Good Morning Australia!! - The world remembers Aretha Franklin - Senators and the US Media fight back against Trump's war on the free press - A woman gets $6,000 for refusing to shake hands - And more in your CareerSpot Global News Briefs:

The "Queen of Soul" Aretha Franklin died in her Detroit home on Thursday morning after a lengthy battle with pancreatic cancer.  "In one of the darkest moments of our lives, we are not able to find the appropriate words to express the pain in our heart," read the statement from her family. "We have lost the matriarch and rock of our family.  The love she had for her children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews and cousins knew no bounds."  Ms. Franklin had hits in the 1960s with "Respect", "Chain of Fools", "Think", and others. 

After a career lull in the late 1970s, Ms. Franklin came roaring back with a stellar performance in "The Blues Brothers" movie.  That was followed by an update to her sound provided by producer Narada Michael Walden yielding the hits "Freeway of Love", "Jumping Jack Flash" (with Keith Richards and Ronny Wood), and "I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)", the latter being a duet with George Michael.  She returned to the top 40 in 1998 with the Lauryn Hill-produced song "A Rose Is Still a Rose".  In 2008, she sang at Barack Obama's inauguration.  No matter how many fads and trends came and went in music, she proved again and again that she was relevant to modern audiences - In 2014, wowing the audience at "The Late Show with David Letterman" with a performance of Adele's "Rolling in the Deep" that earned a lengthy standing ovation.  Aretha Franklin continued to perform until retiring in November of last year, her final performance being an appearance at an AIDS benefit organized by Elton John.

And now..

The United States Senate unanimously passed a resolution that "affirms that the press is not the enemy of the people" and "reaffirms the vital and indispensable role that the free press serves" and "condemns the attacks on the institution of the free press".  Without mentioning Donald Trump by name, this directly counters the current White House occupant's anti-democratic, anti-journalism - just hours earlier, he tweeted his scorn of the only professional specifically singled out for protection by the US Constitution as "fake news". 

This happened on the same day that millions of Americans woke up to their local newspapers running coordinated editorials decrying Trump's attacks on the free press.  More than 350 US newspapers took part plus one international newspaper, the London-based Guardian.  Lest you think these were only big city, Left-wing papers:  The Topeka, Kansas Capital-Journal which endorsed Trump in 2016 said of his attacks on the media, "It's sinister.  It's destructive.  And it must end now."

Anyway..

Malaysia's new government repealed a widely criticized law prohibiting so-called "fake news".  The rule originated under the previous government of Najib Razak who is charged with looting millions of dollars from a public development fund.

A Swedish company has been ordered to pay 40,000 Kroner (about AU$6,000) to a Muslim woman whose job interview was ended because she declined to shake hands with the male interviewer.  Some Muslims avoid contact with the opposition sex; in this case, 24-year old Farah Alhajeh greeted both men and women by placing her hand over her heart as a greeting.  Sweden's labor court considered "the employer's interests, the individual's right to bodily integrity, and the importance of the state to maintain protection for religious freedom" - and found that Ms. Alhajeh's refusal to shake hands due to religious reasons was protected by the European Convention on Human Rights.

One of Europe's largest tech conferences has uninvited far-right French politician Marine Le Pen because of widespread opposition to her National Rally Party's (nee Front National) anti-Muslim, anti-immigrant policies.  After initially defending her invitation with calls for free speech and claims that silencing racists adds to their sense of marginalization (uhm.. good?), Web Summit conference CEO Paddy Cosgrave admitted that Le Pen's presence would have been "disrespectful" to many of the attendees from around the world and "disrespectful in particular to our host country".  Thousands are expected to attend Web Summit 2018 in Lisbon, Portugal from 5 through 8 November.  It's like Glastonbury, except with geeks.

Brazil's Workers Party has formally registered jailed former President Luis Inacio Lula da Silva as its presidential candidate - despite that he may not be able to run because he is jailed on corruption charges.  Lula's supporters say those convictions were politically-motivated.  Lula served as President from 2003 to 2011, presiding over economic growth that for once benefited the poor - he and his successor Dilma Rousseff eliminated extreme poverty while extending education, healthcare, and economic opportunity to unprecedented numbers.  His approval rating was 87 percent when he left office.

The Vatican finally broke its silence on the Pennsylvania Grand Jury report that said 300 Roman Catholic Priests molested more than a thousand boys and girls over the decades while the church covered it up.  "There are two words that can express the feelings faced with these horrible crimes: shame and sorrow," said Greg Burke, director of the Vatican's Press Office.  "Victims should know that the Pope is on their side. Those who have suffered are his priority, and the Church wants to listen to them to root out this tragic horror that destroys the lives of the innocent," Burke added.  But the spokesman also claimed that because few cases occurred after 2002 - when the US Catholic Church adopted new rules for reporting pedophile priests - it showed that the reforms "drastically reduced the incidence of clergy child abuse".