welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to viewers in north america and around the globe. my name's mike embley. our top stories: # r-e-s-p-e-c-t. # just a little bit...# aretha franklin, the queen of american soul music, has died at the age of 76. tributes pour in from musicians worldwide and former presidents, praising her contributions to music and to the fight for social justice. as a government investigation into italy's private motorway operator begins, we ask what might have caused the genoa bridge to collapse. and a secret of the mummies is revealed — scientists work out the 6,000—year—old recipe for successful embalming. hello to you.

she was lovingly known as the queen of soul, the definition of how soul music, at its best, can sound. but today she ended her reign at the age of 76. aretha franklin died of pancreatic cancer, surrounded by family at home in detroit. she only retired from performing last year, and her career as singer, pianist and arranger spanned seven decades. but she was also a political activist. the songs she sang helped define the civil rights and feminist movements. from detroit, aleem maqbool reports. # all i'm asking... # is for a little respect. # just a little bit. # i'm about to give all of my money...# 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, born on her music, 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 got her music to the bone, so i'm good. as long as i can hear, i'm good. # you make me feel # she had the best voice, and when she sung you feel it in your soul, and she always sung something positive and nice. i remember as a kid growing up back in the '505 and '605 and you'd 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, 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. # they tell me that you ain't no good. # but, oh, they don't know...# but 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 that could sometimes be perceived as having a bit of an attitude. i'm not intimidated by 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 can not. # i wake up # before i put on my make up # make up # 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 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? a singer whose music impacted the world, whose sense of social justice was global. she also fought for doctor king, she fought for nelson mandela, she fought

for barack obama. her sense of community service was as broad—basewd as her music. aretha sang at the funeral of martin luther king after the civil rights leader's assassination, but she provided the soundtrack to african—american history and progress long after that. being the most straightforward of choices for barack obama to sing at his inauguration, as she'd done at two previous presidential inaugurations. he today paid tribute to the woman he says managed to convey in her voice all the power and pain of the american experience. # the moment i wake up...# amongst the tributes today, carole king. "what a life," she said. annie lennox, sir elton saying rejoice in her remarkable legacy. and from sir paul mccartney, "let's give thanks 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 just last year and she still allowed countless new musicians to influence her too. # rolling in the deep...# 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 like a...# aleem maqbool, with that tribute. tributes from all over. one tribute

at that, the hollywood walk of fame, this is her star on the walk of fame, and let's look at some of the figures, spanning 63 years, selling 75 million records, and a couple of other figures 75 million records, and a couple of otherfigures for your consideration, she started singing in church aged ten, she records her first album at 14, when she signed with atlantic records in 1966 for the extraordinary hit singles she had already had three children, she had already had three children, she had been performing for a decade and she was just 24. as barack obama said nobody embodies more fully the connection between the african american spirit, rhythm and blues, rock and roll, the way she transformed it into something beauty and —— full of beauty and vitality. let's go to chicago now and speak to sharay reed, a bass player who got a call to play with aretha, was flown out that night and was her bassist for the next two years. the bassist is a big deal in the

sole —— sol bamba, what does it do to yourfingers sole —— sol bamba, what does it do to your fingers and the frets?m was amazing. first of all, it is great to get the bbc love, it is all over the place, to play her music in so over the place, to play her music in so many over the place, to play her music in so many cover over the place, to play her music in so many cover bands, you know, just doing so many things live with her, you know, i wanted to play as authentically as i could from the record, so it was mind blowing slot white sharay, you know some of the front men and women are not always so front men and women are not always so great to the musicians, the band and the backing singers. how was she? she was tough, you know. you are talking about a woman who has basically become a part of the culture of the world, it you know. her songs have reached all over the place. she has been through seven decades of this business. so she is

