The world has lost leading figures from fields including entertainment, politics and science over the past 12 months.
The music industry marked the passing of “Queen of Soul” Aretha Franklin, one of the most famous singers of all time, while scientists across the globe paid their respects to groundbreaking British theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking.
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As the year nears its close, click on the gallery above to remember these celebrities and some of other public figures to whom we said goodbye in 2018.
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Shohei Ohtani is caught in a financial controversy — againIn the Spotlight The controversy concerns Ohtani and his agent, Nez Balelo
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A descent into academic Hell, a ferocious feminist fable and the adult debut of a beloved children's authorThe Week Recommends August books include R.F. Kuang's 'Katabasis,' Xenobe Purvis' 'The Hounding' and Louis Sachar's 'The Magician of Tiger Castle'
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What is an upside-down car loan and how do you get out of it?the explainer This happens when the outstanding balance on a car loan exceeds the vehicle's worth
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Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic and Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin: the new space race?Speed Read Branson has declared space open for business. Is that still a pie in the sky?
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Russia and China joining forces to build first Moon baseSpeed Read Lunar pact represents ‘all kinds of security threats’ to UK and US, expert warns
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Mystery of where Stonehenge stones came from finally solvedSpeed Read But how the builders moved the huge stone megaliths to the Salisbury site remains a mystery
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How chimpanzee ‘lip smacking’ can unlock mystery behind human speechSpeed Read New study reveals rhythm of great apes’ communications is identical to spoken language
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Scientists discover new variety of black holeSpeed Read Astronomers had previously missed entire class of dead star
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Trio win Nobel physics prize for work to understand cosmosSpeed Read The scientists were hailed for ‘ground-breaking’ discoveries
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Quadriplegic man walks using mind-reading robotic exoskeletonSpeed Read Robo-suit hailed as huge step forward for paralysed patients
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Will ancient scrolls damaged by Vesuvius be read again?Speed Read Scientists believe they have developed technology to see what is on the famous scrolls
