2024 – A year that kept the world on its toes, shattering expectations and rewriting the rulebook on politics and global stability. 

On 'Did You Believe?', we break down the stories that stunned, shocked, and shaped 2024. Watch in for more details!

From Spark To Spotlight: How It Started Vs Where Are We Now?

<p>Serena Williams, the 23-time Grand Slam winner returned to the court after a 14-month maternity leave, but at times it appeared like she'd never missed a day.<br />
&nbsp;<br />
That was Serena’s return to tennis in a nutshell, but her 2018 season was far more than that.<br />
&nbsp;<br />
If Serena looks back on her 2018 season, she just might find it to be the most meaningful as she returned to the court this past March a wife, a mother and an American tennis star.&nbsp;<br />
&nbsp;<br />
She donned a Marvel-worthy cat suit at the French Open and reached the final at the Wimbledon, but it was the impact she made off the court and during a final that set her apart.<br />
&nbsp;<br />
The former world No1 had already revealed in an interview that she was bedridden for six weeks after the birth of her daughter Alexis Olympia last year following an emergency caesarean section.<br />
&nbsp;<br />
“First my C-section wound popped open due to the intense coughing I endured as a result of the embolism. I returned to surgery, where the doctors found a large hematoma, a swelling of clotted blood, in my abdomen. And then I returned to the operating room for a procedure that prevents clots from travelling to my lungs,” Serena had revealed.<br />
&nbsp;<br />
Aiming to return to No 1 spot, Williams took to the court at Roland Garros wearing her 'Black Panther' cat suit which she insisted also performed a key health role for a woman who had suffered life-threatening blood clots when giving birth last year.<br />
<br />
However, weeks after the tournament ended, French Tennis Federation President Bernard Giudicelli created a uproar saying the cat suit would be banned as “one must respect the game and the place.”<br />
&nbsp;<br />
Things turned sour with many supporting the former No 1 while some agreeing for a proper dress code for the professional tournament like French Open.<br />
&nbsp;<br />
However, the major controversy that tainted Serena's image during the US Open final against Naomi Osaka in September when chair umpire Carlos Ramos handed Williams a rare coaching penalty in the second set.<br />
&nbsp;<br />
Williams was given a game penalty for her outburst, which followed racquet smashing and another code violation as Osaka won 6-2 6-4 in New York. She believed the penalty could be interpreted as her being called a cheater and frustrated with that she raised her voice, "I'd rather lose than cheat."<br />
&nbsp;<br />
The crowd largely reacted in defence of Williams but in the days after the match, many people who had once praised her began to question her behaviour.</p>


Serena Williams, the 23-time Grand Slam winner returned to the court after a 14-month maternity leave, but at times it appeared like she'd never missed a day. That was Serena’s return to tennis in a nutshell, but her 2018 season was far more than that.

Serena Williams, the 23-time Grand Slam winner returned to the court after a 14-month maternity leave, but at times it appeared like she'd never missed a day. That was Serena’s return to tennis in a nutshell, but her 2018 season was far more than that. If Serena looks back on her 2018 season, she just might find it to be the most meaningful as she returned to the court this past March a wife, a mother and an American tennis star. She donned a Marvel-worthy cat suit at the French Open and reached the final at the Wimbledon, but it was the impact she made off the court and during a final that set her apart. The former world No1 had already revealed in an interview that she was bedridden for six weeks after the birth of her daughter Alexis Olympia last year following an emergency caesarean section. “First my C-section wound popped open due to the intense coughing I endured as a result of the embolism. I returned to surgery, where the doctors found a large hematoma, a swelling of clotted blood, in my abdomen. And then I returned to the operating room for a procedure that prevents clots from travelling to my lungs,” Serena had revealed. Aiming to return to No 1 spot, Williams took to the court at Roland Garros wearing her 'Black Panther' cat suit which she insisted also performed a key health role for a woman who had suffered life-threatening blood clots when giving birth last year. However, weeks after the tournament ended, French Tennis Federation President Bernard Giudicelli created a uproar saying the cat suit would be banned as “one must respect the game and the place.” Things turned sour with many supporting the former No 1 while some agreeing for a proper dress code for the professional tournament like French Open. However, the major controversy that tainted Serena's image during the US Open final against Naomi Osaka in September when chair umpire Carlos Ramos handed Williams a rare coaching penalty in the second set. Williams was given a game penalty for her outburst, which followed racquet smashing and another code violation as Osaka won 6-2 6-4 in New York. She believed the penalty could be interpreted as her being called a cheater and frustrated with that she raised her voice, "I'd rather lose than cheat." The crowd largely reacted in defence of Williams but in the days after the match, many people who had once praised her began to question her behaviour.

Serena Williams’ 2018: 3 major appearances, 2 Grand Slam finals and an infamous controversy

<p>Haven&#39;t had enough of the yearenders that web portals are throwing your way? We bet you can make some room for another one, this one is downright hilarious and officially by Google.</p>

<p>Google blog has an entry titled &#39;Year in Search: The most fantastic fads of 2017&#39; and what followed was pure gold.&nbsp;</p>

<p>&quot;Here today, gone tomorrow. Our annual &#39;Year in Search&#39; is always a fun look back at the fads that captured our fancy and then fizzled out fast,&quot; noted the blog post.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Ahead, a look at this year&rsquo;s biggest crazes, &quot;through the lens of Google Search.&quot;</p>

<p><iframe allow="encrypted-media" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" gesture="media" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ngFwmMlh3bs" width="560"></iframe></p>

