up in the same street as her have already started coming to pay tribute. i was born and raised in detroit, raised on her music. yeah, it's a sad day. i'm going to miss her, i'm going to miss seeing her in concert, but i still have her music to the bone, so i'm good. i'm good. # you make me feel # you make me feel # you make me feel #. # you make me feel #. #.

she # you make me feel #. she had the best voice and when she sang you feel it in your soul, and she always sang something nice. i rememberasa kid she always sang something nice. i remember as a kid growing up back in the 505 and 605 and you hate for her to go. she feels like family. this is the very stage where i suppose aretha franklin started to become a star. in fact, aretha franklin started to become a star. infact, many aretha franklin started to become a star. in fact, many said they were drawn to this church because they heard there was a young singer here, the daughter of the preacher, who had the kind of voice that only came along once in a generation. # but they don't know... #. by the late ‘60s, a wider audience was being touched by the brilliance of aretha franklin as her career soared. she grew from being a gospel artist into an international sensation, and she did it through her unique vocal talents, but also a renowned toughness and professionalism.

she could sometimes be perceived as having a bit of an attitude. i'm not intimidated, a lot of men, some men, it depends on the man, i think. i have always maintained that a real man is not going to be intimidated by me. some men can rise to the occasion and others cannot. # i wake up # i wake up # before i put on my make up # before i put on my make up # i # before i put on my make up #isaya # before i put on my make up # i say a little prayerfor # before i put on my make up # i say a little prayer for you # i say a little prayer for you #oh # i say a little prayer for you # oh yes, i do #. for all the moulds she broke as a singer, as a successful black woman aretha franklin came to symbolise more than just a sensational voice. # i #isaya # i say a little prayerfor # i say a little prayer for you # i say a little prayerfor you #. she became heavily involved in the civil rights movement,

with activists like her long—time friend, reverend jesse jackson. if you are going to summarise what aretha franklin meant to you, to this country, what would you say? aretha franklin meant to you, to this country, what would you 5ay?l singer whose music, whose sense of social justice was singer whose music, whose sense of socialjustice was global. she fought for doctor king, for nelson mandela, for barack 0bama. she had a broad base as well as her music. aretha sang at the funeral of martin luther king after the civil rights leader's assassination, and provided the soundtrack to african—american history and progress long after that. being the most straightforward of choices for barack 0bama to sing at his inauguration. as she had done a two previous presidential inauguration. he today paid tribute to the woman he says managed to convey in her voice all the power and pain of the american experience. # i wake up... #.

amongst the tributes today, carole king, what life, she said, annie lennox, sir elton saying rejoice in her remarkable legacy and from sir paul mccartney, let's give thanks for rebic for life. —— for her beautiful life. people in her home city feel they've lost a family member, one who was generous and who helped give them a sense of worth. she released her final album she released herfinal album last year and she still allowed new musicians to influence her too. # rolling in the... #. but the world has lost a musical giant who made it to the top in the toughest of times. aretha franklin, the queen of soul. # you make me feel # you make me feel

# you make me feel like... # you make me feel like... #. aretha franklin, who died this morning. she was the queen of soul — a woman whose career started when she was a child. her debut album was released in 1956, when shejust 14, and she spent the rest of her life making music. david sillito looks back at her life. the queen of rhythm and blues, aretha franklin. there she is. # looking out on a morning rain. aretha was the woman who changed the entire approach to singing. # the day i met you # the day i met you # life was so unkind... #. it was a moment of change, women's lives and america will ring up evil and you can hear it all, the pain, hope and joy in this one song ——

women's lives and america were in upheaval. # you make me feel like a natural woman #. the way she goes from power to vulnerable, just the end of the sentence, is extraordinary. we hear it all the time now and we think oh yeah, that's just a it all the time now and we think oh yeah, that'sjust a great it all the time now and we think oh yeah, that's just a great song it all the time now and we think oh yeah, that'sjust a great song but if you really listen, wow. and one song above all defined miss aretha franklin. # r—e—s—p—e—c—t franklin. # r-e-s-p-e-c-t #. it was written by 0tis reading but once he heard this he knew it was hers. she wasn't asking for respect, she was commanding it. she was not going to be pushed around but if anyone was born to sing, it was her. she grew up in the world of gospel. mahalia jackson, clara ward, they

