World pays tribute to Aretha Franklin
AFP / Mark RALSTONFlowers and tributes are placed on the star for Aretha Franklin on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in California
Tributes poured in across the world to "Queen of Soul" Aretha Franklin on Friday, as her family and hometown made arrangements for her funeral and a celebration of the late singer's extraordinary career.
The 76-year-old music legend, who died on Thursday, influenced generations of singers with unforgettable hits including "Respect" (1967), "Natural Woman" (1968) and "I Say a Little Prayer" (1968).
NEW BETHEL BAPTIST CHURCH/AFP/File / HOAretha Franklin sings at the New Bethel Baptist Church in Detroit, where her father was pastor for over 30 years
The 18-time Grammy award winner cemented her place in music history with a powerful, bell-clear voice that stretched over four octaves, her generations of hits spanning from soul and R&B, to gospel and pop.
On Friday, fans continued to pay tribute to the celebrated singer, leaving mementos outside her father's New Bethel Baptist Church and queuing outside the Motown Museum, which is playing her music on loudspeakers through the weekend and hosting a book of condolence.
"It's just been amazing. Of course we're all very saddened and heartbroken with the thought of her passing, but people are flocking to the museum," general manager Sheila Spencer told AFP.
AFP/File / Robyn BECKAretha Franklin performs during the ianuguration ceremony for US President Barack Obama
"She performed at our gala for our 20th anniversary and it was a phenomenal, phenomenal performance. So we're just so honored."
Some Detroit media reported that Franklin's family and the city were drawing up arrangements for a four-day celebration of her life, during which her body would lie in repose for two days, open to the public.
Her funeral will be held at Greater Grace Temple, a spokeswoman for the church confirmed to AFP, with the date and final arrangements still being worked out.
- 'Unifying' -
"It's difficult to conceive of a world without her. Not only was she a uniquely brilliant singer, but her commitment to civil rights made an indelible impact on the world," tweeted singer Barbra Streisand.
AFP / TIMOTHY A. CLARYA visitor pays his respects at a makeshift memorial set up for Aretha Franklin
"I'm sitting in prayer for the wonderful golden spirit Aretha Franklin," said Motown legend Diana Ross, while former Beatle Paul McCartney called her "the Queen of our souls."
Franklin passed away Thursday morning surrounded by her family and loved ones at her Detroit home, following a long battle with pancreatic cancer, her family announced in a statement issued by her publicist.
Fred Zilian, a university teacher from Rhode Island on a reunion with classmates from the US Army officers' training school Westpoint danced with his wife to an Aretha track playing at the Motown Museum.
"I want to be sad because we lost Aretha Franklin, but I had to go in the street and dance," he told AFP, remembering how he loved her music and those of black artists who recorded at Motown in the 1960s.
AFP/File / Nicholas KAMMAretha Franklin rose from singing gospel in her father's church to regularly topping rhythm and blues and pop charts in the 1960s and 1970s
"The country was riven by race relations tension and we, you can see are all white, we didn't give a damn," he said. "It's really a statement about the unifying effect that music can have," he said.
In 1987, Franklin became the first woman inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In 2010, Rolling Stone magazine put her at the top of its list of the 100 greatest singers of all time, male or female.
She performed for several presidents, including at the 2009 inauguration of Barack Obama, the country's first African-American head of state.
- 'Divine' -
AFP/File / Mandel NGANFirst Lady Michelle Obama, US President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden watch as soul diva Aretha Franklin performs during the dedication of the Martin Luther King Jr Memorial in Washington
Obama and his wife Michelle paid heartfelt tribute to the woman who they said "helped define the American experience."
"Every time she sang, we were all graced with a glimpse of the divine," the Obamas said.
US President Donald Trump said the singer "brought joy to millions of lives and her extraordinary legacy will thrive and inspire many generations to come."
Franklin -- who was widely known by only her first name, in true diva style -- rose from singing gospel in her father's church to regularly topping rhythm and blues and pop charts in the 1960s and 1970s.
Other than "Respect" -- her powerful cover of the Otis Redding tune that became a feminist anthem and her calling card -- Franklin had dozens of Top 40 singles, according to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
AFP / Angela WeissA tribute to Aretha Franklin with lyrics from one of her top hits at the Franklin Street subway station in New York
The singer lived in Detroit -- the Motor City, home of Motown -- most of her life.
In 2005, she was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest award for a US civilian, by then-president George W. Bush.
In 2010, she suffered serious health problems, but continued to perform until last year, her last public performance in November 2017 for the Elton John AIDS Foundation in New York.