<p><strong>Where is the unicorn?</strong></p>

<p>According to Google, the netizens developed some bizarre obsession for the unicorns trend this year.&nbsp;</p>

<p>&quot;People gave a unicorn twist to all kinds of foods and searched for unicorn cake, unicorn hot chocolate, unicorn cheesecake and unicorn lemonade,&quot; noted Google.</p>

<p>Ans how can we get away with not giving a mention to Unicorn hair? Those rainbow-coloured highlights that crazed thousands of women this year.&nbsp;</p>

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<p style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BTk3obSFzeB/" style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none;" target="_blank">A post shared by Kaylin Pound (@kaylinpound)</a> on <time datetime="2017-05-02T04:11:31+00:00" style=" font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px;">May 1, 2017 at 9:11pm PDT</time></p>
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<p><strong>Slime was a hit!</strong></p>

<p>Yes! Quite a lot of people searched &#39;How to remove slime out of carpet?&#39; which also made to the top 100 &#39;How to&#39; queries of the year.</p>

<p>&quot;Slime had a very big year; &ldquo;How to make slime?&rdquo; was the number one globally trending &ldquo;how to make&rdquo; question of 2017,&quot; read Google&#39;s blog post.</p>

<p><strong>Cuteness overload</strong></p>

<p>The search engine saw major traffic for cute little creatures who made to the list of &#39;celebrity animals&#39;.</p>

<p>April, the mama giraffe; Fiona, the premature baby hippo and Marnie, the Instagram-famous senior rescue dog topped the list.&nbsp;</p>

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<p style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BdIbDGQjuL9/" style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none;" target="_blank">A post shared by Austin Carter ? (@a.carter2013)</a> on <time datetime="2017-12-25T16:16:57+00:00" style=" font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px;">Dec 25, 2017 at 8:16am PST</time></p>
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<p><strong>Memes, forever!</strong></p>

<p>Memes are multipurpose, they provide comic relief, crack us up and are crucial weapons in the arsenal of a sarcasm-loving person.</p>

<p>According to Google&#39;s&nbsp;search data, &#39;Cash Me Outside,&#39; &#39;United Airlines,&#39; &#39;Elf on the Shelf,&#39; &#39;What in Tarnation?&#39;&nbsp;and &#39;Mocking SpongeBob&#39;&nbsp;were the most trending memes of 2017.</p>

<p><strong>People love slangs</strong></p>

<p>And when we come across the latest one that we hadn&#39;t head before, we turn to our dear friend -- Google.</p>

<p>Trending acronyms this year included WCW (woman crush Wednesday), TFW (that feeling when), STG (swear to God), GOAT (greatest of all time), and OFC (of course).&nbsp;</p>

<p>Not only this, Google also searched for the meanings of some of our favourite songs this year.</p>

<p>People actually searched for &ldquo;what does despacito mean?&rdquo; to &ldquo;What does bibia be ye ye mean?&rdquo;, seriously!&nbsp;</p>

<p>Here&#39;s hoping the upcoming year to usher in crazier, wackier list of searches.&nbsp;</p>

<p><em>Happy New Year!&nbsp;</em></p>

<p><br />
&nbsp;</p>


Quite a lot of people searched 'How to remove slime out of carpet?' this year

Haven't had enough of the yearenders that web portals are throwing your way? We bet you can make some room for another one, this one is downright hilarious and officially by Google. Google blog has an entry titled 'Year in Search: The most fantastic fads of 2017' and what followed was pure gold. "Here today, gone tomorrow. Our annual 'Year in Search' is always a fun look back at the fads that captured our fancy and then fizzled out fast," noted the blog post. Ahead, a look at this year’s biggest crazes, "through the lens of Google Search." Where is the unicorn? According to Google, the netizens developed some bizarre obsession for the unicorns trend this year. "People gave a unicorn twist to all kinds of foods and searched for unicorn cake, unicorn hot chocolate, unicorn cheesecake and unicorn lemonade," noted Google. Ans how can we get away with not giving a mention to Unicorn hair? Those rainbow-coloured highlights that crazed thousands of women this year. A post shared by Kaylin Pound (@kaylinpound) on May 1, 2017 at 9:11pm PDT × Slime was a hit! Yes! Quite a lot of people searched 'How to remove slime out of carpet?' which also made to the top 100 'How to' queries of the year. "Slime had a very big year; “How to make slime?” was the number one globally trending “how to make” question of 2017," read Google's blog post. Cuteness overload The search engine saw major traffic for cute little creatures who made to the list of 'celebrity animals'. April, the mama giraffe; Fiona, the premature baby hippo and Marnie, the Instagram-famous senior rescue dog topped the list. A post shared by Austin Carter ? (@a.carter2013) on Dec 25, 2017 at 8:16am PST × Memes, forever! Memes are multipurpose, they provide comic relief, crack us up and are crucial weapons in the arsenal of a sarcasm-loving person. According to Google's search data, 'Cash Me Outside,' 'United Airlines,' 'Elf on the Shelf,' 'What in Tarnation?' and 'Mocking SpongeBob' were the most trending memes of 2017. People love slangs And when we come across the latest one that we hadn't head before, we turn to our dear friend -- Google. Trending acronyms this year included WCW (woman crush Wednesday), TFW (that feeling when), STG (swear to God), GOAT (greatest of all time), and OFC (of course). Not only this, Google also searched for the meanings of some of our favourite songs this year. People actually searched for “what does despacito mean?” to “What does bibia be ye ye mean?”, seriously! Here's hoping the upcoming year to usher in crazier, wackier list of searches. Happy New Year!

Year in search: A look at Google's 'fantastic fads' of 2017

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