we re mahalia jackson, clara ward, they were all family friends to the young aretha franklin. not only saw in her and performed with the gospel greats, but i also saw the artists that were in the pop field, but i liked and whose records i bought as a child and as a teenager. her childhood home welcomed pop, jazz and gospel stars. martin luther king was a family friend and her father was a family friend and her father was a family friend and her father was a star preacher. he coached by a lot in singing, taking my time and working with the song, different things like that. # you're no good, heartbreaker # you're no good, heartbreaker # you're no good, heartbreaker # you're lying... #. there was another side to her. one of her producers described it as a mysterious side. she lost her mother when she was ten, she had two children by the age of 16. her

private life was turbulence and her career dipped but what helped revive it was this. # the river was deep, i didn't falter #. a generation who had grown up with her, she was the benchmark of song. # the bali was low #. there is no singer who has come after her that has not been touched by her approach. a sad day? a very sad day. and you can see it's all in this moment. hardship and sorrow turned into beauty and hope, aretha franklin, the queen of soul. # ifeel... #. and there will be a special programme paying tribute to aretha franklin on bbc one on saturday night at 9.30pm.

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. excited, nervous, relieved. proud and a little bit nervous. i've pa55ed, i've pa55ed! relief after months of anxiety. time for celebration for those getting their grades. kyra is off to study psychology, the first in herfamily to go to university. they're really proud of me. i'm the first one to go off to uni, so to be the one that's going to do it, it's quite a privilege for them, i think. she'll be living at home with her mum to keep costs down.

kyra got an unconditional offer, one sign of the competition to attract good students. there is so much emotion for stu d e nts there is so much emotion for students picking up their results today. many weren't sure how they'd do in these new a—levels. but even for those who have dropped a gradel two, it's a good year, because universities are competing fiercely to offer them a place. by sam this morning more than 353,000 students had accepted places. this year there are 3.5% fewer 18—year—olds, so to compete for the best students universities have already made almost 68,000 unconditional offers. 0tis got four as, short of one a star for his place. he wants to study medicine, a subject already available in clearing. it's quite a lot of pressure obviously, knowing my grades

and then not knowing whether i've got in yet or not is something that's kind of at the back of my mind. it's stressing me, but i'm glad to know my results and i'm really hopeful. hello, you're through to the nottingham trent university clearing hotline. some universities will fill courses easily, but that will leave others chasing students. clearing will be open for weeks now so if you didn't quite get your grades today, there's still plenty of time to get a place. some universities are offering cash incentives because there's so much competition for students. but that's not an approach they've adopted here in nottingham. students come here to study for a degree and that means they have to have a good standard of qualification when they come here, so it's not in our interests and it's certainly not in the students' interests to get the student into university and then for them 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 you're there for four years and you're thinking pros and cons, it has a massive effect and obviously money wins, money's king, so it had a mad effect, yeah. for others the hunt for a place continues. branwen jeffreys, bbc news. 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 two 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 prayer, or

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. thejihad he is referring to here is actually being in the battlefield. there's no ifs and buts in this. from the context of the way the5e 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 the calls not only to stop living a normal life, do something dra5tic, but to be with the small group of true mu5lim5. 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 will 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 preaching 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 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. ..causing chaos in libya. months later, here's the same group in london. graf isn't 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. i'm speechless, in a way,

that it's going on 30 minutes away from here, that this was, if he was in that room that day, a week before christmas, a week later i was, or 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, what would you say to him? 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 "mujahedin" have been misinterpreted, and they don't tolerate extremist preaching. ed thomasjoins me now in the studio. explain how this story came to light. it was worshippers in the mosque who came to us with their concerns and asked us to investigate. their concern was over this sermon, what they were hearing inside didsbury mosque. as you heard in the report, the mosque said that we had understood the luke misunderstood the report, but the two scholars we spoke to said this was not a call for spiritualjihad, but this was a militaryjihad, jihad on the battlefield. the whole of the

recording we obtained, 11 minutes worth, has now been passed to greater manchester police. they will look at this, every word of this sermon, and decide if it is a criminal matter or not. evan thomas, thank you. —— ed thomas. up to 20 people are still missing after a motorway bridge collapsed in genoa in northern italy on tuesday. 38 people are known to have died. rescue teams are searching through the rubble, but hopes of finding any more people alive are all but gone. 600 people living near the bridge have been moved from their homes because of safety fears and have been told their homes may be demolished. the morandi bridge is 50 years old. 0ur science editor david shukman has been investigating what could have caused it to collapse. battered by the weather and patched up over the years, this is the bridge, pictured before the collapse. it was in a forlorn and worrying state, and then disaster struck. the tangle of wreckage where there should be the clues that investigators will need as they ask