Fury clouds funeral plans for Italy bridge victims
AFP / MARCO BERTORELLOAuthorities plan a state funeral service and mass for the dead on Saturday at a hall in Genoa, coinciding with a day of mourning
Grieving relatives wept over the coffins of dozens of victims of Genoa's bridge disaster Friday amid growing fury over a planned state funeral, while rescuers pressed on with their tireless search for those missing in the rubble.
The collapse of the Morandi bridge, a decades-old viaduct that crumbled in a storm on Tuesday killing at least 38 people, has stunned and angered the country, with Italian media reporting that some outraged families would shun Saturday's official ceremonies.
Italy's government has blamed the operator of the viaduct for the tragedy and threatened to strip the firm of its contracts, while the country's creaking infrastructure has come under fresh scrutiny.
AFP / Piero CRUCIATTIGenoa's Morandi bridge buckled without warning on Tuesday, sending cars, trucks and huge chunks of concrete plunging 45 metres (150 feet) onto railway tracks below
Authorities plan a state funeral service on Saturday at a hall in Genoa, coinciding with a day of mourning.
Relatives who gathered at the hall on Friday embraced and prayed over lines of coffins, many adorned with flowers and photographs of the dead.
But according to La Stampa newspaper, the families of 17 victims have refused to take part, while a further seven have yet to decide whether they will attend.
"It is the state who has provoked this; let them not show their faces, the parade of politicians is shameful," the press cited the mother of one of four young Italians from Naples who died.
AFP / Piero CRUCIATTIHundreds of rescuers are using cranes and bulldozers to cut up and remove the biggest slabs of fallen bridge
The father of another of the dead from Naples took to social media to vent his anger.
"My son will not become a number in the catalogue of deaths caused by Italian failures," said his grieving father, Roberto.
"We do not want a farce of a funeral but a ceremony at home."
- 10-20 people still missing -
Despite fading hopes of finding survivors, rescue workers said they had not given up as they resumed the dangerous operation to search through the unstable mountains of debris.
"Is there anyone there? Is there anyone there?" one firefighter shouted into a cavity dug out of the piles of concrete and twisted metal, in a video published by the emergency services.
AFP / MARCO BERTORELLORelatives who gathered at the hall on Friday embraced and prayed over lines of coffins, many with flowers and photograps of the dead laid on top
Between 10 and 20 people are still missing, according to Genoa's chief prosecutor.
Ten people remain in hospital, six of them in a serious condition.
Hundreds of rescuers are using cranes and bulldozers to cut up and remove the biggest slabs of the fallen bridge, which slammed down onto railway tracks along with dozens of vehicles.
"We are trying to find pockets in the rubble where people could be -- alive or not," fire official Emanuele Gissi told AFP.
Officials say about 1,000 people in all are working on the disaster site, 350 of them firefighters.
- Grief and anger -
The populist government has accused infrastructure giant Autostrade per L'Italia of failing to invest in sufficient maintenance and said it would seek to revoke its lucrative contracts.
AFP / Jean Michel CORNUHow rescuers operate in situations such as the Genoa bridge collapse
Interior Minister Matteo Salvini demanded that the company offer up to 500 million euros ($570 million) to help families and local government deal with the aftermath of the disaster.
The dead also include children, one as young as eight, and three Chileans and four French nationals.
The French nationals, all in their 20s, had travelled to Italy for a music festival, and other victims included a family setting off on holiday and a couple returning from their California honeymoon.
More than 600 people were evacuated from around a dozen apartments beneath the remaining shard of bridge.
On Thursday evening the first residents of some buildings in the affected area were allowed to return home, though others are too badly damaged to save.
- Infrastructure alarm -
STUDIO LEONI/AFP / HandoutThe Morandi bridge under construction in 1965
The Morandi viaduct dates from the 1960s and has been riddled with structural problems for decades, leading to expensive maintenance and severe criticism from engineering experts.
Its collapse prompted fears over ageing infrastructure across the world.
Italy has announced a year-long state of emergency in the region.
Autostrade, which operates and maintains nearly half of Italy's motorways, estimates it will take five months to rebuild the bridge.
It denies scrimping on motorway maintenance, saying it has invested over one billion euros a year in "safety, maintenance and strengthening of the network" since 2012.
Atlantia, the holding company of Autostrade which is 30 percent owned by iconic fashion brand Benetton, has warned that the government would have to refund the value of the contract, which runs until at least 2038.
Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said Autostrade "had the duty and obligation to assure the maintenance of this viaduct and the security of all those who travelled on it."
The disaster is the latest in a string of bridge collapses in Italy, where infrastructure generally is showing the effects of a faltering economy.
Senior government figures have also lashed out at austerity measures imposed by the European Union, saying they restrict investment.
But the European Commission said it had given Rome billions of euros to fix infrastructure.
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