part. she was tough on us. but one thing i can say is she always showed love for detroit and detroit musicians. she made sure she had plenty of detroit's singers and musicians in her band because that is where she is from. and she was a lwa ys is where she is from. and she was always polite. but she was... she is from the old school. she told it like it was. and she was a tough cookie. but that's what you expect from someone who is in the position that she's in. elton john was saying today that he thought her musicianship was slightly underrated, that she was one of his favourite pianists and she was a really meticulous arranger of her music, wasn't she? yes, absolutely. when i came on she would sit down on the piano and just play beautifully. almost like classically. and i was looking... her book is massive. she has a huge book spanning all of those decades. just looking at some of the arrangements and playing that music, it was really quite

incredible. how did you feel about being a musician yourself, as a singer, with a great story from the muscle shoals studio, when she was recording i never loved man and after the date the musicians were hugging each other because she delivered on the vocal and partly because they knew that she had a hit. had did you feel about her as a s|nger? hit. had did you feel about her as a singer? it was incredible because i came to play for her in her last stretch, in her 70s, and to get on stage and have her come out and to have her sing with such power and authority in june, you have her sing with such power and authority injune, you know, she knows all her lyrics and just to commend the stage like that was incredible, it was kind of intimidating, you know. i remember standing there like, "oh man, is it real" standing there like, "oh man, is it rea l" just standing there like, "oh man, is it real" just making sure that i have given her everything i've got, because i'm playing for 70 plus

yea rs of because i'm playing for 70 plus years of greatness. and she was a political figurehead as well, wasn't she, she grew up with martin luther king, she sang at his funeral, of course, chain of fool became a hit with black american gis in vietnam and respect, otis redding song, she changes it completely, his version isa man changes it completely, his version is a man pleading for respect, she becomes a woman demanding respect. yes, absolutely. and that song is so iconic for so many reasons. of course, the blues brothers made it popular and the fact that it was donein popular and the fact that it was done in chicago, chicago has always had a serious heart for a aretha and love for her —— blues brothers. so she is a part of our art culture as well, so absolutely. sharay, such a pleasure to talk to you on this sad day, thank you very much. thank you. let's get some of the day's other news. the jury in the trial of former

donald trump campaign chairman paul manafort did not reach a verdict after its first full day of deliberations in virginia. manafort is facing 18 counts of tax evasion, bank fraud and hiding foreign bank accounts, brought forward by special counsel robert mueller as part of the investigation into russian interference in the 2016 election. jury deliberations will resume on friday. former indian prime minister atal behari vajpayee has died aged 93. he was being treated for age—related illnesses at a delhi hospital. mr vajpayee was one of the founding members of the hindu nationalist bjp, which currently governs india. the vatican has expressed shame and sorrow in response to a damning report into the sexual abuse of children by priests in pennsylvania. a grand jury found more than 300 priests in the state had abused minors in the past 70 years. the pope said he wanted to root out the tragic horror of priests abusing children. hundreds of google employees have written to the company to protest plans to launch a censored

search engine in china. they said the project raised urgent moral and ethical questions. google quit the country eight years ago in protest at the country's censorship laws but reports claim it had been secretively working on a new chinese search service, which would block certain websites and search terms like human rights and religion. the italian government has begun an investigation into the private operator of the motorway bridge that collapsed in genoa on tuesday, killing at least 38 people. another 20 are still missing. people living near the bridge have been moved from their homes because of safety fears and have been told their homes may be demolished. our science editor david shukman has been investigating what could have caused the bridge 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. stay with us on bbc world news. still to come: one year after the barcelona attack, spain honours the 16 people who were killed. washington, the world's

most political city, is today assessing the political health of the world's most powerful man. indeed, i did have a relationship with miss lewinsky that was not appropriate. in fact, it was wrong. in south africa, 97 people have been killed today, in one of the worst days of violence between rival black groups. over the last ten days, 500 have died. chanting: czechoslovakia must be free! russia is observing a national day of mourning for the 118 submariners who died on board the kursk. we're all with them now, within our hearts. the pope has celebrated mass before a congregation of more than 2.5 million people, in his hometown of krakow. "stay with us, stay with us," chanted this ocean of humanity.

