From great leaps in artificial intelligence to the heroic defendant in a mass rape trial that shocked France, here are five people and their stories that made headlines.
Gisele Pelicot became an icon for women in the fight against sexual violence. Photo: APAs 2024 comes to a close, we are looking back at five remarkable individuals who made headlines for some incredible feats.
Gisele Pelicot and the fight for justice
Gisele Pelicot, 72, was at the centre of a mass rape trial in France which resonated around the world, becoming an icon for women in the fight against sexual violence.
Her former husband, Dominique Pelicot, was handed the maximum term of 20 years jail by a French court on December 19, after admitting to drugging her with sedatives and inviting dozens of strangers to rape her over a decade.
The other 50 defendants were also convicted, receiving jail terms of three to 15 years.
In a move that sparked global support, Gisele Pelicot insisted the three-month trial in the southern city of Avignon be open to the public.
“I wanted all women who are rape victims to say to themselves: ‘Mrs Pelicot did it, so we can do it too’,” she said.
After the verdict, she said she was thinking of the “unrecognised victims” of sexual violence.
Jensen Huang and artificial intelligence feats
Amid all the excitement – and anxiety – generated by artificial intelligence (AI) in 2024, one AI chip giant broke away from the pack: Nvidia, led by CEO Jensen Huang.
Nvidia surpassed Apple to become the highest-valued listed company in the world as the artificial intelligence boom continued to excite Wall Street.
Taiwan-born Huang, 61, founded Nvidia three decades ago. At the root of its new-found success are graphics processors or cards: chips with far greater computing capacity than conventional microprocessors.
Initially developed to improve video game graphics quality, Huang’s company realised the technology was perfect for developing large language models (generative AI).
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Yulia Navalnaya and political activism
“My political opponent is Vladimir Putin, and I’m trying to do and I will do everything to make his regime fall as soon as possible,” said Yulia Navalnaya, widow of late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, in October.
Navalnaya, 48, is a trained economist and has remained in the public eye to continue her husband’s work after he died in February in an Arctic prison.
She has lobbied against Putin’s government from abroad, saying in October that once he is gone, she will stand as a candidate for Russian president.
In July, Navalnaya, who lives in Berlin, was added to Moscow’s list of “terrorists and extremists”.
Lamine Yamal, a football talent
One of Spain’s kings of the wing, 17-year-old Lamine Yamal, became a global football star after forming part of the most swashbuckling and explosive attack of this year’s Euro 2024 championship.
He and fellow teenage winger Nico Williams were hailed as the inspiration for Spain’s record fourth men’s European Championship triumph.
Baby-faced Yamal, with braces on his teeth, came through Barcelona FC’s youth team and is now one of the top team’s most exciting talents.
During Euro 2024, he became the youngest ever goalscorer of the competition at 16 and celebrated his 17th birthday on the eve of the final.
“We have seen a genius,” Spain’s coach, Luis de la Fuente, said of his player during the tournament.
Yamal was named the young player of the championship.
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Charli XCX, music hitmaker
British pop sensation Charli XCX was already one of the top stars in 2024, thanks to her hugely successful album Brat.
Then Kamala Harris was catapulted into the US presidential campaign with just 100 days to go.
The 32-year-old pop star’s distinctive lime-green album cover was everywhere, sparking a “brat summer” trend celebrating a relaxed, partying lifestyle.
It became associated with Harris when fans began applying the coloured “brat” filter to the nominee’s images.
Charli XCX, whose real name is Charlotte Emma Aitchison, voiced her approval.
The Harris campaign swiftly embraced her sign-off – “kamala IS brat”.
In November, just days before Harris’s presidential bid ended in defeat at the ballot box, Collins Dictionary designated “brat” as its Word of the Year.