From Zelenskyy to Elon Musk, here are the world personalities who stole limelight in 2022

Nobody will deny the fact that 2022 was a year of headlines as the world witnessed several twists and turns, with the Russia-Ukraine war taking the centre stage, Elon Musk's historic Twitter takeover, Vladimir Putin's strong stand before the press despite the west uniting against him, and Volodymyr Zelenskyy's continuous resistance on the battlefield. While India appointed Droupadi Murmu as its first president belonging to the tribal community, the United Kingdom saw three prime ministers in three months, and Iran witnessed massive protests following the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini. 

Here's a list of world's biggest newsmakers of 2022

Zelenskyy's resistance against Russia

On a global scale, embattled Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenksyy was hailed as a hero for his resistance to Russian occupation. Zelenskyy has kept the global audience informed about the war through his daily speeches and social media posts since Russia invaded Ukraine. His constant resistance and firm stand gained support from the western nations, including the US and the UK in standing against Russia. It is to mention that Zelenskyy and “the spirit of Ukraine” were named Time’s “Person of the Year” for the year 2022. Earlier in July, Lithuania's president had honoured Zelenskyy with the "Order of Vytautas the Great '' award, the highest honour in Lithuania.

Vladimir Putin's military operations in Ukraine

Russian President Putin remained one of the most popular names in 2022. He ordered military operations against neighbouring Ukraine on February 24, with the expectation that his so called operation would end in a few days, but Ukraine continued to show resilience, and with global support, the war-ravaged country stood against Russian aggression for 10 months, the battle is still on and has descended into its 10th month. Putin has forced the deadliest European conflict since World War II and the biggest confrontation between Russia and the Western nations since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis.  

Elon Musk's Twitter takeover

The third event on the list is Tesla CEO Elon Musk's Twitter takeover. After days of controversy, Musk finally bought Twitter for $44 billion in October. He remained in the spotlight for instituting significant changes in Twitter, including the mass layoff. However, as the year ends, Musk's leadership on Twitter is now under question, as recently, users voted in favour of Musk stepping down, and he promised to abide by the poll result he created.

Rishi Sunak

For the first time in history, the United Kingdom experienced three different prime ministers in a single year. Rishi Sunak, however, managed to become a non-white British Prime Minister and the country's first leader of South Asian descent. He took office in October, when his predecessor, Liz Truss, resigned in less than two months, making her the longest-serving British Prime Minister.

Droupadi Murmu

The largest democracy in the world elected Droupadi Murmu as its first tribal and second woman to the presidency. She succeeded Ram Nath Kovid and became the country's youngest president to be born after independence.

Johnny Depp & Amber Heard

2022 has also been a year that witnessed a widely reported defamation case. American actor Johnny Depp won a defamation trial against his ex-wife Amber Heard. The jury awarded him $15 million for the damages he faced, and later it got reduced to $10.35 million.

According to CelebTattler, Johnny Depp's ex-wife Amber Heard was the most Googled person in 2022. Following the widely reported defamation case against her husband, her name was searched for 5.6 million times per month in the US.

Will Smith slapped Chris Rock

On the Oscar stage, Will Smith triggered awkward silence and confusion after he slapped comedian Chris Rock for joking about his wife. While presenting the best documentary prize, Rock joked about Smith's wife and compared Jada Pinkett Smith's tightly cropped hair to Demi Moore's look in "G.I. Jane" and suggested that she appear in a sequel. The incident had gone crazy viral on social media, and the video clip of Smith's reaction surfaced on social media sites for several days.

King Charles III 

After Queen Elizabeth died in September, her eldest son, Prince Charles, took the throne and became King of England and 14 other realms. Charles ascended to the throne at the age of 73 and his wife Camillia was sworn in as Queen of the United Kingdom.

Mahsa Amini

This year, the world saw a massive protest that occurred in Iran following the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini. She was arrested by Iranian authorities for not wearing hijab in public, and three days later, Amini died in police custody. Reports claim that she was tortured by Iranian authorities, which led her to slip into a coma. Her death triggered nationwide protests that grabbed global attention, with several countries condemning Iran's strict policy toward its people.

Image: AP