"well, well," joked the pope, "so you want me to desert rome?" this is bbc world news. the latest headlines: there has been an outpouring of tributes to the soul singer, aretha franklin, who has died at her home in detroit, aged 76. italy's transport ministry has begun an investigation into the private operator of the motorway bridge that collapsed in genoa on tuesday, killing at least 38 people. 20 are still missing. 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. market and currency volatility we've

seen this week ultimately comes down toa seen this week ultimately comes down to a judgement. on economic strength, which countries have it and which could be at risk? now, economically america looks attractive to many investors who moved billions of dollars around the globe. us growth is strong at 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 economies. america's winning again because we are finally putting america first.

everywhere we look we're seeing the effects of the american economic miracle. now, not all those 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 we can. emerging markets are facing tough times, as the american economicjuggernaut powers on and fears of trade wars grope. last week, investors polled $1.3 billion of investment out of emerging market stocks. that is where they see the risk. kamal ahmed there. ceremonies have begun in spain to mark one year since a terrorist attack which killed 16 people and injured more than 150. the country's prime minister and the spanish king will attend

a gathering to honour the victims on friday. so—called islamic state claimed responsibility for the 2017 attack. andrew plant reports. flowers and messages of remembrance played in the place the attack began flowers and messages of remembrance layed in the place the attack began here on 17 august last year. it happened in the height of summer. a van driven through the crowds on this busy spanish street. by the time it stopped, dozens were seriously injured. translation: i remember the sound of the engine as it hit against the people. the van was only a metre away from me, less than a metre, and it didn't touch us, and then it left that trail of death and pain. now survivors and relatives of those killed are returning to las ramblas to remember the lives lost one year ago. we wanted to come of course

and remember my father and also remember all of the victims of this terrible event, and to remember and thank the incredible people who put their own lives at risk to help my mother and father, the first responders, the police, ambulance. investigators are still piecing together how closely the attackers were linked to the so—called islamic state group. prime minister pedro sanchez and spain's king felipe attend a ceremony on friday to honour the victims of what was spain's worst terrorist attack since the bombings in madrid 13 years before. andrew plant, bbc news. if you've ever been at the antiquities section of a museum, looking at those egyptian mummies and wondering how they lasted through the ages. well, now we know.

our science correspondent, victoria gill, has more. fabric fragments of ancient history. these 6,000—year—old pieces of linen contain the chemical secret of mummification. the egyptian mummy, the body preserved for the eternal soul, is an icon of the ancient civilisation. it has been resurrected in many a hollywood film. but far from egypt's great tombs, here in a storage facility in northern england, the ancient egyptians' embalming method has finally come to light, contained in textiles in the collection. with things like these textiles, that don't look much to look at, at all, you do the chemistry, and suddenly they become hugely significant to our human past, and really gets to the heart of what they were about at this time through the science, which you simply can't tell by looking. so really the science brings this material to life. the recipe they revealed, an embalming liquid containing plant extracts, was probably mixed

in a base of sesame oil. you can actually still find some of the key ingredients from that embalming recipe today. so this is one of them, gum arabic, which is a plant—based confectioner‘s gum that is on sale in egypt. and this is really key ingredient, pine resin, antibacterial, to prevent the body from decaying. the same mixture of substances was found on this intact mummy from 3500 bc, showing that the process is much older than previously thought. pushing the timeline back by 1,500 years, it shows to us that it wasn'tjust at the point where mummification we know was very popular, it was happening much earlier, so it was much more within the culture of egyptology for much longer than we thought. so who knows what secrets scientists will unearth next in the storeroom of a local museum. victoria gill, bbc news, bolton.