if the structure was substandard, or if the steel had corroded inside the concrete, where no one could see. so what went wrong? well, let's look at a virtual model of the bridge. an unusual design from the ‘60s, it's needed a lot of reinforcement over the years. a key focus in the investigation will be on these diagonal sections. they're called the stays. they're a mix of steel and concrete and they carry the road. but they were in bad condition, and i understand were due to be replaced next year. another weakness might be the anchors that fix the stays to the road. one of them might have rusted and snapped. and then there are steel cables that run through the bridge to give it strength. if they were in poor shape, inspectors might not have noticed. the investigators face a massive challenge and finding a single answer might not be easy. a big concern is that the concrete was getting old and that water was getting into it and may have weakened the steel inside. concrete does deteriorate with time, does age. but the main problem in this kind

of construction is the steel inside the concrete, which if it corrodes, that can lead to severe problems. that needs to be investigated, inspected and maintained. when the bridge was built, it was heralded as a symbol of futuristic engineering. but the standard of construction back then has left a legacy. italy now has an estimated 10,000 bridges that need to be modernised. the cost will be tens of billions of euros. and the collapse has sent shock waves to other countries as well. inspections are now under way on bridges in france and germany. the tragedy has sparked a crisis of confidence far beyond genoa. david shukman, bbc news. some of today's other news now. iain livingstone has been

named as the new chief constable of police scotland. in his first interview since being appointed, he said officers in the force must respond to the challenges of helping vulnerable people and supporting diversity. retail sales grew faster than expected last month, with the good weather and the world cup boosting food sales in particular. figures from the office for national statistics show overall sales rose by 0.7% from the figure injune — and they were 3.5% higher than the same time last year. the influential indian politician, atal behari vajpayee, who served three terms as prime minister, has died at the age of 93. he was credited with pursuing a more moderate path amid rising hindu nationalism. it's been a turbulent week on international financial markets. as america's economy booms, there are concerns that the withdrawal of investment from some other economies is gathering pace as investors sell off stocks from emerging economies — with serious consequences for countries such as turkey and mexico. here's our economics editor kamal ahmed. the market and currency volatility

we've seen this week ultimately comes down to a judgement on economic strength — which countries have it, and which could be at risk. economically, america looks attractive to many investors — who move billions of dollars around the globe. us growth is strong — 4.1% — the highest since 2014. interest rates are also rising — to 2%. higher interest rates mean higher returns. and the dollar is strong — at a 13—month high against the main world currencies. this man is lapping it up. once again, we are the economic envy of the entire world. when i meet the leaders of countries, the first thing they say, invariably, is, "mr president, so nice to meet you, congratulations on your economy". america is winning again because we are finally putting america first. everywhere we look, we are seeing

the effects of the american economic miracle. not all the effects are positive. turkey has been a recent victim. it has high levels of debts, there are fears over its economic strength, and it is engaged in a trade war with the us. its currency has been under real pressure. and there are others — china, south africa, mexico. they have all seen their currencies weaken. emerging markets are facing tough times, as the american economic juggernaut powers on and fears of trade wars grow. last week, investors pulled $1.3 billion of investment out of emerging market stocks — that is where they see the risk. the england cricket coach trevor bayliss has said he expects ben stokes to make a public apology, following the brawl which led

to his arrest and trial for affray. the cricketer, who was found not guilty of the charge earlier this week, returned to training today. our sports editor dan roan has more. just two days after emerging from bristol crown court, today ben stokes walked out to more familiar surroundings, the england star still the main attraction at trent bridge as he was welcomed back into the england squad after being cleared of affray. but while stokes could play against india here on saturday, the fallout from his trial following a brawl last year continues, and he's now being encouraged to publicly apologise, having already said sorry to his team—mates. certainly. i think it was important to actually apologise to the boys in the team. i'm sure something will be forthcoming. he will certainly pull his weight from now on going forward. i'm sure it's been a wake—up call for him. ben stokes must still await the outcome of a cricket

disciplinary commission hearing, which in the next few weeks could decide to suspend him if he is found to have brought the game into disrepute. but for now, the all—rounder is back in the england fold. stokes said he had been acting in self—defence when he became involved in this fight and then arrested. and on tuesday, a jury acquitted him after a seven—day trial. but one former england captain told me the player's reputation had still suffered. knowing the england cricket fans as i do, they will give him a reception. i don't think he deserves that. he's certainly not a hero, as some have portrayed him to be. he has bought the game into disrepute, but i do think the punishment and the fact that he missed the whole winter in australia is enough and now he's got the not guilty charge,