a reminder of our top story, and the death of aretha franklin. back to the hollywood walk of fame, aretha franklin's star. maryj blige said when it comes to expressing yourself through song, no one can touch a reader, she's the reason why women want to sing. her voice was the definition of soul someone else said. we're hearing she was often the singer others measure themselves against. she has been sampled by kanye against. she has been sampled by ka nye west, against. she has been sampled by kanye west, alicia keys, outkast and many, kanye west, alicia keys, outkast and any kanye west, alicia keys, outkast and many, many others. let's leave you a flavour of that extraordinary voice. # looking out on the morning rain. # i used to feel so uninspired. # and when i knew i had to face another day. # lord, it made me feel so tired. # now i'm no longer doubtful

of what i'm living for. # and if i make you happy, i don't need to do more. # ‘cause you make me feel. # you make me feel. # you make me feel like a natural woman. # awoman!# hello there.

well, we should get off to a pretty sunny start across eastern areas of the country, before things generally turn cloudier later today, and that cloud will hang around into the weekend as well. weather front brought the rain yesterday. that's clearing out into europe, clearer skies following, but then we've got this next wodge of cloud. this weather front, this warm front, is going to be bringing warmer air across the uk, yes, but also we'll have outbreaks of rain spreading in as well. so, the forecast in a bit more detail. for the early risers, clear skies to start the day across england and wales, but further north and west, the clouds that bit thicker, and there'll be a few showers for western scotland and northern ireland. for the early risers, temperatures just into double figures, but in the countryside, single figures, so there will be a certain chill in the airfirst thing in the morning. now, quite quickly, england and wales should get off to a sunny start on friday, before the cloud tends to thicken. it will stay bright across eastern areas, mind you, but later in the afternoon

the cloud probably thick enough across, say, southern parts into the bristol channel to give us an odd spit of light rain or drizzle. further north and west, we've got some wet weather moving into northern ireland, the rain quite heavy here at times. that wet weather spreads to western scotland, north—west england and north—west wales, as well, through the day. temperatures — high teens to low 20s. and then, into the weekend, we'll continue to have this feed of pretty warm air across southern parts of the uk. so, even though we won't see much in the way of sunshine, temperatures still widely into the low—to—mid 20s. fresher conditions across the north of the uk, this low pressure bringing some strong winds as well. so we get off to a blustery start to the weekend. into scotland, exposed coasts and hills could have gusts of wind of 50mph, maybe even 60mph. but it will be quite a blowy start wherever you are. a lot of cloud around. some limited brighter spells possible, the best of these probably heading into eastern england and also the far north—east of scotland. but in between, we've got a weather front, a weak one at that, that'll bring the thickest cloud across northern ireland, parts of northern england and southern scotland, where we could continue to see occasional spits of light rain or drizzle.

and then, for the second half of the weekend, we're taking a look at this. this is subtropical storm ernesto, and it's going to be bringing some heavy rain to the united kingdom on sunday. now, probably the worst of the rain, getting away across northern ireland, northern england and in across scotland for the first part of sunday, should tend to clear through. in the south, cloud tending to thicken up, so we might well see some spots of rain, but not really amounting to too much. look at the temperatures — mild, quite humid in the south. we've got the fresher air there across more northern parts. so, to sum up this weekend, we are expecting it to be quite cloudy, and it will be quite wet at times, particularly in the north—west. these are the top stories on bbc news: former us presidents have led tributes to the soul singer, aretha franklin, who has died at her home in detroit. she was 76. barack obama said she had helped define the american experience. bill clinton said the country had lost one of its greatest national treasures. italy's transport ministry has begun investigating the private operator of the motorway bridge that collapsed in genoa on tuesday, killing at least 38 people. the company has 15 days to demonstrate it met all its obligations.

rescue teams have said they will continue working in the rubble for another two days. the jury in the trial of paul manafort, former chairman of donald trump's election campaign, has not yet reached a verdict after its first full day of deliberations. he denies 18 counts of tax evasion, bank fraud and hiding foreign bank accounts. it's just gone 4:30am, it's time for hardtalk.